This commission was from a gentleman with an old watch which has some sentimental value. It was a wedding gift and the watch had fallen into a state of disrepair and disuse over the last few years. After having the broken glass replaced the strap broke in two places at the same time. The strap was always uncomfortable and instead of purchasing a replacement off the shelf he decided to have a bespoke strap made.
The leather used is quite special. It is a lovely pliable veg tanned calf skin with a light print to give some texture. What makes this leather particularly meaningful is that it belonged to a dear friend who passed away not long ago. His name was Habib Dingle and he was a world-class bookbinder and leather craftsman. He was a true genius, at the highest level of his craft and someone who had a heart of gold. He had won international awards and was recognised for his craftsmanship, the highest of which was his being commissioned by the late Queen and the Pope of the time among others. I have been keeping his leather for special projects. I don’t have much of it and it was befitting to use some of it for this project.
The lining is simple russet (aka crust or veg tan) leather from the world renowned Sedgwick’s in Walsall. The thread is the 632 (quite fine) Fil au Chinois Lin Cable which has been stitched at 10 spi (stitches per inch). All of the edges have been creased and burnished. We chose to do a light burnishing which means that the edges aren’t as smooth as my usual edge finishing. This was done to save some cost and also to match with the matt finish of the top surface of the leather. Also the edges are undyed which is my personal preference but an option that I offer. There is a very slight amount of padding. The client has quite thin wrists and a thicker strap would not have been proportional to his stature. Furthermore the watch itself is not too thick and the original strap was probably slightly too thick in proportion to the watch.
I use techniques in the design of my watch straps to maximise strength whilst keeping the proportions in line. I skive the ends that fold over to form the pin channels carefully to ensure maximum strength whilst feather skiving the very ends (skive to zero thickness) for comfort. Then there is the strap loop that is stitched lengthways to ensure it doesn’t come undone. The pin channels are folded underneath the lining leather and then stitched up close to the opening where the pins are inserted to ensure that the folded over flaps don’t come undone easily. There is no stitching across parts of the strap that are under load or will experience a lot of flexing. And the ends of the straps are made a fraction wider than the opening of the watch case and the buckle to ensure that the strap doesn’t easily come off if the watch is accidentally knocked while wearing it.
The result is a watch strap that is completely bespoke, comfortable from the first time it is worn and that will last much longer than the original. This is a special piece because of the leather used and its history and it is completely handmade, hand cut, hand stitched and hand finished, giving an extra special touch for an extra special project.