If you are looking for the perfect leather strap for your watch, read this article to learn more about them and how they work with your watches.
Wristwatch leather straps are available in various colors, textures, and styles. You can find them made from alligators, crocodiles, snakes, lizard skin, and cowhide. Some have stitching detail, while others are plain. You can also find them in various colors, from black to brown to tan.
We will discuss the more in-depth part, after reading, you will be more professional than other buyers or sellers, freer to discuss products with suppliers, and will not be bullied
Types Of Leather Straps
Genuine Leather:
Genuine Leather is the most popular type of leather used for watch straps. It’s made from animal skin(1) that has been treated to make it more durable and flexible. The animals for genuine leather straps are cows, pigs, and sheep. but calf leather is the calf leather:
what is Calf Leather?
Calf leather is made from the skin of a young cow. It’s soft, supple, and has a natural grain pattern. It is from the back, near the cow’s abdomen, which will be the full-grain leather. It can be from the cow’s shoulder and neck area, and it will be split-grain leather.
There are several types of genuine leather talked by the wrist watches manufacturer, they are: full-grain or Top grain,split leather .and Crocodile leather
Full-grain or Top Grain leather:
Full-grain leather is of the highest quality because it’s made from the outermost layer of the animal skin. This means that it’s more durable and has a more natural look. Top grain leather is made from the inner layers of the skin, so it’s not as durable or high quality as full grain.
Split Leather:
Split leather is made from the lower layers of the animal skin, so it’s not as thick or strong as full grain or top grain. It’s usually coated with a layer of polyurethane to make it more durable.
Crocodile Leather:
Crocodile leather is made from the skin of a crocodile(2). It’s challenging and durable, making it perfect for straps that will see a lot of wear and tear.
Imported Geniune Leather
Imported Leather are mainly come from Italy, Because it is imported, so the Italy Leather expensive, and each color requires much MOQ in general, so it is also less used.
Vegan Leather/Plant leather:
With the rise in the popularity of veganism(3), there has been an increase in the demand for vegan leather. Vegan leather is made from plant-based materials, It’s a more environmentally friendly option than animal leather, and it’s also usually cheaper.
Some fashion brand usually seeks this kind of leather.
Vegan leather is environmental, But it’s easy to peel or break as the material used is small, So it is not widely used in the watches industry.
Pu Leather:
Pu leather, or man-made leather, is a fabric or finish intended to substitute for leather in fields such as upholstery, clothing, footwear, and fabrics. The term is used for a wide range of products, including synthetic vinyls. There are many different types of PU leather with varying degrees of quality.
It is made of thermoplastic polymer(4) for clothing and upholstery. Because PU leather is entirely artificial, it is 100% vegan.
Texture / Patterns Of Leather Straps
Caviar 1
It has a large lychee pattern and small round bumps. This pattern is larger and a little rougher to the touch.
Caviar 2
Same as caviarb1 but the lychee pattern is small and the bumps are more round. The caviar 2 patterns should be more delicate. It is also considered milled leather.
In the tanning process, a tool called a “drum” is used to shape the milled design by wrestling in the drum.
Small fine lines
Small fine lines leather is much like the Milled leather and is also a tanning process. The difference is that this time, the lines are very fine and evenly distributed over the entire filled leather the whole surface of the strap.
Plain grain:
Plain grain is the most delicate, smooth, but not as bright as glossy leather.
Crocodile skin pattern:
Considered a luxury leather pattern, the crocodile skin pattern can be. It is not made of crocodile skin. Found on more expensive straps. It is made to look like crocodile skin, but it is not. The skin is embossed with a crocodile skin texture.
Bamboo texture:
A pattern like Bamboo, very popular in recent years, is a new pattern.
Slick-surfaced leather:
Also known as smooth leather has been sanded and buffed to remove any imperfections on the surface of the leather. This results in a smooth, shiny finish.
Crazy Horse Patten / Oil Wax Leather :
Crazy horse pattern(5), Also known as oil wax leather, it is made by applying a layer of wax to the surface of the leather. This gives the strap a distressed look that distressed look. Some people prefer a vintage style, distressed look for their watch straps. This can be achieved by using an old strap and making it a distressed look:
It is also oil-tanned cow leather covered with a layer of natural wax, which is also called “wax skin”. The advantage of this leather is that it has good, not easy to produce scratches, and it is easy to clean.
Enamel leather:
Also known as patent leather which is a glossy type of leather. This type of leather is coated to achieve the Enamel s shinier than normal leather because it has a coating that reflects light.
Different Side Types of Leather Watch Straps
There are different types of how the leather is sealed (the side) will also affect the look, feel, and durability of the strap.
The leather can be left unsealed the side. How it will look will depend on what design you need. The majority of leather straps are manufactured by leaving the leather open. The look, feel, and durability of the strap will also be impacted by sealing.
These are the types side types of leather watch straps.
- Oiled edge
- sewing edge + oiled edge
- Full Wrapped edge
- Semi-sealed edge
- Wrapped edge + sewing edge
- Glued edge
Usually, the sealed and oiled edge will be more expensive than the unsealed ones, Because seal will mean an increase in materials and labor
Different Colors of Leather Watch Straps
Of course, there are different colors of leather watch straps black, brown, and brown. But there are other colors, such as ash, grey, white, green, blue etc.
The color of the strap will also affect the look of the watch. For example, an ahi or green watch strap will give a more formal look.
What’s the Inside and Thickness of the Leather Strap?
What’s the artwork of the Leather strap?
Generally, a genuine leather strap is manufactured with three layers, divided into the fabric, core material, and base material.
where the fabric is generally used to do the first layer of the aboved mentioned animal material, the core material is generally used to do the thickness of the strap filler, inside filler is the sponge, the base material is generally the Suede, Genuine leather, Vegan leather, Crocodile leather, Italy Leather, Pu Leather etc.
What’s the thickness of the leather?
The thickness is around 2.5-4.5mm, While the 2.5mm is the thinnest, the 4.5mm is the thickest.
The thickness can be different according to the customer’s requirements.
Sizes of the Leather Straps:
Leather straps also depend on the size of the watch’s lug width. The lug width is the width of the strap at the point where it attaches to the watch.
. The most common size is 20mm, 22mm, and 24mm.
How Do You Attach A Leather Watch Strap?
There are two ways to do it, either with:
- Pin buckle: The pin is inserted into the hole on the strap and then bent over to secure.
- A tang buckle: The end of the strap is threaded through the tang buckle and then pulled back
What are the normally used buckles for leather straps?
The buckle color goes according to the case, normally 2 kinds of matched buckles:
- Square steel buckle
- Butterfly buckle
The ring of the leather strap is the same color as the belt. The processing process is sewing threads.
How to Tell If Your Leather is Real Leather or Faux Leather?
There are some ways to know If a faux leather is fake, such as:
Touch
Authentic leather is elastic and flexible. When you touch it lightly, it feels smooth, soft, plump, and elastic. It surface is synthetic leather is astringent, hard, and of inferior suppleness.
Physical appearance
While imitation leather can mimic pores but genuine leather have a distinct lumpiness.
Smell
While imitation leather has an offensively greater plastic smell, real leather has the smell of leather, which is not unpleasant.
Burn
Real leather is difficult to ignite, has a similar afterburning fragrance to that of burning hair, burns without lumps, and may be crushed into powder with the fingers, whereas synthetic leather burns with a strong plastic odor.
Does it absorb water?
Good water absorption on the leather surface is a technique to test the suppleness of the leather. Imitation leather is astringent, hard, and of inferior suppleness.
Stingy
If the indentation is not easy to disappear, it shows that the leather has good elasticity. The surface of synthetic leather is hard and not. The surface of the artificial leather is easy to show scratching, and the genuine leather is not easy to scratch.
Regarding importing leather, China is the highest, and the cowhide is tanned in Italy. The central exporting countries of sheepskin are Australia, New Zealand, and China.
If you want high-quality yet affordable leather, you can buy one from Guangdong Province, China. It is where you can find high-quality leather for your watch straps.
Išvada
When it comes to choosing a leather watch strap, there are many factors to consider, such as size, color, leather, and type of buckle.
We hope you learned a lot from this article. We have a professional design team to provide you with the perfect products and services. If you are interested in our products, please feel free to contact us.
Source link:
1. animal skin：(Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/topic/leather)
2. the skin of a crocodile: (Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crocodile_skin)3.veganism：(Retrieved from https://www.vegansociety.com/go-vegan/definition-veganism)
3. veganism: (Retrieved from https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.vegansociety.com/go-vegan/definition-veganism&sa=D&source=docs&ust=1657365705265819&usg=AOvVaw2xFuE_H38WDETBDV5fHbRf)
4. thermoplastic polymer：(Retrieved from https://byjus.com/chemistry/thermoplastic-polymers/)
5. Crazy horse leather: (Retrieved from https://steelhorseleather.com/pages/what-is-crazy-horse-leather)
