I couldn't sleep last night...

.... so I decided to get up and make a watch strap. 

A little while ago I received an email from a customer in Japan. He was looking for a new strap for his Panerai 190. Now, in my opinion, the 190 is one of the best watches Panerai has ever made. I realise that's a strong shout, but it's a 45mm Radiomir with gold hands and a wonderful Jaeger-LeCoultre hand-wind 8-day movement. Anyone who has ever wound a 190 will know exactly what I mean!

This customer has ordered from me before — in fact, the first time he bought a strap from me was back in 2018, so he already knew many of the leathers I use first-hand. This time, though, he wanted to try one of my kudu leathers, and asked for my suggestions on which to choose. Owning a 190 myself, I was quick to recommend Dark Kudu. I did offer a couple of alternatives too, but he decided to take my advice.

Dave and I started early this morning — I woke around 4am and couldn't get back to sleep, so we headed out to the workshop and made a start on this Dark Kudu strap. In truth, I did the work while Dave sat and "supervised" — he's very good at that, but he struggles to thread a needle!

I took a few photos along the way to show the strap at various stages: being stitched, after stitching, and after burnishing and waxing. Now, after a trip to the Post Office, it's on its way to its new owner in Japan — a little ahead of schedule, but I always try to get straps finished as soon as I can.

If you're curious about kudu leather yourself, you can see this blog post I wrote recently on the beauty of kudu leather, and remember, I'm always happy to help you pick the right one for your watch.