I launched a lot of new leathers in May this year (I’ve just counted them – there were 19 of them!) and so I really didn’t expect to be adding any more for a while, but that was before I took a trip to a local tannery last week. It was one of those trips I make without any real expectation of finding anything new, but I make them because there is always a hope at the back of my mind that something interesting might be found. Normally I come away empty handed from these trips, but on this occasion I think I struck gold.
What I found were two pure veg tanned calf leathers, both with a flat matt finish, both analine and both full grain. One in a light greyish blue colour, and the other in mid brown. I couldn’t resist them, and as soon as I got home I started to build a couple of straps for myself. Working with these leathers has cemented my belief that they are going to be very popular. The leathers are soft & pliable, yet strong, and they have a lovely tight grain. They look great from the start, and being full grain leathers I expect they will build up a lovely patina with some wear.
I decided to call them Petrol and Crater, and they launched yesterday.
Although it was Petrol that initially caught my attention at the tannery, it is Crater that I think is my favourite of the two. I stitched this strap using butterscotch thread and as soon as I put it on my zero I knew it wasn’t going to come off for a while. This is a watch I’ve owned for some time now (it is the watch I use to photograph every new strap I launch on my website). I often swap straps on it, but I can’t ever remember being happier with the watch / strap combo as I am with this one.
