I’m always on the lookout for new and interesting leathers to add to my website store, and over the last couple of months I’ve been sampling some leathers from different tanneries around the world with a view to launching some new leathers. It’s true to say that not all of the samples I tried worked out how I had hoped (3 months ago I started this process with samples of 12 new leathers I thought would be suitable for my straps, but unfortunately, for various reasons, 5 of them didn’t make it through). The seven leathers that have passed my prototype / testing process I am very happy with however, and they are now live on my site. Those of you who follow me on Instagram will have seen some sneak previews over the last couple of weeks of a few of them, but here is a proper introduction to the magnificent seven.
I’ve also included a little “early bird” promotion for the lauch of these new leathers – for the first 2 weeks they are on sale, if you place an order for any of these new leathers you can get a discount of 20% off their cost (see the very bottom of this blog post for details, terms & conditions).
Prugna
Prugna is an Italian leather produced in a traditional vegetable tanning process that takes many months. It is a soft and pliable leather in a rich plum colour, with a matt finish and a slight pull up. I think you’re going to like it! The strap I built for the launch photography below is stitched with grey stitching – personally I like this look best, and I can see this getting a lot of wear both on my zero and my 233.
Phoenix
Phoenix is another Italian leather, but with a more distressed appearance than Prugna and in a fiery red colour. It’s fully vegetable tanned, so will patinate beautifully with age, and has a nice pull up. It’s oiled by the tannery in production and is very soft from the start with a flat matt finish. I went for bright yellow stitching to contrast with the distressed nature of the leather and I think it works well. I’ve been told in the past that red isn’t for everyone, but I say “why not?”. Give it a try – I am convinced you’ll love it! I think it works pretty well with my old 24.
Nordic Ox
This is a leather I am very excited about. Nordic Ox is a leather made from premium heavy weight Norwegian Ox hides and is (in my opinion) about as good as it gets. This leather is not produced in large quantities so I don’t have a lot of it, but if anyone is looking for a heavy weight (approx 5mm thick) brown strap then whilst stocks last this is the one I will be recommending. It’s soft and pliable from the start with a shrunken natural grain. Here the strap is stitched with light brown thread on my 233.
Orange Crush
If you want a strap that will get noticed then Orange Crush is probably the one for you. It’s a vegetable tanned leather made in Italy, finished with a hatch grain emboss. The leather is very hard wearing and is a little stiff initially, but once broken in becomes supremely comfortable and being pure veg tanned it will develop a lovely patina.
Oliva
Oliva is a fully vegetable tanned leather from Italy in a beautiful olive green colour – actually it’s the same leather as Raven and Dark Chocolate, two leathers I launched a year ago which have been very popular. So popular in fact that I had to have it in green too! Anyone who has ordered either Raven or Dark Chocolate knows how lovely this leather it is, but for anyone else take it from me – Oliva is wonderfully soft and pliable and makes a fabulous watch strap. I think Oliva works best with a light coloured thread – I’ve gone for olive drab thread for the stitching on the strap I’ve made for the launch photography, but natural or grey stitching works just as well.
Goblin
Goblin is an elk leather. Produced from the skins of wild elk that have lived their lives in the Arctic circle, Goblin leather has been tanned in Finland. It is one of the softest, most pliable leathers I have used, and has a soft, velvety finish. Goblin is a full grain leather, so any slight imperfections in the skins will show through, but that adds to the character of this highly distressed leather.
FYI – when trying to decide on a name for this leather I came across a story in Finnish mythology about an Elk created by goblins. The more I considered it the more I liked this connection – and the name “Goblin” stuck. If you’re interested you can read more about Hiiden hirvi, or Goblin’s Elk, here (with some impressive illustrations by artist Tero Porthan) – https://finnmyth.wordpress.com/2018/03/08/goblins-elk/
Hirvi
Hirvi is another elk leather, from the same tannery as Goblin above, but in a more muted colour. It is the same soft, pliable leather from the same animal stock, but in a subtle green, almost khaki colour. Being a full grain leather and a light colour it shows through more of the animals natural characteristics than Goblin, but that’s no bad thing in my opinion. When I first saw this my head may have been telling me I have enough green leathers already, but my heart won out with this one – I really liked it and so had to try it. I’m so pleased I did!
The name “hirvi” means “elk” in Finnish, and when it was suggested to me for this leather it seemed obvious, so thanks to @dcandh and @alfonso.cevola for their suggestion.
An early bird launch promotion and the T’s & C’s
To celebrate the launch of these seven new leathers, for the next 2 weeks you can order any (or all) of them at a reduced cost. Simply place an order online before midnight (UK time) on Saturday February 19th 2022 and use the promo code MAGNIFICENT7 at checkout, and if you have any of the seven featured leathers in your shopping cart they will automatically be discounted by 20%.
When you get to the Checkout page, simply enter MAGNIFICENT7 into the “coupon code” box (at the top of the checkout page) and click “apply coupon” – my website will then recalculate the total cost of your order, automatically reducing the cost of any strap ordered from the 7 qualifying leathers.
The coupon code MAGNIFICENT7 is active from now until midnight (GMT) on Saturday 19th February 2022. This offer is strictly time limited, and only applicable to online orders placed where the promo code is used at checkout. Only straps made from the seven newly launched leathers featured in the blog post above will be discounted.