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Chartreuse is a another leather that I've been able to source that was produced for Parisian fashion house, Hermès. It is what Hermès refer to as an "Epsom" leather, one of the leathers most commonly used in the manufacture of Kelly and Birkin Sellier-style bags. It makes a fine watch strap, too! This is a leather that is certainly not readily available (and I almost certainly won’t be able to get any more once it’s gone) so I’m listing it as a “limited edition”. As a result, each Chartreuse strap will come with a signed letter from me stating the date your strap was made and giving it a production number. The strap shown is made with butterscotch stitching, but natural & emerald green (for a low contrsat stitch) work beautifully with this leather too. You can see the options for thread colour see the stitching colours page. Straps produced with Chartreuse leather will be approx 3mm thick and are priced as follows: £120 with a free spring bar buckle £125 with a sewn in buckle £130 with a screw bar buckle -
Merlot Kudu is fully veg tanned kudu leather with a full aniline finish. It is super strong and pliable. The aniline finish perfectly shows the character of the kudu leather, and the tannery have dyed this batch a subtle wine colour. I’ve been using kudu leather for my watch straps for many years now because of it’s characteristics, and this tannage is one of the best I’ve found. Kudu leather is the perfect material for a watch strap in my opinion, and this is highly recommended! Kudu are wild antelope that live in dense brush or forest in the African Savanna, one of the harshest environments on earth, and are prey to preditors such as leopards and hyenas. The kudu skins used to produce this leather exibit some scars and marks from the animals hard life. As a result no two kudu leather straps will look the same, ensuring your strap will be unique. As is the case with all the kudu leather I use, the skins are the result of the seasonal kudu cull mandated by the South African government. The strap photographed for this page was stitched with grey thread, but natural, light brown, butterscotch and bright yellow threads work very well too. To see the options for thread colour see the stitching colours page. Straps produced with Merlot Kudu leather will be approx 4mm thick and are priced as follows: £130 with a free spring bar buckle £135 with a sewn in buckle £140 with a screw bar buckle -
Sapphire is a pure vegetable tanned leather produced by a small Italian tannery in a deep blue colour. After tanning the leather, the tannery tumbles it, resulting in a pronounced grain and a soft, pliable leather - perfect for making watch straps. The strap photographed for this page was hand stitched using grey thread. Alternative thread colours you may consider with this leather are butterscotch, pale blue and natural. If you want to see the options for thread colour please see the stitching colours page. Straps produced with Sapphire leather will be approx 3.5mm thick and are priced as follows: £120 with a free spring bar buckle £125 with a sewn in buckle £130 with a screw bar buckle -
Amalthea is a heavyweight goat leather that is put through a full vegetable tanning process before being re-tanned with natural oils. It's produced by a small tannery that uses larger, heavier skins compared to regular goats, resulting in a goat leather with a firmer structure than usual. It is very pliable from the start, and available in this lovely hazel colour. I've named this leather after Amalthea, the guardian and nurse of the infant Zeus in Greek mythology, commonly depicted as the nurturing goat whose milk fed Zeus on Mount Ida. The strap photographed for this page was hand stitched using natural thread. Personally I think this is the right choice with this leather, but light brown works well, too. If you want to see the options for thread colour please see the stitching colours page. Straps produced with Amalthea leather will be approx 3mm thick and are priced as follows: £120 with a free spring bar buckle £125 with a sewn in buckle £130 with a screw bar buckle -
Cerberus is a strong & robust bovine leather produced in small quantities by an independent tannery that employs just 3 people, using the same traditional vegetable tanning process they have used for the last 200 years. Cerberus is a full grain leather, produced with liberal use of natural waxes and oils to give it a pull-up to highlight its fine texture. The strap photographed for this page was hand stitched using butterscotch thread, but either light or dark brown thread work well too, as does natural if you want more of a contrast stitch. If you want to see the options for thread colour please see the stitching colours page. Straps produced with Cerberus leather will be approx 3mm thick and are priced as follows: £120 with a free spring bar buckle £125 with a sewn in buckle £130 with a screw bar buckle
