I recently added my 59 American Clipper to the site after having it serviced. I am planning to have this be my daily wear watch and I would like to find a leather strap for it. The watch currently has a Speidel Twist-o-Flex on it which is a bit large for my wrist. I know I could remove links but I prefer not to. I know I can search ebay and find tons of 16mm watch straps to choose from in an abundance of colors textures and finishes. I however prefer not to take the trial and error approach in wasting money on securing a comfortable durable watch strap. I would assume the members here have purchased plenty of straps in their pursuit of a similar solution. I would of course like to have something of a style that compliments the period of my watch but would prefer to stay away from the exotics as from what I have read they are far from durable unless you spend quite a bit of money. I do adore my Bulova but its not a Rolex. So with that said does anybody have any input ?
Thanks
Glenn
The old saying that you get what you pay for applies here, don't even bother with those cheap Chinese straps that are abundant. A quality leather strap will set you back around $20-25.00, but it will out last a half o dozen of the cheapees.
If you are turning & burning watches, then a Chinese Cheapee is the way to go...
A leather strap will also save wear and tear on the lugs, those expansion bands tend to chew them up if you wear it quite a bit.
I have purchased a few straps made in Italy and they seem to be quality made, the leather is not cracking and the stitching is holding well.
Well I agree to a certain point of the old saying that you get what you pay for. I find that it does not matter that much anymore. I find myself purchasing the brand names that I used to trust but the quality just is not there anymore. My John Deere riding mower would be a fine example. the thing was not cheap but when it came time to service it I found that it has the same low quality components that the cheaper mowers use and the only thing I paid for was the name and the familiar colors. I'm not a turn and burner and I was hoping I could get a decent strap in the 20 to 30 dollar range. Isn't that ironic that I will be paying as much for a watch strap that I do for a hand made ranger style belt. I just want something that is not going to start splitting and cracking after wearing it for 6 months. Thank you for your input.
Glenn
Glenn - I suggest looking for straps by brand name. JB Champion, Hirsch, Hadley Roma and Kriesler are a few names that come to mind. We have a member - "Timesofplenty" - who sells on the bay and has a large selection. Good, high quality watch straps are not cheap but always worth the extra you pay.