Mid quality watch straps

[RichardHarris123]

Hello all 

 

I want some mid quality Watch straps.  They seem to come in either cheap or expensive, £8 - 12 or £150 plus. There must be a  compromise. 

[LittleWatchShop]

56 minutes ago, RichardHarris123 said:

Hello all 

 

I want some mid quality Watch straps.  They seem to come in either cheap or expensive, £8 - 12 or £150 plus. There must be a  compromise. 

I bought a bracelet from strapsco.com.  I thought it was adequate quality for the price. 

[tomh207]

@RichardHarris123 Richard, have you had a look at straps on cousinsuk? I got a nice alligator one for a friends longines watch, it was about £80 iirc. They do straps from a couple of quid upto quite high end.

 

Tom

[RichardHarris123]

@tomh207, for some reason I didn't consider Cousins. Had a look, huge selection and reasonable prices. 

[tomh207]

@RichardHarris123 I have got into the habit of checking cousinsuk for anything first now Richard,  often I find them cheaper than anywhere other than Aliexpress.

 

Tom

[mikepilk]

I buy the Buffalo leather straps from Cousins, priced about £3-£6. They are pretty good quality.

[RichardHarris123]

As said, for some reason I didn't consider Cousins, which is strange as I order most of my materials there.  Cousins in the future then. It helps to have a recommendation. 

[Neverenoughwatches]

1 hour ago, RichardHarris123 said:

@tomh207, for some reason I didn't consider Cousins. Had a look, huge selection and reasonable prices. 

Cousins £239 + vat for a Longines leather strap . Do you have a watch in mind that you are belting up Rich ? Leather or metal bracelet?  Theres another thread started somewhere on straps, i think it was Waggy. I did find a guy that hand made vintage replica straps inc the gold and silver buckles using traditional methods, not even that pricey. If you're looking for leather, full or top grained are classed as the best quality, strangely enough these are less processed.  I have a full grained strap on a Movado, quite thick and stiff and not particularly comfortable to wear initially. Took a good while of working it to make it more supple but its tough as hell, minimal basic stitching and it will see me out. I think it was about 18ish quid

Edited November 11, 2023 by Neverenoughwatches

[RichardHarris123]

I have several awaiting straps, I only wanted something cheap but not nasty for the time being.  They might get treated to a  better quality one in the future.  Bought from amazon, decent enough for now but I was looking for advice for future purchases. 

[mikepilk]

1 hour ago, Neverenoughwatches said:

Cousins £239 + vat for a Longines leather strap .

Yes you will pay silly money for branded items. Just buy the same item but not branded. I have a lovely handmade ostrich skin strap on my Longines Admiral, £35 from Cousins.   

(and being a fellow Yorkshireman @Neverenoughwatches, we do like to take care of the £££s )

Edited November 11, 2023 by mikepilk

[Neverenoughwatches]

59 minutes ago, RichardHarris123 said:

I have several awaiting straps, I only wanted something cheap but not nasty for the time being.  They might get treated to a  better quality one in the future.  Bought from amazon, decent enough for now but I was looking for advice for future purchases. 

A good quality well chosen strap definitely enhances the overall look of a watch. Post one of the watches up in the other thread to get other opinions of what to go for. 

[RichardHarris123]

Here's two of them.  The rotary needs a  new crystal, some idiot ordered the wrong ones.  Hehe. 

[rehajm]

3 hours ago, RichardHarris123 said:

Here's two of them.  The rotary needs a  new crystal, some idiot ordered the wrong ones.  Hehe. 

...that idiot orders my crystals, too!

…btw if anyone has an eye for these vintage stretchy straps what were the cat’s pajama’s back in the day I’m acquiring a small pile of them, some ultrasonic cleaned, some still with dna attached …in sealed bags.

[tomh207]

21 hours ago, Neverenoughwatches said:

Cousins £239 + vat for a Longines leather strap . Do you have a watch in mind that you are belting up Rich ? Leather or metal bracelet?  Theres another thread started somewhere on straps, i think it was Waggy. I did find a guy that hand made vintage replica straps inc the gold and silver buckles using traditional methods, not even that pricey. If you're looking for leather, full or top grained are classed as the best quality, strangely enough these are less processed.  I have a full grained strap on a Movado, quite thick and stiff and not particularly comfortable to wear initially. Took a good while of working it to make it more supple but its tough as hell, minimal basic stitching and it will see me out. I think it was about 18ish quid

You think that’s bad from cousinsuk? Rich, just ask for one at a jewellery shop or AD, my friend was quoted £800 for a longines strap, hence him coming to me

 

Tom