A Selection Of LIC Straps From Belgium For Your Attention

It took me a long time to really buy-in to the value of a good strap maker. For years, every watch in my collection sat proudly on its original strap or bracelet. I was convinced that there could be no better pairing than that which was originally intended by the watch head’s designer. But I was wrong. As you might have gleaned from my previous articles on after-market straps and bracelets, there is a huge amount of fun to be had and joy to be found in experimenting with the bands of specialists. LIC Leather from Belgium is one such specialist I would, after wearing its products for a while, heartily recommend.

For this review, I selected four quite different straps. I wanted to see a variation of materials and color. What I received — in addition to a matte brown rooster foot band from LIC I already own) was very pleasing to the eye. There is an alligator strap (LIC Leather’s specialty), a chocolatey brown suede number, a French calf leather strap in gray (which turned out to be my favorite), and a glossy black frog strap that could turn your run-of-the-mill vintage Cartier Tank into a souped-up show stopper. Let’s dive in.

The alligator strap

The alligator strap certainly appears grayer in photos than it does in real life. In certain lights, there is an olivine hue to the color, which looks really fantastic. As I said at the top, I own a LIC strap myself and found that it broke in very quickly. I’ve not mounted these straps on watches as LIC kindly agreed to donate them to Fratello readers (I’ll tell you how you can get your hands on one at the end of the article), but the suppleness of these pieces is clear.

What I like most about this alligator strap, in particular, is how contemporary it looks. Alligator and croc straps are, in most cases, seen as a bit passé. I think a lot of that has to do with how many of them are presented with a gloss finish. While a gloss finish is available from LIC, I asked to see this trap with a matte surface. The difference is stunning. Gloss finishes tend to pick-out the pattern or the grain of the leather a little more. This makes them a bit shoutier. Personally, I prefer a quiet strap that allows the watch head its chance to shine. Here, the texture of the alligator adds a bit of visual interest upon closer inspection but does not overawe its surroundings.

I took the gray alligator because I thought it would be a versatile color to work with. The short end of the strap measures 75mm without buckle and the long end measures 115mm to the tip of the point. The edging is nicely done, with a strong, painted seal, and the stitching is expertly executed with a color-matched thread.

The brown nubuck

I go through phases when it comes to suede and nubuck straps. Right now, I’m not in a nubuck phase, but it was nice to be reminded of how nice nubuck straps can be as tactile objects, regardless of how well they fit with my personal collection or not. What was actually super cool about this nubuck suede was the subtle pattern of the material. Nubuck is like a “short hair” suede, which actually feels a bit more like a coarse velvet than it some of the rougher suedes I’ve encountered. The unavoidably vintage vibe of nubuck (especially in this rustic colorway) is tempered by the “cracked” pattern visible if you look really, really closely.

This nubuck still looks like skin. That is awesome. The dimensions of this one are almost exactly the same as the alligator (I’d say the short end is half a millimeter longer, if I’m being honest). Again, the edges are well sealed, this time with a black edge. The strap, as all four of these examples do, tapers from 20mm at the lugs to 18mm at the clasp.

The French calf patina leather

This one surprised me more than any other. While I was expecting to be impressed by the alligator, beguiled by the frog, and respectful of the suede, I imagined the Franch calf patina leather (due for release this year), selected once more in a versatile gray, would leave me with little to say. You can go ahead and chalk up another notch in the ever-expanding “wrong” column of my life.

So why is it that this strap, which, on paper, sounds the most boring of the bunch, charmed me so thoroughly? Quality, quality, quality. That’s why. The dimensions (75mm/115mm( are the same as the others. The stitching is an innocuous, color-coded gray. Thickly painted, dark gray edges do not draw the eye. The surface, however, is something to write home about.

A swirling, cloudy finish gifts this strap with a level of intrigue way beyond the others I’d seen so far. I suppose I was influenced by the “French” in the title, but I couldn’t help but see the chipped and peeling walls of a forgotten French farmhouse every time I looked into the deep and inviting pattern of the strap. Of all the straps I reviewed from LIC this time around, I think this is the one that will age the best. I think it will take on a really strong character and become even more intriguing an item as time goes by. I also got the richest scent from this one, which I very much appreciated. Top marks, in my book.

The glossy Frog

This is a new material for the LIC catalog, but it is a great one to have added to the brand’s stable. I’m totally over glossy straps in theory, but a couple of my vintage pieces wear them because simply nothing else looks as elegant as a well-executed gloss leather strap when it’s done properly. I have an old gold Hamilton and a dressy Tissot from the ’60s that rock these babies till the cows (or frogs) come home.

The look of this thing reminds me of wet asphalt. Those tiny bumps and undulations in the frogskin look like little pools of water formed by raindrops hitting the ground. It is a cool material and way more interesting than a flat gloss or even an alligator gloss leather strap. I mentioned this looking at home on a Cartier Tank at the top. I meant it. Think old school. Think classy. Something nice from JLC would look the bomb on this kind of band too.

Conclusion

A word on the standard buckles that come with these straps: they are pretty darn good. I hate non-branded buckles generally, as they are too often treated as an afterthought. These buckles, however, are a bit more robust than you might expect from a strap maker. Pleasingly, they are not engraved so they won’t interrupt a brand’s aesthetic if you choose to wear the band with its supplied buckle rather than subbing it out for one to match the watch head.

Being introduced to brands making quality products is a constant pleasure. LIC has expanded my strap horizons once more, and while I’d love to say I’m going to test drive these beauties into the ground, I’m afraid that task will fall to four of the Fratelli instead.

So how do you “win” a LIC strap? Simple: interact this with this month’s March Mania extravaganza as if your life depends on it! I’ll be in those comment sections on Fratello and on IG, checking out the Fratelli contributing the most to the competition. The top four in my book with each win a randomly assigned LIC strap. I’ll announce the winners at the end of the knock-out contest so everyone knows who came out on top. In the meantime, let us know what you think of LIC straps in the comments below this article, and what you think makes for the perfect strap maker. Learn more about LIC here.

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