Genteel Handmade Calf And Goat Leather Watch Straps — The Only Limit Is Your Imagination

The calf and goat watch straps collection is Genteel Handmade’s most versatile product line. With more than 50 leather options (spread across a variety of types and colors), a raft of threads to choose from, custom dimensions, a long list of linings, buckle and spring-bar options, and peerless customer service, it’s hard to go wrong. The only question is, how creative do you dare to be?

Genteel Handmade‘s goal is to make one-of-a-kind watch straps for every customer. This bespoke service is especially useful if the watch you want to treat to a new band is of odd proportions. GH covers uncommon strap widths, such as 17mm/16mm, 21mm/18mm, or 23mm/20mm. With this enormous range of personalization to choose from, it is unlikely you will ever see another custom watch strap quite like yours. In fact, I have some personal experience of this, having commissioned a special 20/20mm whiskey brown Maya strap with a red goat lining and brown stitching for my Fratello × Minase Divido. Check out the result below:

Genteel Handmade provides the choice of selecting from a range of colorful lining leathers, which is a rare (and, to be honest, quite a thrilling option). This feature of the design process allows you to create a really unusual-looking strap that is tailor-made to the watch head you envisage pairing it with. Take a look at the striking red goat backing I chose for my strap specifically to pick out the vivid red tip of the seconds hand you can see in the image above:

A note on tapering/buckle sizes

I’ll leave my own example alone in a second, I promise, but I cannot express how satisfying it was to work with a company that could literally solve any (strap-based) problem you threw at it. The Divido is a weird watch with unusual proportions and zero taper from the lugs to the buckle. Additionally, while the buckle (see below) is a thing of beauty, it’s pretty chunky. Thusly, I wanted to sit off-center on the underside of my wrist. I’ve mentioned this before because of my daily use of a (metal) Macbook, having bulky buckles directly on the underside of my wrist is uncomfortable for me and the buckle.

George at GH is able to make either side of the strap as long or as short as you want it, ensuring a perfect fit. He’s also able to make the straps (which have amazing side sealing by the way) thicker or thinner depending on your preference. I went for 3mm thickness on mine, but I would advise stepping that down to 2.5mm or 2mm if you’re concerned about clearance from the case edge to the spring bar. Given the way in which the Minase Divido’s case flairs out at the bottom, 2.5mm would have been a better choice, but I know that now for next time. And there will be a next time…

A luxurious collection

Genteel it’s offering a watch strap option for every type of watch. The brand offers straps in six designs: classic, padded, minimal stitching, without stitching, double padded, and rally. If you are looking for a bespoke strap for your chronograph, diver, pilot watch, or sports watch, Genteel Handmade is certainly worth a look.

Genteel handmade is only working with the finest materials in the industry. The classic calf and goat materials are sourced from centuries-old French tanneries where the skins are treated and processed to the very highest standards. The brand is also working with Maya leathers (as used in my strap above).

Maya leather is vegetable-tanned leather that comes from Italy. In addition to the beautiful texture and cloudy finish of Maya, the brand also works with Saffiano, Barenia, and Buttero leathers. Saffiano is ideal for harder-wearing applications and is frequently used to back luggage trunks, or journals, for example. Barenia leather is a very rare and unique leather, requiring a specific tanning process, which is known by only a small number of craftspeople. Finally, Buttero leathers are also vegetable-tanned leathers and they are known for developing a very nice patina over time (something to which I’m personally very partial).

However you like your leather, you can be sure Genteel Handmade has something for you. And if you happen to be a fan of the old Omega deployant buckles, GH has you covered: the brand specializes in making straps for that specific setup. You can see those straps here and check out the entire calf and goat range by following this link.

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