Genteel Handmade Launches New Cordura Range Of Straps Establishing A New Direction

We know Genteel Handmade best for its luxurious, fully customizable straps. Recently, I’ve even been wearing my first fully custom band from the brand (a wiskey Maya leather deployant with brown stitching and a red goat lining) so I can fully attest to the awesome results of this flexible service. However, today the brand adds a new string to its bow. Say hello to Cordura watch straps – tough fabric straps that are certainly built to last.

Cordura is a nylon material that is extremely durable, water-resistant, and abrasion-resistant. Following on from Genteel Handmade’s recent decision to introduce Ready-To-Wear leather straps, so too are Cordura straps now available off the shelf. Why? Cordura provides a hardy alternative to leather watch straps because

The Cordura material blends perfectly with the brand’s philosophy: every watch strap Genteel Handmade creates is designed to be a long life product. Leather is a hard-wearing material itself, but it isn’t suitable for every application, nor for every watch. That’s why George and his team decided to branch out a little bit and provide this new service.

The Fratellohood

Here at Fratello, we’re a varied bunch. Some of our team members swear by bracelets and bracelets alone. Others are passionate about leather. Some of the more active guys are into materials like sailcloth or nylon NATOs. Cordura fills a big gap in the Genteel Handmade collection by catering to the more rugged among us.

We all love a good strap swap (it keeps things interesting). And, of course, given our shared obsession with Speedmasters, we enjoy dressing them up in different ways. I wouldn’t say we were competitive exactly, but there is certainly a lot of friendly fun to be had in trying to find the latest accessory that enables you to wear your Speedy (in particular, although any watch will do) in a new way, with the goal of inspiring a kind of envy in your fellow watch-nut.

Texture and tone

Perhaps the thing I like most about well-made fabric straps (and they really do have to be exceptionally well made for this to work) is the way they can change a watch’s character in an instant. Our very own Dave Sergeant is the proud owner of the Grand Seiko Skyflake. The glossy, dressy strap on which that watch is delivered, however, does not match Dave’s more laid-back style (and there are a great many of us that don’t think it matches the watch either). A tough but expertly executed Cordura, on the other hand, is the perfect way to make something as theoretically opulent as the Skyflake a much humbler, day-to-day kind of watch. Throw in the added bonus of the fabric’s texture in conjunction with that of the dial and you have a truly winning combination.

Part of the fun

That’s part of the fun of our hobby, right? Finding new ways to add color to our daily relationship with watches. Why not give these new light- and water-resistant straps a rollout during the summer? Make sure to tag us in your holiday snaps and share them on Instagram. You can find us and Genteel Handmade here and here respectively. And check out the blue, black, and gray options available for €80 each on the brand’s official site here. Happy strapping!