Watch Strap Review Part 26. – Worn & Wound Shop
A new year means a new Watch Strap Review. Our 26th installment of the series brings us a company from the USA.
Worn & Wound
These guys are definitely not newcomers to the game and they have a wonderful site and a super cool shop. Their selection is pretty versatile from watch rolls to tools, belts, watches and of course straps. After a lengthy procedure and a parcel that spent more than its fair share of time with customs, it finally reached my German office towards the end of last year. Inside, I found a good few straps for our next review. The straps were mainly 18mm and 20mm in various colors and designs and I managed to match every strap to a watch in my collection. Therefore I like the result and I hope you do too. So without further ado let’s check how solid the strap game is at Worn & Wound.
Straps
Worn & Wound is a household name within the online watch sphere, and, therefore, they need no introduction. I will focus on their selection of straps, the quality and the price point. I chose 5 straps and almost all of them are different in some way. Yet, there are some telltale features that add that Worn & Wound touch to all of them. Do you know the feeling when you really like a nice pair of leather shoes? You buy them but then you feel that inner force that almost does not want you to wear it in fear of ruining it. This is how I felt a bit with these straps. Then I brushed that feeling off and strapped the first one around my wrist.
Vintage Sage
My vintage Mark II racing arrived to the collection just a few days before the straps. Due to its color-scheme it is pretty hard to find a matching leather strap to it or so I thought. Yet as soon as I picked the Sage up I knew it would be the perfect match – and it was. The Vintage Sage is among the highest end straps in the Worn & Wound line up. It is a suede, tapered and padded strap with minimal stitching and painted edges. The faded grey leather they are using is the world famous Horween from Chicago that we’ve seen before. It comes in 3 sizes (18-20-22mm) for the price of 150 USD. Whether it’s cheap or expensive, I’ll let you decide. All I can say is that it is a super comfortable strap and crafted in New York from the finest materials.
Vintage Rye
I blame RJ and Mike for infecting me with the Seiko virus. Though I’m not as bad as they are I find myself checking out Seiko offers on eBay, Watchrecon, Chrono24 and other online platforms almost daily. The vintage King Seiko I recently acquired came on a neutral black Seiko strap but as I got an 18mm strap from Worn & Wound I thought I’d give it a try to see if they match. I think it was an instant hit. The light color of the leather just worked well with the silver dial of the watch. Design-wise, it’s almost exactly the same as the Vintage Sage; it is a bright tan Chromexcell (also from Horween) leather. It has an eye-catching honey brown color that will develop its own patina over time. Edges are also painted, sizes are again 18-20-22mm and price is also 150 dollars.
Model 2 Premium Olive
According to Worn & Wound this strap fits military watches and aged lume. When it comes to aged lume and dial in general I think a perfect candidate has to be the Chronodato. The beige dial, the red-tipped date hand, the olive green leather with the matching beige stitching that is almost the same color as the lume on the dial add up to a match made in heaven. Just like every other strap from W&W this is also produced in NYC. They use vegetable tanned leather from Horween. There’s very minimal tapering, if any, and for a much lower price than the Rye and the Sage at $89 the Model 2 Premium Olive provides nice bang for the buck. According to Worn & Wound this strap was designed bearing durability and comfort in mind.
Model 2 Classic – Amber
This Model 2 Classic line from Worn & Wound is the cheapest (not counting their $55 natos) at $65. This however does not deteriorate from the quality. According to the W&W guys it is a “Go-to everyday strap. Our most simple and casual” and this is why it went to the Speedy. In my book the Speedmaster is an all-around watch and this strap fits that just fine. While tapered only at 2mm, instead of 4mm like the above 2 straps, this vegetable tanned rich dark brown goodness is indeed a perfect companion. What I love about this are the details; the loops for the springbars are created by folding over the leather then double stitching and done. Hence the loop is much wider it gives the strap a lot of space to move with the watch. It is a great minimalistic look. Size-wise; the same 3 widths are offered as above.
Model 2 Premium Natural
Finally another strap from the Model 2 Premium line, however this time it is in a natural color. Everything I wrote about the Olive strap also stands for this one; same size, same price, same design. Just like the Vintage Rye this natural leather will develop an awesome patina over time. It’s a great all around strap for every day wear that goes well with most things. It’s noteworthy that the painted edges give nice comfort on the wrist while wearing. I love how it looks on the Angelus L.E. and after wearing it for a few days I can sure you that it really is a sweet strap.
Epilogue
Whether you want a simple every day strap for a small amount or the bee’s knees for top bucks, Worn & Wound has got you covered. Aside from the fact that they have a crazy versatile selection of straps they are super nice dudes to deal with. Their service is great – offering free shipping on orders over $100 to the US and $150 to Canada. All I wish now is that they add Europe to that free shipping list.
