Something about custommade handmade straps

[lolo1972sg]

+1
I think it is around 4 hours to make a quality strap. Here's a couple of video links showing the process if anyone is interested:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6r3CuVv6D00

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFDo-zzr9dY

It can be much more if you are not very experienced or if you want to be a perfectionist with your straps, or with more complicated straps like AP (or those with inserts).
Just to make nice and evenly sealed side lining alone can already be lengthy process

 

[Debellum]

:junio:

My Friend Rattlesnake !:txrob::txrob::txrob::txrob::tumbleweed:
I hope it's all ok !

Junio M.

 

[trailboss99]

Oh look, here is one of those "overpriced" strap guys right now. Let's wait for [MENTION=12079]petergunny[/MENTION] [MENTION=45646]bakeka[/MENTION] [MENTION=24386]acharria[/MENTION] [MENTION=11722]johng[/MENTION] [MENTION=18539]Timebandit[/MENTION] and others to see this and see what happens . . .

 

[orloff]

Hello guys. Im from Macedonia, Europe. Im not proffesional like some guys here Im just some beginner in reps but let me tell some words please . I saw you buy Pam watches. Some of them cost 200$. And you buy straps. Some of them cost 50-200$. I dont mind some guys bought gen PAM for 5k$, 10k$ or 50k$ and buy some 200$ strap. But hey! Do you know what do you pay for? I will tell you now. 90% of that money go for "handmade". You know why? Because its made in Italy, Germany, Swiss etc. Do you think you can find it the same quality made in Thailand for example? YES!!! Thailand have the biggest farms for crocos. You can find the best quality there. Some of the dealers here even have some small leather peaces from some old croco bag for example and sell 1 little strap for 200$. I know examples like that. Some of them have guys in China. They handmade it there and send to some sellers in Germany. And they sell it to you. Making watch strap is NOT an ART!!!!! Lets be clear. Its nothing more then 10min. work from experience leather tailor. I GUARANTEE YOU!!! Making bag is maybe an art.... You can create your own strap. Pliers, needle, glue, skin. If you invest 200$ im sure you will be practiced to start sell strap. You are not making a tower, you are making strap. Just go in China, Thailand, Phillipines, Vietnam... Or even Europe countries Greece or Turkey. They work with leather. You can find there excellent quality nappa leather jacket for 100$. Or even fur jackets with starting price 100$. And tell them look this strap is 200$, But this strap is handmade, custom, engraved... REALLY??? WOOOOW. Im sure you will be laughed. Its like paying for the replica not 200$ but 2000$. Dont let someone rob you! We are smart enough to dont give 10k for a logo!!! Im not dealer and I dont own any straps. Im just pissed off with prices of 10cm leather. You can buy 7 grams of gold for 200$ not a leather...

of course, produce a strap in Vietnam and one in Europe has a different cost
a Vietnamese wage is $ 30 a month, in Europe around € 2,000
when a person takes half a day to wrap a strap, you can claim $ 1 or 100 € for labor
perhaps now you need to be at the current price of hides in Europe
the crocodile is measured in centimeters wide, the cost varies from 10 € to 18 € per centimeter + taxes, depending on the color and finish
normally use a 24/26 cm skin that can cost from 300 to 400 €, a good cutter, gets 6/8 strap. materials, edge dyeing, dyes, threads, linings etc. are all tested and antiallergic, and very expensive. I do not know in China or other countries there are certain checks on the quality of materials
perhaps it is no art, but I think my work can be evaluated something, when I bring my car into the dealership for the checking, I pay € 110 per hour, even for the guy who washes the car. because I should ask for € 2 per hour
this is just my thoughts
regards
Mario

 

[Phil G]

Perhaps the OP would like to upload a 10 min video of him making a quality strap like some of fine makers on here.

 

[pm-guy]

It is an insult to so many strap makers in this Forum!
10 mins? what a joke!

Perhaps OP has not heard of the phrase 'a strap dress up a watch'....

 

[kilowattore]

OP never tried an Orloff strap imho. If he'll ever do it he'll change his mind.

 

[Ruski91]

OP never tried an Orloff strap imho. If he'll ever do it he'll change his mind.

Changed my mind for sure - i always wondered how do these custom straps really compare to rep straps or even the viet straps, until i got a hold of a used orloff strap with plenty of life left in it. I would have to disagree with the OP wholeheartedly, i think that any craft which is done by hand becomes a work of art. There is a vision for what you wish to create and a skill set with which to create it.

Custom straps really do make the watch.

Take a look at a rep 5001/7 on a rep strap and compare it to a gen or a santoni - and then try to tell me that its not worth it lol

 

[root]

Funny thread, guy doesn't know what he is talking about or just provokes. As a strap maker I can tell it takes about 4 hours to make hand stitched strap. Making a strap that will hold lifetime is an art no matter what other say. Of course, it's not a technique only, high quality leather costs, high quality glues, paints and thread costs. That justifies price to great extend.


KAMILeather (Atelier Petrov)
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kami.leathercraft
Instagram: @kamileather

 

[HeavenStorm]

The straps are worth it. For some people 200$ for a strap is overpriced. I have tried a lot of straps from different makers and I can tell you that the 200$ is worth it. The stitching, the leather quality, and the handmade buckle make it all worth it. Difference between 50$ and 200$ leather strap is like heaven and earth. However i do agree that some straps are overpriced. I have bought some straps worth 180-200$ and the quality is not as i expected. It feels cheap compared to my other straps that worth the same.

 

[thermalboyz]

10mins a strap? Seriously, strap maker will be millionaire. Leather making consider a craftsmanship and cannot be done quickly as there are processes to make them properly. 10 mins strap will last 10 days, 4 hrs straps will last years. $100 or $10 depends on your affordability.

Sent from my pigeon

 

[tysoosn]

Guys. Im happy you reply on this thread. First of all I dont want provocate someone or something. I respect everyone here and that the reason why Im here. I dont have too much post but I have read for days and days. I will give link of some work on youtube. 10 min work. I dont know what strap seller is that. I just found on internet. Im happy that someone think the same like me. I dont have any problem with Orloff and other strap makers. Guys dont get me wrong. I dont wanna argue with someone lets just talk. Why we didnt bought swiss watch? Why we bought chinese one? Why we didnt pay 10x for swiss 7750? Why we should pay italian straps? Someone posted 35$ vietnam croco strap on his IWC. Whats the difference with the italian ones who cost lot more? Italian hand made? You say if you want premium quality you will pay for it. YES!!! But vietnam straps are not premium quality? It must be Italian, Swiss, German to be premium? I know what is art. I respect the strap makers especially on this forums. They are great. I have 1000 photos saved from their work. But thats not art! Guys pay 10k$$$ for PAM and buy 200$ strap. But buying 200$ chinese watch and get 200$ strap? That will make your watch gen? If you need 4 hours to make 10cm leather piece - How much time you need to make a wallet for example? or bag? or Jacket? A year??? Enjoy in the video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFDo-zzr9dY

 

[virtual_luke]

Just because the video lasts 10 minutes doesn't mean it takes 10 minutes to make a strap.
When you buy a craftsman product you don't buy just a product, you buy hundreds of hours, of experiments and failures and trials...you buy days, weeks and months of frustration and moments of pure joy and satisfaction!
When you buy a real "Made in Italy" and/or a real " Swiss Made" you buy all this. I underline R E A L!!
As Italian, I would even say that REAL "Made in Italy" have to be also "Made of Italy".

Probably because we are HERE in THIS forum discussing about "quality" we tend to forget that maisons like IWC, Rolex, JLC and many other are what they are today thanks to craftmans and artisans. Here we buy reps but we have to respect the genuine products!
And the same we have to do with the accessories!
Everybody is free to buy a viet strap or even live with the one provided by ZF & friends! But if somebody is looking for something better, If somebody is looking for a product hand and tailormade. If somebody is willing to look to the tiny details and be satisfied when looking at them, then probably it's worth paying some euros more and buy a piece of heart, a part of soul and a moment of life of an artisan!

My first rep was a TC Sub: the reason why i didn't opted for a cheaper solution is explained in the text here above.

I'll be soon receiving my second rep: the IWC5007 and unfortunately, except Swiss IWC, there's no TC 5007.
I already got in touch with [MENTION=17879]orloff[/MENTION] to understand how to order the strap! He is Italian and I want to buy a moment of his life!




Inviato dal mio iPhone utilizzando Tapatalk

 

[tysoosn]

Hmmmm. I like how you think virtual_lake. But hmmm...
You think this ---When you buy a craftsman product you don't buy just a product, you buy hundreds of hours, of experiments and failures and trials...you buy days, weeks and months of frustration and moments of pure joy and satisfaction!---. Custom handmade strap makers from China didnt lost hundreds of hours experiment failures and trials?. For everything you produce you buy all this hundreds of hours experiment failures and trials. Let me say something too. I have bough lot of stuffs Made in Italy for my kitchen. Like knives, wine openers... They were average quality. You can find HIGH quality and low quality from Italy and from China too. I respect the genuine brands. Thats why I want to buy replica from them not Seiko or idk Tissot. I respect all strap makers. I hope they can sell their starps for like 1000$ if there are customers. We are just talking here.
And for this ------ Everybody is free to buy a viet strap or even live with the one provided by ZF & friends! But if somebody is looking for something better, If somebody is looking for a product hand and tailormade. If somebody is willing to look to the tiny details and be satisfied when looking at them, then probably it's worth paying some euros more and buy a piece of heart, a part of soul and a moment of life of an artisan!--------- What do you mean by something better? Produced by Italian not an Chinese? Chinese dont make handmade straps? They dont make tiny details? They copy 50k$ watches and they cant copy 10cm of leather? They make 1000000$ cars replicas.... We live in 21st century guys....

 

[kilowattore]

I'm italian too so I used Orloff as an example, but there are great strapmakers from all over the world. I bought straps from Italy, Germany, UK, Turkey, US, Philippines, Thailand and so on.
It does not matter where the craftman is from, what matters is the passion and experience he puts in his products.
And when a strap is a great strap it will cost. Sometimes 50 bucks, sometimes 70, sometimes 100, sometimes more. Price for a quality strap is almost the same all over the world, and trust me these are money well spent.

That said I agree with some of your arguments. A few strapmakers are way overpriced imho and I won't buy their stuff, some offer macchine made straps and tbh they are less value in my eyes.
But why are you willing to pay 300 USD for a rep when you could have the same model from aliexpress for 100? Because the ali one looks the same [/b]only from the distance[/b].
Trust me, buy a good strap, maybe a used one, and thank me later

 

[thermalboyz]

Dont let someone rob you! We are smart enough to dont give 10k for a logo!!

I have a feeling what you said here it's like "Homage is better than REP, why pay 200 for REP as you can buy Homage for 100" it's just the logo. There are lots of Homage brand making the same/similar design of particular brand. So, why not you buy a Homage instead of paying more for a REP?



Sent from my pigeon

 

[tysoosn]

Guys. I still cant believe you dont get me . Maybe my english is too bad rly .
----Price for a quality strap is almost the same all over the world, and trust me these are money well spent.------Trust me, buy a good strap, maybe a used one, and thank me later-------
The price is not the same in China and Italy. Because the worker in China for example work for 1$ per hour and in italy for 10$. It can never be the same. The quality can be the same but the price not!!! It can be same price if its machine made. Hand maded not!!! I will buy good strap but not for 200$ for sure!
And thermalboyz ? You want to talk about straps or watch reps now? Pls dont change the topic. Its interesting rly. I want to see how you people think. If the 100% same rap is 100$ i will buy that one! Why you buy from Ryan and others? Why you dont pay x3 from some other dealers for the same rep? We are talking about same quality here! The skin of the straps is 100% the same. Came from some Thailand farm with 50 000 crocos....

 

[JMS2016]

Lol and I never get the idea of buying a used strap? Like buying somebody's used shoes, any strap I get from a used watch purchase goes right in the trash.


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[tysoosn]

You dont get it. His idea was that I am poor guy who cant buy 200$ strap so maybe I can try some old one. I would never wear that too. Its natural material. All that sweat... Its like using used condom

 

[emdeevee]

OP, I understand what you're saying and economically speaking, you're right. Technically speaking, if two craftsmen on opposite sides of the globe make the same quality strap and the price is different, the reason is the the materials and/or labor prices were different (and markup from cost I'm sure is also at different %s), and all of the factors mentioned in this thread contribute to how different those prices were - craftsmen in italy cost more to employ than in thailand, even though the Thai strapmaker may have as much (or more) experience, and I'm going to make a wild guess that Thais can access materials that are as nice as Orloff in Italy can, it just depends on the price.

There was a great strapmaker here from Asia who made really awesome hornbacks for APs and his straps were definitely comparable to the European (or whereever else they may come from) straps.

The question I inevitably come up with is based on my belief that nothing beats a Gen strap (at least this is my experience with AP and PAM) - when the high end smaller maker straps (eg, Simona, Orloff) cost the same or more than a Gen strap, it's never been worth it to me. So I guess you and I may not be the best customers for those makers!