So it’s that time of the year again when I get to request a new strap for one of my many watches. What I really wanted was to finally wear my Gruen Precision, a similar model to the one Sean Connery had on when he first uttered the words “Bond. James Bond.” I’m a huge fan of the early movies – some of my best days as I child was when I was home sick from school watching Bond non-stop on VCR-cassettes that my father had recorded from the TV.
Unfortunately, my Gruen was missing a crown and as a new one was not on the horizon, I decided to re-strap my vintage Longines. Both watches invoke nostalgia in me – the Gruen because Bond was the man of my dreams during those formative years and the Longines because it once belonged to my father who died way too young.
I’d been wearing my Longines on a cognac Badalassi Carlo Wax strap for a couple of years, and while it was still holding up well to the test of time, I was never a fan of the green stitching. David, who wears bold straps like grey ostrich leg with bright yellow stitches and burgundy napa backing, often calls me boring, but I can’t help that I like brown leather where the string colour blends with the strap. I’m a hopeless traditionalist and I always go with the classic look if given the choice.
This time I landed on a midnight blue nubuck, even though ostrich, aligator, and snake were all in the offerings. We don’t sell too many nubuck straps but the ones we do come out beautiful with an understated elegance. It’s a really soft material so if you’re looking for a strap that’s incredibly comfortable to wear and will shape snugly around your wrist, nubuck is the perfect pick.
The deep blue leather and the gold of the watch look beautiful together and unlike my previous strap, this one has curved ends which works really well against the short lugs. It’s a small detail, but it’s very pretty how the strap follows the curvature of the watch, and as we say – the devil is in the details.
I don’t know yet how well my nubuck strap will age and whether it will deal well with stains. But I’m rather clumsy, so it’s only a question of time before I’ll find out.