Life of a leather strap
Discussion
I have a Tag Carrera with a leather strap The original strap lasted me about a year and a half. I didn't want to buy an original strap as I thought £250 for a bit dead cow excessive so in November 2012 purchased one of these
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B003WAN9BM/ref=...
My fault but as I closed the clasp yesterday I folded part of the strap that covers the clasp from your wrist and it has split. Is a year and a half a usual life span? I wear it Monday to Friday every week.
A £34.95 strap is not going to break the bank I was just curious as to a usual life span. Or perhaps someone could suggest a better supplier of a similar strap.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B003WAN9BM/ref=...
My fault but as I closed the clasp yesterday I folded part of the strap that covers the clasp from your wrist and it has split. Is a year and a half a usual life span? I wear it Monday to Friday every week.
A £34.95 strap is not going to break the bank I was just curious as to a usual life span. Or perhaps someone could suggest a better supplier of a similar strap.
RichB said:
I always wear a leather strap because I don't like bracelets. I usually buy Hirsch and they last me about 3-4 years - that's with a deployant which puts less wear and tear than a buckle...
Likewise, I don't fancy a rubber strap. It is deployant not a buckle. Do you have a link? Do you wear it every day?
What was the instructions you got with it regarding getting it wet?
Do you shower with it on?
Maybe that might be the reason....
Some leather straps cannot be used too often in shower and wet environments, I bought a hand made/stitched strap about 12 months ago which categorically stated do not get wet or swim with it or shower with it....I must admit I have forgotten some times and showered with it on and got it soaked, having said that its still ok.
What was the instructions you got with it regarding getting it wet?
Do you shower with it on?
Maybe that might be the reason....
Some leather straps cannot be used too often in shower and wet environments, I bought a hand made/stitched strap about 12 months ago which categorically stated do not get wet or swim with it or shower with it....I must admit I have forgotten some times and showered with it on and got it soaked, having said that its still ok.
huwp said:
I'm currently trying a Hirsch Pure (rubber) on my Sub which at £35 I am very happy with.
+1 for Hirsch Pure, which is an extremely comfortable strap 
that's long-lasting too.Cotty said:
RichB said:
I always wear a leather strap because I don't like bracelets. I usually buy Hirsch and they last me about 3-4 years - that's with a deployant which puts less wear and tear than a buckle...
Likewise, I don't fancy a rubber strap. It is deployant not a buckle. Do you have a link? PJ S said:
+1.If you wear a strap every day, I wouldn't have thought you'd get more than 18 months out of it, without it looking very tatty.
I have Hirsch straps on most of the watches I have with straps. I use Hirsch deployants too, which can be fitted in place of a pin buckle on most of their range. Using a deployant will extend the life of the strap a bit, because you aren't mangling the part that the pin goes through.
Give WO a call, and they'll tell you which of their deployant range will fit which strap.
Cotty said:
Most of those use a buckle. There are a couple of deployants but it appears you need to buy their deployant. I just want the leather bits, I can use the Tag deployants.
I'm not familiar with the TAG deployant you have, but you need to be aware that lots of manufacturers deployants use 'unique' leather bits, so you can't fit their deployants to any old strap. It's a way of locking you into OEM replacements. Breitling and Omega deployant buckles spring to mind here.If you don't want to shell out the extra here for a deployant to go with your replacement strap (and the single fold Hirsch is only about £30 from memory) then just buy a standard pin buckle strap. You'll have saved the neck end of a couple of hundred quid compared with an OEM strap.
Just edited to add, looking at your original link, I can see that the TAG strap is non-standard. FWIW, any non OEM strap I've ever bought to fit an OEM deployant haven't been of the best quality, which is why I now pretty much stick to Hirsch. You know what you're getting - a recognisable brand, made with high quality materials.
Edited by Riff Raff on Thursday 14th August 11:33
Riff Raff said:
Just edited to add, looking at your original link, I can see that the TAG strap is non-standard. FWIW, any non OEM strap I've ever bought to fit an OEM deployant haven't been of the best quality, which is why I now pretty much stick to Hirsch. You know what you're getting - a recognisable brand, made with high quality materials.
The replacement has not actually failed yet and has so far lasted longer than the original strap that split in half. I thought I split the replacement but it has just folded badly and a bit sticks out the side. I would rather stick with the Tag closure so will just order the one in the OP link. My original question was how long do they last, but I think the answer is nearly a couple of years with regular use.
Riff Raff said:
Cotty said:
Most of those use a buckle. There are a couple of deployants but it appears you need to buy their deployant. I just want the leather bits, I can use the Tag deployants.
I'm not familiar with the TAG deployant you have, but you need to be aware that lots of manufacturers deployants use 'unique' leather bits, so you can't fit their deployants to any old strap. It's a way of locking you into OEM replacements. Breitling and Omega deployant buckles spring to mind here.
RichB said:
o, that's not the case with Omega. As I said in my post and link, I bought a Hirsch Modena strap. The Hirsch buckle easily comes off and the Omega deployant goes in its place in exactly the same way i.e. with the spring bar supplied. The only very minor point is that there is a hole in where the tang of the buckle used to pass through the strap. But then my watch is an Omega not a TAG...
I think my point still stands. The way the Omega deployant buckle works, as you say, leaves you with the cut out for the pin in plain view, if you don't use a genuine strap. You might be OK with that, but it would drive me bananas, especially if the Omega deployant is a gold one on a dress watch. It just looks wrong.
The cut out is still there if you use a Hirsch strap with a Hirsch deployant, but you can't see it because it's covered by the tail of the strap.
Riff Raff said:
I'm not familiar with the TAG deployant you have,]
its this onehttp://www.bernardwatch.com/item/TAG1026
Riff Raff said:
I think my point still stands. The way the Omega deployant buckle works, as you say, leaves you with the cut out for the pin in plain view, if you don't use a genuine strap.
Ah right, I see what you mean. In fact that doesn't bother me one bit because it's out of sight underneath my wrist. http://watchpart.co.uk/carrera-models-cv21-wv21-bl...
Bought these to use with on my Carrera with deployant.
Lasted much longer than thE OEM.
Bought these to use with on my Carrera with deployant.
Lasted much longer than thE OEM.
Cotty said:
I quite like that, not as much as the Crocodile-style leather. But I might get that next time to make a change.
They do croc as well:http://watchpart.co.uk/carrera-models-starting-cv2...
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