Hi strap lovers, We’ve been so busy of late, I’ve not had a chance to make any new posts. So I wanted to add a couple of strap I made from my very good US based customer Syed for his BR03 blue Ceramic and BR03 Heritage. These latest Dangerous9straps are very unique for me and were a lot of fun to make. Here are the details:
Syed’s BR03 Blue Ceramic is a real beauty of a watch, but being all blue can be a bit of a challenge to match straps for. We have done several custom dyed blue American Alligator straps using our Swiss Hides Commando Grey American Alligator as a basis and it’s really worked out well. Swiss Hides is an OEM grade Alligator supplier and are under contract with many of the High-end Swiss watch manufacturers as well as ultra luxury leather goods manufacturers and which are guaranteed fully humane and Eco-friendly both in the way they raise there animals and all throughout the tanning process. The colors and overall quality of these skins are better that any American Alligator I’ve ever seen. Have a look at this slide show of my Swiss Hides Alligator skins . Here is a slide show of completed custom straps made from Swiss Hides skins for your review. Syed’s strap was belly center cut, from a very large alligator hide (the Alligator would have measured well over 6 feet and therefore wild caught instead of farmed) and the scales are very large and the center cut gives the straps a very unique look and is the choicest part of the belly portion. For Syed’s blue strap I hand mixed a special batch of dye using Navy Blue, Royal Blue and Black dye. The Royal Blue had the effect of toning down the tendency of the Navy toward a purple hue and the black really had the affect of darkening the blue with more grey overtones the dye mixture is then diluted to have it’s not too dark and I then a spent some time doing test samples to make sure the color is right. The testing ultimately has to be done on small pieces of the Alligator skin because using only leather won’t reflect the way the color will be absorbed into the Alligator. The result, I think, turned out nearly perfect and I’m very please with the final color. The strap was then hand saddle stitched using out Turquoise 4 ply waxed Irish linen thread, which I think will be a really nice match for the light blue dial markings of the BR03 Blue Ceramic. This strap was also edged using custom mixed dark blue edge paint that is about a perfect match for the blue Alligator. The result is one of my favorite strap I’ve completed in a while.
Syed’s second strap was made for his BR03 Heritage. Using our Desert Tan Ostrich Leg skin(one of my favorite colors). This strap is padded at the lugs, which believe it or not is a first for a Dangerous9strap for a BR01/BR03 style strap. Stitched in black 4 ply waxed Irish linen, and paired with our great looking Vintage style, flat sewn-in ‘D9‘ Buckle. The buckle has a really great matte PVD finish that I think will be a perfect match for the Heritage watch case and has a real vintage feel, which is perfect for the Heritage as well. Additionally this strap is edged with black instead of my usual brown for the Desert Tan Ostrich, in keeping with the black and Tan theme for the strap/watch combination. Notice on both of these straps, the Alligator is wrapped at the lug notches, which I’ve been doing for a while on all our BR01/03 and BR02 exotic skin straps and I think it give the strap a much more finished look. Both of these straps are also lined with our super soft and super strong and moisture resistant Australian Kangaroo lining that will add to the long service life and durability of these straps. Overall the care with which each of these straps are made, considering each design element and how they will compliment the watch to make a unified whole when mounted to the watch and finally on the wrist is what seperates a Dangerous9straps from any other custom strap maker and can never be available from a mass produced/off the shelf watch strap.
