Watch Strap Search

Those of you who have read my watch collection posts know how important it is to me to find the right strap for each watch. Sometimes I end up making compromises, but I find that when I do so, I end up not wearing certain watches as much.

One such watch is this Tudor that I spent a fair amount of money to have repaired a couple of years ago. It takes a 19 mm wide strap, which is an uncommon size. The strap on this watch is just a cheap one I found somewhere (maybe Target?), and it's not very pleasant to wear, so I set the watch aside and forgot about it for a while.

Recently I remembered that I'd wanted to find a nicer strap for this watch, so I started looking around online at all the various watch strap sites I'd bookmarked. Very few even carry 19 mm straps, and those that do have a slim selection. Also I want something very specific: black leather with little or no grain, with matching stitching. Many of my watches have straps with white or colored stitching, but I thought that style wouldn't look as good on the Tudor.

I thought of trying some local stores, but was having no luck that way either until today. I had lunch with the Proper Bostonian, who afterward wanted to look at jewelry at downtown mainstay E.B. Horn. I spotted a nice, plain strap in tan and almost bought it, but I asked if it came in black and was told it did, and it could be ordered. At this point what's another couple of weeks?