Reply With QuoteCongratulations Justin
That looks beautiful work, and I can imagine the satisfaction of having something made to such an exacting standard.
The 123 Military looks great on it
Dave
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It must take a certain perversity for a chap to go to the trouble and expense of commissioning a bespoke item, only to remove his personal desires and aesthetic considerations from the process and instead follow a prescribed path at every turn. I have done this twice.
The first occasion involved a century-and-a-half old umbrella maker, the ghost of Patrick Macnee, and the need for a tight furl. The second occasion involved a safely-returned prodigal watch that came from the factory on a quite particular strap that is no longer produced. The result arrived on my doorstep last week.
The watch in question is my Bell & Ross 123 Military Type. Produced as a limited edition, the watch was originally supplied with a very handsome leather bund strap, courtesy of messrs Camille Fournet in Paris. Up to this point, I have been happily wearing the watch on a couple of different leather straps, including another that I had made especially for this watch.
But I took a notion over the summer that I would like to return the Military Type to its former bunded glory. This proved to be unexpectedly challenging. There does, if anything, appear to be a good range of bund straps on the market these days - none, however, without some pea-sized issue for your humble author’s princessy sensibilities.
Some bund pads were too broad. Some too narrow. Some tapered too energetically round the curve of the case; others too languidly. Some were too smooth, others too grainy. Some too chocolatey, others too caramelly. Some had those godawful metal rivets at the lugs while others - horror of Etsy horrors - had inboard lug stitching. No, I needed a leatherworker if I was going to have any semblance of what I was after.
To be fair, at this stage I could have had CF make me something up. I am a tremendous fan of their straps, and even at £300 apiece I believe them to be exceptional value, such is the quality. But I wanted to try an alternate, for change’s sake, and after dispatching a couple of initial enquiries I quickly settled on David Richards, “The Strap Tailor.”
I was able to recreate the templates of the OEM bund for Richards to work with, and on his advice took a “natural” Horween, among around a dozen finer points of specification over and above the two-dimensional template (the forest green edging proving a highlight). One area where I did defer to Richards’s view and depart the original design was in having the pad keepers sown unto the pad rather than slit into it. “They cheated,” had been his view on the original.
With the spec agreed and an embarrassment of emails mapping out my every predetermined “decision”, I had not just a fine metaphor for freewill in a late-consumerist western society, but also the pleasant twang of anticipation as I settled down for the four-week turnaround. And finally, at about twice the advertised wait time, it’s here. I’m rather pleased with the results and would echo the praise that Richards has enjoyed from others of this parish. A few pictures to finish with….
Congratulations Justin
That looks beautiful work, and I can imagine the satisfaction of having something made to such an exacting standard.
The 123 Military looks great on it
Dave
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Thanks Dave, not quite the configuration-stakes of your Dornblüth, but good fun and a very pleasing result all the same.Originally Posted by helidoc
Wait till I have to ask the personal engraving question!
It’s good to have a recommendation for something bespoke, although it must have taken willpower to resist Camille Fournet. Good choice though
D
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Well that’s nothing short of perfect. Congratulations. I have one of David’s straps (not bespoke of course) and it’s lovely (pic below). Am hunting for a bund myself - may I ask what yours cost (roughly of course, just ballpark)?
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Really appreciate the artisanship in that. Like a truly bespoke suit.
Looks great.
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I really like that green! Will drop you a line :)Well that’s nothing short of perfect. Congratulations. I have one of David’s straps (not bespoke of course) and it’s lovely (pic below). Am hunting for a bund myself - may I ask what yours cost (roughly of course, just ballpark)?
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