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Best Third Party Leather Watch Bands

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benboy12

macrumors regular
Original poster
Apr 5, 2014
210
45
Hi All,

I preordered my S4 SS watch in silver. I am looking for a nice brown leather band to pair with it in an effort to dress it up for work. It seems like Apple only offers what I am looking for in the Hermes edition, which is around $330 and out of my price range. Can anyone recommend some high quality third party choices? I am not looking for the bottom of the barrel $15 Amazon band. I would like something nice, and am not afraid to spend a little bit of money. However, I would like to keep it in the $100-150 range.
 
Treebark

Treebark

macrumors 6502
May 24, 2010
308
173
Hopefully you’ll get more suggestions too as my wife and I both like leather bands, but some she has that are quite nice are from:

https://www.lucrin.com/apple/applewatch.htm?redirect=mage1

I still need to try one from there. Coach also has one: https://www.coach.com/coach-apple-w...int/W1542.html?dwvar_size=WMN&dwvar_color=B75 but I have not seen theirs in real life.

I have the field strap from pad and quill and it is one of my favorites. The Cordura on top of leather isn’t the style you said you were after but they have just leather bands as well. https://www.padandquill.com/field-strap-for-apple-watch.html
 
J

JSway

macrumors 6502
Sep 9, 2016
258
140
You could make your own in a sense. Source a high quality band from any site that is 22mm wide, and buy a Clockwork Synergy adapter. That’s what I did! Love the quality of the band.
 
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F

Farrellcollie

macrumors 6502a
Apr 23, 2011
704
364
I have the arrow and board simple brown leather band on my space gray aluminum 44 that I took from my series 3 42mm. It has held up well and I have had it almost a year. The leather on the simple band is a little thin but it has held up nicely. I also have a pad and quill one that is okay but to me it is not as comfortable and is a little more worn looking with some of the stitching starting to fray.
 
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S

Sword86

macrumors 6502
Oct 6, 2012
345
163
Farrellcollie said:
I have the arrow and board simple brown leather band on my space gray aluminum 44 that I took from my series 3 42mm. It has held up well and I have had it almost a year. The leather on the simple band is a little thin but it has held up nicely. I also have a pad and quill one that is okay but to me it is not as comfortable and is a little more worn looking with some of the stitching starting to fray.
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I just got my Arrow and Board band today. I chose the Porter band for the very reason I figured the ‘simple’ band might be a bit too thin. I also preferred how the Porter band is ‘doubled up’ and finished diferently as a result of that. The Porter band is a bunch more money however. I was taking a bit of a chance that the doubled up Porter band wouldn’t be too rigid. It seems fine. It makes me agree that the simple band just might be too thin, but as long as it stands up, great. That’s what counts. S
 
J

joe8232

macrumors 6502
Jun 21, 2005
252
15
I have multiple basandlokes.com leather and suede bands, they are excellent - can’t recommend them enough! They're based in Australia but shipping to the US was really quick.
 
B

batman75

macrumors 6502a
Apr 15, 2010
726
175
Greencardman said:
You can get one custom made for that price easy, with some really nice quality leather. An example here: https://www.choicecutsind.com/apple-watch-band/
Click to expand...

Personally I think these are too rustic for a tech device.

I like the Strapa. They have the high quality hand made leather. but with a more modern Italian look that suits the Apple Watch better.
wheelspinning said:
Wow thank you! Never heard of this company but the bands and reviews all look pretty great. Just ordered myself this one for my 44mm ss sb

https://strapa.com/products/crocodilus
Click to expand...

I have that band. it looks awesome. Especially if you have the SBSS as you can spec the Strapa with shiny black hardware to match the SBSS.

Strapa is the only brand that offers a choice of shiny or matte black and silver to match both aluminum and stainless steel finishes.
 
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T

Toonartist

macrumors 6502
Sep 19, 2017
459
433
Newcastle Upon Tyne
wheelspinning said:
Oh man, I actually liked the matte look better so hopefully it will still look good with my sbss. I wondered why they offered both options, didn’t even think of ss vs aluminium!
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You'll have to post a pic of it when you get it. Was looking at the same strap for my SSSB. I thought the matte black looked good as well!
 
Cnasty

Cnasty

macrumors 68040
Jul 2, 2008
3,336
2,106
Anyone find a good brown leather band to go with their 44mm GSS?

Love the look of a leather band and I am wearing my forest green leather loop daily but want to mix it up.

Thanks
 
techspinning

techspinning

macrumors regular
Jun 10, 2015
133
228
Brisbane, Australia
Thank you @batman75 for mentioning Strapa!

I placed my order on the 4th and received it yesterday the 10th in Brisbane and wow I am impressed! From the packaging itself to the band. All of those comments about this strap were spot on. I actually like the matte finish for the buckle for my AW4 SS SB and looks like it might actually show less scratches than the shiny one.

Sorry for the 9 pictures but I really love this band and wanted to try to show different angles.

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B

batman75

macrumors 6502a
Apr 15, 2010
726
175
wheelspinning said:
Thank you @batman75 for mentioning Strapa!

I placed my order on the 4th and received it yesterday the 10th in Brisbane and wow I am impressed! From the packaging itself to the band. All of those comments about this strap were spot on. I actually like the matte finish for the buckle for my AW4 SS SB and looks like it might actually show less scratches than the shiny one.

Sorry for the 9 pictures but I really love this band and wanted to try to show different angles.

img_0359.jpg
img_0360.jpg
img_0364.jpg
img_0365.jpg
img_0366.jpg
img_0367.jpg
img_0370.jpg
img_0371.jpg
img_0372.jpg
Click to expand...

Great pictures and I'm glad you like it. This really is the pinnacle of watch bands. I'll post my shiny hardware crocodiles when I get back from my travels next week.
 
staggerlee41

staggerlee41

macrumors 65816
Sep 25, 2017
1,072
1,057
Pittsburgh, PA
Another forum member recommended this brand and I have them a shot. I have a dark brown leather and gray suede from FFF. I can't say enough good things about the company or the product. There is no buckle, a single stud placed right up by the watch. The comfort is unbelievable.

https://formfunctionform.com/product/button-stud-apple-watch-band/

Follow their sizing guide it is spot on. Also, I had an issue with my suede band, it stretched out on me. I contacted them, explained the situation and they shipped me a replacement no questions asked. Had it in no time.
 
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