I just received this split double tour watch band from Arrow and Board.
Materials: The leather feels like great quality. The band has a very handcrafted look (which, in fact, it is). Solid stitching, excellent craftsmanship. The adapters fit into the watch well and the buckles feel heavy in a substantial way but are thin enough not to get in the way. The biggest downside of the leather is that the back of the strap is not smooth and in fact is downright rough when you first get it on. After a full day of wear it started to get more comfortable/less scratchy so I think once it's fully broken in this won't be an issue, but prepare yourself for a short break-in period.
Colors: You can buy this band in black, whiskey brown (darker than chestnut), chestnut brown (pictured), or desert tan (light). You can choose silver adapters or black. The buckles/loops come in either silver, black, or antique brass. To best match the rose gold watch, I chose black adapters and the antique brass buckle and loops. I think the color match is pretty good; the black adapters compliment the black screen of the watch and the antique brass buckle and loops are less jarring than silver. A black buckle and loop probably would have worked well, too.
Sizing: My wrist is 170mm and I wear the S/M sport band on the last or second to last hole. Arrow and Board recommends that wrists above 165mm get a M/L strap so that's what I got. That sizing feels fine when worn with the entire strap to one side of the watch.
It feels half an inch too long when worn as a cuff, but given the length of the slit down the leather, I think a band smaller than M/L would have left too little room for my wrist.
(I actually took one of my cheap knockoff double tour bands in size S/M and split it with an exacto knife because I loved the look of this watch band so much and because of the way the band folds around/through there's just sliiiightly too little space for me on the knockoff band when it's worn in cuff-like form. tl;dr: M/L is the right size for my 170mm wrist.)
Overall impressions: I bought this band because I was looking for a high-quality leather band with a unique look, and I think this was a mission accomplished. Because of the split double tour, you can wear this two ways: either with both sides of the split on one side of the watch or with the watch in between the splits. The former is my favorite look, although the later gives you a nice cuff-like feel without evoking Hot Topic. I initially had an issue with the split double tour portion of the band slipping under the watch and disconnecting it, but then I looped the band such that the wrap around went over the back half of the strap instead of under, and that solved the problem.
More pictures: http://imgur.com/gallery/wDxhX
Links: http://arrowandboard.com/collections/watch-straps/products/applewatchstrap-doubletoursplit-chestnut
https://www.etsy.com/shop/ArrowandBoard
Materials: The leather feels like great quality. The band has a very handcrafted look (which, in fact, it is). Solid stitching, excellent craftsmanship. The adapters fit into the watch well and the buckles feel heavy in a substantial way but are thin enough not to get in the way. The biggest downside of the leather is that the back of the strap is not smooth and in fact is downright rough when you first get it on. After a full day of wear it started to get more comfortable/less scratchy so I think once it's fully broken in this won't be an issue, but prepare yourself for a short break-in period.
Colors: You can buy this band in black, whiskey brown (darker than chestnut), chestnut brown (pictured), or desert tan (light). You can choose silver adapters or black. The buckles/loops come in either silver, black, or antique brass. To best match the rose gold watch, I chose black adapters and the antique brass buckle and loops. I think the color match is pretty good; the black adapters compliment the black screen of the watch and the antique brass buckle and loops are less jarring than silver. A black buckle and loop probably would have worked well, too.
Sizing: My wrist is 170mm and I wear the S/M sport band on the last or second to last hole. Arrow and Board recommends that wrists above 165mm get a M/L strap so that's what I got. That sizing feels fine when worn with the entire strap to one side of the watch.
It feels half an inch too long when worn as a cuff, but given the length of the slit down the leather, I think a band smaller than M/L would have left too little room for my wrist.
(I actually took one of my cheap knockoff double tour bands in size S/M and split it with an exacto knife because I loved the look of this watch band so much and because of the way the band folds around/through there's just sliiiightly too little space for me on the knockoff band when it's worn in cuff-like form. tl;dr: M/L is the right size for my 170mm wrist.)
Overall impressions: I bought this band because I was looking for a high-quality leather band with a unique look, and I think this was a mission accomplished. Because of the split double tour, you can wear this two ways: either with both sides of the split on one side of the watch or with the watch in between the splits. The former is my favorite look, although the later gives you a nice cuff-like feel without evoking Hot Topic. I initially had an issue with the split double tour portion of the band slipping under the watch and disconnecting it, but then I looped the band such that the wrap around went over the back half of the strap instead of under, and that solved the problem.
More pictures: http://imgur.com/gallery/wDxhX
Links: http://arrowandboard.com/collections/watch-straps/products/applewatchstrap-doubletoursplit-chestnut
https://www.etsy.com/shop/ArrowandBoard
