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The Great "Third Party Band/Strap" Thread

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mhoutman

mhoutman

macrumors 6502
Feb 8, 2016
498
254
IphoneIssues said:
Applied a coat of leather conditioner to each of my leather loops.

Actually noticed a spot on my beige one that looked a bit distressed. Might mean trouble down the line. Looks slightly better now with the conditioner applied, so who knows.

Will check them out in the morning :)
Click to expand...

always be very careful with applying any conditioner or grease on straps.

Always be careful with leather applicants..that said I applied some Collonil Premium Leather Polish on my British Tan Pad & Quill classic band and at once it became much more vivid. A bit more shiny, darker and richer.....:)
 
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IphoneIssues

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Dec 30, 2010
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mhoutman said:
always be very careful with applying any conditioner or great on straps.

Always be careful with leather applicants..that said I applied some Collonil Premium Leather Polish on my British Tan Pad & Quill classic band and at once it became much more vivid. A bit more shiny, darker and richer.....:)
Click to expand...


Be careful how? As far as I know, the only thing you shouldn't do is leave excess on the strap.
 
I

IphoneIssues

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Dec 30, 2010
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Checked the loop. Feels slightly softer. More shine to them. The both of them actually still do smell different, which I didn't expect to change. I'm not saying one smells like leather and the other doesn't. There's just two slightly different smells between them.

First time actually wearing the tan one. Really digging it:

ZonjH4Sl.jpg


Just applied a coat to my cuff/double tour. Darkened a little, which is pretty cool :)

Red loop on the way, since it seems like I can trust this seller. That might complete the set. Don't think I'm going to want any other colored loops. Maybe a lighter blue one, but there's no desire for it right now.

Got a really arrowandboard tannish-orange leather band coming in any day now. Probably won't bother coating that one, as I don't want the color to change at all.
 
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xDKP

xDKP

macrumors 68020
Feb 27, 2011
2,485
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Denmark
IphoneIssues said:
Red loop on the way, since it seems like I can trust this seller. That might complete the set. Don't think I'm going to want any other colored loops. Maybe a lighter blue one, but there's no desire for it right now.
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Looks awesome - I still haven't found a good one - could you send a link?
 
I

IphoneIssues

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Dec 30, 2010
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xDKP said:
Hmmm... I have a black and blue now.. Maybe black and the beige?
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Alrighty. I asked specifically because this guy sometimes scatters his loop listings, and you end up having to fish around his page to find certain colors. Was going to save you the trouble.

Looks like he's got them all in one page this time: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Genuine-Lea...hash=item58cad2a166:m:m-d8qKQFEcbCqCuYDR25rNA

Just know that he's not really in the US. He's in China. Took a week to 10 days for my deliveries.
 
mhoutman

mhoutman

macrumors 6502
Feb 8, 2016
498
254
IphoneIssues said:
Be careful how? As far as I know, the only thing you shouldn't do is leave excess on the strap.
Click to expand...

As with shoes, each kind of leather needs a specific treatment. My advise: always test first on a small piece and never you too much as it will soak the leather...
 
Tsuchiya

Tsuchiya

macrumors 68020
Jun 7, 2008
2,310
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Ever completely dismiss something then later on you come across it again and suddenly it's massively appealing? Just happened to me and the SS Link Bracelet. That being said, I'm not willing to part with £379 for my very own. Anyone in the UK have one of those HOCO bands? How do they wear over time?
 
xDKP

xDKP

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Feb 27, 2011
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Tsuchiya said:
Ever completely dismiss something then later on you come across it again and suddenly it's massively appealing? Just happened to me and the SS Link Bracelet. That being said, I'm not willing to part with £379 for my very own. Anyone in the UK have one of those HOCO bands? How do they wear over time?
Click to expand...

I have had a HOCO SS Link (Black) and now the MoKo SS Link (Black again)... Have wrote a bit about it here LINK 1 and here LINK 2 It's by far my preferred band - makes it look very very premium and nice... I've been wearing Oyster-links for most of my classic automatic watches, so might be because of that
 
Tsuchiya

Tsuchiya

macrumors 68020
Jun 7, 2008
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xDKP said:
I have had a HOCO SS Link (Black) and now the MoKo SS Link (Black again)... Have wrote a bit about it here LINK 1 and here LINK 2 It's by far my preferred band - makes it look very very premium and nice... I've been wearing Oyster-links for most of my classic automatic watches, so might be because of that
Click to expand...

The recommendation is much appreciated, there are so many 3rd party options that it can be hard to know which to pick. I've ordered a Moko from Amazon and seen a couple of reviews online. Can't wait for it to arrive :D
 
I

IphoneIssues

macrumors 65816
Dec 30, 2010
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Lnkoo Red loop got delivered today. That might complete my loop collection. Got more black bands than any other color, so I don't have the desire for a black loop. Recommend these loops for people looking for 3rd party loops. Haven't experienced defects, magnets are strong.

Feeling the texture of the bands, the blue one is softer than the tan one, not by much, and the tan one is softer than the red one. Difference between the blue and red is more noticeable. I applied a coat of leather conditioner to the blue and tan loops last week. I tried to be conservative with the tan loop, because the conditioner was the same color as the loop, so it was hard to see.

Going to apply another coat to the tan and blue loops, as well as the first coat on the red loop tonight. This might really end up making the difference as to whether they will last or not.

xNqR2Kgl.jpg


on-wrist shot:

6313Resl.jpg



ZhenyaF said:
So after wearing my Inkoo leather band on and off since October, 3 magnets are protruding from the side, rendering it useless
https://flic.kr/p/DFi4Dd

https://flic.kr/p/EuNavk
Click to expand...

Awful. Wonder how that happened.
 
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IphoneIssues

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Dec 30, 2010
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PackyP said:
I really like that red InKoo band. Mine is on its way.
Click to expand...


Hope yours arrives in one piece, as mine did.

With all the complaints in that 3rd Party Leather Loop thread, I almost thought I shouldn't get anything other than the official ones.
 
studIOS5

studIOS5

macrumors 6502a
Oct 14, 2011
523
111
Oregon, OH
Just got ahold of what I beleive to be a 3rd gen link clone. I love the band and it is by comfortable. I have one small gripe and wanted to get everyone's opinion about my plan to fix it. On one side, there are small groves in the connecting link that attaches to the watch (pretty noticeable in some lighting). Do you think if I got a grey scotch brite pad I could smooth out the surface near the connectors so it wouldn't look like this while retaining the same brushed look of the rest of the band?
 

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Binarymix

macrumors 65816
Nov 1, 2007
1,134
382
studIOS5 said:
Just got ahold of what I beleive to be a 3rd gen link clone. I love the band and it is by comfortable. I have one small gripe and wanted to get everyone's opinion about my plan to fix it. On one side, there are small groves in the connecting link that attaches to the watch (pretty noticeable in some lighting). Do you think if I got a grey scotch brite pad I could smooth out the surface near the connectors so it wouldn't look like this while retaining the same brushed look of the rest of the band?
Click to expand...

They are indentations left from the stamping/punching process. Nothing you can do about it.
 
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IphoneIssues

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Dec 30, 2010
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Little update on the loops. The red one has received two coats of conditioner now. First one didn't do much, but after the second one, it does feel softer.

The stone one has received two now, as well. It's softer than before, but it just doesn't quite feel as soft as the red one or blue one. Maybe it's me.
 
MonikaFrellstedt

MonikaFrellstedt

macrumors newbie
Feb 21, 2016
11
23
Germany
iBighouse said:
Got my Black Forest band from Etsy! Very nice detailing and quality. The adapters fit perfectly! (Though they catch some black reflection and don't look tight in the attached photo.)

In addition to the band, they threw in a second watch keeper with the swiss "+" on it- and I asked for only a plain keeper without the extra symbol! AND...they threw in a second band replacement for the non-buckle side that contained even more detail stitching at the tongue end.

I have to say, the customer service from Andreas Truong (who posts in this forum) was exemplary! I asked to have the watchband made without the adapters as I had recently purchased them separately. He went so far as to make a special listing on their website for me at a slightly discounted price from the standard band price. That's great customer service! And, here's the bonus part...my band arrived WITH SS adapters installed!

Kudos to Black Forest and Andreas Truong. You've got a returning customer for sure here. If this is typical from Black Forest Atelier, I can only highly recommend them for their product quality AND customer service.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/BlackForestAtelier?ref=shop_sugg

View attachment 570004 View attachment 570011
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[doublepost=1457057894][/doublepost]Hey dear, how long did take the shipment to you? I have a rose gold apple watch 42 :) and i have purchased a pink ostrich leather for 3 weeks but still not recieved it yet. The coversations with him is quite good and he also provided me the tracking number. Just ask your experience about that.

Thanks!

Btw, I am really excited to recieve it :)

Have a nice day
 
Dino F

Dino F

Suspended
Sep 16, 2010
4,515
3,404
Croydon, South London, UK
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