I love both greys and greens on the Explorer, so a custom grey-green dye was always going to be worth trying.
It didn’t quite start out that way, though. This strap is one of the many experiments along the way while trying to develop a custom grey. I’m always chasing a neutral slate grey, which can be surprisingly difficult to achieve when dyeing cow, roo or calf, all of which have a naturally magenta base.
Getting to slate grey often means introducing greens and yellows to find the right balance. Sometimes you go a little too far, as I did here.
That said, this tone has a nice mix of ruggedness and modernity. Perfect for a versatile daily watch like the Explorer.
Look a little closer and you’ll notice ive combined two elements not normally seen together: accent stitching with padding. Normally, I'd pair accent stitching with a flat strap, or use padding on a strap with stitching running all the way down the sides. I really like this result, even if it's a little unconventional.
The padding also makes the strap wear a bit stiffer, so it feels more stable on the wrist than a slim, flat strap.
Here’s where the deployant clasp comes in. Normally, I'd pair a minimalist style strap like this with a buckle just to give it a nice subtle touch, but I've been enjoying these butterfly deployant clasps quite a bit recently, particularly on thicker, stiffer and padded straps in particular.
The rigidity of harder leathers can make bending and manoeuvring the strap through the buckle and keepers difficult, particularly during the first few weeks of wear. And while it's not of major structural importance, repeated bending will eventually take its toll on the edge paint at certain points.
A deployant clasp avoids much of that repeated bending. As you'd expect, it works much like a clasp on a bracelet, allowing you to put the watch on and take it off without having to continually contort the strap. It also helps preserve the shape, finish and edges of the leather over time.
Strap specs:
Custom grey-green cow leather - padded + curved ends
Black kangaroo lining
Off-white accent stitching
20/16mm
115/80mm
