How long should a leather watch strap last?

Firstly, like anything in life one tends to get what one pays for. The old saying of ‘buy cheap buy twice’ is without a doubt true. With leather watch straps, however, the opposite can also be true. If you pay a high price for a leather strap or choose one or two of the high-end brands, it does not mean that it will last a long time nor even longer than an inexpensive watch strap. Research, reviews, budget, About Us and good old-fashioned gut feelings should be strong factors in the decision-making process when choosing which watch strap to buy and how much to spend.

The second part of the longevity question over leather watch straps is how they are used and worn. An occasion use dress watch worn at the weekend only will of course last considerably longer than a daily used watch strap. The opposite is understandably true also. The person who wears a watch strap every day, all evening, and sometimes in bed too should not be surprised if it needs replacing after a year or so.

Before considering longevity factors further, it is important to remind ourselves what leather is. In a word, it is skin! It is animal skin that has been treated to create a suitably finished leather for use in watch straps. But it is still skin. Skin and leather are natural materials that are porous. They have thousands of holes that can trap and retain moisture from hand-washing or perspiration. When a leather watch strap gets wet or sticky underneath, we advise it be removed from the wrist and allowed to dry naturally. This process can take several hours depending on the time of year, temperature etc.