Today, we look at leather smartwatch straps, and there’s a lot to get through. If you love the look and smell of high-quality natural leather, I’ll discuss that and what’s out there. Suppose your fashion sensibilities align more with PETA. In that case, we’ll go over the types of plant-based and lab-made “leathers,” including that toxic mess you unbox and are bombarded with a chemical smell. There’s a fix for that. You may still want to avoid it, though.
Barton watch bands vs. Online and mall cart ‘cheapies’
Footballs and polyurethane hauls
I purchased my first Barton watch bands for an Apple Watch and Mobvoi’s TicWatch Pro 3 four years ago. One is a beautiful Racing Red Horween leather band. Today, you’ll find it on Barton’s site for $53. At the time, I caught a solid sale and copped it for $36.75. For this article, I bought a $15 “leather” watch strap for the Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 from Amazon, but I’ll leave out the manufacturer’s name.
How do you find high-quality leather smartwatch bands, regardless of cost? The devil is in the details. Look at Barton’s product listings versus those you see on some listings on Amazon.
You’ll see that some Amazon listings have titles like “OOFLAMBOLIO leather watch strap for Galaxy Watch 7 40/44mm,” yet when you read the description to see if it’s the one for you, leather is not mentioned. Now, look at a leather watch strap on Barton’s site. The description tells you what kind of leather it is by its grade or the tannery it’s sourced from, like my Racing Red Horween leather band.
Horween is the name of an actual leather tannery located in the US in Illinois. Horween Leather Company has been in the leather business since 1905, with one of its claims to fame being that, early on, they teamed up with Wilson to provide the leather for footballs for the NFL. They produce top-grain and full-grain leather for retailers, which are the two highest grades, though that can be subjective and is more dependent on the tannery from which the retailer sources its leather. Where Barton’s product descriptions don’t include “Horween” in the product title, they’ll tell you whether the band is made of top or full-grain leather.
The issue with the lack of a description of the materials in those amusingly named “leather” products on Amazon is that they’re often made from synthetic materials. That alone isn’t bad as they offer a great cost alternative if your wallet’s currently riding the struggle bus. The problem is that sometimes, when they arrive, you unbox them, and they have a strong chemical smell.
Synthetics may be less expensive and more water-resistant. However, they’re generally less durable and may crack or rip at the lugs if you get caught on something accidentally (see the Amazon review screenshot below), or that chemical smell may be a sign that carcinogenic PFAS was used in their production. Because they’re embossed or stamped, they often have authentic-looking leather grain patterns, but they won’t develop a beautiful patina or soften over time like genuine leather.
Depending on what you’re looking for, be sure to scrutinize product descriptions closely. Even then, things aren’t always what they seem. Remember “Italian Leather?” A grade of leather prized for its high quality by luxury fashion houses in Italy and France. It wasn’t Italian. It was the product of Southern Nigerian producers who sold their hides to Northern Nigerian tanneries, who then sold their products to European fashion houses who marketed them as “Italian.”
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Finding your fashion-forward favorites
Au natural!
The first thing to consider if you go the natural leather route is the quality of the leather. Leather quality is categorized for consumers this way (from highest to lowest grades):
- Full grain leather
- Top grain leather
- Split-grain leather
- Genuine leather
- Bonded leather
Full grain is the least processed and closest to the natural animal hide, while top grain has been processed minimally to smooth out the hide. This may get rid of blemishes or brands. Where watch straps are concerned, the most fragile of the grains above is split grain. It’s often suede and requires you to be more mindful of how you treat it. It’s not necessarily something you want on a watch band.
Technically, some leather workers recognize top grain as a split grain because the topmost layer has been removed. However, for consumer knowledge, the list I’ve given is generally what’s marketed. Split-grain is a higher-grade version of genuine leather, though the latter can be used as a catch-all phrase for all types of leather, so it can get confusing.
Bonded is human-made “Franken-leather.” It mixes genuine leather scraps and faux leather. Know what you’re buying because bonded leather is more like a fast-fashion product. It is only here for a good time, not a long time. It doesn’t hold up well over time and may contain PFAS.
The vegan way: Going plant-based
Vegan leather may be made from polyurethane and is a favorite of your friends at PETA. If that’s your thing, please look at products using modern, innovative, sustainable materials instead of polyurethane.
You can find retailers selling products made from cork, apple peels, and other fruit waste. You can even find some sustainably-minded designers using pineapple leaves or nopal, which in English is prickly pear cactus (see the Hublot image above). Saving animals is admirable, but let’s avoid plastics where possible. Unlike plant-based products, they often wind up in landfills for centuries.
PU Leather, aka Pleather
The “PU” in PU Leather, aka “Pleather,” doesn’t mean it stinks (#DADJOKE). It does stink sometimes, but the pleather strap I purchased from Amazon for this article doesn’t have a chemical smell unless you put your nose on it. If you’re someone who “runs hot,” be aware that pleather doesn’t breathe well, if at all. You’re basically strapping a plastic bag onto your wrist, albeit a fashionable one. What do you do when your PU leather does stink? Here are some tips to help you neutralize the odor:
- Use baking soda or baking powder. Place your strap in a Ziploc bag overnight with a healthy helping of baking soda. In the morning, clean it off and wear it to your heart’s content.
- Use ground coffee. Take the same steps recommended with baking soda.
- Test a 50/50 mixture of vinegar and water on a small spot on the band. If it doesn’t stain or discolor, wipe the band down with a rag dampened with the mixture. Wait about ten minutes, then wipe it down again with a damp cloth, water only.
Your skin is your largest organ. Consider what you have sitting on it. You can go down the Google rabbit hole, but polyurethane and PFAF are becoming synonymous, and for items you’ll be wearing, use caution. It’s one thing to have PU shoes, where you’ll wear socks between your feet and the pleather, but a watch band with potentially toxic chemicals sits against your skin.
Strapped for cash?
You can still be fashionable!
There’s so much more to get into. Do you want alligator? It’s a beautiful pattern! How about your hardware? Gunmetal gray? Nickel-plated? Rose gold? Or, maybe you want a new band for your Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra. Barton isn’t the only quality smartwatch strap retailer. I have more favorites, but we’ll get to a list of those another time.
One thing I love about fashion is that the possibilities are endless, and this article scratches the surface. We’re giving you the basics, so you have a good foundation for picking whatever piques your interest. Fashion-forward doesn’t have to break the bank. I never pay full price for my Nike shoes because I know how to shop, and I hope I’ve given you the tools to pick quality products at affordable prices.