Behind the Leather: There’s More to a Watch Strap Than You Might Think
How much is there to know about a leather watch strap?
As the LBS team discovered during a recent visit to Eurofins in Northampton, quite a lot.
Leather watch straps have been at the heart of the LBS range for decades. Yet behind every finished strap lies a natural material with its own characteristics, properties and production processes.
Our team recently attended Eurofins' Understanding Leather course, where we gained a fascinating insight into the journey leather takes from raw material to finished product. We explored the differences between leather types, why their properties vary and some of the science involved in assessing the quality and performance of finished leather products.
For a team that works with leather watch straps every day, it was an opportunity to look beyond the finished product and discover just how much goes on behind the leather.
Not All Leather Is the Same
One of the most interesting parts of the course was learning more about the characteristics of different animal hides.
Leather isn't a uniform material. Its natural structure varies depending on the animal it comes from, and this can influence its grain, softness, strength, flexibility and appearance.
For example, calf leather is known for its relatively fine, smooth grain and supple feel, which helps explain its popularity for quality leather goods and watch straps. Cowhide tends to be thicker and more robust, making it particularly useful where durability is important.
Other hides have quite different characteristics. Goatskin, for example, can be relatively lightweight and supple while remaining durable, with a distinctive natural grain. Sheepskin is generally softer and lighter, giving it different qualities again.
Even hides from the same type of animal aren't identical. Age, breed and the individual hide itself can all have an influence, while tanning and finishing processes further change the appearance, feel and performance of the finished leather.
For a company supplying leather watch straps in a huge variety of styles, colours and finishes, understanding these differences is particularly valuable. It gave our team a greater appreciation of why choosing the right leather – and understanding how it has been processed – matters to the finished product.
One Hide, Different Characteristics
Perhaps one of the more surprising things we learned at Eurofins was that leather can vary even within a single hide.
Different areas of a hide have different fibre structures. The central and rear sections generally have a denser, more consistent fibre structure, while areas towards the belly tend to be softer and more prone to stretching.
The shoulder has different characteristics again and can display more of the natural creasing created by the animal's movement.
This means that where a piece of leather comes from on the hide can influence characteristics such as its strength, flexibility, stretch and appearance.
For the LBS team, it was a fascinating reminder that leather is a natural material. There can be variation not only between different types of leather, but also within an individual hide.
The Science Behind Leather Testing
Our visit also provided an opportunity to see some of the specialist equipment Eurofins uses to test leather and finished products.
Physical testing helps assess how a product is likely to perform during normal use. For a watch strap, that can mean looking at how well the material withstands repeated flexing, how resistant its colour is to light and whether rubbing – when dry, wet or exposed to perspiration – causes colour transfer.
This was particularly relevant to us because Eurofins BLC has also independently carried out selected physical performance testing on representative leather watch straps from the LBS range.
Five LBS watch strap samples were tested against selected requirements within the Eurofins – BLC Physical Testing Specification 2025 V1 – Watchstraps. Testing included light fastness, rubbing fastness under different conditions and flex endurance.
All five samples received a Comply result for the selected tests carried out.
The results provide useful fit-for-purpose and due-diligence evidence for the tested products and form part of our wider approach to product quality and compliance.
Building Our Knowledge of Compliance
Another important element of the course was compliance.
We learned more about the regulations, standards and testing requirements that sit behind leather products and why businesses throughout the supply chain need to understand them.
For LBS, this knowledge complements the work we are already undertaking around product testing and compliance.
Our recent watch strap testing is one part of that wider project. Rather than treating testing as a one-off exercise, we are working towards a structured testing and compliance procedure that helps us build appropriate due-diligence evidence across our ranges.
It's an ongoing process, but one that reflects the importance we place on understanding the products we supply and the standards expected within our industry.
Quality Goes Beyond the Finished Strap
As a trade watch strap supplier, it's easy to focus on the finished product. However, quality starts much earlier.
Understanding materials, manufacturing processes, testing and compliance helps us make better-informed decisions about the products we supply to our customers.
Our day at Eurofins gave the LBS team a much deeper understanding of leather and a greater appreciation for the expertise and science behind the products we work with every day.
A big thank you to the Eurofins team in Northampton for sharing their knowledge and making the Understanding Leather course such an engaging and informative experience.
For us, the visit wasn't simply about learning more about leather. It was another step in our ongoing commitment to product knowledge, quality and due diligence for the jewellery and watch trade.