Crafting your Leather Strap with Hermès

In this video will not talk about some mechanical aspect of watchmaking, but never the less talk about a rather important feature of your wristwatch: its strap!
You want to know how a leather strap is crafted? Well there's no better place to go than to visit Hermès leather workshop here in Switzerland to discover all the different stages it takes to manufacture by hand a single strap.

[@brewwatchco]

That was an excellent in depth look with Hermes! Great job!! Looking forward to your next video.

[@socrispy7114]

awesome. your youtube channel should be made into a television show!!!

[@WATCHESTVcom]

We're thinking of making a show...

[@wanderwithnicolai]

Thank you again for the excellence of the videos. Really interesting to see the other sides of watchmaking.

[@kevinlee5542]

www.amazon.com/dp/B076J6P162

[@richardryan499]

Fantastic variety of colours!

[@AkiraTano]

Always beautiful to see leather crafters perform their art.

[@WATCHESTVcom]

It is an art in itself!

[@kevinlee5542]

www.amazon.com/dp/B076J6P162

[@amintaslneto]

Great video as always! Hermes and Santoni lead the way in this field

[@Jess-P]

This was amazing!! Thank you for sharing!!

[@crunchblack1889]

Thanks for another fab video Marc. It's refreshing to see such hand made perfection. It's high time I swapped my Rolex strap for an infinitely more comfortable custom Hermes one.

[@WATCHESTVcom]

Custom made straps by Hermès, now that's pretty classy!

[@indiakilo6684]

Thanks! The last time I had a custom Hermes strap made (5 years back, for my Aquanaut 3800) the artisan included the following signed note: "It's really special to know you will be wearing something I made, completely by hand". Nice touch from an artisan, eh!

[@DevlReD13]

Great video Marc👏👏👏

[@noelmcdonagh3905]

Great video! Makes me love my Hermes cuffs even more - visual balance against my watch on my other wrist. Need to actually purchase Hermes watch straps. Their alligator is exception, unlike pretty much all the other brands sadly.

[@strapsguy882]

Very interesting ! Great job !

[@WATCHESTVcom]

Thanks a lot, happy you liked it!! Best to you

[@11ops11]

Wonderful video!

[@nunoteixeiradesign]

Great video *****

[@CluelessWatchCollector]

Superb video. Thanks. I would to hear and see you thoughts on Grand Seiko.

[@WATCHESTVcom]

A very good alternative!

[@azeezsodiq1657]

This interesting to come across this buetiful skills

[@miguelg1370]

Awesome, once again. If you have any extras, send them my way please :)

[@djangopat]

Interesting thank you

[@WATCHESTVcom]

Welcome!

[@xamlam]

Does anyone know where we can find the velodon ? Any ideas what this is ? she's talking about "velodon" something about 4:40 Thanks

[@valisechi2492]

Can you buy the straps separately for a non Hermes watch? I've read on a forum that not all boutiques will sell you one if you don't have a Hermes watch they can fit it on

[@WATCHESTVcom]

That is correct and the only other watch brand that uses them is Parmigiani Fleurier,

[@bunnylou4993]

Dana Carvey

[@SoCalFreelance]

Too bad we don't have smell-o-vision for the leather room

[@WATCHESTVcom]

Indeed smelled wonderful inside there!

[@transartcutie3165]

Omg I can only dream

[@fernandoorihuela1608]

Only bummer is to see that not all of it is truly hands made

[@samadrid6321]

Very interesting process. I love regular cow hide for straps, boots, belts and such, but no reptiles. I like snakes and other reptiles so don't like them on my body.

[@romeitaly8524]

Anyone know what the red material is called they use near the end of the final assembly or the name of the process that is happening Thanks

[@RogerRabbit-hd1hh]

What’s the timecode? I used to work for Hermès. I might be able to help you find the name.

[@Deezhan]

@@RogerRabbit-hd1hh what brand of paint and glue did you guys use? and did you use velodon interfacing for bags too, or another brand? thanks.

[@d96669b]

Oh wow, seems like they are using like 40% of the alligator leather. I wouldn't mind taking the other parts :D

[@jeffyoung4078]

That woman is like the Tim Gunn of leather

[@alicebradburn3070]

Does anyone know where I can find the metal tool they are using at 4:40?

[@stephenmaniloff8493]

I am a leather worker…..that leather tool is probably not available commercially, I suspect it is hand made by a metal smith…

[@louisgianfrancesco]

You can use a ruler instead and a bone folder to fold the edge over delicately. What they are using is a bit elaborate for a simple folded edge.

[@RogerRabbit-hd1hh]

I used to work for Hermès. You won’t be able to buy this. It’s most probably hand made specialy for these artisans. Most «gabarits» that we use are made on the fly when we need them. It’s probably just a thin layer of metal made to help shaping the strap.

[@brandonboyd_comedy]

Delugs does it better.

[@Crypto_369_Trader]

I am Vegan and there are other options But thank you for this inside look at leather accessories perfection

[@WATCHESTVcom]

Thanks for your comment and understanding.

[@juliosunga3530]

yeah that option is, shut the fuck up and stuff your mouth with a fistful of lawn trimmings.

[@blackout57]

we don't care that you are a vegan, get over yourself dude.

[@Offender666]

Here come the vegans...

[@aguspr3749]

In my opinion ABP straps are one of the best worldwide.

[@matthewainsley6103]

Handmade straps from a small company I can appreciate massively. Unfortunately, I do have a problem with companies such as this that mass produce. Efficiency is their main priority and as a result, so much machinery is involved and there is such an unbelievable amount of wastage. There is absolutely no skill involved in creating what people probably think of as a work of art. I do appreciate this video as it shows a different side to the industry. I think I will stick with buying from small, individual sellers.

[@mypeteskimo5307]

400$ for a Apple Watch band..... idk I’m not really feeling mine

[@faisalalmutairii]

so hermes is not handmade afterall..

[@joebailey3330]

It's farmed skin vegans

[@adaminsanoff]

They just talk what they do, instead of how they do.

[@TroubadourJuggernaut]

Impressive craftsmanship .... but sad to see such a small section of Aligator skin being used, what a waste , if it going to be used the whole skin should be used even if it means a lower price point for the area of skin that is not as flawless as the tummy.

[@Macca-95]

I highly doubt that the rest of the skin is simply thrown out given if that were the case why would one bother tanning it. It's probably merely used elsewhere.

[@RHelenius]

I assume Hermes just uses the best part, then sells the scraps...

[@mypeteskimo5307]

“Hand made” I see a machine also.....

[@nemanjadzepina]

Just showing you how hermes products are simple and how much the strap's really worth, like 10-20 dollars.

[@innocentoctave]

This is not true handmaking. There are quite a few processes here - such as the use of stamps - that replace hand-cutting, with the clear aim of speeding up production and deskilling the task so that it can be performed by a series of less skilled operatives, rather than a single craftsman. This is hardly surprising. Hermès make fashion watches, in relatively large quantities, and their main competition comes from other high-fashion brands such as Louis Vuitton and Chanel, rather than from pure watch manufacturers. Like other fashion items, they are subject to enormous markups, and are less valuable than their prices suggest. As the narrator points out, as watches they are nothing special. The brand has no real horological history. The watches are just platforms for the brand, like perfume or luggage. You can see a more completely handmade strap made here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rH2zZHqJoaubj9E

[@blackout57]

Using stamps is fine, it gives you a uniform look. It still an operation perform by an artisan. It's not like artisans are not using any machine.

[@pdelmercado]

That is sad. Hopefully somewhere there is an alligator making something as frivolous as a watch band from the skin of a Hermes employee.

[@1959Berre]

Who says he's a vegan? I eat meat, but I don't see the need to kill an animal just for fashion. You fucking moron.

[@LaLaLaReina]

They try really hard to hype up the hardwork, manual labor, done by artisan, effort, time, etc. to justify the price but I see their workers aren't as meticulous in making the straps. The glueing has some fold-up leather, the sewing is so inconsistent, the edging is also haphazardly done that it's spilling and some of the sewing has the edge paint too. Like I notice these things and I'm not even quality assurance team of any company, but these hermes staff don't? How disappointing. From what I see, the reason their production is low volume is because they have few employees compared to a mass production chinese factory. These hermes workers should be ashamed when called artisans.

[@JadedByEntropy]

yes, thank you. i make my own stuff, and i'm not half that sloppy. They used another white paint to mask the disastrous red trail but the strings soaked it up. The over-simple patterns they use don't justify the price either...its like beginner projects

[@DoraEmon-xf8br]

It might depend on the «subcontractor» and the contractors actually. I work as an artisan for one of Hermes‘ subcontractors, making bags, and if I showed these sloppy stichting and dying to my superior or the quality control, they’d probably just yell at me and send me back to my working bench to fix this. Actually, I wouldn’t even «try» to let this pass to the QC. This video is quite suprising to me when I compare to what they actually *demand* us to produce qualitywise.

[@Deezhan]

@@DoraEmon-xf8br what brand of paint and glue do you guys use? and do you use velodon interfacing for bags too, or another brand? thanks.

[@daedraq]

its sad that alligator is still a thing in the 21st century.... and four straps in exchange for one life. sad to see the watchmakers still take this route.

[@RoelfvanderMerwe]

daedraq they don't kill the alligator just for the skin. They get killed for their meat. The skin gets purchased afterwards so that it doesn't go to waste. It's the same with cows. They don't kill them simply for leather. The leather is just a nice product that can be made from the skin after we cut them up for steak haha

[@DKarkarov]

I know this is an old comment but .... this is hermes. Most strap makers will have no issue at all using most if not all parts of the alligator skin to make straps. Additionally if they can only get 4 straps from the center of the hide they are seriously not even trying. The hide she showed even center only could easily make 6 or 7 straps.

[@llgselement]

Karkar it doesnt make any sense why they wouldnt try considering if 6 or 7 starps was possible. It makes no sense economically

[@DKarkarov]

Sure it does, if your name is well known and associated with luxury, like Hermes. This means you can do the same work as someone else, but because it has your name on it, you can charge 2-3 times more. This is the watch industry, overcharging for luxury goods is expected.

[@gianpakasa]

But alligator skin in 2017....should be banned!

[@ahschornjesus]

but aligators are raised for food... and they're tasty

[@ahschornjesus]

but aligators are raised for food... and they're tasty

[@gianpakasa]

Sorry but anyway, i dont like and support the idea, and big brands like Hermes should take care more about this aspect.

[@ahschornjesus]

people don't like the idea of eating meat, do you eat meat still?

[@gianpakasa]

Like a Masai!