Popov Leather Watch Straps Discussions | Drop

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Jan 5, 2017

I got the Chromexcel 22mm in Driftwood with brown thread. I really like the style of the strap and the leather is very nice, but quality control could be improved. Digital calipers measured it at 21.75mm wide, 133mm for the long piece, 63mm for the short. It's handmade, so some variance is to be expected, especially as it ages. The strap does not taper, so I had to use the included satin finished buckle instead of my original.
+ Super supple! I don't consider it thin at all, but it may feel that way because of how flexible it is compared to a padded strap with liner and folded edges. It's actually thick enough that it was difficult to install on this watch whose springbar pinholes are located closer to the case than to the end of the lugs. It took a lot of muscling to position the springbar, and it left the strap wedged tight against the case. The gapless appearance makes it look well integrated, and the strap color coming in right between the tones of the dial and markers makes me very happy! It also feels comfortable and secure, and the keeper is appropriately snug.

. All of my other 'standard' length straps come in at 105-115mm for the long piece and 70-80mm for the short (except straps/bracelets meant for folding clasps instead of the standard buckle and tang). So the Popov's long piece is longer, and short piece is shorter, than what I'm accustomed to. The consequences:

The left side is buckled at the 6th hole (out of 8 holes total). At this smallish wrist size, the buckle is centered below the wrist, but the tongue rides all the way up the other side, and the keeper is needed on the outside to stop it from flapping.
The right side is buckled at the 3rd hole. At this averagish wrist size, the buckle is well off center, closer to the outside of the wrist along with the keeper. This bothered me at first: having the hardware exposed like that goes against the symmetry and discretion of most dress watches. But I had intended to dress down this specific watch, and I've grown fond of this positioning as a deliberate style choice and not a design flaw.
-- Something else to note in those side views is that my particular strap doesn't form a cylinder when buckled in; the long piece is bowing out, making it more like a funnel. That is caused by the misaligned folding and stitching.

The tip of the ruler is parallel to the edge of the fold, but the strap deviates away from perpendicular. If it was only the stitching that was uneven, I wouldn't mind so much. But because the fold is slanted, the rest of the strap is forced off-axis. It's not as bad on the wrist, but still apparent when you look for it. And every time I remove the watch, I'm reminded again because the the pull up marks left by the buckle is indented at an angle as well.
Reading other comments here, I see I'm not alone in receiving a bum strap. Obviously I don't expect robotic consistency throughout production, and variation is part of the handcrafted charm. While it's good that the maker stands behind his work, what happened when he was standing in front of it? Since these are handmade, someone must have looked at each finished article and decide "eh, good enough."
I like it enough to keep using it since it turned out so pretty, and I'm fascinated by scratching the leather and then rubbing till the mark disappears like magic. And I'll still consider other Popov products in the future.