Watch Gecko Alderbury Quick Release Horween Black Leather strap
October 17, 2018
In the epic film ‘The Princess Bride’ the Man in Black was confronted with kind but misguided Fezzik as played by the late great Andre the Giant. The choice was to be killed instantly with a large bolder hurled by Mr. The Giant or to fight him hand to hand ‘like God intended’. The choice was between instant death or a fair fight. This is what I like to call a no brainer. For those who saw the movie, we all known the man and black won by the treasonous but clever sleeper hold on the mighty but slightly non worldly Giant. That is neither here nor there when it comes to watch straps, but I felt I must finish the story in the name of completeness. Now, the strap I am reviewing this week is likewise a starkly obvious no brainer. This strap provides so much value, I will go on record as saying everybody reading this should buy one now. The value quotient is simply off the charts.
What I have to tell you about today is a strap made of genuine Horween leather from the legendary Chicago tannery, by a very reputable company who is known for making extremely well made and affordable straps. The combination as seen today in this review is available for the ridiculously low price of $18.40. Let that sink in. Less than 20 dollars buys you a strap made from some of the best leather in the country by a vendor that is universally known for making quality products. Cheap leather straps from other vendors often top 20 dollars. The fact that you are getting genuine Horween leather is nothing short of staggering. I hope I can convince you to try this strap as at this price they will NOT last long.
A few words from Watch Gecko on this particular strap taken from their website:
This is a superbly soft and supple genuine Horween leather watch strap. This strap features quick release (QR) spring bars and a sturdy brushed buckle making the strap is both easy to install and comfortable to wear.
We have used top-quality genuine Horween leather for the top leather and the lining, to ensure the best quality, feel and longevity.
DIMENSIONS
I had just finished a nice Seiko SNK809 mod and I wanted a nice black strap for it. So I ordered an 18mm strap. So all my dimensions are based on that strap (which is a good thing as at the time of this writing no 20mm straps are available). My strap came in at 17.9mm at the lugs and tapered to 16.1mm at the buckle and free end. It is a uniform 2.2mm thick along the length and mine measured 115/72mm in length on the free end and buckle end respectively. That means on my 6.75” wrist I am on the 4thto the last hole meaning that this strap will accommodate practically ANY wrist size with ease.
DESIGN
I am going to be honest here, this strap does not break any new ground design wise. It is a standard vintage style watch strap with whip stitches to secure the free end and lugs. This is not a knock of any kind, but rather a statement of fact. This watch strap adheres to standard design of a vintage styled watch strap. Aside from the nearly unbelievable price what makes this watch strap special is its ease of wearability, its deep embedded color and it’s attention to detail that make it worthy of mention on strapsense. I am happy to say just being laughably affordable is not this straps only trick.
This strap is made from Horween leather, which means you can expect near effortless comfort and wearability. If I could assign synonyms to Horween I want my readers to think when they see that name attached to a leather product that they are getting over a hundred years of tradition and knowhow in working with animal hides and can expect a level of quality that is almost guaranteed to exceed expectations. When you see Horween, you should be thinking words like craftsmanship, handmade, quality, detail, timelessness, and tradition. Watch Gecko has done a great thing with this strap in that they took high quality leather and made it available at a price for people who may have never been able to afford the price of entry for such high end leather. I will not attempt to fool you into thinking this is the best leather Horween offers, as that is not the case (that would be reserved for Shell Cordovan).
A wise watch reviewer once said you can judge a watch maker by its cheapest offering, I am sure I read that in a Hodinkee review of a Pateck Philleppe watch at some point, but the same goes for leather. If Horween deemed leather fit to be embossed with its name, you have something special. This strap bends and flexes with little to no effort. At about 2mm thick, its ability to conform to your skin and follow every single contour is remarkable and a welcome luxury. The strap has a nice taper that makes its simple design very elegant and suitable for a great many watches.
The under side of the strap is the same high grade leather as the top side. Under close examination the strap is constructed in a way that wraps around the spring bar. Very simple but elegant way of making a watch strap. The two layers are glued and stitched for durability. To finish things off, the strap sides are sealed in black to keep the leather from wearing and looking distressed.
The leather chosen has absolutely no pull up, which means when bent it retains all the color saturation and purity as the strap has at rest. If I run my fingernail across the leather it slightly loses its satin sheen but with one wipe of the finger the mark is gone. The leather is nearly void of any noticeable pore, and the finish is smooth to the touch but not slippery by any stretch of the imagination. As I said, before the underside could easily be the top side with the exception of the Geckota stamp and the Horween leather brand embossing on the leather.
KEEPER AND BUCKLE
The keepers are the standard one fixed and one floating variety. The keepers have no embellishments of any kind and are relatively thin and unremarkable. They do a fine job of retaining the strap and move with ease over the buckle end to secure the extra leather on the free end.
The buckle is stainless steel and slightly brushed. It is very thin metal and does a good job of balancing the strap and holding it very flat against the wrist. Often strap manufacturers overpower straps with huge obnoxious buckles which is a mistake Watch Gecko happily avoided.
HOW DOES IT WEAR
It should be no shock that this watch strap wears effortlessly. The strap practically melts around your wrist and its simple construction allows the watch to shine. The color is rich and even over the thin leather which provides a great back drop for a watch dial to exist. I have found that detailed or intricate watch dials (those with a lot of numbers or details or just about any chronograph) benefit from simple straps. This strap excels at being minimalist and allows the quality leather to be enjoyed while not competing for attention from the watch. Every time you buckle and unbuckle it the quality of the leather is apparent and the strap shines in its unobtrusive elegance.
The best way I can describe it as wearing a very nice shirt with a beautiful leather jacket over it. Even though the shirt must yield to the jacket you still feel like a million bucks for having a great shirt on. This strap while not fighting for attention from the watch, still gives you enough insight to its heritage to make you feel proud of wearing some of the best leather produced in this country and maybe the world.
WHAT IS IT GOOD FOR
If I had to put my finger on it, I would say this strap is made for smaller and thinner watches. It is closer to 2mm than 3mm and its delicate and flexible construction means it is made for older or smaller watches. Anything 38mm or smaller and in the daily wear or dress watch category I feel this is made for you. While only available in 18mm right now, I think that many smaller watches use this size and I must say it works amazingly well. I used this strap on a field watch Seiko mod and I cannot think of a better strap to capture what I was going for. This strap is available in dark brown, reddish brown and black which means that for any watch with 18mm lugs, this strap is a close to a must but as I have ever seen. Throw in the fact that it is made by Watch Gecko, a company known for quality at good prices and that this particular strap even gives you quick release spring bars and the value equation is quite simply unmatched in the market today, full stop.
WHERE CAN I GET ONE
The Watch Gecko Alderbury watch strap is only available at Watch Gecko online:
https://www.watchgecko.com/alderbury-horween-by-geckota.php#product-tabs=1
SUMMARY
I generally tend to avoid marketing phrases like ‘must buy’, but I have never seen so much quality and craftsmanship offered to the customer at this price. At less than 20 dollars, the combination of Watch Gecko and Horween is not something you will find anywhere else online anywhere period. If you have an 18mm lug width watch, You really do need to buy at least one of these straps. I am not getting paid for this, and Watch Gecko does not even know I am writing this. I write for my readers. I bought my Alderbury strap and I will buy another just to have as this price, it is THE best value strap on the market today. You will not find a better 18 dollar watch strap in the world today.
