Atelier Del Sur Shell Cordovan Burgundy Watch Strap
March 5, 2019
There are few things as relaxing at the end of a hard day as a nice class of red wine. Even the deep color and complex smell beckon your senses to take the rest of the evening off and indulge in some much needed liquid therapy. Likewise, few things accompany that fruitful indulgence better than a beautifully cooked medium rare steak. This week on Strapsense I am lucky enough to be reviewing a strap that has somehow escaped my prying eyes, until now. And what a treat it is. Atelier Del Sur straps come from the beautiful South American Country of Argentina. Why does that matter? The mere word Ar-gen-tina rolls slowly off the lips and evokes images of hot nights of dancing the Tango, world class football (soccer to us Yanks), picturesque Andes Mountains, and rolling Pampas grassland filled with some of the best free roaming (read as: tastiest) cattle on the planet as well as an endless variety of music, people, and food imaginable. Be it art, or music, or dance one thing permeates the Argentinian culture to its core and that is passion. As I hold this watch strap in my hand, it is easy to see a piece of the magic of this country and its amazing people have deeply permeated this watch strap. They did not just make a watch strap, rather they made an object of passion and it shows as they have created a truly beautiful thing.
Having had contact with Team Atelier Del Sur via Alfonso, I can say that the way they produce a watch strap is not duplicated easily anywhere in the world. They start with the finest hides imaginable from Lis Royal, a company dedicated for producing the finest calf skins and horse leather (yes horse leather, meaning Shell Cordovan) used in high end shoes. The straps are manufactured in the capitol of Argentina, Buenos Aires by employees that have been doing nothing but leather work for over 25 years. This is a pedigree like few others I have ever seen.
A few words about the strap itself. Atelier Del Sur does not venture in crazy colors or crazy finishes or trick stitching or anything that would look awkward in 30 years. Every design is timeless and classic. They attempt to capture the class and elegance of the 50’s and 60’s in its refined simplistic glory. If Cary Grant were to need a new strap for an old Hamilton, Atelier Del Sur could make that strap tomorrow. They start with the finest materials and add a love and passion for leather work yielding some of the finest straps I have ever handled.
When you order a strap from Atelier Del Sur, the process starts and ends with one craftsman that produces the entire strap from beginning to end. His or her hand made every cut, application of wax, buff of the hide, and hand stitch. One person from beginning to end. That is by far not the most efficient way to make anything, and very few things today are made this way, but it does imbue the final product with a soul as it was a personal product from one watch fan to another. The only thing I can think of made this way are the engines from an AMG Mercedes. Atelier Del Sur is in very good company.
I have reviewed many straps from many companies, but this company checks a great many boxes about what gets me excited about a watch strap. Human craftsmanship, fine materials, mixed with a passion that is impossible to match in bulk high volume strap stores. Before I get into details, a few words from Atelier Del Sur themselves:
At Atelier Del Sur we believe that classic and timeless designs are the foundational basis to our products, and with that in mind we start with completely redesigned watch bands that resemble the golden years of horology.
Our philosophy does not consider momentary fashion trends, instead is heavily influenced by class and timeless elegance. We focus in translating this idea to our creations from our leather straps to our very own double side buckle.
Welcome to our world
DIMENSIONS
I ordered the 19mm strap specifically for my Grand Seiko as the Burgundy color just beckoned to be paired with the antique crème dial on my GS. The strap came in at 18.9mm at the lugs and 15.1mm at the free and buckle ends. According to the ethos of the Atelier Del Sur team, they make elegant vintage inspired straps. The dimensions of this strap completely echo that philosophy and succeed triumphantly. The strap is 2.8mm at the lugs and a dead even 2.0mm along its entire length. Anything sub 2.5mm to 3mm falls firmly into the dress watch category and along with the taper of the strap, they have accomplished the mission of conservative elegance. The strap is 120.8mm/75mm on the free/buckle end respectively, which puts it on the second to last adjustment hole on my 6.85” wrist.
DESIGN
With the focus on classic design and build quality over gimmicks, I was excited to really look into the construction of this strap. The Shell Cordovan covers the entire outer surface of the strap as you would expect. It then wraps around the spring bars near the lugs and buckles and stops shortly after. An extremely smooth calf leather inner liner is then applied on the inside and protects the Cordovan and all of that is hand sewn together beautifully with beige stitching. This method of construction allows the strap to be thinner and keeps the durable calf leather against your skin where its durability will take the moisture and allows the Shell Cordovan to age gracefully. The inner liner is smooth to the touch and has a satin sheen to it. Texturally it reminds me of the sole of a brand new dress shoe before it gets scuffed when walked upon. Embossed on the inner liner on one side is AS for ‘Atelier Del Sur’ and on the other side is Shell Cordovan to let you know you are wearing leather royalty.
As I mentioned before, the taper on this strap is indicative of a vintage dress watch strap. It plays the role very well. The sides of the strap are sealed in black with a high degree of skill. This not only protects the leather, but it adds another color and dimension to the aesthetics. In a dress watch strap, you do not want fraying leather or rough edges.
Shell Cordovan is a strapsense favorite, or indulgence if you will. Anytime I have an opportunity to wear Shell Cordovan I take that leap, as the experience is usually worth the money and then some. Only about 5 tanneries in the world have the skill set and experience to produce Shell Cordovan so if you get a chance to wear it, do not pass it up. If you want the very best leather can offer, do not pass it up. If you have a very special watch that you want to spare no expense on, do not pass it up. When Atelier Del Sur contacted me and offered me a strap to review, I was immediately thrilled at their website and philosophy and fell in love at the chance to try Argentinian Shell Cordovan and purchased the Burgundy Shell Cordovan Watch strap immediately. To their credit they included a black calf skin strap as well for me to try (that review is coming later).
Properly done Shell Cordovan should have a nice sheen to it. Somewhere between satin and glossy in bright light, and the Atelier Del Sur Burgundy strap answers the mail on this. It should be resoundingly flexible and take any shape you desire with absolutely zero resistance. Again, this strap moves with imperceptible effort. The burgundy color is deeply penetrated into the leather and as best as I can tell it has no pull up at all (meaning it stays the same color when bent or twisted). The buckle has not effected the finish or the leather in any way in the two weeks I have worn this strap.
BUCKLE AND KEEPER
Vintage watches took a far greater effort into making the buckle part of the watch design than some modern day counterparts. This strap has a buckle like no modern watch I have seen. That is a good reason as the inspiration of this buckle is based on watches nearly 60 years ago. The double buckle design replaces the standard fixed keeper we see on other watches with a mirror image of a standard buckle. The whole design is very clean and efficient while still being beautiful. In other words, it is a marvelous piece of design where functional simplicity meets elegance.
The remaining keeper is of the floating variety and is very good at keeping the extra strap at bay. It has two lovely roll marks and its sides are even sealed like the strap. Attention to detail is abundant in this strap. On the underside of the buckle, ‘Atelier Del Sur’ is etched into the metal, a quiet reminder of the craftsman who made this watch strap.
HOW DOES IT WEAR
Anytime you fasten Shell Cordovan to your wrist, you should expect sublime comfort. This is absolutely no different. However, the detail in this strap make it obvious that every aspect of construction was considered. The satiny smooth inner liner graces the skin. The impossibly soft leather curves to match your personal shape perfectly. The free end feeds easily through the buckle and keeper and lay wonderfully flat against the rest of the strap. It is incredibly easy to forget you are even wearing this as its lithe build makes it weigh next to nothing.
Specs are only half of what it is like to wear this strap. It has an intangible feeling that something special is on your wrist. I found myself looking at the strap as much as the watch thinking of the hands that made it, and the thoughts that were running through their mind as they poured their spirit into the product. The silky exterior leather invited you to touch it. Its sheen was beautiful in any light as it was a product of human hands applying coat after coat of wax and oil to the hide to give it this appearance. Nothing arrives to your door without it looking exactly as that lone craftsman who made your strap intended. No two straps be identical, no two straps will have the same emotion in them. This unique oneness of each strap is testimony to human craftsmanship
WHAT IS IT GOOD FOR
Atelier Del Sur makes a whole variety of straps. All of them are classic in design and feel like they are from a bygone era. They say that these are good for vintage and dress watches and I have to echo that. The quality of them is such they could be used for darn near anything short of aquatic watches as these are not water friendly. I would definitely give the nod to vintage aviation watches, or vintage field watches. It would look good on anything that could be paired with a suit or dress clothing. The thin structure probably means you should keep it to watches that are not too thick say sub 13mm is a sweet spot. It is hard not to recommend these straps to anybody as the quality is rarely seen. After looking at hundreds of watch strap, upon seeing these I immediately got excited as you can tell they are something special.
WHERE CAN I GET ONE
You can get your very own Atelier Del Sur Burgundy Shell Cordovan Watch strap straight from the vendor. I should also mention that even though they are coming from Argentina, it will arrive in expeditious fashion. I received mine in 3 days!
SUMMARY
Few things excite me more than seeing a master craftsman work on something they are passionate about. Be it carpentry, metal work, automobile engine building, gun engraving, or painting, the amount of love that flows through the hands of a craftsman is hard to put a value on. Watch people all strive to obtain that story, that certain thing that makes our watch or strap special. Throw away the marketing and what is left must stand on its own merit. Most products fall to mediocrity without marketing to back them up. Atelier Del Sur does not rely on marketing, nor do they have a huge marketing budget, but I can assure you they do not need it, as based on the ultimate crucible of merit, they make one of the finest straps you can buy.
