The Beauty of Natural Leather Watch Bands

Natural vegetable tanned leather is beautiful and unique. The interesting thing about leather is that it evolves and changes over time, much like humans. And just like humans, aging leather certainly doesn’t diminish in quality over time – it only gets more character. The neat thing about leather is that you may start out having a watchband that’s similar to your friend’s watchband, but both will age differently. Of course, with our watchbands, yours will be unique from the start even if you and your friend order the same one from our website. That’s because every watchband is custom made by hand.

How your leather watchband ages depends on what you do with it. There are many different factors that go into it. For example, sun exposure will darken leather over time. Leather conditioner usually causes the color to darken, too, which is why you’ll want to be carefully when you apply it. Lastly, wearing your watchband daily exposes it to life, which will have a unique effect on it, too.

Sun Exposure

Did you know that leather can tan? Much like your skin, it will get a rosy tone when it’s first exposed to the sun. As it ages over time, your tanned leather will have more reddish tones in it. For a leather wallet, you may not notice a difference, especially if it’s in your pocket or purse throughout the day. On the other hand, a leather belt or a leather watchband is frequently exposed to the sun as you go about your day. Therefore, either of these items will likely darken with wear.

Sun exposure may not be even for your watchband, much like it’s not even for your skin. For most people, the arms and face get tanned first, because they’re uncovered more often than any other body parts. Naturally, the leather at the top of your wrist will get more sun exposure than the band underneath. Therefore, don’t be surprised if your leather ages differently in parts. If you prefer your leather to darken evenly, you can also take your watchband off and leave it in the sun more often. In that case, you might want to remove the watch face, because the watch itself doesn’t benefit from increased sun exposure in any way.

Leather Conditioner

If your watchband feels dry, you can apply leather conditioner to it. We have covered how to do this in detail in this article on how to care for your watchband. It’s important to understand that conditioners can affect the color of your watch. Since there are many different conditioners available, you can’t always tell what the effect is until you try it out. Therefore, it’s best to apply a small amount in a little area of the watchband first to test it.

Some conditioners can considerably darken your leather watchband. This may change the look entirely, which is why we advise you to be careful before applying it. If you like the new look after applying the conditioner, you can use it whenever it is needed. However, you never want to soak the leather band in the moisture, because moisture isn’t good for leather.

Exposure to Life

Many children have a favorite stuffed animal or blanket that they carry everywhere. It gets used so much that it has a worn look of its own. This doesn’t diminish the favorite toy in any way, it just gives it character. Leather products are similar. They age as you use them, which is unique for every person.

As you go about your day, your leather watchband will be exposed to different things, including weather and wear. Leather conforms to your skin quite readily, which is why you’ll notice creases in your leather belt or watchband that tell their own story. Fortunately, leather ages gracefully, so you don’t have to worry about using your watchband.

Over time, your watchband may get stains and marks on them, too. Most stains can be blotted out. Otherwise, they’ll start to blend in with the rest of the watchband. Any scuffmarks or scratches are just part of the things that make your watchband uniquely yours. If your watchband wasn’t already unique, these special marks would help you recognize it anywhere.

Leather is very forgiving. If you drop your watchband, you don’t need to be concerned about the band itself (although it may be a different story for your watch). If your hands aren’t perfectly clean when you put it on or you accidentally get a few drops of water on it, it will be fine, too.