I thought I'd share my latest strap, and it's one I'm really enjoying wearing.
I had my Tissot on a red stitched black Hirsch Jumper strap but it felt cheap, was 20mm jammed into 19mm lugs and the red stitching took the attention away from the red on the dial and bezel of the watch.
I took some black "greasy" kangaroo hide (about 1mm thick) and built it up by a series of folds and laminated sections. It's four layers thick at the lugs, three in the middle sections and two layers at the clasp and tail of the six o'clock strap. This means it tapers nicely from just over 3mm down to just under 2mm. For a vintage look it tapers from 19mm at the lugs to 16mm at the buckle.
Once cut, I smoothed the edges with some saddle soap and finished it off with my bees wax based sealer, which is soon absorbed into the leather. The extra layer at the springbars nicely fills the cutout between the lugs - no gap between strap and the bezel.
The kangaroo leather is dense, but supple, so you get a very firm strap that moulds to your wrist. It feels beautiful against the wrist.
Pictures could be better, the contrast between black leather and a white background makes it hard to capture the details. Thanks to
canberramike for recommending against red stitching.
One fixed and one floating keeper:
With the old strap I wore the Tissot one day at the time, but now I can't take it off - shows how the right strap can transform the experience.
I really should find a source of nicer (but not too expensive) buckles. If anyone has any ideas I'd love to hear them.