Under $500, these are the best watches with leather strap to get when you don’t want to spend a fortune. Let’s find out in the article below!
Pros and Cons of leather strap
When watch trends shifted from pocket watches to wristwatches, the leather strap was one of the first luxury watch straps. Most watchmakers made early leather straps from cowhide. Today, leather bands are often made of more exotic materials, like alligator, snake or ostrich.
Pros:
- Versatility: It goes well with a suit and tie, as well as a shirt and shorts. In either case, your appearance will be flawless. A leather strap is excellent for both men and women, young and elderly. Leather watch straps allow you to experiment with your style. Having a variety of straps is quite beneficial. If you have a collection of leather straps, you can switch up the color, pattern, and design of your watch depending on your mood. There’s no need to limit yourself to a single type of leather. Enjoy the control of switching out your black alligator strap for a bright yellow or red cowhide.
- Comfortability: Watches with leather straps are among the most comfortable available. When compared to metal, silicon, or other materials that can cut into your wrists and hands, they are exceptionally comfortable to wear. Leather is light, supple and moves well with your wrist because it comes from a living source. The watches with leather straps will readily follow your hand’s natural movements as you write, shake hands, lift things, or type.
- Durability: A good alligator watch band can last 2-3 years, maybe more if it’s taken good care of. Other leather watch bands should be around 6 months to 1 year if you always wear the same straps in daily time.
- Aesthetics: The simplicity of watches with leather straps is not a trend that will fade with the coming fashion seasons. If “classy” is your aim for how you dress and carry yourself, then leather is always the right choice when it comes to your wearable timepieces. While you can find leather straps that are jazzy and stand out with colorful stitching and so on, one of the greatest features of leather is that it is simple. You don’t need a bunch of accessories and flashy features to make it look good.
Cons:
- In severe heat and humidity, certain watches with leather straps also tend to get a bit sticky on the wrist. If you’re frequently in hot or wet environments, a leather strap is probably not the best option for you.
Top 5 best affordable watches with leather straps
1. Orient Bambino (Price: $130-$140)
- Dimensions: 40.5mm diameter x 11.5mm height x 46.5mm lug to lug
- Weight: 65g
- Strap Material: Leather
- Water resistance: 3ATM / 30m
- Movement: Orient F6724 Automatic
It might not have the cachet of fellow Japanese brands Casio or Seiko, but Orient’s delightfully affordable watches have quietly made a name for themselves in recent years – even though its roots go back to founder Shogoro Yoshida’s first Tokyo shop in 1901. A clean and punchy dress watch with plenty of personality, the Bambino is our pick of a charmingly dependable collection.
One of the strengths of the Orient Bambino is the variety of dial colors available. You’d be hard pressed not to find a color that you like.
2. Fossil Grant Automatic ($120 – $130)
- Dimensions: 43mm diameter
- Case Material: Stainless Steel
- Strap Material: Leather
- Water Resistance: 5 ATM
- Movement: Mechanical Automatic
Established in 1984, the Fossil brand is inspired by classic American vintage wear. Fossil Grant Automatic is not quite a Hublot Big Bang, but Fossil’s Grant Automatic showcases the same skeleton aesthetic for a much more reasonable price. Combined with the use of Roman numerals around its dial, its winning clash of past and present makes for a timepiece with plenty of personality.
3. Certina Ds Caimano CHF 560 ($290 – $300)
Stylish and functional at the same time – the Certina DS Caimano Chronograph impresses with external and internal value. The clear, minimalist design is characterized by geometric forms. The round, 42-mm case in stainless steel or titanium encloses a blue, black or white dial with sunray finish. The anti-reflective sapphire crystal, long hands and refined rod indexes along with Arabic numerals ensure excellent readability, guaranteed even in the dark thanks to their Super-LumiNova coating. The watch is worn with a metal bracelet matching the case or with a brown calfskin strap that can easily be removed thanks to a quick-change system. Certina affords great views of this mechanical timepiece: the case back has a robust watch glass through which to admire the mechanism. The delicately constructed rotor that reliably ensures the provision of energy in all automatic watches is clearly displayed.
Power reserve is the time a fully wound mechanical watch runs until it stops – usually between 38 and 42 hours. The Powermatic 80 caliber makes a power reserve of up to 80 hours possible! So you can leave this watch for up to three days before having to set it anew – if you can do without it for that long.
4. Elliot Brown Watches Canford ($390 – $400)
- Dimension: 44mm diameter x 13.5mm thickness x 22mm lug to lug
- Case material: stainless steel
- Glass: Domed and hardened anti-reflective mineral crystal
- Weight: 130g
- Strap material: Choice of alternative leather and stainless steel
- Movement: Swiss movement
- Water Resistance: 200m
Elliot Brown Watches Canford is one of the best affordable watches with leather straps. The Canford has a fairly classic pilot’s watch design with proportions that give it a sturdy appearance. The screw-head itself is fairly large, turning it into an aesthetic detail of its own that works well with the design, adding a bit of an industrial edge. The tan leather perfectly matches the tan elements on the dial, emphasizing them. The strap itself is made of a nice quality leather and has white detail stitching. The mix of black and tan also makes for a very versatile palette to build off of. This watch looks great with just about any color, and works with anything from a t-shirt to an Oxford and Cardigan, though likely good hard-wearing materials will make the most sense.
5. Timex Marlin Automatic ($250 – $260)
- Dimension: 40mm diameter x 13.25mm thickness
- Case material: Stainless steel
- Strap material: Leather
- Movement: Miyota automatic
- Water Resistance: 30m (withstands splashes or brief immersion in water, but not suitable for swimming or bathing)
Timex abandoned mechanical movements in favor of digital and quartz movements years ago — but we were excited when they started to bring mechanical watches back, starting with the Marlin. The Marlin Automatic watch collection recalls the simple styling cues of our 1960s original, creating a contemporary timepiece that honors our watchmaking history. These watches are powered by your motion as you wear them, thanks to the tried-and-true 21-jewel automatic watch movement ticking inside. The elegant dials and timeless, domed crystal connect today’s Marlin Automatic watches to their ‘60s predecessor, a timepiece that—after over a half-century—has yet to go out of style.
B.A Handmade – Premier quality handmade leather strap provider in the US
B.A Handmade specializes in design, manufacture and supply of quality watch straps. All products are meticulously handcrafted or imported with clear origins. Sophisticated leather materials with neat lines are the advantages of watch straps at B.A Handmade. Moreover, all of our products are made from full grain leather – the best sort of leather with high durability and uniqueness.
You can choose a full grain leather strap HERE or request your own customized products. Besides, when you buy a leather strap at B.A Handmade, you will get a free needle buckle and strap replacement tools.
