Latest Blog Posts:Since we’re all about watch straps here, its probably a good idea to know what “Italian Leather” is. Kind of like knowing what “Swiss Made” is when you are buying a Swiss Watch. Of course, any term that attempts to add value to a product tends to be exploited – stuff like “surgical steel” is now no more an indicator of quality than it is a glorified word for “stainless steel”.
Now, back to Italian Leather. What is it exactly? Well, in short, it refers to leather that is tanned in Italy. Italy has some of the best and most experienced tanneries in the world, with 15% of the world’s entire Leather Output. While it means that the leather is tanned in Italy, it does not mean that the cows that produced the leathers were raised in Italy. Much of the leather that is tanned in Italy is farmed in surrounding areas such as Sweden. Part of the reason that so many Tanneries ended up in Italy is because between 1911-1956, polution from tanneries was a problem causing many countries to shut down their leather tanneries.
In the end, while there are great tanneries in Italy, there is nothing really extra-special about their leathers. Generally speaking you are more assured of a better leather from Italy than you are of a leather from say China, but both countries are capable of producing extremely high quality leather.
Omega Burgundy Alligator Strap
Material: Semi-Matte Alligator
Retail Price: $299.95US
Street Price: $199.95US
Thickness: 2.5mm
Style: Dress
Size Reviewed: 20mm x 18mm
While I typically don’t review OEM straps, I purchased this one afterwards to mount on my Speedmaster Sapphire Sandwich and feel its worth looking at since its nice to be able to compare the quality of OEM straps with aftermarket ones. Since I ended up selling the Sapphire Sandwich on the bracelet that it came with, I no longer have an Omega watch to mount this strap to so have been using it on various other 20mm lug width watches I own.
As you can see, this example of the Omega Alligator Strap has a fantastic pattern, with very clean and smooth scales in a rich Burgundy Wine color. The longer un-interrupted look of the single-fold deployant straps makes the watch look so much more elegant in my opinion. I much prefer this configuration over the double butterfly deployants.
There’s a close-up of the nice clean alligator scales. I’ve seen a few of Omega’s Matte Alligator straps, like the one that came with the new Aqua Terra 8500, and was not as big a fan of it as I am of these semi-gloss straps. They seem to have just the right amount of gloss to look classy, but not too much that they look patent.
These Alligator scales are just the right size, and the quality of the scales usually makes or breaks a strap. In this case the quality makes the strap. The matching burgundy stitching works great with this strap as well. Without a doubt one of the higher quality OEM straps on the market, which I suppose justifies their high price.
Overall, and outstanding strap from Omega. Their quality of strap matches those from competitors such as Breitling and JLC, and exceeds the quality of many similarly price brands such as Zenith and Ebel. Having said that, most higher quality aftermarket straps of this caliber are available for just a little over $100, which is a much better value than this is from Omega directly, so I personally would only recommend buying one of these if you require it for the deployant or if you can get it cheap like I did.
Rating:
Comfort: 9/10
Design: 8/10
Fit and Finish: 8.5/10
Overall 8.5/10