America’s largest luxury watch show, WatchTime New York, returns to Manhattan’s Gotham Hall on October 14-15 (Click here for event details and to purchase tickets). For the second year in a row, luxury custom-watch-strap purveyor Jean Rousseau will be among the exhibitors, and will be displaying a range of new styles in its collection, from water-resistant leather to carbon fiber and kevlar blends.
Gold and platinum hand-stitching: Jean Rousseau’s artisans are able to hand-stitch its alligator leather straps with threads made from precious metals, adding another level of subtle luxury to a timepiece. The company offers stitching in platinum — the purest and rarest precious metal, which also has hypoallergenic properties — as well as in 18k rose gold or yellow gold. Pictured below: blue alligator strap with platinum stitching.
Carbon fiber: Jean Rousseau’s always-innovative R&D department has now produced sporty, contemporary straps using genuine carbon fiber, a material that is exceedingly popular in luxury watchmaking. These genuine carbon fiber straps are available with either a shiny (below) or matte finish. For those who prefer the feel of calfskin leather but still love the high-tech carbon “look”, the company offers calfskin leather options with an embossed carbon fiber pattern, all with waxed, cut edges and leather linings.
Kevlar: Jean Rousseau’s straps made from this tough, cutting edge material are extremely thin (just 1 mm to 1.2 mm thick) The Kevlar can be used on top, as the main material, in its distinctive yellow color (below) or as an inner layer to strengthen a traditional fabric or leather strap, thus offering a variety of tough options in many colors and styles. These straps all have turned edges and a leather lining.
“Water resistant” alligator: The Jean Rousseau team, based at the company’s manufacture in France and taking advantage of its in-house tannery, worked for
eight months to achieve a “special performance finish for its core products — luxurious alligator-skin straps — that enhance them with water-repellent properties. These durable straps (below) are available in two different finishes, suede and soft-touch, and in several colors. And while they aren’t recommended for diving or wearing in the shower, they are built to resist being stained or damaged by rain or unexpected water splashes. The darker-toned suede-finish version will develop a patina over time.
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