What's the appeal of hornback alligator bands? And most exotic hides in general...
This may be one of those things I'm too poor/declasse to get.
So a while back I was in a more frou frou watch place, and for the first time in my life I saw something like this.
Watch band with that big lumpy portion. This is hornback alligator skin. Before I meander too much, who wants a protruding hump or humps on their watchband, and why? Because I don't really understand the appeal.
Of course I'm not entirely sure what the point of most exotic skins is for much of anything except "visual interest" and conspicuous consumption. Maybe this is just more of the same but extra lumpy.
But seriously, I know that different animals' hides have different properties. I like deerskin gloves as they are thin and supple. And kangaroo hide is similar but very dense and without a grain so it wears like iron. Shell cordovan, which is horse's ass skin, is also very scuff resistant, and I believe water resistant with a shine. There are reasons to choose these.
Most exotic skins seem to be, you know, delicate. The practical benefit ranges from zero to negative. But I may be ignorant. I get that some reptile stuff polishes up nicely, and that is something. And class/wealth shibboleths are a real thing (I relented and got a lizard band for a vintage dress watch because it seemed de riguer).
So ITT please explain all exotic hide benefits, with a focus on watch bands, of course. All I ask is that subjective and aesthetic appeals contain some attempt at explanation. "They look cool and I like them" doesn't really help me much...
Thanks in advance!😉
Started as a quartzbro goofing on the mechanical snobs, wrote for thetruthaboutwatches.com, and lately started finding forgotten familial vintage watches in need of love.
Back in my day they hunted these to darn near extinction:
I haven’t that much experience with exotic skins. I have cordovan shoes. Technically it’s not a skin it is connective tissue (Shell) beneath the hide. For shoes it’s very nice. Lot of embedded oils make it quite easy to take care of, don’t wrinkle and gain a fantastic patina over time. How that is applicable for straps I don’t see directly. For exotic skins I guess it is all about look and exclusivity in general. They often looks fantastic.
Me personally, I like something with a structure and/or imperfection in color. I like grain leather straps. I have a hard time find cordovan straps that intrigues me since they are rather flat in structure and even in color. They are out there specially in lighter colors. With most exotic skins you get the structure. My only personal reference is with alligator and lizzard. To me both of these skins seems very durable and on top of that, a great structure and fantastic colors. I’m sure many of the exotic skins can be delicate but to no knowledge of mine.
I’m pretty shure my next experiment will be shark skin
I've never even heard of these before. Based on the photo, I don't personally see the appeal, but I've learned that things can be much different in person than they come across in photos.
Aesthetics are an important part of the equation, and the "visual interest" added by the scales of alligator straps is part of the aesthetic appeal to me. The ONLY reason I chose alligator for this particular strap was for that visual appeal, which is a purely personal thing. YMMV.