The leatherwork necessary to the Semper & Adhuc watchbands

When you take the time to carefully observe the watchband, you can see that this piece which appears at first sight quite simple, is in fact the result of many years of experience, unique competences and a strong and unfailing patience.

First the skin is selected and meticulously worked by Vincent Jaquinot, our leather craftsman. This is only the first of a long serie of steps which will in the end give birth to a bracelet composed of many slight slices of leather, each and everyone hand made.

Smooth leather or Suede?

Also called “full-grain leather”, the smooth leather comes from the outside part of the animal skin polished till it is unmarked. Once obtained, it goes straight to the trial of smoothing, also called satined finishing. It is pressed against a heated plate to slowly acquire its smooth and shining aspect.

Nicknamed “split leather”, the suede as for it, comes from the pulp of the skin which would undergo through a sanding process. It is characterized by its velvety touch and the mat aspect of its supple surface. The process of reversal of the leather, a guarantee of quality, allows it to keep its initial attributes as well as its robustness.

From the raw material to the Semper & Adhuc bracelet.

Once the leather is ready, it still needs to be shapened, solidified and embellished. To do so, Vincent has yet four final tasks to perform:

- the cutting, with a special cutter homemade, especially for our bracelets
- the gluing, with PVA glue (water based, without solvent nor neoprene)
- the polishing, consisting in applying layers of bee wax on the side of the watchband
- the stinging, that is to say the manual stitching using only an especial thread in waxed linen.

All these steps represent a real amount of time and require techniques and precision. Still, they are necessary to the conception of the elegant and durable watchbands we crave for.