Cordovan is not cut—it is split. Derived from the fibrous layer of the horse's rear, it is one of the few leathers that has no grain: its surface is compact, homogeneous, almost mirror-like. It resembles no other leather.
This brown Shell Cordovan strap is made without side stitching, a choice that is not aesthetic but structural. The material is already intact enough not to need it—adding stitches would be redundant, almost a distrust of the leather itself. The profile is clean, taut, with a geometry that suits a 1970s dress watch as much as a contemporary three-hand watch.
Over time, cordovan does not wear out: it polishes. Wrist creases—those that become cracks on other leathers—here round into soft reliefs that tell of use without succumbing to fatigue. The flexibility is real, not a concession to softness: this leather folds and returns.
Each piece is made from a single panel of leather. The brown shade may vary slightly from piece to piece—this is not a defect, it is the direct consequence of working with a raw material that is never identical to itself.
Technical specifications:
- Material: Shell Cordovan (horse leather)
- Style: without side stitching
- Lug width: 20mm / buckle attachment: 18mm — or 22mm / buckle attachment: 20mm
- Length: 115mm (long side) x 75mm (short side)
- Thickness: 2.9mm
- Made in Italy
- Slight color variations between pieces are to be considered intrinsic to the material