Hello everyone and welcome to another of my reviews. In this article, I’ll be reviewing Strapatelier’s Value Box and Overstocked straps.
Essentially, the Value Box and Overstocked straps are Strapatelier’s discounted offerings. It’s a limited range, but it allows enthusiasts to acquire a handcrafted leather strap for bargain prices. Let’s see if they are any good.
Strapatelier Value Box/Overstocked Straps – Video Review
For those who wish to see some hands-on footage of Strapatelier’s discounted straps, do check out my Youtube review below:
Strapatelier – the Brand
I’m familiar with the brand, having reviewed some of its more affordable products here, and its premium handcrafted offerings here.
Strapatelier Minerva Strap (Value Box) – Review
Straps in the Value Box are described by the brand as those that “did not meet the first layer of Quality Check standards”, often having some sort of “visual blemishes and scruffs”. Currently, the only strap offered in the Value Box is Minerva leather.
Minerva leather refers to premium vegetable-tanned vachetta leather from the Badalassi Carlo Tannery in Italy. It’s a renowned tannery, being a member of the Consorzio Vera Pelle Italiana Conciata Al Vegetale, a consortium of leather tanneries that shares similarly high standards of production of vegetable-tanned leather in Tuscany.
Commonly used in handbags and footwear, Minerva leather is infused with a special blend of Italian fat wax to achieve a supple feel, and is often available in vibrant colours. A full-grain leather with a smooth texture, the strap will patina beautifully over time. For the uninitiated, leather generally comes in three quality tiers – genuine leather, top-grain leather, and full-grain leather, in ascending order of quality.
Value Box Minerva straps are currently available in three colourways – Bone (i.e tan), Ortensia (i.e teal), and Olive. Amongst the three, the Ortensia colourway is definitely the most vibrant and uncommon. On the wrist, I found the strap to feel premium and comfortable. The handcrafted nature is evident as well, especially in the handstitched sides and dyed edges.
I particularly like the zigzag stitching, which gives the strap more visual interest. And speaking of visuals, I also couldn’t find any significant cosmetic defects – it looks just as good as the previous handcrafted straps that I reviewed from Strapatelier. It also comes with quick-release spring bars for easy interchangeability. Starting at S$63 (after the promo code below), the Value Box Minerva straps represent ~20% discount from the brand’s regular Minerva offerings, making it great value for money.
Strapatelier Buttero Leather (Overstock) – Review
As opposed to Value Box offerings (which feature some sort of minor defect), Overstocked straps are simply straps that are lower-priced due to excess stock. There’s more variety here with a dozen different options available – the most premium of which being the Buttero Leather strap.
Buttero leather is another premium vegetable tanned leather from the Conceria Walpier tannery, which is also part of the Consorzio Vera Pelle Italiana Conciata Al Vegetale consortium in Italy. More commonly used in leather objects such as belts and wallets, Buttero leather straps are prized for their wonderful patina, as well as rich colour due to the aniline finished surface.
Buttero straps have a tendency to mark and scratch easily, resulting in a “worn” look that is best paired with vintage/vintage-inspired watches such as the Longines Heritage 1945. Being a full-grain leather, it will also develop patina over time. Strapatelier currently only offers Buttero in the abovepictured natural tan colourway, which unfortunately limits options somewhat.
However, the brand does offer a variety of stitching options (point-stitch, line-stitch, the abovepictured open-loop stitch, close-loop stitch, racing and unstitched). You can also choose whether to have the strap padded, and there’s even a NATO option available. The hand-stitching is once again exquisite, with no loose or broken threading visible.
Despite the bevvy of options available, the Buttero strap comes in a standard length. While I had no issues in getting a good fit on my 7-inch wrist, I would love a variety of lengths to be available to accommodate those with shorter/larger wrists. It also only comes in a default polished silver buckle – offering brushed buckles, or perhaps gold/bronze/black buckles (to match the respective cases) would no doubt expand its appeal.
Still, those are minor quibbles. All in all, the Buttero strap is well-crafted and looks great especially when paired with the right watch. It feels good on the wrist – the lining is made from Chahin Tannery cowhide – and will no doubt last a long time. At S$63 (after the promo code below), Strapatelier’s Buttero leather strap is probably the cheapest handcrafted option locally, making it an amazing bang-for-buck. For comparison, a Buttero leather strap from Delugs (which I reviewed here) costs almost twice as much.
Conclusion – so Strapatelier Value Box/Overstocked straps “shiok” or not?
Definitely so. I think the Value Box and Overstocked straps are great ways to purchase a handcrafted watch strap – made from premium Italian vegetable tanned full-grain leather – for relatively little money. I really enjoyed both the Minerva and Buttero straps, and their quality really shone through. Although options are sometimes limited, Strapatelier is an easy recommendation for those looking for affordable handcrafted watch straps.
For those interested in any of Strapatelier’s offerings, you can use the promo code “WAHSOSHIOK” to enjoy 10% off all products store-wide. After the discount, the Minerva leather (from the Value Box collection) and the Buttero leather (from the Overstocked collection) can currently be had for as little as S$63, which is honestly a steal given the quality of the leather and workmanship involved.
View the Value Box collection here.
View the Overstocked collection here.
View the full range of Strapatelier’s offerings here.
P.S: Check out The Shiok Store here – it serves as a curation of my favourite products from my favourite brands.
P.P.S: Do check out the new “Discounts!” page for exclusive discounts for Wah so Shiok readers! More brands will be added very soon – stay tuned!
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P.P.P.P.S Shiok is a common word Singaporeans use to express admiration or approval. As of 2016, you can find the definition of the word in the Oxford English Dictionary.
