Stitch by stitch, a craftsperson meticulously saddle stitches a watch strap upper and lining together. As therapeutic as it may seem to onlookers, the amount of skill, patience and nous that goes into crafting a leather watch strap cannot be understated. Hand-punching perfectly aligned stitch holes is just the tip of the iceberg to a highly complex multistep product; the thought of skiving off the straps sends shivers down the spines of even the most prolific strap makers. Learning the various skills is fast, but honing and perfecting them takes years.
Beyond the craft side of the pursuit are the business implications — contending with stiffer competition, ballooning material costs, and manpower management, which are part and parcel of daily worries. Despite the challenges involved for the likes of Hughes Low of Hughes Handcrafted, husband-and-wife Kenneth Kuan and Tan Pei Qi — founders of Delugs — and Shu Yi of Yi Leather, they push on, fueled by their passion and love for watches and the craft. While the trio is by no means representative of Singapore’s strap and leather crafting scene, an invisible thread — intertwined by their passion, struggles and joy — unites them in an often overlooked industry.
Watches and watchmakers are often the centre of attention for all the right reasons. They are, after all, the darlings of an eye-watering estimated US$ 74.6 billion global watch market, according to IMARC Group. Research and development investments from watch manufactures streaming into innovations and embellishments continue to exalt watches as heroes that they already are. Yet are we forgetting that without the humble watch straps, these watches have no means — other than sitting on a dresser — to revel in onlookers’ admiration on one’s wrist?
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