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Basic Bands Watch Strap Fashion

SMALL BRAND SPOTLIGHT – RAFAL KARCZMARCZYK

July 24, 2017 by Basic Bands

Baseball glove sports strap by Maverick Custom Handmade

Watch strap making isn’t just limited to major brands and big shops; across the world there are small strapmakers making a living designing unique and custom straps. Our small brand spotlight series interviews these strapmakers to see what makes them tick.

Today the spotlight is on Rafal Karczmarczyk from Maverick Custom Handmade Straps in Poland. You can find all his straps on his website here:  https://web.facebook.com/rafalMaverick

Here is our interview:

Various colours calf leather classic straps for vintage watches by Maverick Custom Handmade

How did you get into watch strap making?

I come from a watchmakers family. My father, grandfather and his father-in-law were watchmakers. I collect watches, just like my father and brother at present. Like all watch collectors I love wearing them.

Sometimes it was quite hard to find the right strap. Those from shops were often of poor quality, if you wanted to order a decent custom, bespoke watch strap you had to wait in a long queue (well, now I understand why…).

So I decided to make some straps on my own. It was about three years ago when I first bought tools, dyes and adhesives. My first straps were classic, simple black and brown, made from calf leather. I still have my first straps as a kind of souvenir.

Brown suede rally tropic watch strap by Maverick Custom Handmade

What materials do you use in your bands?

I always use natural leather. The top layer is usually something exotic, which is joined with a calf leather core. There is also a thin leather lining in the back of the strap. I always seal the edges with a proper edge paint (handpainted), polish them, heat treat, paint again etc. I once came across a saying: ‘Your straps are as good as their edges are,’ and I kept it in mind.

Recently I started working with baseball gloves and balls, NFL balls and canvas. Some other materials like waxed threads are also important, since they increase durability and make the straps look as my customers want it.

Baseball glove and ball NFL ball sports straps by Maverick Custom Handmade
Baseball glove sports strap by Maverick Custom Handmade

What is your favorite material to work with?

I am always happy to work with shark and crocodile leather. I also love ostrich leg in various colors and kudu antelope. Easiness of working with shark leather, various patterns of crocodile scales, an impressive look of ostrich leg, beautiful natural scars on kudu – this is what makes my work pleasant. And a bit of good music in the background!

Ostrich leather classical watch strap for a vintage gold chrono by Maverick Custom Handmade

What style band is your favorite to make or wear?

I like classic two piece straps, whether it’s rally, filled, tropic or simple classic. To make and wear. I don’t really like making NATO or pocket watch straps. There is one exception, Bulova Moonwatch on its black velcro. It’s a very nice strap and I love wearing the watch on it.

Perforated calf leather sports watch strap by Maverick Custom Handmade

Do you have a favorite watch?

Yes, I’m Seiko crazy! I have about ten Seikos in my collection. Two of my other favorites are a Bulova Moonwatch, which I wear every day, and a Breitling Navitimer 0816, a beautiful vintage chrono, which I wear on some occasions.

Yellow stingray straps and official Maserati red colour calf strap for Apple iWatch and Panerai by Maverick Custom Handmade

What do you like to do outside of watch strap making?

I try watchmaking in my free time. I’ve got tools and some machines. I do simple repairs, adjusting, cleaning, polishing, but it’s rather a hobby, I’m not making any money on it. I have a great respect to professional watchmakers, I know how difficult their job is and really admire them. Besides that, I try to improve my photography skills.

Name: Rafal Karczmarczyk from Maverick Custom Handmade
Website: https://web.facebook.com/rafalMaverick
Location: Poland

  • How to Safely Purchase a Watch Online
  • List of reputable watch strap companies & brands
  • Tools for Replacing A Watch Strap Or Band
  • How to Pick Out The Right Watch Band For Your Watch
  • 5 Tips For Picking Out A New Watch Band Or Strap
  • The Complete Guide to the Orient Bambino Dress Watch
  • Seiko SNK Watch Guide
  • Seiko Presage Cocktail Time Guide
  • How to Fix A Broken Loop On Your Watch Strap

Filed Under: Spotlights Tagged With: baseball, bespoke, custom watch strap companies, exotic, leather, rally strap, Seiko diver, texture, vintage

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Welcome to Basic Bands!

  • We hope you enjoy our blog on watch strap fashion. Here are some places to start:
  • List of Watch Strap Companies
    List of Custom Watch Strap Makers
  • Interviews with Watch Strap Makers & Brands
  • Primer on Watch Strap Style | Style Inspiration | Watch strap examples by color & type
  • Tools for changing a strap | Fixing a broken strap loop
  • Guide to safely purchasing a watch online.
  • Watch Guides: Orient Bambino | Seiko SNK | Seiko Presage.
  • Shop our Amazon recommendations | Inexpensive NATO straps on Amazon

 

See our watch guides

Brown suede rally tropic watch strap by Maverick Custom Handmade

HOW TO FIX A BROKEN LOOP ON YOUR WATCH STRAP

Most watch bands have one or two loops on the strap to keep the bracelet or band from flopping around on your wrist. Known by different names like hoop, retainer, loop, these loops are officially called “keepers,” and they can sometimes fall off and break. Leather or cloth keepers will disintegrate through wear and tear from moisture or sweat, while rubber ones can become brittle and snap.
The good news is that you can fix a broken watch hoop in several ways. The easiest way is to buy a replacement loop on Amazon and put it on the strap. Rubber loops can sometimes be stretched over the buckle, but for most replacement loops you must disconnect the strap or buckle to get the new loop on. Important: make sure you buy the correct width loop, measured in millimeters.

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If you’re new to watchbands or looking to buy a gift for that special someone, knowing how to pick out the right watch strap is difficult. We interviewed Thomas Lathrop, CEO of popular watchband company Crown & Buckle, for some tips on matching up the right band to your watch.

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Simply put, the Orient Bambino is probably the best affordable dress watch out there. A fantastic option for your first watch, it takes a movement from a reliable watch company and puts it in an incredible looking package. Earlier generations can be bought for just over $100, while the most popular style from the new generation will be closer to $300 (although it frequently goes on sale).

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THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO THE SEIKO SNK WATCH LINE

The Seiko 5 line of SNK watches are highly recommended as an inexpensive way to get into automatics. The watches are great for kids as a first watch and an excellent casual watch for adults. It meets all the check boxes for a good looking watch from a great brand at a great price.

Kids (and parents) will love the sub-$100 price, the good design and the ability to mix and match watch straps. It can be a first watch for a kid or a nice watch for a teenager that can go with a lot of outfits.

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Watch Strap Color Guide & Inspiration

We get a lot of questions here at the Basic Bands watch strap blog, and often that question is about which watch strap color goes with which color watch dial or type of watch. If you’re wondering about that too, we’re here to help.

It’s not possible to list every watch type and style and the colors and types of straps that go well with them, so we’ve started Pinterest boards to give you more inspiration. Other sources of watch strap ideas include Reddit’s r/Watchbands and Instagram.If you don’t use Pinterest, you can find images by clicking on tags in the sidebar or using the Inspiration category at the top of the page.

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Welcome to the Basic Bands guide to the Seiko Presage “Cocktail Time” line of watches. These watches, nicknamed after the elaborate cocktails fashioned by Shinobu Ishigaki, are an incredibly popular line of dress watches from Seiko. Combining the reliability and affordability of a Seiko with some amazingly gorgeous dials, these watches have become one of the most popular affordable dress watches in the market.

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BASIC BANDS 2018 WATCH STRAP & ACCESSORIES GIFT GUIDE

Hello everyone, and welcome to the 2018 edition of the Basic Bands Watch Strap & Accessories Gift Guide! We’re here to help you find that perfect someone (or yourself) the perfect gift this holiday season. We’ve divided the guide up into sections, so skip ahead to the one that interests you most. First we have […]

Clockwork Synergy Two-Piece NATO Strap

BASIC BANDS 2017 WATCH STRAP AND BAND GIFT GUIDE

So you’re looking for a strap? Maybe the person you’re shopping for already has a nice watch and you’d love to match it with a nice strap. Or maybe you’re buying a watch and you’re looking for strap ideas to complement the stock band. Or maybe you just got a new watch and you’d like to spice it up with a new leather or NATO strap. Well, you’ve come to the right place. We’re Basic Bands, and we loooove watch straps.

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alligator apple watch bauhaus bespoke black black dial blue blue dial breitling brown brown leather canvas chronograph custom watch strap companies diver dress watch exotic Geckota green green dial grey guides hamilton horween IWC leather leather band nato omega Omega Speedmaster Panerai perlon rally strap rolex rubber seiko Seiko diver Seiko SNK shop skx speedmaster thick timex tudor white dial
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alligator apple watch bauhaus bespoke black black dial blue blue dial breitling brown brown leather canvas chronograph custom watch strap companies diver dress watch exotic Geckota green green dial grey guides hamilton horween IWC leather leather band nato omega Omega Speedmaster Panerai perlon rally strap rolex rubber seiko Seiko diver Seiko SNK shop skx speedmaster thick timex tudor white dial

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