Strap Making by Jason of JnS

For many of us, we walk into a boutique and buy a watch strap. How much do we know about the effort going into making the strap. Especially if it is a customized strap like those Jason makes.

Some weeks back, I featured Jason of JnS at his workshop but did not have the time to document the entire process. So I made it back to understand how a strap is made and the amount of time and effort needed to make a customized strap.

Located in Far East Shopping Centre along Orchard Rd (beside Hilton), Jason's workshop is on the 15th Floor. All starts with him taking your order - size of strap, wide, length, type of material, padded or un-padded etc.

Jason has lots of materials to choose from - alligator to croc to calf leather of different colors. Many of his materials are from Italy - top grade leather.

The prized "horn back". Funny thing was the horn back was not popular until the AP ROO came into market. Now it is a prized piece...

After choosing the material, it is down to cutting the material. Jason uses a mould, identifies the area of the material he wants to use and uses a clamp to cut the material. Jason makes the mould in standard sizes for the standard watch strap.

After stamp cutting the straps using the different parts of the material, this is the result.

Then it is down to trimming the material. In this case, the alligator skin has fibres that needs to be properly trimmed. This is done by hand.

Next up is chewing the thread color. This is where customized straps comes up tops. Other than the normal matching thread color, one can get creative and mix and match. Jason tells me he has had several requests for different material/color combination too.

Every watch strap must also have a backing - and again, customized straps allows you the flexibility of choosing material type and color. So for instance, the front strap could be black alligator and the back could be red alligator. Think a Ferrari chronograph...

Once all the materials are cut to size Jason starts on skiving. Skiving is thinning the leather in certain parts and in this case, at the ends where the parts will be jointed.

One has to have many different tools for strap making and even skiving. You can use a machine or in this case, a simple pen knife will suffice. But that takes skill - here is Jason at this workbench.

Sometimes, you find tools you never thought you could use and in this case, Jason is using a nail pedicure tool for skiving. And he tells me it works perfectly!

To skive and entire strip, Jason uses a skiving machine like this one.

After the skiving, time to glue the straps together.

Now it's ready to be put together. The front and the backing are then put together by glue. Jason tells me he uses a medical grade glue from Germany - no smell.

Then depending on the customer, padding will be added or not. Jason uses high density foam as the material does not fray so easily and is also much lighter.

Putting the strap together after adding the padding - turning and joining the strips together to form the strap.

Then Jason uses a hand press to bond the strips to ensure they stick together. The glue cannot be too wet or too dry - it must be "just nice". Something only a seasoned pro will know.

After they are pressed and bonded, the straps are cut to size. The original strips are cut bigger to allow for trimming later on. And the wastage is rather high for customized hand made straps unlike the machine made ones.

Before they can start stitching the strap, Jason has to punch a series of holes so that it is easier to stitch. A special tool is used for that.

After the holes are punched, another round of skiving - this time around the edges to ensure the straps do not cut the users. So to round of the edges, a special tool is used to smoothen the edges.

Then the stitching starts. Threading the needle is no easy feat but Jason did it without any aid. Using a giant leg clamp to hold the straps together, the stitching starts. Hand stitching is more lasting. Even while one part of the stitch tears for whatever reasons, the other stitches will still hold the strap. With commercial generic straps which are machine stitched, once the stitch tears in one place, the entire stitch will come apart as the thread is one single continuous stitch.

After the stitches are completed, the sides of the straps are colored to give a consistent color theme. The completed straps are then left to dry.

And then the strap is finished and ready to be handed over to the owner. Jason ships internationally too. From start to finish, it takes about 2-3 hours to make one strap.

JnS specializes in Panerai straps and they have a nice range of ready-to-wear straps.

JnS Hand Crafted

545 Orchard Road, #02-23 Far East Shopping Centre, Singapore 238882

Mobile: +65-97590196

Opening Hours: Monday to Friday 12pm-6pm, Sat 11am-3pm. Alternate timing by appointment only. Contact jnsstrap@me.com

Grand Seiko GMT - SBGM003 & SBGM021

The Grand Seiko range is perhaps the most under-rated mechanical watch. Whether it is mechanical or the Spring Drive, the Grand Seiko represents the best in Japanese watchmaking.

I was first introduced to the Grand Seiko way back in 2006 when a friend showed me the SBGM003 GMT. Fell in love with the watch, simple, yet elegant and functional. An understated functional watch that non-collectors will probably not have heard of.

So when one came up for sale in Singapore, I had to do a favor and introduce it to my friend. And he is a happy man now. Only thing is that he has the SBGM021 while I have the closed case back SBGM003. The watch comes in a nice presentation box with the certificate right on top.

The certificate clearly specifies the details of the watch.

Underneath the Certificate Binder is a nice velvety box.

And when you open the box, it reveals the watch! A simple beauty made to the strictest standards of the Seiko watch manufactory.

So I took out my SBGM003 and took a picture of the watch - side by side. From the dial side, one cannot tell the difference.

But when you turn it back, the difference is revealed. The SBGM003 is the first model with a solid case back - with the GS Lion crown clearly on the case. The SBGM021 is the follow up after SBGM003 was discontinued and has the open case back.

The SBGM021 which has the exhibition case back comes with the in-house movement 9S66 and the words Grand Seiko is printed on the inside of the sapphire glass back. Grand Seiko uses only their in-house developed movements and one of the few "true" manufactures left. They even grow their own quartz crystals for their Spring Drive and Quartz range.

The SBGM003 on the other hand houses the 9S56 movement and comes with the solid case back. Some say the SBGM003 is now sought after since being discontinued as it features the GS Lion Logo on the case back.

Because of the exhibition case back. the finishing on the SBGM021 is better than the SBMG003 - in the SBGM021, the baseplate has perlage while the older model is not. The newer 021 has a longer power reserve - 72 hours versus 55 hours in the 003. But like I said, one can't really tell the difference from the front.

The level of finishing on the Grand Seiko is second to none in that price point. For that matter, it is finished far better than many Swiss brands who charge significantly higher prices for generic ETA movements. As for the cream colored dial many have mistaken it for a lacquered dial.

The seconds hand is well rounded and the blued GMT hands are beautifully done. The movement is tested to the strictest standards - more stringent than the COSC. The watch comes with a burgundy color leather strap with folding clasp.

Whenever I travel, I usually wear the GS as I find it functional yet does not attract too much attention, unlike my Rolex GMT II which is easily recognizable. Here is a shot of my GS with my food on one of the flights.

Next, I shall hunt for a Spring Drive - hope to find one at a reasonable price.

Movas Tourbillon - Another Singapore Watchmaker

I featured Reedsco before in one of my blogs as one of the few Singapore watchmakers. Today I am featuring another Singapore watchmaker Sean Wai of Movas Watch.

Sean is an architect by profession and on top of designing and assembling watches, he also designs and makes bicycle frames. Sean is more well known for his sports range of watches like the divers range. A self taught watchmaker, Sean sources his movements from China and he is not afraid to advertise as is. Today, I feature his first Limited Edition Tourbillon.

Sean designed the watch with different dial patterns but settled for this sunburst grey colored dial with silver hands. And if you see one with blued hands, that belongs to Jim.

Sean made 10 of these Limited Edition pieces and it was sold out in a jiffy! Mine is ten of ten. Housed in a steel case, the movement is a Chinese Made Tourbillon.

On close inspection of the movement, one can see that the bridges are not as well finished. I wish they were better finished - maybe not to Swiss standards but at least smoothened around the edges. But at that price point, I cannot complain.

Overall, the watch is a well-made watch - good value for money. There are several Chinese Tourbillons in the market but I find this one way above what is available on the market today.

A close up of the tourbillon movement… I wish my lighting was better to show off the tourbillon movement.

I believe Sean is planning another tourbillon soon. So if you are keen, contact him and put your name down for it. For more information of Sean's babies, you may go to his website http://www.movaswatches.com/