View “The Creation of a Handmade Watchband”

Photography by Romain Blanquart
Written by Laura Fraser

Renee Lancaster glues the first of seven pieces of leather that will be layered together to make a watchband. Photographs by Romain Blanquart.

The multiple layers of leather are then sewn together on basic sewing machines like this.

The corners, which endure the greatest abuse, are hand stitched for strength.

Next, the straps edges must be carefully painted, which in this case is done by Li Leung.

One of the final steps is making the tiny loops that hold the band in place.

Once a good number of loops are finished, their stitching has to be inspected for quality and strength. Nothing does this trick like a tongue depressor.

Last, inspection for quality control. All of these intricate steps, done at U.S. labor rates, partly explain the price of Shinola’s watch straps, which sell for anywhere between $100 to slightly over $200. This is a bit higher than average, but it’s not as high as some of Shinola’s U.S. competitors.

Romain Blanquart is a visual journalist living in Detroit, Michigan. He studied photography at the Rochester Institute of Technology and for the last 13 years has been a staff photographer at The Detroit Free Press.
Laura Fraser is an author and journalist whose books include the memoirs All Over the Map, The Risotto Guru, and An Italian Affair, which was a New York Times bestseller.

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