Ten to One

Ten to One Bespoke watch straps. No machines, no templates. Everything 100% handmade by Walter the old fashioned way. IG: ten.to.one.handmade

Auckland, New Zealand 🇳🇿
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I spent a few mornings wandering the markets in Siem Reap with the Nikon F, and naturally, the 6309 came along too. A 22...
30/08/2026

I spent a few mornings wandering the markets in Siem Reap with the Nikon F, and naturally, the 6309 came along too. A 22/20mm, raw-edged strap felt like the obvious choice for the setting.

This particular chocolate brown leather from my Vintage Collection has been lightly distressed down the centre of the raised padded section. Padded straps usually take a little longer to break in, but this one is supple from the start, and combined with the distressing, it has an instant lived-in character, much like the watch itself.

There’s something about Cambodia that makes old things feel particularly natural. There’s a resourcefulness to the way things are repaired, reused and kept going rather than simply replaced. Old and new seem to coexist quite naturally, without much fuss.

That felt particularly fitting here: an old watch, given a new lease of life with a strap that already looks like it has a few years behind it.

From a distance, the combination is happy to blend in rather than compete with everything around it. Understated, but with enough character to reward a closer look.

I usually gravitate towards medium browns, or just black. Chocolate brown can feel like it sits awkwardly in between: not quite warm enough to be a medium brown, but not quite dark enough to have the certainty of black. And yet, on this watch, I completely fell for it.

Sometimes a colour that seems almost too conservative on paper ends up being one you keep coming back to.

That’s one of the things I enjoy most about making straps.

Strap Specs:
Distressed chocolate brown vintage style leather - padded strap
Black leather lining
Off-white side stitching
22/20mm
120/80mm

There’s something slightly unexpected about putting a vintage-style strap on a watch like the Rado HyperChrome.The Hyper...
22/08/2026

There’s something slightly unexpected about putting a vintage-style strap on a watch like the Rado HyperChrome.

The HyperChrome is all ceramic, sharp lines and futuristic detailing, while the strap is soft, textured, slightly imperfect and deliberately old-fashioned, yet warm.

At around 4–5mm thick all around, the finished strap also helps visually balance the watch both down the sides and underneath the wrist. The flat construction gives the HyperChrome a slightly more grounded, rugged feel, rather than adding to its already substantial presence.

But I think it’s the difference in character that makes a less obvious combination like this work.

A big thank you to my client for sending this one in for the build. Having the opportunity to measure everything properly and get the fit 100% right is always appreciated — and getting to spend some time with it in the studio for a shoot is an added bonus.

Strap specs:
Black vintage-style cow leather
Black kangaroo lining
Off-white accent stitching
27/20mm
125/80mm

I’ll admit, I wasn’t convinced this would work but I made it anyway. I loved how the piece of cow leather turned out aft...
23/07/2026

I’ll admit, I wasn’t convinced this would work but I made it anyway. I loved how the piece of cow leather turned out after the custom dye so I just had to give it a go.

This custom colour is the result of layer after layer of a dilute solution of browns and yellows and I particularly love how the pigments settle into the pores of the hide. Something that can only be really appreciated up close.

The Sinn 356 is usually best with black, grey, or dark brown, but this colour completely changes the watch by making it less instrument, more companion, more casual.

The light tonal stitching finishes things off nicely - again - different to your usual white or off-white contrast stitch. Much more subtle because the best straps don’t always ask for attention, they simply make you reach for a watch more often.

And the more often you do, the better they become.

Since this is made from vegetable-tanned cow leather, this warm butterscotch strap will darken gracefully with wear and develop a patina that’s entirely its own.

A final thing I’ve come to appreciate about the pilot strap is how most 20mm pilot straps also taper to 18mm but I’ve been enjoying building my pilot straps as 20/16mm. This allows the sudden “step in” to be more noticeable and help achieve that Big Pilot style that a lot of Flieger fans enjoy.

Strap Specs:
Custom dyed butterscotch cow leather - Pilot strap
Custom blue kangaroo lining
Light sand box stitching
20/16mm
115/75mm

This neo-vintage Burberrys of London held sentimental value for its owner, but there was one problem: he never really li...
31/05/2026

This neo-vintage Burberrys of London held sentimental value for its owner, but there was one problem: he never really liked it on the original bracelet. The goal was simple enough: replace it with leather and give the watch a reason to be worn again.

Removing the bracelet, however, revealed a second problem. The watch relied on a floating attachment bar that was held in place by the sides of the bracelet itself. Once the bracelet was gone, there was nothing to stop that bar drifting sideways and eventually slipping free. A conventional two-piece strap simply wasn't an option.

So this became my first fully permanent build.

The flame red ostrich leg strap was constructed directly around that floating bar, creating a single integrated assembly with the watch itself. It was also the first time I'd completed all edge painting and finishing work with the strap already attached to the watch.

With no traditional lugs to work from, the strap was designed to visually occupy much of the same space as the original bracelet. Rather than completely transforming the watch into something it wasn't, I retained the original 18/16mm proportions, allowing the leather to feel like a natural evolution of the design rather than a departure from it.

The design itself also bends a few conventions. Accent stitching is more commonly associated with casual or utilitarian straps, while padded straps are often paired with full side stitching. Normally, those elements don't appear together. But here, the narrow domed padding adds just enough lift through the centre to complement the unusual single-link attachment and give shape to what is otherwise a very slim dress-style strap.

The patina gold accent stitching picks up the warmth of the two-tone case, framing the flame red ostrich leg in a way that turned out even better than I expected.

Against the stark white dial, it somehow all works.

Perhaps that's fitting for a project that ignored several of the usual rules from start to finish.

Most importantly, the watch now has a reason to be worn again. There's something deeply satisfying about not just making a strap, but helping reconnect a client with a watch that had slowly been forgotten with time.

Strap specs:
Flame red ostrich leg - padded strap
Natural Kangaroo lining
Patina gold accent stitching
18/16mm
120/80mm

Matte grey python isn’t something you see often in watch straps, despite how established the material is.This particular...
08/05/2026

Matte grey python isn’t something you see often in watch straps, despite how established the material is.

This particular hide had been sitting with a New Zealand collector for years, set aside for a project that never came to be. Easy to overlook, but hard to replace once it’s gone.

Snake leathers have a reputation for being somewhat delicate because of their scales, but in reality python can be one of the more durable exotics when it’s done properly. The key is what sits beneath.

This hide has a firm, well-structured base under each scale, allowing movement without some of the usual drawbacks associated with weaker snake hides — less risk of permanent folding, lifting, or fatigue through regular wear.

That durability became more apparent once the strap left the studio.

After being gifted on a recent trip, this Seiko and its grey python strap found a new home somewhere between the rice fields and the road home. Out there, the conditions are less forgiving. Heat, dust, water, constant wear. The kind of environment that quickly shows what a material is made of.

By backing the larger scale sections of the python hide with kangaroo leather, it gives the strap more shape and structure, helping it sit properly against watches with a bit more case height or weight. It also adds the rigidity needed for long-term durability, without making the strap too stiff to articulate comfortably around the wrist.

Ultimately the goal was to keep the thickness, taper, and edge work tuned in a way that lets the material sit cleanly without feeling overworked.

If there’s one material that deserves a second look in strap making, it’s probably python.

Strap specs:
Padded Grey python leather
Caramel cow leather lining
Off-white embroidery stitch
20/16mm
115/80mm

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