The Strap Is Just the Beginning: Inside the World of Bespoke Watch Straps at Stone For Gold

There’s something sacred about unboxing a new watch. Whether it’s the crisp click of a Patek Philippe Nautilus folding clasp or the way the sun catches the brushed finish of a Royal Oak Offshore, the experience feels ceremonial. But for a growing number of collectors, the moment is also followed by a quiet frustration — the strap doesn’t fit, or worse, doesn’t feel worthy of the watch it’s paired with.

That’s where Stone For Gold comes in — a Singapore-based leather atelier that has quietly become one of the region’s best-kept secrets for luxury watch owners looking to elevate the way their timepiece wears on the wrist.

“I waited two years for my Daytona — and the strap just didn’t work for me.”

This isn’t a rare complaint. As watches become more exclusive, OEM straps often don’t keep up. The fit is too generic. The materials, surprisingly underwhelming. And the options? Limited at best. Boutique waitlists for a new Day-Date strap can stretch months. For something like the Cartier Santos or a Richard Mille RM 005, the conversation gets even more complicated due to integrated cases and curved lugs.

At Stone For Gold, these are the kinds of challenges they welcome. With clients ranging from startup founders to seasoned collectors, their workshop has reimagined the idea of the “watch strap” — not as an accessory, but as an extension of the collector’s story.

Each strap begins with a conversation.

Sometimes it’s about recreating a beloved vintage look, like a faded brown shell cordovan for a Speedmaster Moonwatch. Other times it’s about pushing boundaries — like pairing vibrant green stitching with black matte alligator for a Patek Aquanaut. There’s no template. No mass production. Just leather, tools, and time.

The Craft Behind the Strap

Stone For Gold sources over 50 types of leather — from French calf to Japanese denim, to exotic hides like stingray, lizard, ostrich, and American alligator. Many come from the same tanneries that supply Europe’s top maisons. But it’s the way they use it that matters most.

Everything is done by hand: the skiving, the saddle-stitching, the edge painting. You feel it when you handle the finished strap — the tension of the thread, the subtle curve shaped to hug the wrist, the grain left intentionally exposed. These are the kinds of details that turn a strap into something far more lasting than just an accessory.

Designed Around the Watch — Not the Other Way Around

Watch heads reading this will understand: not all straps are created equal, and not all watches accept just any strap. A Royal Oak isn’t a Submariner. The end links on a Panerai Radiomir aren’t like those on a Franck Muller Vanguard. Fitting a Chopard Mille Miglia or a Corum Golden Bridge requires not just precision, but an intimate understanding of the watch’s geometry and case profile.

Stone For Gold has developed a niche in this exact space — crafting straps that integrate seamlessly with complex cases and rare references. This isn’t aftermarket. It’s artisanry, built around you.

A List of Watches That Pass Through the Workshop? It Reads Like a Geneva Catalog

From Rolex Submariners, Explorer IIs, and Sky-Dwellers, to high complications like Patek Philippe Annual Calendars and Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Chronographs, the team sees it all. One week might include a Ballon Bleu de Cartier, a Luminor Submersible, and a RM 07-01 — all needing different strap builds and all treated with the same respect and attention to detail.

And yes, they’ve even handled watches that don’t traditionally get custom straps — including the new generation of integrated-case watches like the IWC Big Pilot 43, Omega Seamaster 300, and even rare oddballs like the Cartier Clé de Cartier or the Patek 5968A.

More Than Just a Strap

In the end, what Stone For Gold offers isn’t just a product. It’s a return to what collecting used to feel like: deeply personal, slow by design, and unapologetically analog. Their straps wear in, not out. And like a good pair of leather boots or the patina on an old dive watch, they only get better with time.

So if you’ve ever looked down at your wrist and thought, this watch deserves better than what it came with, maybe it’s time to step into the world of custom straps.

Because the strap? It’s never just a strap.