American alligator watch straps in black, in a belly cut and a finer tail cut, matte and backed with vegetable-tanned leather. Made to order in California.
Large squared-off scales in rows, widest down the middle and smaller toward the edges. The surface is matte, so the pattern reads as shadow rather than shine.
The belly is the underside of the hide, and it's the alligator pattern most people picture: big squared-off scales in rows down the strap, widest along the middle and smaller toward the edges, with a fine raised line between them. Yours won't match the photograph scale for scale - the rows fall where the panel puts them.
The tail is the other cut we make, and it comes out finer: smaller scales in tighter rows, curving across the strap rather than running down it. It's the one to look at for a smaller watch, where belly scales can crowd the case. Same hide underneath, cut from a different part of it.
The surface is matte rather than glossy, so on a black hide the pattern shows as texture and shadow rather than as contrast. It reads formal from across a room and unmistakably scaled once somebody is close enough to see it. Each one is backed with vegetable-tanned leather and made to order in California, in every width we cut.
This is the one leather here that wants no conditioner at all. Wipe it along the length with a soft dry cloth, and lift dust out of the grooves between the scales with a soft dry brush. Keep it out of prolonged sun and heat, and if it gets wet, let it air-dry on its own.