Waxed Flesh is the reverse side of Chromexcel under a heavy wax, a roughout surface that is durable and water resistant.
A Horween leather, lined over a vegetable-tanned backing. The wax scuffs and burnishes as you wear it, and over time it wears down to a velvety texture underneath.
If you're after a suede watch strap, this is the closest thing we make and, we'd argue, the better one. Waxed Flesh is the reverse side of Chromexcel: the flesh side of the hide turned outward, so the surface is a fine nap instead of a polished grain, then finished under a heavy coat of wax.
The wax is what plain suede lacks. It makes the strap water resistant, gives the nap a dull luster, and burnishes darker wherever the strap gets handled. Over time the wax wears down and a velvety texture shows through.
Black is the matte black strap on the site, and it suits a field or dive watch where a gloss strap would look wrong. Brown is a dark chocolate that burnishes warmer at the fold. Natural is undyed, a pale sandy nap that darkens fastest.
Horween combination-tans it in Chicago, IL. We cut it lined, with a vegetable-tanned backing that keeps the roughout from stretching, in 12 to 24mm and three lengths or a custom one. It sits in the Vintage Horween series beside Aspen, Derby and Yellowstone.