Care · 4 min read
How to Clean a Leather Watch Strap
Five minutes a month and your strap will outlast the watch. The right cleaner, the right rhythm, the right limits.
Leather is skin. Treat it like your own and it stays supple for years. Treat it like rubber and it cracks.
What you need
- A soft microfibre cloth
- A bowl of lukewarm water
- Mild pH-neutral soap (saddle soap or leather cleaner - not washing-up liquid)
- A leather conditioner (Saphir Renovateur or similar) once every few months
The five-minute routine
- Wipe the strap down with a dry cloth to lift loose dust.
- Dampen the cloth - never soak it - and add a pinprick of soap.
- Work in small circles along the top and edges. Do not scrub.
- Wipe clean with a fresh damp cloth, then dry with a dry one.
- Let it air-dry for 30 minutes away from radiators and sunlight.
Conditioning
Every two to three months, work a pea-sized amount of leather conditioner into the top surface with your fingers. Let it sit for ten minutes, then buff. This replaces the natural oils that wrist-wear strips out.
What to avoid
Alcohol wipes, leather wipes for car interiors, anything labelled "protectant" with silicone in it. All of them dry leather out. And never put a leather strap in water on purpose - if it gets soaked, blot, do not rub, and let it dry slowly.
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