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Thread: Straps: when matte/satin? when glossy?

  1. #1

    Straps: when matte/satin? when glossy?

    When I'm choosing a strap for a new watch, I always know immediately whether I want black or brown. Looking at the dial and case, I usually know instinctively how rich and how dark a brown, and what kind of grain the watch wants.

    But I can't work out when it is I want matte/satin finishes and when glossy.

    (Beginning to wonder if I'm simply moving from matte to glossy as I get more confident in my choices: I seem to have made a similar journey from smooth to croc patterns.)

    Assuming you even bother to register the difference, what factors affect your choice between the two?

  2. #2
    wind-up merchant OhDark30's Avatar
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    Depends on the shininess and texture (or absence) of the dial for me: OK for the watch to upstage the strap, but not vice versa
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  4. #3
    Quote Originally Posted by OhDark30 View Post
    Depends on the shininess and texture (or absence) of the dial for me
    *peers in watch drawer at row of sunburst dials*

    Maybe that's it. As I've let my sunburst obsession rule me entirely, my taste in strap finish has traipsed along in its wake?
    Last edited by Der Amf; Mar 13, 2015 at 01:42 PM.

  5. #4
    Personally with exception of exotic straps, I think of shiny straps as being more dressy so I generally wear matte ones.

  6. #5
    Matte for sport, shiny for dress works for me.
    Eterna | Tudor | Seiko | Casio | G-Shock | Orient | Swatch | Mondaine | Zodiac (pre-Fossil) | Rolex | Wenger | Pulsar Time Computer | Omega | Timex | Bucherer | Citizen | Bulova | Glycine

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  8. #6
    Moderator - Central tribe125's Avatar
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    Glossy can look poncey to me, but that's a highly subjective opinion. I've come to prefer straps that keep out of the way in visual terms.

  9. #7
    I can't think of a scenario where I would pick a glossy strap over a matte strap. I am just not a fan of glossy straps. Maybe a little less matte for a dress watch, but never glossy.

  10. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by FuzzyB View Post
    I can't think of a scenario where I would pick a glossy strap over a matte strap. I am just not a fan of glossy straps. Maybe a little less matte for a dress watch, but never glossy.
    I bought what was allegedly a glossy hadley-roma strap recently, and it was scarcely more than satin. I think they call the high gloss straps "glazed"?

  11. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by popoki nui View Post
    Matte for sport, shiny for dress works for me.
    Virtually all my watches are in the same kinda dress vein, hence my confusion

  12. #10
    The Dude Abides Nokie's Avatar
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    I always go for the matte/satin look first. Easier to dress up this type of finish than it is to dress down something with a glossy look.
    "Either He's Dead, Or My Watch Has Stopped....."
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