All the Things You Never Knew About Horween Leather
Isadore Horween, the founder of Horween Leather Company, claimed that he was going to take the best materials, best artisans, and best techniques, and that only once he was finished with the product would he secure the price tag. The leather used in FinWatch leather straps is made of the highest quality leather available perhaps anywhere in the United States and even abroad. When you secure the buckle on your watch, you can be sure that it is, without a doubt, made with the utmost care and respect for a leather-making tradition that has lasted decades.
History of Horween Leather from the Chicago Tannery:
In the 1890’s, Isadore Horween took a trip from Ukraine to the World’s Fair in Chicago. He wandered up to a booth run by the Chicago Tannery and glanced at the leather. The man running the booth asked him what he thought about the leather to which he replied, “It’s alright, but I think I can do better.” Isadore Horween earned himself a job at the Chicago Tannery that day, and that is exactly what he did. The Horween Leather Company was founded in 1905, and they strive every day to make the world’s best leather.
How FinWatch Straps are Made
The chromexcel leather used in FinWatch straps is far more durable and comfortable than other forms of leather, and because it can be waterproofed, it is ideal for fashioning into elegant watch bands. In the Horween Leather Company factory in the United States, chromexcel is produced with a technique called bark retannage pulled from an old recipe. It is then hot stuffed with a mix of greases and natural oils that still remains a secret recipe today. You can distinguish chromexcel from other forms of leather because it is dyed with aniline finishes that coat the leather without obscuring its natural texture. Because they are so precious, aniline finishes can only be used on the highest-quality leather.
What Does Premium Quality Mean?
Horween leather is made from a time-honored tradition that has been passed down from generation to generation over more than a century. You can’t cut corners when it comes to premium quality leather. Horween Leather Company employs highly skilled artisans who are well-trained to use old-world techniques. Many of the steps are still done by hand, and with their greatest fear being only “good enough,” they strive to complete each part of the leather-making process with the utmost care. They only use the best hides, dyes, oils, and finishes because they pride themselves in giving their customers what other suppliers either can’t or won’t.
Horween could have lowered his prices and competed for pennies, but they chose the harder way. Instead, the Horween Leather Company endeavors to provide their clients with the best leather money can buy. Should it take them one month, six months, or even a year, they are willing to put forth the effort for the sake of the art itself. FinWatch leather straps are, indeed, leather bands you can be proud to call your own.
My watch straps, you can see here: https://finwatchstraps.com/collections/all
