The Journal
Beyond watch straps — stories, history, hand-crafted projects and notes from the atelier.
A bespoke leather watch strap is only as good as the measurements behind it. Here is a complete guide to measuring lug width, strap length, taper, and buckle position — the numbers that determine whether your strap fits perfectly or almost perfectly.
Read More
The saddle stitch is one of the oldest and most reliable methods of joining leather that exists. It is also the stitch that holds every Lombard Bespoke strap together. Here is what it is, why it works, and how you can tell a hand-stitched strap from one that isn't.
Read More
Genuine crocodile leather is one of the most coveted materials in the world of bespoke watch straps. But buying a crocodile strap without asking the right questions is a risk most buyers don't realise they're taking. Here's what CITES certification means, why it matters, and what you should ask any seller before you buy.
Read More
Deep Atlantic blue in full-grain vegetable-tanned leather — the Marine Blue is the most versatile of the range, moving seamlessly between boardroom and weekend travel.
Read More
Deep, forest-floor hunter green in full-grain vegetable-tanned leather — 130 hours of hand-craft, saddle-stitching, edge-burnishing, and solid brass hardware.
Read More
Named after South Africa's proudest red cultivar, Pinotage is a deep wine-red in full-grain vegetable-tanned leather. Dramatic in daylight. Unmistakable at a distance.
Read More
The Tan is the original — English saddle tan in full-grain vegetable-tanned bovine leather, the colour closest to the natural hide and the one that shows the most expressive patina over time.
Read More
Crafted in collaboration with master carpenter Grant Wood, this bespoke watch case combines 100-year-old olive wood from a family farm in Paarl with hand-stitched full-grain leather — a six-month labour of love.
Read More
Belt & Band founder Jacques Lombard discusses his craft, his passion for leather, and how this artisanal brand is fast becoming a luxury go-to. Featured in Visi Magazine, Issue 515.
Read More
In 2019, Vespa Cape Town reached out asking if we would make a custom luggage bag for a client's specially customised Vespa scooter. The brief: a large suede nubuck case with Ferrari seat leather piping that clips cleanly to the rear bracket.
Read More
A commission with an unusual engineering challenge at its core — a custom brass plate, precisely shaped as the structural backbone for a wet-moulded leather hard case designed to carry three large cigars.
Read More
When David Collins Studio — the London interior design firm behind some of the world's most celebrated hotel interiors — reached out asking if we could clad bespoke cabinets in leather for the bar lounge at Delaire Graff Estate Hotel, we had to take a leap of faith.
Read More
Introducing our Executive Range of Bespoke Leather Travel Backpacks — handcrafted over 130+ hours in full-grain vegetable-tanned leather, available in Tan, Pinotage Red, Hunter Green, and Marine Blue.
Read More
FELCO commissioned us to design and make custom luxury leather sheaths for several of their pruning shears and knife models — and in 2020, to create the grand prizes for their International Pruning Competition in Switzerland.
Read More
In 2013 I set out to hand-build a 1950s Fender Tweed Deluxe clone from scratch — cabinet, baffle board, chassis and all. This is the story of that build, documented post by post on the old Belt & Band blog.
Read MoreInterested in a bespoke commission?
Begin Your Commission