PURE BLACK
NOSTIME was established in 2012. Back then, I started off with a modest three strap selection; over time, this has grown to over 20. But for 7 years, I have never offered a black strap. Why? 
The answer is simple: to do it right. The black strap is ubiquitous; the color is offered in every segment of the watch strap market. You can spot a black strap on a one-dollar plastic quartz watch, and also on a 50-grand haute horologie watch.
But as much as enormous this range of prices is, so is the difference in quality. Having had experience with those special four-figure black straps that grace special timepieces, my standards were too high for myself to haphazardly cobble something up. 
The manufacture is far from straightforward. It is definitely not as simple as dying the leather on the blackest thing you can find, because then it won’t age beautifully over time. Black straps are especially tricky, because their base color is already black. After all, if it’s already black, in what other capacity could it age into?
So, over the past 7 years, I experimented and eventually settled on a matte, understated black color that ages with a slight gloss over time. To facilitate that, I chose French Barenia calf by HAAS, because its smooth texture helps to develop a glossy patina. The patina doesn’t turn the strap into something shiny like Bridle leather; it only serves to support the quiet black color. 
In a sense, this black strap has been a part of the collection since day one of opening, since I have been experimenting since then. But now that I have found the quality is consistently befitting of a NOSTIME strap, it is only now that I feel it is ready to be released to the world.
