Bespoke briefcase in London

[couch]

I can attest that Asprey still do at least some of their own leather work. In June I happened to see there a modest 1934 gold Asprey wristwatch that appealed to me. The lugs for the strap were fixed (soldered to the case) and I didn't care for the (non-original) strap that was on the watch at the time. After a genuinely pleasant negotiation we agreed a price to include a bespoke alligator strap using the original buckle. One of the craftsmen brought down a section of the hide and we discussed how the grain on the strap pieces would be oriented and some construction details. I had a friend pick up the finished watch and the strap was perfectly nice--particularly given that it had to be sewn around the lugs. The lining leather is blind-embossed with the Asprey mark.

[simonbakercasemakers]

Hi, I came accross this forum by chance, I am a master casemaker, who after 17 years living and working in the west end of London, had enough and relocated back to Scotland. I have a small shop and workshops in Strathdon, Aberdeenshire, in the Cairngorms National Park. When in London I had supplied Picketts, as well as Harrods and Harvey Nicols, I have also done some work for Whitehouse Cox. For the past 20 years or so, I have specialised in traditional hand stitched bridle leather cases and accessories. Now with almost 30 years experience of bespoke work, possibly I can be of help, if so contact me through my web site, http://www.case-maker.com There is not a lot on the site, but sufficient to show the quality of my work. I can send images of previous work once I know what your needs are. Keeping traditional skills alive. Simon Baker

[jlazarow]

I can attest that Asprey still do at least some of their own leather work. In June I happened to see there a modest 1934 gold Asprey wristwatch that appealed to me. The lugs for the strap were fixed (soldered to the case) and I didn't care for the (non-original) strap that was on the watch at the time. After a genuinely pleasant negotiation we agreed a price to include a bespoke alligator strap using the original buckle. One of the craftsmen brought down a section of the hide and we discussed how the grain on the strap pieces would be oriented and some construction details. I had a friend pick up the finished watch and the strap was perfectly nice--particularly given that it had to be sewn around the lugs. The lining leather is blind-embossed with the Asprey mark.

I can also confirm that Asprey does their own leather work. I just received a desk blotter for my library that I had Asprey make up for me. I worked with one of their leather designers and met the craftsman who ultimately made my blotter-- we wanted to make sure that they could do it. Funnily enough I found this bespoke service to not only be a lower price than what I found ready made at other quality firms, but also allowed me and my wife to have it made as we wanted. To give you an idea we had it done in Ostrich and it came in cheaper than Ralph Lauren wanted for a leather embossed one in their Chicago store (I live on Chicago). So sometimes bespoke provides an all around better value.