I was changing the leather strap on my Hammy Intra Matic chrono this morning and noticed some very fine scratches on the side of the case between the lugs. Due to the placement of the lugs on this watch, the end of the strap fits tightly and rubs against the side of the case right where the scratches are, which I suspect is the cause. Didn't realize leather could do that, but maybe there are fine particles in the finish of the leather or else some small dust that's getting in there with just enough grit. Most of my watches are brushed between the lugs (perhaps to help avoid this), but the IM is highly polished everywhere.
Anyway, it's hidden when a strap is on and barely noticeable when the strap is off, but I thought I'd throw it out there in case there's some obvious precaution I could be taking to avoid it at all. I thought I might take some rubbing alcohol to the end of the strap to remove some of the leather finish/soften it up to see if that might help.
Fine scratches on case side between lugs from leather strap?
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Re: Fine scratches on case side between lugs from leather strap?
It's genuinely inevitable as it will catch debris upon normal wear over time. I wouldn't recommend fussing over it as a quick wipe with something like cape cod polishing cloth will make it seem like new.
- cheddar
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Re: Fine scratches on case side between lugs from leather strap?
Oh, I know. I’m not really that bothered by it, just hadn’t encountered it before, and didn’t find much about anyone else experiencing it, so I thought it was worth a quick post.
After looking around a bit more, I found folks with the opposite problem (case scratching the leather) who have tried curved spring bars, so I bought a few of those for a coupla bucks and will try it out.
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Re: Fine scratches on case side between lugs from leather strap?
I've never even noticed. If some of my watches have some, it won't bother me, but out of curiosities sake I will be looking at the are with a loupe now!
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