023: Behind the Watch Strap with Calvin Smith

0:00 Calvin: I find that over time the market has really shifted. It's not just the major manufacturers. It's gotten to a point where there are niche, other niche makers, and I just find that fascinating that you can change so much with a watch strap. David: Welcome to Watch Smarts, where smart people get smarter about watches. I'm your host David Newman. Let's jump right in. We have talked an awful lot about watches, watch collecting, watch brands on this show.

0:44 But you know what we haven't tackled? And it's a topic I happen to love, watch straps. Well, you're in luck because Mr. Calvin Smith from Lusso Straps is right here right now to give us the lowdown on the world of straps. Calvin, welcome to the show. Calvin: Thank you very much. It's a pleasure to be here. David: So tell us a little bit, what was your entree, first into the world of watches, and then give us a little backstory of how you got into the business that you're in today. Calvin: Well, I initially started with gain- I actually gained an interest in leather and leather products when I was in the Peace Corps Uh, I lived in Costa Rica, and one of my small business clients that I would consult with was someone who made belts and wallets and things of those na- of that nature.

1:34 He was a great guy. I spent time with him. We would hang out and talk about types of leather and things along those lines, and I, I really gained an interest in that. And then through traveling, I've traveled extensively, uh, 75 countries so far, and I found leather tan- tanneries in places like Brazil. Of course, you, you visit Tuscany and you can find the tanneries there as well, in the, uh, Veneto and some of the other places that you can go to. Uh, there's a company here in Chicago, in the States, I say here in the States, uh, that does Horween, and so that's a wonderful leather that we like to work with a lot. And so during COVID, I mean, you probably hear a lot of COVID stories with businesses starting.

2:19 My primary business, which was the higher education consulting, took a hiatus, let's say, because when the universities were closed, a lot of the consulting was not necessary. So I decided to pursue another interest and, and try to turn it into a business rather than, than just, uh, some- something that I did for fun, really. David: Yeah. Calvin: And so I put that with… I have small wrists. I have a 6.5-inch wrist. It's very difficult to find a strap in the proper size. Also, I was always disappointed with the quality of the straps I bought. They, they use a very inexpensive leather.

2:59 It's either bonded or it's a, what they call a genuine leather, which just means it's made out of some part of an animal. And, um, uh, bonded is basically the, uh, particle board of, of the leather world, plywood if you will. And, uh, I just, I dove into it. I, I studied leather. I studied the different trends in the, in the industry. I learned that it's only been about 20 years since people really started getting into straps to change those for their watches in a personal way. David: Yeah. Calvin: It used to be you would go to your jewelry store. They would have that rack of, uh, Speidel Uh, bracelets with a little re, you know, the little transparent revolving rack, and you would go in there and your, your jeweler would charge you to put it on Yeah And you didn't really have a lot of options.

3:48 But of course, with internet availability and being able to order from all over the place, it just really took off. And so, uh, I was able to make a business out of something that I love. David: Yeah. Wow. So I have so many questions, because what we haven't talked about yet, you are in a very niche business. You are in the niche of a niche, as a matter of fact. Because of course some people would say, "Oh, he just makes straps." It's like, okay, he just makes straps. He just makes leather straps. Okay, fine. He just makes leather straps for a certain brand of watch, and you chose Panerai. Tell us about your connection to Panerai and why that became the focus of Lusso Straps.

4:31 Calvin: Initially I just, I've always had an interest in horology, as a lot of us have throughout the years, and I had a friend who had, uh, in Milwaukee, who actually had a Panerai, and it wa- it's just so different and unique in the, in the watch world. I mean, it's a tool watch, but, um, it's all… I mean, over time it's evolved into a, more of a luxury brand and people wear them. They, they changed some of the sizes. They've gotten smaller. And, uh, they can be up to a dress watch actually. And I just found that really interesting in the watch world. They really stuck out in my mind. So I, I bought my first Panerai, and I just, I was like, "This is, this is wonderful." And I started looking at straps again, and it was sort of the same thing.

5:20 Uh, mass-produced, cheap leather, not very nice buckles, and they were always cut in a way where they were too long for someone with a smaller wrist. Yeah. And of course, being a, a huge watch, a lot of people would say, "Well, you shouldn't be wearing a watch that big anyway. It's, it's just too big. Looks like a sundial on there." So I didn't care. I just, I loved the watch. I wanted to wear it, and it's a tool watch. It's a diving watch, uh, initially anyway. Yeah. And so it's supposed to be big. It's, it's over a wetsuit. Yeah. So, and it needs to be visible. So it just, all of that, that history with the Italian Army and Navy and the different things that they were suppliers for, it just, I just found it fascinating.

6:03 And then I thought, "Well, I, I really love leather. How can I put these two interesting things together?" David: Yeah. Calvin: And so I decided to look into getting straps made. And again, it was the same thing. Everyone wanted to put out what I consider a mediocre product. And I thought, "Wow, I've, I've visited a lot of the leather places. I've met a lot of people. What if I were able to get someone here to actually physically make the straps that I design?" And we will get all of the thread, leather, uh, buckles, everything you need and, and have them delivered here and put them together ourselves and, uh, uh, make a, a quality strap at a reasonable price point.

6:51 David: It's interesting that you mentioned about the size. So I had, uh, just a few, a few episodes ago, I had a guest who was just a dive watch fanatic, like dive watch freak. And he also had fairly small wrists, I think six and three-quarters, something like that, maybe, you know, seven. But, you know, these huge, like these watches are enormous for even- Yes you know, a little bit larger than, than your, your wrist and mine. He said, "Do you know why these watches are so big?" And most people cite the fact that you do put them over a wetsuit, and the wetsuit, you know, it's a layer of rubber on your skin, so it needs to be bigger. He said, "You're underwater. You're wearing a mask." Mm-hmm. "Often the mask will develop condensation. So through a mask in the dark, underwater, semi-dark, you need to be able to see what's going on on that watch dial." Exactly.

7:43 "So of course it's big. It's big for legibility." And you don't want to be, you know, 100 feet, 200 feet, 300 feet underwater and go, "I wonder how much air I have left. I can't see my dial." Calvin: Precisely, and it's, it is a tool watch. David: Yes. Yes, yes, yes. So Panerai, of all the luxury brands, and I could be wrong about this, I'm just recently learning about them, and I think hosting this show has been such a wonderful opportunity for me to learn from experts like yourself. A lot of the luxury watches, you look at Omega, you look at Rolex, you look at some of these, you know, 10, 15, 20k kind of range luxury watches- Mm-hmm most of them come on a bracelet.

8:23 Am I right that most Panerais come on some sort of strap? Calvin: Yes, they do. Uh, they- So David: they're much less into the steel bracelet kind of world. Calvin: Absolutely. Yeah, you'll… You can buy from, directly from Panerai, you can buy steel bracelets for a lot of the models. David: Yeah. Calvin: But, uh, for example, if you're looking at a Radiomir, uh, the majority of them have the wire lugs, and it's, you just, you can't attach a bracelet to it, uh- Oh, right in most cases. Yeah. So that's a, a large portion of the market. And then Luminor, they do make them, but it's, again, it's, um, they're very expensive. David: Yes. Calvin: And most people don't want them. It's just, it i- it's, like, got a cult following.

9:05 David: Yeah. Calvin: There are strap makers all over the world, and they connect very well with, uh, groups like paneristi.com. David: Yeah. Calvin: And they have developed a reputation. I feel I have, too. And people can get custom ones made. I have some that I carry in stock on my website. But anybody that, whatever they need, they, they just contact me and w- we make it for them. David: Well, I was gonna say, because, you know, if you look at most of the manufacturers that we're talking about, if you go to them for a strap, it is very expensive. I mean, certainly I think the bracelets are even more so.

9:46 You know- Oh, absolutely … you can get 1,000 or $1,200 for a bracelet. But even the straps are easily two, three, $400, right? From the- Absolutely … from the brands. Calvin: Yes, and s- oftentimes more than that, five, $600. David: Yeah. So you've decided to make your straps, I mean, for a handmade, handmade top quality materials, handcrafted by the founder. Have people told you that you need to raise your prices? Calvin: Yes, and for the customs that we do, they're a little bit more expensive. But for the ones that we have on hand, we were just able to have the same quality. We im- we have the same Serafil thread.

10:26 We have, uh, Swit- buckles from Switzerland. Yeah. Uh, the leathers come from all o- Tuscany or, or France, or just here in the States with Horween. And really, I just felt like here, it, things are just less expensive oftentimes in the Midwest where we're located, and we can get everything together here. And my strap smith, I, I, I will admit, I, I have very little to do. I'm, I'm more the designer and the person that interfaces with the client. David: Right. Calvin: But I, I know a few things, but, uh, I have a strap smith who is a former, former saddlery man. Oh, wow. And, uh, he just, he does wonderful work. He's done work for movies.

11:07 Yeah. Uh, for, like, Westerns with the, the holsters and things like that. Wow. So he's a very well-known person in, in the leather field. And so we've just got this partnership, and he's just … I can tell him what I'm looking for, what the customer wants, and we get together and put our heads together and, and he can make it quickly. And we can, exactly, we use the same high-quality products at half or a third of what, what a major manufacturer will charge. David: Quick commercial break here to ask you, have you seen all of the cool resources, downloads, and guides waiting for you at watchsmarts.com? Go check it out. You'll love it.

11:49 Now, I know that most, probably most of your clients are multi-brand collectors. They have some Panerais. They may have some Rolexes, some Pateks, some other things. And I'm sure you've gotten the call or the email, "Calvin, I love my Lusso strap on the Panerai. Can you help me with my…" fill in the luxury brand. "Can you start doing for Patek? Can you start doing for Vacheron? Can you start doing for Rolex?" How have you resisted so far, I'm guessing, you've resisted the temptation to branch out? Calvin: Well, we do customs for any watch. Um- Okay … I, yeah, we do Ro- I do Rolexes, uh, Chopard, Jaeger-LeCoultre.

12:34 You name it, I've done a strap for it. Wow. So we do have the custom side of it, but we don't have it as, like, a standalone production, I guess you would call it, if you can call it- I see custom straps production. Yeah. But anyway, yeah, we do any kinda custom, but those are typically… We do a lot out of word of mouth. David: Yeah, no, I bet. Calvin: Exactly what you said. We get a lot of people who say, "Yeah, I've got a Panerai. I want to get something exa- this is exactly what I want. Every time I go in, I can't find a red one with blue stitching." Yeah. "Or I want rally holes in, in this one to put on my Tag Heuer Monaco or something." David: Yeah. Calvin: So we just, we do it. We, we have the capability to do that.

13:14 Everything we do is without dyes. Uh, we don't use anything… It's basically freehanded, and this, again, this, this Strap Smith is amazing. David: Yeah. Calvin: When you're talking about half of a millimeter or something that a strap has to be exact or it, it doesn't fit, it doesn't look right. David: Yeah. Calvin: Uh, we don't accept it. A- any- we have a tolerance of, of less than a quarter of a millimeter. David: Yeah, and obviously that's very important. If you've ever changed the strap on a watch, e- even if you've just done, for the folks listening, if you've just done a Quickchange strap- Mm-hmm … right, much less a real strap that you have to kind of get into, it either fits or it doesn't, and trying to force it to fit is a living nightmare, and it pops out- It is and it's, for, you know, crazy.

13:58 So I wanna go back to something that you said, just kinda macro level, about changing straps on a watch. Because for a lot of people, this is a revelation. This is like, "Wait a minute, I can change straps on my watch? If I have a bracelet, it can be leather? If it's leather, I can substitute out something else?" So tell us in your experience, what does, from a design standpoint, from a look-on-the-wrist standpoint- What is special and magical about changing a strap and completely changing the look and feel and mood of a watch?

14:39 Calvin: Just that ability to, to do that very thing, to have a… For example, you've got a, a black-faced watch of some sort. David: Sure. Calvin: Put a yellow strap on it, and it's summertime. You feel, you feel excited. You feel energy, I think. Yeah. And if you want to be more luxury, you could go with a, a crocodile or an alligator black, for example. Yeah. And it completely changes the mood. Colors are very important on a watch, and also you can… A lot of people, myself included, like to use straps and/or the thread to pull details out of the face of the watch. Yes. I have a Chopard that has the second hand, the, the arrowhead is red.

15:25 The watch is silver. And s- uh, the, the dial is silver. And so you can use red, for example, red thread or a red strap, and it just visually it pulls all of those things together, and sometimes you don't even notice it, but it just makes the watch complete And I'm a big fan of contrast. Mm-hmm. I like lighter colors a lot of times. A- And for me, it's seasonal, and for a lot of my, my clients, it's seasonal. Uh, they do want brighter colors for the summer. They, they want, uh, warmer colors for the fall, and in between colors, like for the spring, things that are almost like a pastel. David: Yeah. Calvin: So it just kind of, uh, it, it just evolves as, as the year goes on.

16:08 And pe- it, it's just a wonderful thing to me. And with different things, like for some of those customs that we do, to have quick pins, for example, the quick, quick release pins. David: Yeah. Calvin: I mean, you can change your watch strap in a minute. We supply a lot of people with, uh, buckles if they want… don't want to use their original, or they buy more than one original buckle for their watch. Yeah. They're gonna use the aftermarket that we have, and so they're set. I mean, you get up in the morning, um, people pair it with what they're gonna wear that day. Yeah. I've got a blue tie, I'm gonna wear my brown strap with the blue thread. And you come up with some interesting combinations. I just did one that is a, uh, crocodile, and it's got a red stitch on it.

16:54 And so the c- the client was just very interested in that, and it was a, it's a very dark espresso brown. Yeah. So you normally wouldn't see a watch strap like that in that color with red stitching. David: Right. Calvin: And so they're just… It's an infinite palette of things that you can do. David: Yes. Calvin: And to me, that's very exciting and, and a lot of times the clients will say, "Well, just do what you want." Well, I need to know a little bit about their personality, what they're gonna do with the strap, you know, or just, just a variety of things that, that you need to know. I want the strap experience to be very personal. David: Yeah. Calvin: I want the person… They're, they're, they're paying for a custom strap.

17:35 David: I Calvin: want, I want that strap to be the leather, the thread, the buckle, the size, everything exactly the way they want it. Yes. And, and we don't settle for anything else. David: I'm gonna say something that is gonna probably get me in trouble with some of our listeners and some of our listeners' guests, and who knows. Let's say that you have a watch that you really love, and you're very tempted because of what you just said about the different colors, the different moods. You're like, "Oh, you know what? I have the black dial, but they make a green dial. That green dial is gorgeous." You know, are you gonna drop another 10 grand, 12 grand on the green dial, or are you gonna take the watch you have, put on a green strap?

18:16 You will be amazed. It's like that scratches the itch. At least for me it scratches the itch. If I have… 'Cause I've, for example, I've been looking for purple dial watches, and I found a couple of beautiful ones, but purple's kind of hard to come by. It's a little bit weird. Absolutely. Sure. So I have a couple of black, just black dial diver watches. And, um, I actually like to put, for the summer at least, I like to put s- rubber straps. I like to put FKM. Sure. I, I know it's probably ugh, bleh. But you know, this is just- All the chemicals … my, my, my little personal thing here. I put a purple rubber FKM onto a black dial watch. I don't need a purple watch anymore. Mm-hmm. And so I imagine some of your clients, Calvin, are saying, "You know, I have this beautiful Panerai.

19:03 Yes, I, I could get it in the brown, or the black, or the silver, or the… Or wait a minute, instead of dropping 50 grand on watches, I could drop a few hundred or a few thousand on some straps or some custom straps. I have all the watches just… I, I'm sorry. I have all the colors, but on my favorite watch I have now all the colors." Calvin: You've hit the nail on the head. Yeah. Most of our, our clients are in that very mindset. Yeah. They, they look at it, and they're… The same thing. They, they, uh, have a black face watch or a silver faced watch. A lot of times when you get into a purple or a green- People think, "Well, I'm kinda limited. It, it has to match."

19:45 And it looks great when it does, or you, you go with a color and then you match it with the thread. David: Sure. Calvin: But it also gives you an infinite opportunity to be creative and, and have, have a different color on that purple strap. David: Sure. Calvin: And it, or a wa- rather, or the purple watch, and it just changes everything. Yeah. It just really comes alive and, and it, for sure if you've got a black-faced watch and you put purple or green on it, lime green, which we've done- David: Yeah … Calvin: or you put dark brown or black on it, I mean, it just changes completely, and we have a lot of people who, who change straps more than once a day.

20:27 David: Oh, yes. Oh, yes. I've been there. I've totally been there. Calvin: I have clients who have, not necessarily from me, but they, they'll have two 250 straps. David: Oh, my goodness. Calvin: Yes. I mean, people have huge… And then their storage that they buy from you. Well, David: that's what I was gonna ask you next because, you know, there's people that have big watch collections, so they buy watch cases or watch winders. What, how do you store 250 straps? What, what mechanisms are out there to help with that? Calvin: Most people use a cloth, typically a cotton, uh, not as much like a synthetic, and they're rolls. They're like a watch roll. Oh. And people will just have these, like a r- a row of shotgun- Mm … the, the bandolier, and, uh, they just have them in there and, and roll them up.

21:14 And, uh- How about that? … we, we do some, some storage as well, but it's more for travel. We do some, uh, leather pouches, I guess you would call them. They'll, they'll hold three or four watches or whatever you would like. Nice. And so we do those as well because they're thin and they're protective, but they're not bulky if you're just throwing a couple of watches in there for the weekend or also just to put a few straps in there and one watch or whatever the case may be. David: Right. Calvin: So, uh, Panerai guys like leather a lot- David: Yes … in Calvin: my experience, and they know a lot. For sure. They're very discerning customers. David: Well, for people that don't know the brand, and this is not necessarily a Panerai show, and you're not an authorized representative, so we'll just make that disclaimer now.

21:55 But walk us through some of your kind of favorite models of Panerai or, or i- if you have some in your collection, I'd love to hear about your watch collection overall. But, but give us kind of the Panerai 101 for people that might not be all that familiar with the brand yet. Calvin: Well, uh, you have three basic categories. Okay. You have the Radiomir, which typically has the wire lugs. You have the Luminor, which is a much, I don't know if you'd call it sturdier, but it's definitely… it's got solid lugs. It's, uh- It's David: tougher looking. Calvin: It i- it is. It's definitely more solid and masculine, if you wanna call it that. And then you have the Submersible, which is your classic dive watch.

22:38 There are, again, so many options with those because you can get different kind of composites and colors on the dials, on the bezel. You have just a lot of opportunities. We do a lot of straps for the people with the Submersibles- David: Yeah … Calvin: but also on every other one. And I personally like watches like the, uh, the Radiomir 183. It's a beautiful watch. It's, it's accessible for a lot of people. Uh, you can get a nice example, uh, on the secondary market for 3,000, $4,000. David: Yeah. Calvin: And it's a great way to get to know Panerai. I encourage people to study.

23:18 There, there's just so much literature and so many fun groups. I mean, paneristi.com has been around for 25 years, and they do amazing things not only f- with the watch community, but, but just they support each other. It's, it's an amazing thing. But getting off the subject a little there. The PAM423 is another one that I absolutely love. It's got a power reserve on the front, and it just… to me, it, it just speaks to me in the fact that it's a, it's a dark dial- Panerai dials, what they call black to me are more of a charcoal- Mm … if that makes a difference, a graphite. David: Yeah.

23:59 Calvin: So they're not as sharp. They have a m- more mellow feel to them from that perspective. They have a certain vintage look because they have the khaki colored, in many cases- Yeah … they'll have the khaki colored indices and numbers. So though it really lends itself, those watches, especially the, the khaki numbers and indices, to the warmer colors. So it… Both of those watches, to me, are s- are watches that are, that are affordable and a great way to get started in the Panerai journey. You know, both, both, uh, of course, one ha- the Radiomir has the wire lugs, which is a little more complicated.

24:40 You have to kinda watch a video or s- or get training from something, but, someone- Yeah because it certainly is not your typical strap change. It, it'll- Right … it'll take you a few minutes. And then on, on the, the Luminors, you have the nice screw, and it just, you screw it right through there, right through the, the strap into the, the other lug, and it's just, it's such a solid feeling. You screw that in, and it's, it's just ready to go. Your strap feels solid. It's ju- it's just a wonderful, rugged look and feel. David: Now, with the Luminor, and I guess with, with maybe m- a- almost all of them, the name Luminor obviously means light.

25:21 They have this crazy lume that's almost like, you know, you turn on a light switch or you turn on, like, a neon sign. Is it as amazing in person as the videos that we see online? I Calvin: think so. It's something I really look for. I mean, it's, uh, in the old days, it was completely radioactive. So, uh, you know, today, they've, they've, uh, tempered that down a little bit. But I fi- I fi- I find that the, um, that actually there are so many options and so many variations, but yes, in general, the lumes are fantastic. David: Yeah. Calvin: And, uh, y- again, for the divers and, at, at least originally, I, I frankly don't know a whole lot of people who take their 100-meter $25,000 watch diving.

26:06 David: Right. Calvin: I don't personally. David: Right. Right. Calvin: Um, there, there are people that, uh, you get out and swim, and you can snorkel and things like that. David: Sure. Calvin: But for the most part, my guys like, my watch clients, like leather. David: Yeah. Calvin: They prefer leather. But they will wear a rubber strap and, and, uh, Panerai makes some wonderful ones, and there are some aftermarket ones that are very well made as well. David: Well, it's funny. I think one of the reasons that folks like me buy leather straps and rubber straps is simply the fact that you can't find some of the cool colors in leather. Exactly. When they come to you, it's like you can find any color under the sun in this beautiful, handcrafted, artisanal leather put together by, you know- People who are world-class at, at what they do.

26:56 So if, if, if people have, are listening and they've been driven away from, again, leather. Oh, yeah, black, brown. Oh, let's go crazy. Maybe there's a white one. Mm-hmm. Maybe, you know, maybe there's, like, a, a yellow one. We're going really nuts here. All the colors of the rainbow- Sure … if you go to Calvin and team. Become available to you, and, uh, not just for Panerai, but of course, Panerai specialists, Panerai experts. What else is in your collection, Calvin? What else is in your watch box? Calvin: Besides Panerai? David: Yeah. Calvin: Chopard. I, I'm a big fan of motorsport. Mm-hmm. Primarily F1. David: Yeah. Calvin: So just about every watch I have has some kind of connection to- motorsport.

27:39 Yeah. I have a Chopard, uh, Monaco Historique. I have a Super Fast, um, a Chopard Super Fast, which is huge. So it's a wonderful watch, and frankly, from the, from the, uh, the movement side, they are unbelievably accurate. And I just, again, they've got that sporty, they look great on a rally strap, perforations, the, the graduated holes, whatever you wanna do, they just, they look fantastic on those, and I love making those strap, or having those straps made rather. David: Yeah. Calvin: I have a Rolex. It's a, a very basic, uh, Day-Date. It's the first ac- Swiss watch that I bought. Yeah.

28:19 Uh, I have a Carrera, uh, reissue, and I have a Monaco reissue from the early, late '90s, early 2000s. David: Yeah. Calvin: And, uh, I have some YEMS. Oh, nice. I really like YEMA. I, I've just absolutely, their, their customer service is wonderful. They're open seven days a week, 24 hours a day. I've had a couple of issues, uh, like anybody will have. David: Sure. Calvin: You just open your phone, send them a message, and they're, they're right back to you in minutes. How about that? And my, one of my favorite watches is a YEMA Rally Graf Mario Andretti. David: Mm. Calvin: They made… This was a, a watch, uh, that was made to commemorate his, uh, 1969 win at the Indianapolis 500.

29:04 They made 1,969 of them, and I was lucky- Nice enough to get one. And it's an automatic. Uh, it looks a lot like the, uh, watch that he actually used in that race. Yeah. And there's an interesting story that he, he was not sponsored. He was not, uh, he was not given any commercial anything, really. I mean, he didn't receive a, a back- any backing or whatever. He was just walking down the street, saw this watch, and said, "Wow, that's cool." Yeah. And bought it. And so years later, YEMA was like, "Wow, this is really a feather in our hat." So they started, they started making these. And so they, they make a quartz version, but I'm really proud of that watch.

29:45 Uh, it's, it's certainly not the most expensive watch, but it has a, a really good movement in it, and it's just, to me, classic, and it pairs so well with so many things. David: Hey, David Newman here with a quick commercial break. Have you seen our social media channels that have video snippets from our favorite interviews? Check us out on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. Now back to the episode. Well, as we're landing the plane, I've got two final questions for you. The final, final question is where can people go to connect with you and Lusso Straps and get all the scoop on what's available? And then, uh, before we get to that, my fin- my pre- my, uh, penultimate question, my second to last question is- If we were to look at just the world of watch straps in general, right?

30:38 'Cause people have the watch. I, I would say if you have never changed out straps on your watch, whatever kind of watch it is, could be a $50 watch, could be a $50,000 watch. If you've never changed the straps on that guy, you have maybe missed out on 50% of the enjoyment. So that's, that's my closing thought to people. Calvin, what's your closing thought just about the world of Panerai, the world of Lusso straps, the world of strap fashion in general? Calvin: I find that over time the market has really shifted. It's not just the major manufacturers.

31:19 It's gotten to a point where there are niche, other niche makers, and I just find that fascinating that you can change so much with a watch strap. Yeah. I think it's, uh, it's, it's just something that I, I look forward to. I get excited about it. I look forward to the interaction. I think I like that more than anything, is dealing with, with the customer. By the way, if you ever get a strap made, photos are the best. Send me a photo to… or send this one, I want this color, I want this sh- Yeah … this thread, whatever. That's very helpful. And so it, it, people who've never changed a strap, there are videos. They can contact me.

32:00 I'm happy to go through the process with them because of course there are no spring bars with a, a Panerai. But we do a lot of, a lot of different things to help our, our clients, and we have a lot of new customers, not just, you know, they might want quick release spring bars, or they don't. Yeah. Or there's different things out there that help install things or whatever the case may be. Honestly, most of, most of, uh, our clients go to David: YouTube. Mm. Calvin: There's so many wonderful videos out there by some very talented people who have an ability to show you how to do something. And to me, I'm a visual, visual person.

32:40 David: Yeah. Calvin: And once somebody shows me how to do something, then I'm able to take it and make it my own. Absolutely. But sometimes with something like that, someone saying, "Well, compress this pin and slide it in here." David: Right. Calvin: For me, that's difficult. Yeah. And I just find that in general, people are opening their eyes. I mean, it's a three plus billion dollar industry, and it was not like that 20 years ago. And at, the projections are almost, oh, five, five and a half billion dollars by 2030, 2035, something in those range. In that range. So what you're, what you see is a lot of growth. There's gonna be more niche markets out there, so go after what you want and don't settle for what is necessarily out there.

33:23 Yeah. Contact that person. Contact us and say, "Hey, Lusso Straps, this is exactly what I'm looking for. I need it smaller. I have a small wrist. I need it larger." We get a lot of those requests. Yeah. I have a nine, nine-inch wrist. Ooh. Okay? We're, we're gonna make you a really big strap, but, or, or small. I mean, there, I'm, we've got six and a half inch wrists, and there are people smaller than that. David: Yeah. Calvin: And it's just nice to have one that's made for you and have it the way you want it and have it fit. Because there's a lot of things that you, you have a beautiful watch, but y- the strap just doesn't fit. David: Right. Calvin: And it doesn't look right, and it's not exactly what you want. "Oh, I wish I had this," or, "I wish it had this kind of buckle," or whatever the case may be.

34:05 Right. Yeah. Let's do that. Let's make it perfect for you and make you really enjoy your watch. David: Yes. So good. So good. Well, Calvin, where can people go to get connected and stay connected to you, Luso Straps, website, links? What, what should go in the show notes for people? Calvin: Well, lusostrap.com is the primary place. David: Mm-hmm. Calvin: Um, i- if we have, uh, if we're running some kind of promotion, it's always on the front page. David: Yeah. Calvin: And we do run those from time to time, so I would, uh, certainly encourage people to check that out. We have straps available, pre-made straps. They're all handmade. They're just some that we have in stock. David: Yeah. Calvin: If they tickle someone's fancy right off the bat, they can order those.

34:46 Uh, they can contact me through the website, through chat. Uh, make myself available on chat at all times, and also on Instagram. We're, we're on WatchCrunch. We're on a lot of different formats like that, that have a, have a good contact with the, with the customer. I'm not a hard seller at all. Uh, most of our Customers come from word of mouth David: Yes Calvin: And we lo- we love that because then that says, "Hey, we're happy, and we, we're willing to put our reputation on the line, uh, in order to, you know, make sure that the next customer is happy." And it just, it just makes me feel good. Yes. Uh, I'm, I'm more in this business to make people happy, and there's nothing better than when someone sends me a wrist shot after they've gotten their new strap, and they're just over the moon because they finally got the watch strap that complements their watch the best.

35:39 David: Absolutely. I love that. And so I, I will need one of your lime greens. I will need some purples. We need to talk after this, and, uh, totally fantastic. As you were mentioning this, it, it struck me, this is like people that just have bought off-the-rack clothing, and they've never gone to a tailor, right? They've never had a custom-made jacket or suit or pair of slacks. Once you've experienced this, that it fits you, your personality, your physiology, in this case, your wrist, your size, the, the size of watch that you're putting it on, you're never gonna go back to an over-the-counter strap. I mean, sorry, folks, you, you can't.

36:20 You're now a Lusso Straps customer for life. You know, Calvin's really sorry. I'm really sorry, but that's the deal. Am I right or no? Calvin: You're absolutely right. It's just once, once you have that, it's really hard to go back. I mean, it's, it's like, uh, probably like luxury cars or a luxury watch- Yeah or whatever the case may be. You have one, and then it's, it's just hard to go back and- David: Yeah … Calvin: have something else. I mean, because, again, y- we might be twice what a cheap watch band is. David: Yeah. Calvin: And when I say cheap, I don't mean necessarily inexpensive. There are good inexpensive watch straps. Yeah. But what I, what I find in a lot of cases is simply they're just poorly made.

37:02 They don't fit. Yeah. They're made for whatever watch is out there, and people try to mate them to their watch, and it's just not the same. And, and for most people, a watch is a huge, can't really call it an investment 'cause it's not gonna typically come up in value. Right. But it, it's a huge layout of money, and for most of us anyway, who, who have the addiction. And- You deserve that. I really th- For sure And, and once, once you have a custom strap and see the difference it makes, then you're like, "Okay, I want that, but I want it in this color, and I want it in this typical, in, in this specific leather." David: Yeah. Calvin: And you just become a connoisseur, and you, you tell other people, and that's how, really how we, we meet people and, and, and gain new customers.

37:49 David: That's tremendous. Well, Calvin Smith, you are a rock star. Thank you for being with us and sharing all of this wisdom. And, uh, folks listening, definitely check out the links in the show notes. Pop over to lusostraps.com. Check out Calvin's social media, Instagram, et cetera, and, uh, get your first Luso strap, 'cause you're never going back. You're never going back. Calvin, thank you again. Calvin: Thank you very much. I appreciate it. David: And that wraps up another episode of Watch Smarts. Listen, if you love this show, if you love watches, subscribe, download, leave us a rating or review on your favorite podcast platform, and check out all the free resources waiting for you at watchsmarts.com.