Daniel Dreifuss of Maurice de Mauriac in Zurich is as wild about straps as he is watches. Sometimes maybe even MORE excited. The boutique brand’s founder is perpetually in search of exciting new straps, strap makers, and materials. This is a labor of love that has him looking for the finest ways to attach his watches to your wrist.
I sat with Daniel recently to check out some of his 2012 creations and styles. Maurice de Mauriac is more about custom creations than it is about buying off-the-shelf designs. If you recall in my past discussions of the brand, Maurice de Mauriac wants buying one of their watches to be a bit like playing with LEGOs.
Much of the straps you see are custom made or designed for Maurice de Mauriac. These are just a small selection of the many straps he is constantly offering. Lately, Daniel has been keenly interested in straps made from fine leather (such as Hermes), as well as woven leather style straps.
The woven leather straps he has had custom made are supple, richly hued, and thickly padded. The rich colors are a strong signature look of Maurice de Mauriac straps, which nicely compliment the military or classic look of their timepieces.
In addition to leather straps, Maurice de Mauriac has been working with various types of textile and fabric straps. A lot of the suppliers he works with provide straps to many of the much larger Swiss brands. The vast majority of brands do not create their own straps – which are produced by a select group of high-quality suppliers all over the world.
Maurice de Mauriac has ventured outside of Europe as well to look for straps. Ideally you can visit the showroom in Zurich to see all the cool new stuff, but online ordering should be available as well. The straps are compatible with most watches – not just those from Maurice de Mauriac.
If you haven’t really investigated upgrading or switching your watch strap, it is a good idea. Not only can a new strap dramatically enliven a tired watch, but playing with different types of straps can really change the look of a watch in ways that you might not be able to anticipate.
