nuvolablue 2,051 Posted March 5, 2017 (edited) Hi All I thought I would share my first ordering experience with Mario. I have recently purchased a Hamilton Jazzmaster Maestro (Portuguese "homage"), and wanted to upgrade the croco grain strap to a genuine alligator skin. The watch comes as standard mounted with the following: I sent Mario some stock images of the watch and asked him to prep me something similar on his genuine skins but in his usual IWC style straps. Because an IWC strap typically has a shorter end (buckle/clasp side) than the conventional strap fitted to the Hammy, I sent him the dimensions of the Orloff strap I have fitted on aother IWC where I realised I had to get another of his quality creations. I placed my order enquiry by emailing him via his Blog page. Mario was very good at communicating skin choices and the price. He also sends a template for providing him exact dimensions of the strap. After ordering the communication from Mario continued regarding progress, and asked me specifically whether I was happy with the thread colour he had selected: I was a little hesitant with the two threads he had selected as both looked too bright. I was worried with such a bright thread the strap would look too sporty, which would be at odds with the dress watch look I was going for. Mario went ahead and used the orange thread and sent me the following pics, saying he would be happy to change it if it wasn't to my liking: I immediately wrote back saying I thought this was too bright for my watch. So he was happy to change it to something a little more complimentary. This is the final QC picture of the strap that is on it's way to me. I am hoping this look will be much more suited to my Jazzmaster. I will update with pictures mounted on my watch as soon as I receive it. I wanted to share the experience so far with Mario which has been great. He has been very patient with my musings over which thread to choose. I think for next time it will be better and easier to just pick a skin/thread combination that he has posted on his blog page, or his photobucket album. Thanks all. Feel free to leave any comments or similar experiences, or you may wish to wait for me to update the thread for when the strap is actually mounted on the watch. Edited March 9, 2017 by nuvolablue Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
madaboutyou 0 Posted March 9, 2017 Made a good choice - the previous one really looks a little bit too bright. How much did you pay for this strap? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Flipper81 0 Posted March 9, 2017 Looks like a nice pairing if you don't want to post here could you PM details of cost etc Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nuvolablue 2,051 Posted March 9, 2017 Looks like a nice pairing if you don't want to post here could you PM details of cost etc No problem - I was quoted 90Euro +9Euro shipping to UK by Mario. This was before selecting skin and thread. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nuvolablue 2,051 Posted March 16, 2017 So Mario's strap arrived today. I've mounted it on my Hammy - and to say I am pleased with the final result, is a huge understatement !! The strap is nicely padded at the shoulders, but not too much which is exactly right for my dressy watch. Mario did an excellent job with the stitching colour - it's a fantastic match with the gold hands and dial markers. This takes my Hamilton to another level - Very pleased !!! - Some pictures: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites