The Breitling Watch Source Forums

Hi, i need advice regarding the method to darken my alligator strap, i read that many people use oil to darken it, what type of oil should i buy ?

1 - Can i oil it 3-4 times at one shot or do i need to oil it one time and wait for it to try, then continue to oil it to make it darker ? What i know is that those leather care products can't be used 3-4 times at one shot, it will damage the strap.

2 - My Kain Heritage alligator strap has 2 color, dark brown and light brown.

2a. I will be using a Q stick, do i just oil the strap ( across both the dark brown and lighter brown areas ) ? I fear that it will mix both colors and become one brown ?

2b, Or do i oil the darker brown areas and lighter brown areas separately ?

Please let me know what to do, 2a or 2b and the oil to buy.

This is my strap.

Buy a barbour waxed jacket...

If you are not of any help, benignly put a kibosh on making comments.

ok.

Last time I tried this (albeit w/ a bit of tongue in cheek joking) I ended up being called a childish clown, but I'm known as a rather persistent person.

CL, you are not the only one in the WIS world that does suffer from a bit of OCD, others are hopelessly crazy watch addicts like your truly - best to take the good natured jokes and laugh a bit about yourself, it does help.

Now to the strap advice: I suggested Extra Vergine olive oil last time - it could well be that regular, cheap, industrial olive oil will get you the same results, but I have not tried that; Extra Vergine Non Filtrato is what I put on my food and my watch straps.

Go slowly: take a Q-tip and apply a little bit of oil on your strap above the buckle - this area will be hidden when you wear your watch, even the most obsessive person should be able to live with it, should something go wrong.

Give it time to dry after you've applied the first oil "layer", ideally over night, decide if this is what you wanted to achieve, then

a) enjoy and be happy, or
b) repeat steps above until u are - or
c) just leave that beautiful strap alone in the visible areas.

Do not try to only apply the oil to the light areas, they might darken a little bit more than the darker "scales", but if you try to improve on nature you'll end up w/ ugly, uneven stains.

Good Luck.

Brother, thanks for the precious advice, i need to confirm something.


When i spread the oil with the q-stick, can i spread it all over the strap ? ( it would means i spread it to areas having dark and lighter color areas together ), i fear that this will mix both colors together but it might not happen. I suspect the lighter areas are lighter due to the original color of the dead alligator skin.


Or i should do it separately on both dark and lighter areas ?

answered above and by pm.