Leather Bracelets

Getting the size right

This is the part worth two minutes before you order, because a braided bracelet is a fixed loop. There is no clasp to let out and no adjustment hole. It either fits or it doesn't.

Measure your wrist

Run a tape measure around your wrist, just below the wrist bone, snug but not tight. If you haven't got a tape, wrap a strip of paper or a piece of string around, mark where it meets, and hold that against a ruler.

That measurement is your wrist circumference. Write it down in centimetres.

Then order one size up

If your wrist measures 16 cm, order the 17 cm bracelet. If it measures 19.5 cm, order the 20 cm.

The extra centimetre is not slack — it is the room the braid itself takes up. An 8-strand round braid sits proud of your skin rather than flat against it, so a bracelet cut to your exact wrist measurement would end up tight.

Don't round up twice

One size up is the whole allowance. Going two sizes up is how a bracelet ends up loose enough to work the knot back through the loop and come off your wrist without you noticing — and veg-tan lace softens and gives a little more as it is worn, so a bracelet that starts generous only gets more so.

If you are buying this as a gift and cannot measure the wrist, ask. It is a better conversation than a guess.

How it's braided

The bracelet starts as a 4-strand round braid that forms the closure loop, then merges into an 8-strand round braid for the body. It finishes with a crown knot and a herringbone knot, which is what fastens through the loop.

There is no core inside it. A lot of braided leather is plaited around a cord or a rubber centre, which is cheaper and quicker and means what you are wearing is mostly not leather. This is solid kangaroo lace the whole way through — 3 mm, full grain, vegetable tanned, cut from the same hides the wallets are made from.

That is also why the braid holds its shape. A braid around a core loosens as the core compresses. This one doesn't have anything to compress.

Why kangaroo lace

Kangaroo is the traditional material for fine braiding, and the reason is structural. Its fibre runs more uniformly than cattle hide, so a lace cut at 3 mm is still strong enough to plait tightly without stretching out of shape or snapping at the turns.

Because kangaroo doesn't need splitting down to be workable, the lace keeps its full grain on the outer face. That is the dense, smooth surface — it sits comfortably against skin and darkens gradually with wear instead of fraying and going furry the way a split-leather lace does.

Colours

Four, and they are the natural veg-tan range rather than dyed brights: Ochre, Cognac, Havanna and Black. All of them darken with wear. The Ochre changes most — it starts light and warms considerably over the first year.

Made in Rockdale, Sydney

Braided by hand in one workshop in Sydney's south, after you order it. Nothing is made in advance, so allow one to two weeks before it goes in the post. Standard postage within Australia is free and tracked.

Common questions

Will it stretch?

A little, and then it stops. Veg-tan lace softens over the first few weeks of wear and the braid settles. It will not keep growing — but it is the reason not to order a size larger than the guide says.

Is it for men or women?

Both. It comes in nine sizes from 15 to 23 cm, which covers most wrists either way. Size is what matters here, not gender.

How thick is it on the wrist?

It is an 8-strand braid in 3 mm lace, so it reads as a substantial cord rather than a thin band — but it is a braid, not a cuff. If you are after something wide and heavy, this is not that.

How do I look after it?

Wear it. Skin oils are what give veg-tan its patina. Keep it out of prolonged soaking — a shower now and then will not hurt it, but swimming in it repeatedly will dry the leather out. It needs no conditioner in normal use.

Can it be repaired?

Usually, yes. If the knot works loose or the closure gives up, email and ask rather than binning it. It was braided by hand here, so it can be re-braided or re-knotted here.

What if it doesn't fit?

Sizing is the thing this page exists to prevent, but if a piece arrives faulty or not as described, it gets repaired or replaced with return postage covered. See Returns & Refunds. A wrong size chosen at checkout is a change of mind rather than a fault, which is why the measuring guide above is worth following.