Blue Stingray Strap for Orient Mako

An ice blue dial is a hard thing to dress. Go too dark and the dial floats on the wrist with nothing to answer it; go too bright and the watch looks like a costume. The owner of this 40mm Orient Mako 75th Anniversary in Ohio picked a blue stingray strap for the Orient and asked us to keep the stitching out of the way — which turned out to be the whole design brief.

Build sheet

Leather	Stingray, blue
Strap length	75/125mm (2.95 in / 4.92 in)
Buckle width	18mm (0.71 in)
Buckle	Classic, stainless steel
Spring bars	Regular
Stitching	Minimal, matching thread
Style	Classic, tapered tip

Why these choices

Stingray is not embossed cowhide. It is a pebbled surface of hard pearl scales with a centered diamond cluster of larger, brighter beads running through the middle of the hide — the mark you cannot fake. On a blue-dialed diver that cluster sits right where the eye lands, and it does something no smooth leather manages: it catches light in points rather than sheets, so the strap sparkles a little as the wrist turns.

The stitching request drove everything else. The customer wrote: "I have selected minimal stitching, but if no stitching is durable and strong I would prefer that option as to not take away from the natural beauty of the stingray skin." He is right about the tension — a heavy contrast stitch on stingray fights the scale pattern. We kept minimal stitching in a matching thread, which holds the edge without drawing a line across the beads.

Matching the strap to the dial rather than the bezel is the subtler call. The Mako's steel case and bezel are neutral; the ice blue dial is the only colour in the watch. Answering it with blue stingray ties the two ends of the wrist together and leaves the case to sit between them.

Questions we get

Is a blue stingray strap for an Orient Mako practical on a dive watch? Stingray is one of the toughest hides we cut and the scales shrug off scuffs that would mark calf. It is not a strap for swimming — no leather is — but for daily wear on a diver it holds up better than most.

Can you build it with no stitching at all? Yes. On stingray we usually recommend minimal stitching as the balance point: the edge stays secure and the skin still does the talking.

Tell us your dial colour and we will match the hide to it. Start with the blue stingray strap, browse the full stingray range or our blue leather straps. Every strap is made to order — allow 2-3 weeks to delivery.