iWatchz STLGRYDYTP Timepiece Stainless Leather Watch Strap for iPod nano 6th Gen with Deploy-Grey

I was looking for a watchband that would be of high quality and would have a refined, distinguished look--something I might wear to the symphony or to business settings where suits and ties are the standard. I did quite a lot of research and this looked like the best fit I could find for those conditions. When I got the watch, it was a disappointment overall, enough so that I returned it.I have a background in Design Engineering, so I look closely at small details as I know much they matter and I have a fair understanding of materials and manufacturing techniques. The quality of the metal parts--the closure and the connector plate where the Nano clips in--is excellent. I doubt that it is actually stainless steel, because SS is two to four times the cost of comparable metals and putting a high shine glossy finish on SS also costs extra in manufacturing handling. Probably a basic steel with glossy plating. But it's common that items are marketed as "stainless steel" when they mean it's finished to LOOK like stainless steel. The closure has a simple primary mechanism to open and close, as well as a secondary mechanism to adjust which hole on the band is engaged to fit the closed band to your wrist. Both mechanisms have small detents so they snap into position when closed, each with enough required force that this band is not sloppy or likely to come undone easily, even while running or riding a bike. I have average sized hands and wrists I suppose (I wear a medium or large glove size, where medium is usually snug to tight and large is usually not quite snug to loose fitting, and my wrists are 7 1/2" in circumference, measured with a snug cloth measuring tape). One downside of the closure mechanism is that the parts are sized so that I could not slip the band on and off by just opening the primary mechanism (which is normally all that is required to take a watch off or put it on). This is a subtle difference in parts size--if the parts are too large it gets painful to close it once you slip the open band over your hand because the parts poke into your wrist while closing. But there are tons of watches out there that have successfully figured this out and this watchband got that detail wrong. So I had to unclip the secondary mechanism, slip that part down the band some more, slide the whole thing over my hand, slip the secondary mechanism back up the band and clip it back into position, and then close the primary mechanism every single time, either going on or off. That was a pain and one star marked against.The Nano slipped easily into the connector plate and engaged with very high tolerances--it fit tight and firm with no slippage or slopping around. And for this part too, because the underside of the Nano (the clip part itself) is resting directly against your skin and being pressed against the connector plate it would be virtually impossible for the Nano to come off while wearing it. If you were running or biking and you like to wear your watch very loosely then it might be possible, but even then the tooth inside the clip is engaged into a closed slot, so the Nano would have to be jarred so hard that the clip got knocked wide open for it to jump out of that slot and come out. I am also a runner and a cyclist to so I would say this band is very secure in terms of the Nano falling out, but then again it's a high end leather band so are you really going to wear it running or biking? One result of the design is that the Nano only slips into the connector plate one way. So the only way to control which way the Nano is physically oriented (you can easily change which way the display is oriented on the Nano by rotating it with "multi-touch" on screen) is to completely turn the watchband around and put it on the other way. The good news is that this works just fine--you can have the buttons facing towards your hand and the earphone jack pointed up your arm if you want to wear wired headphones up your sleeve, or you can reverse it to have the buttons more visible if you want to. Some might find this a little awkward because we usually do things like this the same all the time--think about all of your conventional watches, they only go on your wrist one way, right? You'd never put it on upside down, would you? Of course, for conventional watches you wouldn't do that because the watch would be a real mental challenge to read upside down. So for this particular feature I say "some might find this a little awkward" only because where the band overlaps would be reversed--a very minor detail that some others might not be bothered by at all.Another disappointment to me, and probably the most disappointing part of all, was the quality of the leather. The inside material is a soft leather, like a very low nap suede that is plenty comfortable against the skin. But the outer leather just smacks of "cheap." This is certainly not a fine leather band that is soft and supple like very well made leather can be, comfortable to the touch and comfortable to wear due to its natural flexibility and ability to take the shape of your own wrist quickly. This band is a hard band that will not be changing shape unless you soak it in water and crank it down tight to break it in. The outer surface has a glossy finish and the regularity of the surface details make it look manufactured. My guess (and this is a guess--I don't have actual knowledge of their manufacturing technique--just of how techniques often do work) is that this is made of average leather which then undergoes a process of stamping (to raise the surface features to look almost like alligator skin, but with little rows of ridges that perfectly fit the size of the watchband), cutting the leather to the band shape, coating the outer surface with a glaze of some kind (the glossy finish, which does NOT look like natural leather, or perhaps like actual alligator skin, that kind of "wet look" sheen), and then stitched to the inner layer of leather. So while there is a layer of suede-like leather against your skin, the whole band is quite stiff and does not flex or move with your skin at all. Another disappointment and another star against.And finally all of this is contingent on the price. I got the dark brown band, currently (Feb 2012) going for $61, the cheapest of the colors, ranging up to $80 for black and even $90 for the other hottest colors. If this band cost $40 or even $50 I would say these features were all to be expected. But to see that the "base" price is $90 and maybe you get a discount for colors or marketing pushes? At that price level I expect more and this watch didn't measure up. Hope that's worth two cents.

Le quedo perfecto a mi ipod y se ve muy elegante

The watch band looks pretty much exactly like the picture, however I personally didnt like the "feel" of this band. The "leather" certainly feels like plastic to me, although I'm not questioning whether it is real leather or not. It just feels hard and like plastic and was very stiff. It might get better if you take time to break it in a little, but it didnt want to mold to my wrist at all and kind of stuck out rather than lay against my wrist. It does "look" good. It comes off as a rather classy look considering you are strapping an ipod to your wrist. If you have a larger wrist, this may not work well for you. I'd say I have a slightly larger than average wrist (though i dont have any issues with any watch i've ever purchased) and it was a bit of a struggle to get the watch over my hand. Once it was on, there was enough room and i had to tighten it up a bit, mut only the 2nd notch. Honestly, for the price, I couldnt recommend this product. $90 for something that just feels cheap on my wrist is a bit steep. I do, however, think this is one of the nicer options out there for the iPod nano. I am returning this item.

Pros:The mounting scheme is really clever.The steel mount is strong. My previous iWatchz broke while playing volleyball, with the plastic mount snapping in two. This one will hold up to abuse.It looks elegant. I've had a bunch of people remark on how cool my watch looks.Cons:Putting the thing on and taking it off is a little cumbersome. The leather strap is different from most watch straps, in that it never opens completely. There are two steel snaps that expand or shrink the circle, and you (un)snap them to put the watch on or take it off. (The sizing is adjustable, BTW)It's fairly hot. When I exercise on a 100 degree day (pretty common where I live), sweat accumulates under the steel mount. I periodically take the watch off to dry it. (Moisture won't hurt the strap, but it could fry the ipod)Overall: It's a good strap. Not worth the fairly high LIST price, but well worth the discounted price I paid for it.

I've had this about 2 weeks and have enjoyed using it. Looks great with my Silver 16GB Apple iPod nano and has gotten a number of compliments. The only reason I'm giving it a 4 out of 5 is I had to adjust it a little to get the nano in as the fit of the nano in the sleeve on the watch is really tight. I like this because it feels like the two are one watch, however, when first putting nano in I had to really press it pretty hard to get it to the point that the clip work lock down. It was also bent just a bit too much where the clip slides in and I needed to pride it apart just a little to get the nano in. Now it is working great and I've enjoyed using it.

I love the concept of this "watch". It looks super cool, I get asked about ALL the time. It holds the ipod well, and the feel on my wrist below the ipod is great. They should have different size straps so the strap doesn't have as many holes as this one has. The deployment clasp is a little bulky but seems to be of good quality.I own a few high end watches so my standards are pretty high for watch bands and deployment clasps but for the money this is a fun and good buy!

Overall, I really like the band. It looks nice, not cheesy. I had a hard time keeping up with my iPod because it's so little. From that standpoint, the watchband is great - I always know where the iPod is now. However, the iPod doesn't quite "lock" into the band like it's supposed to. I'm going to have my husband try to make the hole where it clips in a little larger out so it will lock in. (This hasn't caused me any issues at this point but I'm concerned that when it does, the iPod will be gone.) The only other thing is that I have a small wrist, the iPod looks a little awkward on my wrist.