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Kong's multi-part series, "Malaysia PuristS Visit To SWA - Journey To Tannery," provides an unprecedented look into the intricate process of crafting luxury watch straps. This initial installment sets the stage for a comprehensive tour of Heng Long Leather Co., promising to reveal the laborious steps that justify the high price of crocodile straps. His detailed itinerary and commitment to visual documentation offer readers a virtual journey into the world of exotic leather production.
12 Jan 2008
The Visit to Sincere Watch Academy and a tannery happened after 3 months of planning.
Thanks to the SWA Team for putting up the first factory tour in Singapore (the first of a series of factory-touring program to come) and the visiting Malaysians for their enthusiasm and taking the time to come over for this PuristSPro-SWA event.
There will be a total of 6 parts to cover this full-day event.
They contained many (no, it's a lot) pictures which I hope will enable the readers to join us virtually on the tour 
.
Instead of putting them under a single post with five child-posts, I decided to split them in case some of our readers have no broadband access.
The Itineraries are :
1) 09:30 Visit to Tannery (Heng Long Leather Co.)
2) 13:00 Lunch hosted by SWA
3) 14:00 Visit to SWA & Basic Clock Mechanism Practical
Enjoy!!
Kong
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Time : 08:30
Nearly all of our participants arrived at Suntec Convention Centre, the meeting point.
They proceeded with their breakfast.
Time : 09:30
A huge coach arrived to fetch 24 of us.
Time : 10:10
We arrived .
Arr.... I was really surprised to see a tannery in Singapore! It is Heng Long Leather!
According to SWA's Patrick Tan, Heng Long Leather does not conduct factory tour except to their customers.... and because of their close relationship with Sincere Watch, the Heng Long management kindly obliged.
A Short Note On Heng Long Leather Co.
Heng Long Leather has been in the tannery business for over 30 years and supplying about 30% of the world alligator/crocodile skin to many brand names.
They are also the first reptile skin tannery in the world to be awarded with the ISO 9002 Certification (by Certificate International (UK) Ltd) on 28 March 1998. The company also complies with the International regulations set by the Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
CITES is an international agreement between governments. Its aim is to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival. For more information, please refer to the site : 'www.cites.org'.
Heng Long Leather does not open to factory tour, and through the relationship with Sincere Watch, that this visit was possible.
This is the first of the series of touring plants manufacturing the components of the watch by SWA, and the tannery is chosen and at later time, will likely be the upstream process - the strap-maker.
The tannery is a must to visit as it is the factory where the raw materials of the straps are from!
Fundamentally, even the best workmanship of the strap-maker is irrelevant if the materials are inferior!
I will try my utmost to provide the information observed as accurate as possible about the manufacturing of the crocodilian (alligator/croc) skins.
added to Editor's Pick
Now I need to spend some quality with all the info. I also hope to claim some extra knowledge after my read. I hope to be a hit with strap crowd. Thanks again as always. Bill
Hi Kong, Wonderful coverage thus far. I wanted to publicly comment about your including the information that this tannery conducts business in a way that is respectful of the environment and also belongs to an international organization that monitors the use of endangered species. I think a responsible use of materials is crucial, not only for our own survival as a species, but for the image of people partaking of luxury goods in general. Luxury, by its very definition, implies excess. However,
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