Horological Meandering

Hello everyone, Ken from Delugs here. I was alerted to this thread and thought to create an account here to respond to some of the comments and feedback.

Firstly, thank you for taking the time to pen such a lengthy review. I value all feedback and it's always a chance for us to improve on our products. Second, allow me to provide a more detailed response to each of the feedback. Given the length of the review, I thought it's only appropriate to pen an equally lengthy response.

1. "cutting a strap to make it fit is a stupid, lazy design"

I didn't elaborate more over IG than a simple one-liner reply, but of course there's more to it than just because another brand did it.

If you have a wrist size of >6.5 inch, good for you because most rubber straps will fit just fine. If you have a small wrist size, you'll quickly realise the problems with 90% of the rubber straps on the market - they are sized "universally", but what that really means is that its made extremely long, with >10 strap holes (just look at the Barton strap in the post as an example), just so they technically fit everyone's wrist. But in reality, this is a terrible fit for people with small wrist, and you end up with a strap that has a very long overhang. 

Cut to size means that with one single design, we have a strap that definitely fits your wrist, no matter how large or small it is. People with smaller wrist will definitely appreciate this. 

Also, CTS means that you don't have any strap excess at all, which makes for a very clean look without any excess strap left to worry about. Wearing and taking off the watch is a very simple (and fun) process without the excess strap.

2. "The first thing I noticed is that it's heavy"

Both sides of the CTS strap is uncut, so yes it would be heavier than the actual weight. Compared to the Barton band, it also has the Deployant Clasp vs the tang buckle, so yes it would be heavier on that count too. Maybe post a photo of the strap + clasp after it is cut down to the right size and compare again with the Barton band, that might be a better comparison.

3. "[The clasp] is REALLY sharp. Really, really sharp...It's like having a knife blade pressed up against the bottom on your wrist"

This is straight up an exaggeration, unless you received a defective product. It is nowhere near that sharp, and we've had many customers who have used the strap without the same issues as this. In fact, yes the edge that touches the wrist is bevelled. 

4. "In an effort, I assume, to make the strap as heavy as possible, they made it as thick as possible. Let's call it "inaccessible". 10 points for thoughtlessness, Delugs."

Not too sure what the thickness is referring to, but this is the exact same quick release spring bar that we use on all our leather straps. The fact that you got it on the watch, probably means that it works fine.

If you're referring to the thickness of the rubber strap and not the spring bar, we'll look into whether this is an issue that other customers face too. It is still a very supple strap even with the current thickness, but we'll look into whether the strap thickness can be further reduced without comprising on the overall feel and quality.

5. "Here's the thing with cutting a strap: it's permanent."

Yes, we definitely acknowledge this point, and all customers buy the strap knowing this. We're working on a new clasp with additional holes so there's some additional micro-adjustability to the strap, beyond using the 3rd strap that's supplied.

6. "I guess the design is a personal choice but it is really bland."

Yup, we went with a plain design to start, so that it's most universal. We will be releasing other designs down the road that may better suit different watches.

7. "Delugs, if you are going to copy someone, copy Apple."

The benefit of the CTS style is the lack of any strap excess. There's no overhang, and there's also no excess strap between your wrist and the strap. With the Apple strap, you have to tuck the excess inside the strap, which isn't comfortable.

Also, the Apple design is incredibly non-secure. A solid pull in the right (or wrong) direction, and the watch falls to the ground. Sure, for an Apple Watch that may not be such a problem. But on a luxury watch, we definitely cannot afford that to happen. For this reason, a Deployant Clasp, or even a tang buckle, is way more secure.

Btw, when did "solid and dense" suddenly become a luxurious feeling rubber strap? I thought heavy just meant heavy. Anyway, moving on...

8. "Strap holes were a perfect solution to a problem that Delugs seems to have re-invented..."

Back to s/n 1 and 5, a standard rubber strap with strap holes work if your wrist size is sufficiently large. But ask anyone with a small wrist, and existing rubber straps with strap holes just don't work well.

Yes, it is possible to make shorter rubber straps to fit those with smaller wrists, but there's a reason so few brands have that - it means another mold, another set of straps to make and keep in inventory, and for many brands (us included), that amount of capital tied up in inventory just doesn't work out.

Ultimately, my belief is that CTS is the better solution, especially if you plan to use the strap across watches with a similar lug to lug length. Yes, it would be even better with more adjustability via the clasp, and that's something we're already working on. I do think that the broader industry will move in this direction.'

Now, to all the personal insults and attacks on us and our team, that's truly uncalled for, unprofessional, and unnecessary. We're all adults, so let's stay civil and offer constructive criticism.

To anyone who may have doubts about this product, especially after reading this review, do reach out to other customers that have bough the product and tagged us on our Instagram to ask for their feedback, or check out other reviews on our website. Yes, this isn't a perfect product, but we never said that it is. There are things that we're working on to improve on in the next iteration. But it's definitely not as "half baked" and "lazy" as this review puts out. We're a team of fellow watch enthusiasts, and we definitely put all products through a lot of testing before we release it for public sales.

I don't monitor this forum actively, so feel free to reach out to me on Instagram or email (ken @ delugs . com). Cheers!

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