Family-owned Avel & Men, a Breton leather goods company offering a range of nautical-inspired watch accessories, has just unveiled a new watch strap named ‘Ouessant’, made from storm sail canvas! A red-orange strap that is gaining popularity.
“‘Who sees Ouessant sees his blood,’ says a local saying. But why choose the name of this island in Finistère, located off Porspoder where Avel & Men is based, for this new strap?”
In fact, this “saying doesn’t exist by chance”, explains Xavier Broise, founder of Avel & Men. “This sailing area is particularly difficult, with often strong winds and violent currents that can raise a nasty sea.”
He goes on: “I was nine when Peter Blake won the Jules Verne Trophy and crossed the finish line off Ouessant under very reduced sail; this exceptional sailor said at the time that the end of the race had been very hard, even though he had just sailed the Southern Ocean and rounded Cape Horn…”
This new strap therefore draws its inspiration – but also its raw material – from off Ouessant, as it is made, just like the previous La Rochelle strap, from sail canvas.
But this time, it comes from a piece of ‘storm’ sail. It is therefore orange in color, like the storm jibs (storm foresails) that sailors must have on board when sailing in strong winds.
Agnès Broise, co-founder and head of design at Avel & Men, enthuses: “This fabric speaks to sailors and the color pairs perfectly with many dive watches or chronographs with orange dials and hands!”
The brand is currently continuing the development of new models that will be presented throughout the year to complete the collection. These technical and sporty straps are available on the Avel & Men website and at its retailers, notably Misterchrono, who was one of the first to market the brand.
