Yesterday, at the BBAMSGTG, two ladies were present that work for IWC. They both wore a Portofino on a milanese strap. You don't see these straps often, they looked very elegant and not oppresive at all, with their fine structure, and being quite thin they fitted the equally elegant Portofino's quite well. They certainly don't look as massive as a bracelet, that often is integrated with the case of the watch, in principle these milanese straps could be fitted on any watch that normally has a leather strap. It is quite obvious that such a milanese strap could be very practical in hot, humid circumstances.
I talked for a short moment with one of the ladies, and asked her how she liked the milanese strap. She told me that it wore very pleasant, no problems at all. I then asked her if at IWC it was ever discussed to give other watches the option of a milanese strap. Her answer was no: this astonished me a bit. I could imagine that for instance in Singapore, a Pilot's watch or a Portuguese could both look very tasteful and attractive, and be quite practical too.
I wonder, would you think it a good idea to have the milanese strap available as an option, along with the more traditional alternatives like the leather strap? Could you see it as an alternative next to the NATO strap, that in a way serves the same purpose? Would you even comtemplate to order such a milanese strap if it was available for one or more of your watches? If so, which ones? I just wonder about my steel versions of the Vintage Collection, the Portuguese, the Ingenieur and the Pilot's Watch, to me such a milanese strap would look smashing on all three of them. But seeing is believing, of course.
Kind regards,
Paul
](
