Our first look at the Fossil Q Founder came in its purely stainless steel form. Steel body, steel links. Heavy, for sure, but also a looker, especially with how the design saw the metal flow through the lugs and into the body. But there’s another, slightly cheaper option — leather, which you can buy separately if you wish. Options are good.
So here’s a quick look at the leather band on the Q Founder.
This is what we’d consider to be your basic leather strap. The stitching is quite nice — maybe even a little better than what we’ve enjoyed on the Huawei Watch, which currently sits atop our list of Best Android Wear watches. Unlike the metal bracelet there’s no external Fossil logo, which is to be expected. But you will find it imprinted on the underside. The metal buckle is brushed the same as the body of the Q Founder itself, a nice attention to detail.
The leather strap connects via the same sort of quick-release pins as the metal bracelet, and we were able to switch it out without any problems at all. You’ll end up with space between the band and the watch body, which isn’t a bad look. And as an added bonus, you’ll find it’s ever so slightly easier to stick the whole thing on the Q Founder’s giant pillow-top charger, since you don’t have to worry about snaking anything underneath.
All in all, leather is a very nice option for the Q Founder. (There’s a rubber strap available as well, if that’s how you roll.) Whether to go with it or metal is almost completely subjective (though the $20 difference may make up your mind for you), but either way you can’t go wrong, and you can always swap it in later.
More: Read our Fossil Q Founder review
Google Store Google Store (strap only) Fossil (leather)