New Bosphorus Leather Watch Briefcase Just In Time For Black Friday

If you go back to my posts on Bosphorus leather from last year, you won’t have to look very hard to find the enthusiasm riddled throughout my words. I simply loved, loved, loved the Birmingham leather watch collectors’ case and the watch trunk, and my passion for these products hasn’t diminished at all in the twelve months since. Now, I am pleased to present the first of two new products I got my hands on this week. Today, I’ll be talking about the new Bosphorus Leather Briefcase, which has arrived just in time for the Black Friday madness.

Why am I mentioning Black Friday right at the top of this article? Because Bosphorus leather is taking part, that’s why. There is a limited window of opportunity in which to sign up for the good stuff (some tasty discount) so I want to get that down here right away.

Bosphorus Leather’s Black Friday campaign will commence at 16:00 CET on November 20th (that’s tomorrow). You have until 15:59 PM CET on November 20th to sign-up to the VIP mailing list, which will grant you access to all the insider info. Furthermore, throughout the whole Black Friday campaign (which will run from November 20th–30th), you will be able to get 20% off all products, site-wide. As you know, handmade leather goods like these do not come cheap, so that’s the kind of discount that can make a real difference.

Here’s the link you need to follow to sign-up. And now, onto the case itself.

Beautiful in blue

As always, Bosphorus is happy to bring you into the design process. For my latest storage acquisition, I requested a dark blue Togo leather exterior lined with the rich cognac felt I have enjoyed in my Birmingham case for over a year now. The Togo leather has a very pebbled effect, similar to pebble grain goat or calf but feels a little tougher and harder wearing to the touch. The felt lining offers excellent chromatic contrast and gives a real sense of richness to proceedings.

Now, there are a lot of new things about this case and a couple of subtle refinements I want to draw your attention to. Firstly, starting on the outside, the handle we have here is much more robustly finished, with tens of rivets holding the wrapped leather in place. It is more angular and feels much more substantial in the hand. I like it very much but appreciate some will prefer the simpler design of the collector cases of old, but, for me, in a practical sense at least, this is an upgrade.

What else is new?

When you open this briefcase you see two things that you won’t have seen before. The first thing you will see is the obvious addition of pockets and cardholders to the lining of the inside of the lid. I’ve temporally stored my Fratello Concierge Card (available to all future limited/exclusive edition purchasers), my Fratello wallet, and my Passport (which you will see lives inside a Bell & Ross passport holder, because, well, why not?).

Now onto the watch storage. In previous models, the watches and drawers (depending on your configuration) were immediately visible when you opened the case. This is no longer true. Now, a padded button-down cover conceals them. This does three things: it protects the watches from whatever you might have in the cardholder slots, pen holders, or pockets of the lid, it conceals the true contents of your case from any nosy neighbors that might chance a peek inside whenever your each for your passport or pen or whatever, and it means the whole tray can be removed and used as an easily stackable storage unit, while the Briefcase itself could be used for items other than watches. I checked: my 13″ Macbook fits inside with ease (even within its leather cover). This means this case is easily the most versatile I’ve seen from Bosphorus yet.

Storage set up

Once you unbutton the padded cover, your watches (and other items, perhaps) reveal themselves to you. This case, as standard, has ten pockets (with relatively small cushions, which I, of course, prefer), and one long, thin strap, tool, or accessory box that takes up one row entirely.

However, you have options. You could, like me, remove the box and use the top (or bottom) row for the storage of larger items. I’ve chosen to stash my two pairs of Moscot sunglasses here instead of yet more watches. I removed the storage box and kept it separate, choosing to store straps in it anyway.

A third option exists and that is to fit the four (or however many you please) dividers provided into the obvious slots and increase the box’s capacity to 15. If you plan on doing this, however, make sure to inform Bosphorus so they can provide you with the extra pillows you will need. For me, ten slots are enough this time and I’d been looking for a home for my sunglasses so I was all set from the get-go.

Conclusion

I was a fan before; I’m an even bigger fan now. The improvements in build quality, the refinement of the logo application (really noticeable on the padded cover and even better with the cleaner, more modern font visible on the inside of the lid), and the added functionality makes this a towering release for me. And that’s not all I have for you…

I have one more product to share, which I will tell you about on Sunday, but please, don’t wait until then to sign up to the mailing list if you think you might be interested. A case like mine here will set you back around €1,000 depending on the exact configuration you go for (and these pieces are very, very customizable), so having access to the best discounts is a smart move if you’ve been looking for a high quality, elegantly designed storage option for a while. Learn more about Bosphorus Leather here.