Hermes Glenan Double Tour Bracelet Rose Gold Swift Calfskin and Metal Noir H071689FO89T2

If you want to know what a leather bracelet looks like after three years of daily wear, buy black. This Glenan Double Tour is a fine braided Swift calfskin cord, three millimetres thick, wrapped twice around a wrist of 5.7 to 6.1 inches, and because the leather is black it ages by taking on a quiet shine rather than by changing colour. The rose gold clasp is the single decorative note.

The Glenan closure sits flat and low, which is why I wear this one on the same arm as a watch, something I would not do with a buckle-style bracelet. It is made in Italy, the braid runs evenly the whole way round, and the doubled cord has a woven look that feels closer to a textile than to leather when you first put it on.

Where it earns its keep is at work. Black cord with a small warm-metal clasp suits a suit without reading as jewellery, and it survives a day of typing, coffee and handshakes without needing to be adjusted once. At the weekend it goes with a white tee and denim, and in the evening it works on a bare wrist under a cuff, where only a flash of the clasp shows.

Honest notes: black Swift shows dust more readily than you would expect, so a cloth once a day keeps it presentable, and like all smooth leather it dislikes water and body lotion, both of which leave dull patches. Store it coiled in the pouch and it keeps its shape. Made in Italy.