Unique detailing and a distressed band give the Red Monkey Designs Unisex X-Strap 4 Brown Leather White Dial Watch its one-of-a-kind look and feel. This precision-crafted watch features a metal case and case back created and designed in Hollywood. The brown watchband is a high-quality, handcrafted leather strap with a solid metal buckle and metal rivets. The band is attached to a wide, leather inner cuff with crisscrossed leather straps and exposed metal grommets for a quirky, industrial look. The crisp white dial is easy to read with large, silver-colored bars to indicate the hour indexes. The polished metal bezel completes the sophisticated yet cutting-edge look. The unique, beveled crystal made of durable mineral is scratch resistant to protect from everyday wear. An ideal everyday watch for the urban dweller, the Red Monkey Designs Unisex X-Strap 4 Brown Leather White Dial Watch is powered by Japanese quartz movement and is water resistant to 99 feet (30 meters).

For Red Monkey Designs, individuality is always in style.

This band of Los Angeles rogues makes one-of-a-kind leather watchbands, belts, cuffs, bracelets and guitar straps that are as rock 'n' roll as they are original. Through distressing leather and hand-building every single piece, Red Monkey Designs creates genuine products that last a lifetime because of careful craftsmanship and an unbridled unique spirit. Red Monkey Designs has become the chosen leather-maker for everyone from Zakk Wylde to Brad Pitt for the simple reason that they're creating something tough, true and timeless.

Red Monkey Designs officially began in 1995. Founder Torry Pendergrass was hired to choreograph a local Los Angeles play, and the wardrobe required leather jewelry. So, Torry took a stab at making it. With the leftover leather, he crafted his very first watchband reminiscent of the late '60s style that had always intrigued him.

Everyone that came into contact with Torry was immediately transfixed by the watch. Choosing to make the jump to selling the watchbands, he set his sights on his first major client.

"I pounded on the door of Fred Segal," exclaims Torry. "I'd go in there every week, and finally they asked for the watch off my wrist. That was how it started. The foundation of Red Monkey was the watches, and then it evolved into the belts. A watch isn't just a watch especially when you get into a wide-leather cuff watch."

The floodgates opened from that point. Marie Clare Magazine featured Torry's watches in various editorial pieces, and Red Monkey Designs began buzzing organically. Torry also attracted his very first guitar strap client. "The first guitar strap I ever made was in 1997 for Zakk Wylde (Ozzy Osbourne, Black Label Society). I was working out of a garage in Laurel Canyon, and Zakk would come there to get straps. Once, he even played 'Crazy Train' for me!"

Soon, another prominent rock sensation came calling. U2's prop master contacted Torry with an order for straps for the band's historical Pop Mart tour in 1997. Red Monkey Designs did all of the guitar straps for the band, and Torry even made a special watch for The Edge that he donned on the cover of RollingStone. "One of the biggest things that got me going was when we did U2's Pop Mart Tour," he explains. "The next evolution of that was getting into movies."

One particularly prominent movie client was Hugh Jackman for X2 and X-Men: The Last Stand. The Red Monkey Designs watch literally became a part of Wolverine's character. Torry goes on, "They actually wanted our leather x-strap watch to be part of Logan's character in the movie. We made the watchbands really old and antiqued the leather at the filmmakers' request. We became part of the creative process more than somebody simply wearing a watch."

Other clients include actors Brad Pitt, Matthew Fox, Jack Black, Johnny Knoxville, Shane West, Jennifer Aniston, Evangeline Lilly, Reese Witherspoon, Mandy Moore, Minnie Driver, to name a few. In addition, Ken Leung on Lost, Carlos Bernard on 24, Megan Fox in Transformers and many other stars have worn Red Monkey watches on-screen. Pitt even sported a Red Monkey watch in Ocean's 13.

Torry continues, "In a display case at our old Santa Monica Boulevard store, I had vintage Rolexes, Seikos and Omegas mounted on our leather bands. Brad basically bought out the case because he collects watches. That watch in Ocean's 13 was actually from his private collection."

The brand's reach has also extended far beyond the United States. Red Monkey has been featured in The Barney's Christmas catalog three years in a row, and it's available at countless retailers throughout the US, Canada and Europe. In addition to the flagship Los Angeles studio and store, Torry opened up the Red Monkey Japan store in Tokyo's fashionable Shibuya district.

Fully entrenched in the rock zeitgeist, Red Monkey Designs continues to make custom leather items for the likes of KISS, Beck, Gwen Stefani, Jenniffer Lopez, Madonna, Justin Timberlake, Sheryl Crow, Dave Navarro, Metallica, U2, the Dixie Chicks, Kerry King of Slayer, and Alice In Chains. Torry adds, "Rock 'n' roll is very integral to Red Monkey. Our slogan is, 'Embodying the spirit of rock 'n' roll.' Red Monkey gives people a piece of rock 'n' roll."

Red Monkey Designs' work has even extended to non-profits now. The brand has partnered up with Jail Guitar Doors USA, a non-profit organization that puts guitars in the hands of inmates as a rehabilitation tool. Red Monkey is providing all of the guitar straps and leather for the charity, and the crew couldn't be more proud.

People keep coming back to Red Monkey Designs because Torry and his team truly care about the product above everything else. "We're just some local dudes, hammering out leather and listening to rock 'n' roll. We live the lifestyle we're working. It's not like clients are simply wearing a watch, they're taking on a lifestyle. When you pick up a Red Monkey watch, one of our hats or a belt, you're getting the best we can possibly give. There is a lot of time put into everything we do."

In the end, that attention separates the brand. Torry concludes, "We genuinely like our jobs and care about what we do. As a culture, we've gotten accustomed to disposable fashion. People will buy something cheap that lasts a month. It falls apart, and they don't care because it was cheap. We're trying to take the power back. You're buying a friend that will be with you for a long time. I'm not going to make something that's going to fail. I'm going to make the best thing I can and offer the best product to somebody."

That's precisely why Red Monkey Designs will always be in fashion. Rick Florino, September 2010