I bought the same black belt in 2008 and it was nice thick strong leather. I wore it to work everyday and when I got rid of it it was still going strong. We were moving abroad, so I unloaded a few things that we no longer need. Now I regret it. I needed another heavy duty leather belt and decided to order another one. What I received was a very thin belt compared to its predecessor which doesn't even seem to compare. Hopefully time will prove me wrong, but it doesn't seem to offer the support that the previous one had.