Ok a belt is pretty much a belt, at least in a man's world, but the quality of the belt is where you will get your differences. In most belts made in today's world, you get a belt that usually will have two or more layers which are pressed, and glued or sewn together.  The braided leather belt in this set is great.  Quality seems to be fairly good, so l hope that it lasts a long time.  I do worry about the leather VS buckle in the braiding, because that is where I suspect it will wear out the quickest. The plain black belt is nice, however I do worry about its longevity, and as stated above this is a layered belt with the better leather layer obviously on the outside.  How thick that layer of leather is is the question, in that how well it will hold up once the weaker and usually synthetic layers inside and underneath, begin to break down with wear.  I'm sure I will get two to three good years out of both these belts.  They don't appear to be the best quality by any means but they are ok quality and should serve a man well.