Aftermarket Panerai Review

Strap-Works Watch Straps Review

Strap-Works Panerai Straps

Origin: Imported Leathers - Chinese Manufacture
Construction: Lock-Stitched
Materials: New Leathers
Buckles & Tubes: Both Included
Price Range: $90-150
Website: Click Here
Date of Review: December 6th, 2008
Review Updated: January 29th, 2009

Review Update - January 29th, 2009

I'm happy to report that both Strap-Works straps are holding up well over the last couple of month. Additionally, I've had a ton of compliments on the Signature Collection Alligator strap. One fellow even said he was going to buy himself one!

But as great as they are, I'm not here to just jabber about those straps again. I've got a couple more new straps in from Strap-Works, from their brand new 1860 Decima line. The buckles remind me of the Heroic Venzo line of straps but I remember seeing the ads for the Decima buckles before the Venzo stuff came out, even though the Venzo stuff hit the streets first.

The significance of the Decima name is that they commemorate the Decima Flottiglia MAS of the Marina Militare, also known as the Xa MAS. They were an Italian Commando Frogman unit active during WWI in Italy.

Those are the two straps there, both from the Decima line. One in Saddleblack Calf with black stitching, and one in Africana Brown with Tan stitching. I really like the cracked brown strap, and I think the tan stitching goes with it very well, not too light, and not too dark. Hole locations are close together, just as they are with the Trident series of straps, making it very easy to make sure you not in-between holes as sometimes you will find with some brands of straps.

I like the tang buckles on these straps, mostly because the tang is easy to get in and out of the hole without cranking on your strap unnecessarily and because it looks good. Stamping marks on the buckle indicate these buckles are stamped not machined, which is typical of this price point. Machined buckles would probably cost more than the whole strap, buckle included.

As you can see, the cracked brown strap really does go great with the stitching choice, and like all Strap-Works straps, these guys have one fixed and one floating keeper with your choice of brushed or polished buckles.

The Decima straps all have a liner of semi-soft leather, in a sort of medium tan color. I love the contrast between the black strap and the liner especially, very class.

I mounted the black strap on my PAM114, with the polished buckle, and the combination is amazing! Something about the black stitch on black leather with the fine texture on it just does it for me. The more I think about it, the more I realize that so many black straps have white or ivory stitching on them when sometimes having black stitching looks better. In fact, a lot of the time when I wear straps with constasting stitching, I have people comment that they don't like the white stitching. Problem solved!

The black strap is just amazing. Love the two-toned brown lining, matching black stitching, and light texture. Both straps are very pliable and soft, bending easily without that bubbling that some straps get. Strap-works told me that these are made from imported Italian leathers just like the rest of their straps, and at the price point of $90, these are just unbeatable if you like the style!



Original Review - December 6th, 2008

Strap-Works has been around since 2004 being one of the earliest Panerai watch accessory companies. They have been producing a large variety of beautiful OEM style and Vintage straps. The one pictured above is one of their Trident straps, which I quite enjoy. The leather for this watch strap is sourced from Italy.

As you can see, the Trident strap is a vintage style 24/24 strap, with a very thick flat GPF Style buckle. One nice thing about this strap is the closely spaced holes, which makes the strap easy to fit perfectly, without having to punch a new hole yourself. The closely spaced holes make it a snap to fit it perfectly.

I really have to say that I LOVE this buckle. It is probably one of my favourite rugged style buckles ever. Kudos to Strap-Works for doing a great job on it!

Here is the Trident strap on my PAM90. Even though the finish is kind of a stonewash (Strap-Works called it a raw finish, and it looks very cool) it works with the polished PAM90 finish. I really love the overall look of the Trident, and with the cool ultra-thick GPF Style buckle, it has become my new favourite rugged strap of Asian manufacture. Now if it only came in more color varieties I would be in real trouble!

Next up is the second strap I picked up from Strap-Works. It is one of their Signature Collection straps, which are extremely limited in production and are made from Alligator hides that are sourced from Malaysia. I'm told it is from the same place that Audemars Piguet gets their Alligator hides as well. That's pretty good company!

The buckles on this Signature straps has a Stylized SW, which gives it a more classy look, and the thinner, OEM length and width make the straps suitable for dress up. An interesting thing to note with the signature straps is that not only are these straps the same length as OEM straps, but their holes are punched in EXACTLY the same locations.

I do have one complaint about the Signature strap buckle, and its that when the watch is on my wrist, the inside edges of the buckle where the pivot is dig into my wrist. They protrude a bit more than a normal buckle and have sharp edges. I ended up swapping the buckle out for an OEM thumbnail buckle that I have which works better in my opinion.

The alligator strap is a bit stiff like most are initially, but does soften up. I've been wearing it for a few days straight to get it broken in, and its coming along nicely. Unlike leather, Croco and Gator usually are very stiff right off the get go regardless of where you get it from, and this one is no different. But the quality of the alligator hide is very good, and the construction of the strap is very good as well, especially given it's modest cost: $119. I think the quality of these straps is at least a good as the OEM Alligator straps.

Overall, I really dig these two straps from Strap-Works. They are probably the most well-crafted of all the Asian straps that I have owned, and their diversity means that there is a strap that everyone will like. I also recommend taking a look at some of their other ranges. They have some styles that bridge the gap between the Signature series and Trident series of straps.