If, like me, you have ever found yourself going down the Best Panerai Replica Site rabbit hole, you have undoubtedly come across Panerai strap culture. If you haven’t, trust me, it’s a thing! Paneristi are more than typically likely to get something custom made for their prized square possessions.
Speccing my custom watch strap
Of course, the entire idea behind these straps is that they are made to customer spec. Once you lose yourself in the subuniverse of Panerai straps, the possibilities seem endless and quite daunting.
There are thick, Panerai Replica Watches China leather straps with box or even double-box stitching. They are essentially one piece of leather for each side, folded onto itself and stitched. The inside, then, is the same leather as the outside.I decided I’d prefer the classical style strap but without the numbers.
Picking the right leather for my custom watch strap
I went to Olaf’s leather workshop in Alkmaar, Netherlands. Olaf loves to make this personal, so we sat down for coffee and a chat for the first hour. Only after the ice was thoroughly broken did we proceed to actual strap-making.
I took one of my boots off, put it on the Best Panerai Super Clone table, and we started digging through Olaf’s impressive collection of hides. Several approached the color of my boots, including a distinct camel skin. I wasn’t quite sold on the texture, though, as it felt a bit plastic-like. We found a lovely, thick vegetable-tanned piece of cowhide that felt and smelled amazing.
Sizing, shaving, and cutting my custom watch strap
The hide was probably a good 7mm thick, which is way too much. Using an old machine, Olaf started shaving two strips down from the raw (suede or “rough-out”) side. I didn’t want the strap to be too thick since it would stand out on my smallish wrist. We settled on 4mm, meaning the strips had to be shaved down to 2mm.
Next, Olaf folded the strips and cut them to size. The Panerai Replica Watches entire shape of the strap is cut by hand using cardboard templates he made over the years. Unhappy with the curve of the pointy end, he decided to start over and redo the longer piece. The straps were folded and glued to allow for precise edge finishing.
Tracing edges and punching holes
At this point, we had the two folded, glued, and shaped pieces of the strap. Olaf punched a rectangular hole for the pin of the buckle. Next, he scored shallow tracks around the edge of the straps with a specific tool. These would be the channels where the stitching would go later on.
I chose to include them on my Panerai Replica strap as they are on the original museum straps too. One difference between the originals and mine is the taper. The museum straps are straight, whereas mine tapers from 26mm down to 22mm.
Saddle stitching my custom watch strap
At this point, the Panerai replica watches for sale near me strap was ready to be stitched. I chose a thread that was slightly lighter than the leather for a subtle contrast. What happened next took me by surprise, especially since I have a rough idea of how hard it is to do a clean and even saddle stitch.
Finishing my custom watch strap
All the work around the edges slightly darkened the strap there. We were already quite close to my boots but proceeded to apply the Panerai Replica Buy Now conditioner to make it a perfect match. We anticipated to get in the ballpark, but the result turned out absolutely spot on. Red Wing couldn’t have done a better job, I suspect.Since my wrist size varies quite a bit, I was more comfortable with an extra hole on either side. And like that, my fully custom watch strap was finished.
