I’ve made my first strap the 18th March 2006, nine days after I bought my first Panerai a PAM005. My PAM didn’t come from an AD, I bought it second hand, so the straps that came with the watch were used too. After a few days, as they didn’t smell really good anymore, I started to figure out where I could get a new strap. I found a few strap makers and sellers on the internet, but the time that it would take to send me the straps was way to long and I didn’t want to wait.
So I got the idea to make my own strap by myself, which would be the fastest solution. First I would have to figure out, how to make a watch strap, as I had never worked with leather before. A few thoughts later I went to our garage to get me some tools, a piece of old leather, and started. After 6 hours of work this was the result, my first strap. I was so happy that I could now finally take of the old used and stinky OEM strap, and put on my own handmade strap.
After I had mounted the strap on the watch, I posted some pictures on a popular Panerai forum. To my surprise I got a good feedback. There were some users that encouraged me to continue so I made a few more, and posted them again on the same forum. Some liked them and some didn’t but hey, everybody has a different taste.
Now after over a year of strap making I’m still here. I couldn’t stop making straps, because after finishing one I always wanted that the next one would become better than the last one.
My philosophy is to keep the quality of my straps as high as possible. Everything is handmade from cutting the leather, to the stitching and finishing of the straps. I don’t use any machines to make them, for that reason you will always find some teensy imperfections. In my opinion these imperfections make them more special. I’m extremely proud of all my straps, and I hope that you'll enjoy them as much as I enjoy it to make them for you.
So I got the idea to make my own strap by myself, which would be the fastest solution. First I would have to figure out, how to make a watch strap, as I had never worked with leather before. A few thoughts later I went to our garage to get me some tools, a piece of old leather, and started. After 6 hours of work this was the result, my first strap. I was so happy that I could now finally take of the old used and stinky OEM strap, and put on my own handmade strap.
After I had mounted the strap on the watch, I posted some pictures on a popular Panerai forum. To my surprise I got a good feedback. There were some users that encouraged me to continue so I made a few more, and posted them again on the same forum. Some liked them and some didn’t but hey, everybody has a different taste.
Now after over a year of strap making I’m still here. I couldn’t stop making straps, because after finishing one I always wanted that the next one would become better than the last one.
My philosophy is to keep the quality of my straps as high as possible. Everything is handmade from cutting the leather, to the stitching and finishing of the straps. I don’t use any machines to make them, for that reason you will always find some teensy imperfections. In my opinion these imperfections make them more special. I’m extremely proud of all my straps, and I hope that you'll enjoy them as much as I enjoy it to make them for you.