Aftermarket Panerai Strap Review

PVR Punavuoren Ranneke Straps Review #2

PVR Punavuoren Ranneke Leather Panerai Straps #2

Origin: Finland
Construction: Machine Stiched Hand Made
Materials: New and Exotic Leathers
Buckles & Tubes: No Tubes, Buckles Extra
Price Range: €49+
Website: Click Here
Date of Review: Novmeber 18th, 2015

This is my second strap review for PVR Punavuoren Ranneke, which is a Finnish strap company. The first straps I reviewed were from their Jailbreak collection, but this one is from their Galateia line. The Galateia line features handmade straps crafted from Burbot Fish skin, experted made by Liisa Saarni. Liisa is a very experienced master craftswoman who hails from the Finnish Archipelago and has been working with fish skins for 20 years.

I have to say, when I first heard that this strap was Fish Skin, I had my doubts, but when I received it, I was quite impressed with the feel and look as well as the durability of the piece. Here is the strap above, which features the unique Burbot Fish Skin on the outside, which somewhat resembles lizard skin. The strap is a two-piece NATO style strap, and features brushed stainless steel hardware. An item of additional interest is the lateral sense line visible on top of the strap, you can see it as a faint line that runs along the length of part of the strap in the above photo. It is a rarer, more desirable part of the fish skin and adds some interest to the pattern.

The combination of the red stitching and fish skin is quite striking and they compliment each other well. I find it quite attractive. The dark brown material you can see peeking out from behind there is the very soft yet extremely durable moose hide. As you may know, the Archipelago is a large system of islands in the Baltic Sea, and the local people use Moose Skin on the rudders of their sailboats - and being a system of Islands, these people know their boats, and they know their fish! So this strap has some serious pedigree!

Here's the strap all stretched out, the length of the second liner-strap allows for large-diameter watches like Panerais, which is good for most of the readers here! Sometimes you come across a two-piece NATO strap that isn't long enough to reach all the way around bigger watches - this is something I know about because it happened to me, and its not something you may think about at first. I'm glad this isn't the case here.

I have to say there is something about this Fish Skin strap that is alluring. I can't quite place what it is. Its less gaudy than Python, and more modern looking than lizard, and less audacious than Crocodile, making it truly unique in its own way. I would sort of classify this along with Beaver Tail in its ability to be a conversation piece and still not look too crazy. I like it.

Finally here is a nice look at the construction of the two-piece NATO, which features the Burbot Fish skin on the top layer of the whole strap, and the entire strap is lined with the softer Moose hide. The under-mount strap piece is crafted entirely out of Moose hide with matching red stitching - I just can't get over how soft it is either, it reminds me a lot of calf.

Overall, I think PVR Punavuoren Ranneke has done another good job here of creating a unique strap with a compelling story behind it. The strap is truly personal to the Finnish people, and carries the history and culture of the Archipelago making it not only a very beautiful and well-made strap, but an interesting one.

Model: Galateia Burbot Fish Strap
Thickness: 1.5mm
Width: 24mm
Length: 270mm
Keeper Type: 2 Rings
Stitch Color: Red
Edge Finish: Raw Cut
Price: €99.00