Aftermarket Panerai Review

Mustang Straps Review

Mustang Panerai Straps

Origin: Spain
Construction: Hand-Stitched
Materials: New Leathers
Buckles & Tubes: Tubes Included, Buckles Optional
Price Range: €25-75
Website: Click Here
Date of Review: August 14th, 2010

Mustang straps are made by hand in Spain by a fellow named Juan, who individually makes each strap he ships out to the specifications of the buyer. Before he began work on my strap, he sent me a word document with all the required lengths and widths of the strap I wanted made, which I forwarded back to him. After he got that back, he began the work on my strap. The strap that Juan made for me is fairly unique as you can see... definately not like anything I've had in my collection before.

While I generally like stitches in my collection, it is refreshing to have a completely stitchless strap. One with a hand-brushed calf-skin finish is even more unique, while it has a suede-like appearance, it is top-grain calf. As you can see, the strap carries the maker's mark on the backside of both halves of the strap. The brushed finish is soft and supple and surpringly (at least to me) carries all the way around to the backside in a typical folded strap construction. I would have expected perhaps a non-brushed back liner. While its not a big deal since it is the backside, I found after wearing it only a couple times in this hot summer weather turned the backside quite dark and flat.

After wearing it a few times the outside also loses some of it's fuzziness, and Juan sends a square of sandpaper material for restoring that fuzziness when it goes flat, which is quite easily. I personally quite enjoy the unique finish of the strap, but some may find the maintenance of maintaining its fuzziness too much for their liking. If you're like me and like to switch straps every other time then its not a big deal - think of it like brushing your suede shoes every once in a while.

Above you can see how it looks mountaed on my PAM90, and the smooth stitchless look blends really well, give it a very clean and fresh appearance. Its actually sort of a smart-casual type of strap that goes well with khakis or dark jeans, but might be a bit out of place with a suit. I have been liking it for these summer days, even though sweat seems to make the underside a bit unsightly. Mustang Straps are priced very reasonably, especially give their European pedigree. Juan's construction and execution of the straps is flawless, and he does so many different styles that there should be something for everyone.

I'm very pleased with the strap, and it will have a good home in my collection. There is no doubt that Juan's abilities as a strapmaker are top notch, and he creates a large variety of straps that would suit any palette. Juan obviously takes great pride in his work and strives to create something different in his straps. I highly recommend his work.