Aftermarket Panerai Strap Review

RIOS1931 for Panatime Straps Review

RIOS1931 for Panatime Panerai Straps

Origin: Germany (Rios1931 Line)
Construction: Machine-Stitched
Materials: New Leathers
Buckles & Tubes: No Tubes, Screw-in Buckles Included
Price Range: $50+
Website: Click Here
Date of Review: February 23rd, 2015

Robert Cappa has continued to take Panatime to the next level, carrying increasingly more brands and a much higher quality of strap. With the introduction of Rios1931 for Panatime, these straps are exclusive to Panatime and represent a high quality of manfacture but still relatively affordable pricing.

Picked up a few of these newer straps from them and they are absolutely outstanding straps for about $50 a pop! Solid construction and quality leather. I believe they are mostly made in Germany and some possibly in Asia but regardless, the leather quality looks, feels and smells like quality tannery stock (several say Russian leather). These three reviewed today are all made in Germany. The other cool thing about the Rios1931 straps is that they are available for several popular watch brands like IWC, Breitling, Omega and many others.

First lets take a look at the Khaki Velours strap.

This is a tapered 24x22 Panerai strap that could be an OEM replacement with the Tang buckle. It still comes with a quality polished screw-in bent buckle in case you need it though. This is my first Velours strap, and initially I thought it was a very soft suede or nubuck. Its pretty nice, and wears very nicely. I am curous how it would hold out over time though as I am unsure how durable Velours is. It is very well constructed though and I have been wearing it with my PAM320, and it looks great.

The back is marked Rios1931 For Panatime, to indicate that it is from their exclusive line. The lug width is also marked, this one is a 24mm strap. The tan leather back is soft and comfortable against the skin. The velours is a neat addition to the line and offers something unique for buyers that is not common, and for a very reasonable price of $69.99.

The next strap up for review is the Mocha Milano, which is a standard 24x24mm strap like many on the market. The leather is of a very good quality and the construction is very solid. Keepers on all three of these straps are 1 fixed and 1 floating, and they are all lightly padded. I like having a variety of straps with some padded ones in there because most aftermarket strapmakers don't do padded straps, so this is a nice change of pace - even though these are not really hand-crafted artisan straps.

The Mocha Milano features a black leather backing with matching brown stitch on the back as well as the front. This one is water resistant as marked on the back, and also features the Rios1931 for Panatime marking. The deep slightly redding chocolate brown looks fantastic on this one, especially with the matching stiching. The darker brown padded style makes it great for dressier wear as well.

Finally we have the Black Firenze, which is very similar to the OEM Panerai straps that I have owned. This one has the best smell of them all, and I love it. I've never felt that OEM Panerai straps were very good quality, and their black straps turn sort of a bluish/black after a while, like the black is fading almost. For $50, this is a great alternative and probably would last just as long if not longer.

The back of this strap does not say Rios1931 for Panatime as it was a sample sent before it was stamped. It tapers nicely from 26mm to 22mm to be a perfect OEM replacement for a 45mm Radiomir or similar Panerai.

Overall I am very pleased with these Rios1931 for Panatime straps, and they might be my favourite straps from Panatime right now! They're my new go-to for OEM Panerai Replacements for sure!

Model: 24x22 RIOS1931 for Panatime - Khaki Velours
Thickness: 4.5mm
Length: 75/115
Keeper Type: 1 Fixed, 1 Floating
Stitch Color: White
Edge Finish: Painted
Price: $69.99

Model: 24x24 RIOS1931 for Panatime - Mocha Milano
Thickness: 4.5mm
Length: 75/115
Keeper Type: 1 Fixed, 1 Floating
Stitch Color: Brown
Edge Finish: Painted
Price: $49.99

Model: 26x22 RIOS1931 for Panatime - Black Firenze
Thickness: 4.5mm
Length: 75/115
Keeper Type: 1 Fixed, 1 Floating
Stitch Color: White
Edge Finish: Painted
Price: $49.99