Aftermarket Panerai Review

Strap-Works Watch Straps Review

Strap-Works Panerai Straps

Origin: Imported Leathers - Chinese Manufacture
Construction: Lock-Stitched
Materials: New Leathers
Buckles & Tubes: Both Included
Price Range: $90-150
Website: Click Here
Date of Review: December 6th, 2008

Strap-Works has been around since 2004 being one of the earliest Panerai watch accessory companies. They have been producing a large variety of beautiful OEM style and Vintage straps. The one pictured above is one of their Trident straps, which I quite enjoy. The leather for this watch strap is sourced from Italy.

As you can see, the Trident strap is a vintage style 24/24 strap, with a very thick flat GPF Style buckle. One nice thing about this strap is the closely spaced holes, which makes the strap easy to fit perfectly, without having to punch a new hole yourself. The closely spaced holes make it a snap to fit it perfectly.

I really have to say that I LOVE this buckle. It is probably one of my favourite rugged style buckles ever. Kudos to Strap-Works for doing a great job on it!

Here is the Trident strap on my PAM90. Even though the finish is kind of a stonewash (Strap-Works called it a raw finish, and it looks very cool) it works with the polished PAM90 finish. I really love the overall look of the Trident, and with the cool ultra-thick GPF Style buckle, it has become my new favourite rugged strap of Asian manufacture. Now if it only came in more color varieties I would be in real trouble!

Next up is the second strap I picked up from Strap-Works. It is one of their Signature Collection straps, which are extremely limited in production and are made from Alligator hides that are sourced from Malaysia. I'm told it is from the same place that Audemars Piguet gets their Alligator hides as well. That's pretty good company!

The buckles on this Signature straps has a Stylized SW, which gives it a more classy look, and the thinner, OEM length and width make the straps suitable for dress up. An interesting thing to note with the signature straps is that not only are these straps the same length as OEM straps, but their holes are punched in EXACTLY the same locations.

I do have one complaint about the Signature strap buckle, and its that when the watch is on my wrist, the inside edges of the buckle where the pivot is dig into my wrist. They protrude a bit more than a normal buckle and have sharp edges. I ended up swapping the buckle out for an OEM thumbnail buckle that I have which works better in my opinion.

The alligator strap is a bit stiff like most are initially, but does soften up. I've been wearing it for a few days straight to get it broken in, and its coming along nicely. Unlike leather, Croco and Gator usually are very stiff right off the get go regardless of where you get it from, and this one is no different. But the quality of the alligator hide is very good, and the construction of the strap is very good as well, especially given it's modest cost: $119. I think the quality of these straps is at least a good as the OEM Alligator straps.

Overall, I really dig these two straps from Strap-Works. They are probably the most well-crafted of all the Asian straps that I have owned, and their diversity means that there is a strap that everyone will like. I also recommend taking a look at some of their other ranges. They have some styles that bridge the gap between the Signature series and Trident series of straps.