Aftermarket Panerai Strap Review

Combat Straps Review

Zirdiva Straps Panerai Straps

Origin: Thailand
Construction: Hand-Stitched
Materials: Standard and Exotic Leathers
Buckles & Tubes: Buckles Included
Price Range: $44-195
Website: Click Here
Date of Review: November 28th, 2013

I only recently became aware of Zirdiva straps from Thailand, and they sent me a couple of interesting straps which I am reviewing today. Definately some uniqueness here but if you check out their Faceook Page you can see they make some regular standard issue pieces as well.

The two straps I'm reviewing are Silk Strap and a Leather strap with their Cross-hatch edge stitching that they specialize in. They come in a nice, oversized cardboard box that is slotted for two straps and includes a black logo'ed ziplock bag that you can store your straps in instead of the bulky box afterwards. Overall a very nice presentation.

The straps are overall very well constructed, and have a high level of finish, and have a "production" style finish. That's not to say that don't appear handmade, they do - but they are very well finished, none of that rustic raw edge stuff here. While raw finishes have their charm, some people do prefer the production level of finish. Buckles are included but not tubes. I personally find tubes more important as I like it when my straps have tubes pre-installed because sometimes they alter the shape of the strap or if too loose they fall out.

The first strap I'll review here is the Firework Silk. The top side of the strap is handmade Thai "Firework" patterned silk, which is a material that is the pride of Thailand. While I think its a beautiful pattern and nice stuff, I personally am not sure if I am too keen to wear it on my Panerai. It doesn't seem to suit the Panerai style, and isn't really my own style - but I think it will appeal to some people.

Style aside, its a very well made strap, and the silk seems to be attached to the base leather layer very nicely. My worry would be that it bubbles and delaminates over time, but based on how it feels, I wouldn't worry too much, the straps feels very well made. The price is also very reasonable, considering the specialized nature and the attention to detail here. These are clean, well made straps with a level of finish higher than your usually entry level straps like Panatime. They don't have that chemical leather smell that cheaper straps often have.

Here's the back of the Silk strap, which gives you a better idea of stitching straightness and quality. Its not perfect, but its okay, at least with the pattern on the front you don't notice the irregularities. The backing leather is a smoother tan leather, and the stiffness is about a medium. Overall its a well made strap, that I'm just not sure suits my style. On to the next one.

This leather strap is much more my style, and is called the VT Enfold A.T.E. X Type - its a mouthful. Really nice strap here, and suits my Panerai too! Not much more expensive at $48 for this one and features foldover construction and Zirdiva's trademark X-style stitching. The leather has an awesome aged finish on it with what looks like custom job.

Another shot of the aged finish on the leather. Six holes, allowing for a wrist size of roughly 6-8", which is pretty standard from what I've seen out there. This strap is made from a very soft leather and is quite comfortable to wear. There might be a bit of irritation from the X-Stitching on the side for those with more sensitive skin.

Here's a close up of the stitching job, which is pretty darn good. The punched holes are bigger than the usual holes to allow for the thread to go through twice. The leather also has little to no smell, which is good in my books.

Overall, very nicely constructed straps, with a very nice pricepoint. These are great, affordable straps that offer exceptional value as well as great variety that you don't often see out there.

Straps As Shown:
Model: VT Enfold A.T.E. X Type
Thickness: 4mm
Keeper Type: 1 Fixed 1 Floating
Stitch Color: Natural
Edge Finish: Burnished
Price: $48US

Model: Firework Silk
Thickness: 4.5mm taper to 3mm
Keeper Type: 1 Fixed 1 Floating
Stitch Color: Gold/Brown
Edge Finish: Painted
Price: $46US