Panerai OEM Watch Straps Differences

Tang and Deployant OEM Straps

Panerai Straps by Ian Grandjean

Here's a little primer on Panerai straps to give you guys a better idea of how they work, and what there is to choose from.

A few of the most popular OEM straps are listed below. Nearly all are available for Tang type buckles or the deployant buckle.

OEM Alligator Antique Brown

OEM Alligator Gold

OEM Calf Black – for the PAM00233

OEM Calf Black Carbon Style

OEM Riva Black

OEM Calf Black – for the Ferrari FER0022

OEM Rubber

The Luminor Deployant Clasp

This is available in two finishes – polished or brushed. The internal part of the clasp is brushed stainless steel in both models – it’s only the outside ‘visible’ part of the clasp which is different.

The most recent deployant has also evolved since it was introduced. The older version is pictured below:

One side of the pin, that holds the shorter part of the leather strap, is threaded and to mount the clasp on a strap, this first has to be unscrewed.

The fixed pin is first passed into the aperture on the strap simply by twisting the buckle.

Then the buckle is turned within the aperture, and the threaded pin screwed back into the buckle.

On the current models, the entire pin is removable and is held in by an extremely small screw.

(The screw is the dot in middle left of the picture!)

The buckle is placed in the strap aperture, the pin slid through the strap, and the screw is tightened to prevent the pin slipping out.

There are two essential differences between the straps made for the deployant buckles. Straps made for one won’t fit the other.

1st difference – the hole

As you can see above, the cut-out for the tang is smaller than the bar for the deployant.

2nd difference – the thickness

These are ‘identical’ black calf OEM straps, however the thick model (upper) won’t fit the deployant which needs a much thinner ‘tongue’ to pass through the metal clasp. On the lower strap more than 2/3rds of the strap is much thinner, for this reason.

For the rubber straps, the same rules apply – however, there’s a third indication of whether or not a rubber strap was made for a deployant buckle.