In the Gen world, which vintage strap maker is the most famo

[golfkit]

Hi, I was wondering who makes the best strap in the past. DDirk, MP, etc. Just want to get some opinions. Thanks

 

[hooligan]

You would get a lot of different answers to that question, IMO.

What do you mean by "vintage" strap? Ammo pouch straps specifically?

 

[zedd]

As I've read on Panaristi, Kevin B is the originator of the "Ammo" strap. All custom made for you top to bottom and to your wrist. But it will cost you. Red12 makes nice straps too.

Dirk, MP, Simona makes straps that are spec'd to how they're used to be(Pre-V).

 

[savage_here]

Just a guess, but I'm thinking that the OP is asking which strap maker that's been around for a long time, is the most famous and/or makes the best strap.

Of the folks that have been around for ages, I'd guess Dirk is the most famous or well-known.

As for who makes the best strap, I'll leave that for others to answer. I have my opinion.

Savage

 

[hooligan]

LOL

So do I, Savage! Recognize any of these?:

I would agree that Dirk is probably the most famous. After that, maybe Simona? Savage get's most of my strap money, though.

 

[golfkit]

Sorry, about the question, I meant was how had the longest history of being a strap maker. Like Dirk, etc.
IMO, Dirk should be the longest right. What about MP?

 

[horologie_unitas]

Savage is found on many gen Panerais....custom for good price !

famous ?

Greg Stevens - DeLaurian - Simona - SanDave ( for exotics ) - KevinB - and i would say Micah.

 

[savage_here]

LOL

So do I, Savage! Recognize any of these?:

I would agree that Dirk is probably the most famous. After that, maybe Simona? Savage get's most of my strap money, though.

Yessir! If only everyone had your impeccable taste!

On a serious note though, I think Paci actually was associated w/ Panerai in some shape or fashion somewhere down the line. Anyone know the particulars?

If my timeline is right, and I could def be wrong, I think Dirk's first gen straps came along somewhere after the PAV's hit the scene.

Not sure which of these two goes back the earliest. I'm pretty sure that the first gen Dirks would predate anything that was branded as Mario Paci.

All that said, if you're buying a contemporary strap all this stuff is moot. Neither Dirk or Paci actually makes any straps with their own hands (if they ever did), so their longevity really has nothing to do with the quality of the strap you'll receive.

If you want an actual vintage strap, it'll cost you, but might be worth it to some. If you are buying a "look," go for it. If you're buying quality, construction, etc., the longevity angle is a bad purchase criteria. If you're just filling the memory banks with trivial minutia, carry on.

Cheers,

Savage

 

[LegendofSpeed]

The answer that came to mind first is Dirk...

But there are a lot of great strap makers out there... and everyone has a different opinion...

 

[hooligan]

...On a serious note though, I think Paci actually was associated w/ Panerai in some shape or fashion somewhere down the line. Anyone know the particulars?...

According to ViaPaneristi.com, Mario Paci was the chief engineer for Panerai from 1983 until 1997 when they were purchased by Vendome.

I do like the MP stuff, as well as Giovanni e Figlio from Elliot. Never owned a Simona, Dirk or MF. I've owned one Vintager Strap from Micah, it was quite nice. It's Kev that does the knife-edged buckles, right? Those buckles look awesome!

 

[cc]

Here is a bit of Dirk's history and clarification of his 1st and 2nd generation logo'd straps:

Those buckles were made in 1995 for the SlyTech project that never took place...

Lots of new buckles were needed for 1995, 1996 and 1997, not only for watchstraps, but also for adorning wallets and agendas. The soft high nickle content alloy (used for the 1993 first series Logo buckles) was banned due to 1994-imposed CE regalations regarding skin allergies. Panerai was in deep financial trouble in 1995 and asked their strapmaker to finance & produce the new run of buckles, which were made in much harder 316 steel. They were not laser etched. The overall finish (edges, surface finish and stamp) was rather poor compared to the 1993-produced first series pre-V buckles.
When I started working with the strapmaker in 2001, we used those second series buckles to help him recuperate the money he had lost on them some 5-6 years earlier. Although I personally never liked those buckles - the really strong thing about those straps was the leather part due to the leathers, stitching pattern and, most importantly, the cast iron finishing forms (which we still use today). Those straps were always made with single (floating) keeper.
Didn't get in trouble with Panerai at all (I was one of the lucky fifty invited to celebrate their first 10 years at the Rossini dinner in Firenze, April 2007), but I got a friendly call from Angelo in November 2002 in which he unfolded his plans for using the Logo in their marketing & branding (they didn't want to use it in their first 6 years). The message was clearly understood by me and from then onwards, the buckles for my straps were modified with those 5218-2 (24mm) and 5218-3 (22mm) stamps, as I no longer wanted to be associated with that Logo, for legal reasons of course.
To my knowledge, all these second series pre-V buckles were removed from the planet, but there must have been a couple of packs that the strapmaker overlooked. In 2005, another more commercially oriented strap vendor (no longer in business now) started a joint venture with the strapmaker and bought himself into his company. It was then that these '2nd generation' straps started to appear on the AC, but I had absolutely nothing to do with these (they all had a second fixed keeper and stitching over the whole 24mm to fix the glue between buckle and the fixed keeper). PAV straps and my 2-keeper straps of the present day have just those 5 stitches (not as good, but better looking and historically correct).
Worst part was that these straps were first sold as '2nd generation Dirk' straps, but me and actually the whole paneristi community asked that to be changed, as I had nothing to do with them and could suffer legal consequences if Panerai had associated me with these straps. Seller called them '2nd generation pre-V' straps from then onwards. The regulars here will remember the names and the other 'Dirk' thing...

Cheers,
Dirk

My personal favorites are Savage, Kwong, Ted Su, 1st gen Dirks, Simona gators and calf straps.

 

[BuckleTang]

Simona's vintage straps are supposed to be pretty nice, but they are too expensive for me. If you got like more than $150+ to spend on one, then you should definitely try her's.