Panerai Strap Review – DaLuca Leather Strap, Wallet, & Keychain

Introduction

When I am looking for a quality strap to change up the look of the Panerai (since I only have one at the moment), I tend to keep coming back to one of the premiere strap makers, DaLuca Straps. I just recently picked up this Natural Cockett and Jones leather strap from them and I think it’s time I shared it with the world. Along with the strap I decided to finally pick up a few items I had my eye on that DaLuca started making here in the United States. Since I don’t like carrying a bulky wallet I opted to grab their Angle Credit Card wallet as well as their custom Keychain. Both of these items are made of Horween Chromexcel Leather which I will talk more in depth about in the review. This will be the first time I include anything other than straps or watches in a review and I think it is well deserved.

Looks

Unlike the other straps that I have from DaLuca which use vintage ammo leather, this particular one is made from new leather from one of the top leather shops in the United States. This particular one is not dyed and completely natural light brown color. Within a few minutes of playing with the strap in my hands and mounting it on the Panerai I noticed that it has a great texture to it when it starts to bend. After wearing it a few times you will notice that the leather sort of begins to patina, gain wrinkles, and distress marks. This just instantly adds to the character of the strap. You will notice in the pictures that there is already a beautiful aged look coming to it even though it is brand new.

The underside of the strap, like most DaLuca straps, is left unfinished. The suede underside gives the strap a life of it’s own and I have truly come to appreciate it. As with all their straps the DaLacua logo is stamped into the tail end of the strap.

The stitching on this strap is minimal which is a nice touch on this strap because it doesn’t take away from the actual beauty of the natural color. The ecru color stitching is limited to only where the tubes are in a horizontal line.

The strap comes with a Pre-V brushed buckle with the DaLuca logo laser etched into it. Keep in mind if you want you can change out and put any type of buckle you wish to make this strap truly unique and all your own. The strap also features one floating keeper on the buckle end.

[slickr-flickr tag=”daluca-natural” type=”galleria”]

The next item I picked up was their leather Angle wallet made from top not Horween Chromexcel leather in a Natural color as well. If you are not familiar with Horween leather it is one of the best quality leathers right here in the United States. The chromexcel series of leathers that DaLuca uses is very traditional style leather that dates back over a 100 years ago. Here is a small snippet of information on the leather from Horween themselves.

Chromexcel is the original pull-up leather; using time honored techniques and formulas that were developed nearly 100 years ago. Chromexcel is still produced in the United States using a bark retannage from a proprietary recipe, and then genuine hot stuffed with our secret blend of natural oils and greases.

Chromexcel is characterized by a rich pull-up in full aniline, hand rubbed finishes. Made to this day with old world craftsmanship, modern Chromexcel carries on a long history of superior comfort and durability.

Even though this wallet is also a natural color it is a bit darker than the strap as you can see in the pictures below. The texture of the leather is unbelievable. It is so silky smooth that you want to run your hands down it non stop. The inside much like their straps is unfinished and more in the raw suede state.

No lets get to the best part of this wallet in my opinion. Due to the type of leather and coloring that has been done, the immediate patina and vintage look that arises is amazing. You can already see on the edges where it has been folded over as well as where it has stitched looks a lot lighter than the main part of the wallet. With every bend and wrinkle that is created the lighter color starts to show through the cracks which just blows my mind. It looks like you have had this wallet for years of wear and tear even though you might have had it for months. This is something that will seriously appeal to all vintage strap lovers alike. I am eager to see how this wallet is going to look after a few more uses.

The wallet is slightly wider than most credit card wallets, but I personally welcome that so you can get more in there at the end of the day. You can definitely fit a good number of cards as well as cash if need be in this wallet and be just fine. The back of the wallet features the standard DaLuca logo as well as “Handmade in the USA” Etched in it.

http://www.dalucastraps.com/categories/Accessories/Wallets/

[slickr-flickr tag=”daluca-wallet” type=”galleria”]

The last item I picked up was a nice keychain made out of the same Horween Chromexcel leather. This time I opted to go with a darker brown colored leather to change it up and give a contrast to the rest of the items I had picked up. I am glad I went that way because it really looks nice in person.

The keychain is a really good size overall and won’t be too bulky in the pocket. That is good for me since I utterly hate having bulging pockets when I put my keys in there. It features a spring loaded hook system on one end so you can clip it anywhere you like and a nice sized keyring on the other end. The keychain leather has the logo etched in it as well. Much like the wallet, after a few bends you can see the leather changing color which is pretty cool. I am sure if I got the natural color it would show more, but since this is the darker leather you won’t notice much at first but I am sure it will be all vintaged out soon enough.

Next time you are placing your oder for a strap, do yourself a favor and pick up either one of these, you can’t go wrong. If credit card wallets are not your thing, they have a bunch of other styles available to you in the same leathers so check it out. They are a bit pricey for a keychain but you are getting one that uses some of the best leather money can buy and you will know it the moment you have it in your hands.

http://www.dalucastraps.com/categories/Accessories/Key-Chains/

[slickr-flickr tag=”daluca-keychain” type=”galleria”]

Comfort

As with my other DaLuca Straps the straps are super comfortable to wear and don’t need much of a break in period. They suede under the strap really feels nice against the skin and doesn’t irritate or both you at all. This particular strap was nice and flexible from day one even though the strap is a think leather. It will only get better over time and wear which I am truly looking forward to.

Durability

Because there is a subtle minimalist approach to their beautiful straps, you won’t really have many issues with the DaLuca Strap. I have a good number of them in my collection and they are all still going strong. I have no doubts that this strap will also stand the test of time and get better with age. DaLuca definitely stands behind their product and Dan has always assured me if anything happens to send it back to him and he will take care of the problem. With backing like that, how could you honestly go wrong with a product like this.

Overall Impressions

Overall this is a very simple strap that is going to build some nice dimension and character over time. I already scratched part of it while wearing it but it truly gave the strap a new look and I really can’t wait till it has more over time. It’s almost like getting a blank canvas and doing whatever you want to it. I am going to age this strap very well and it will be vintage in my own eyes soon enough.

Good