Indonesia based Peter Gunny is a strap maker with an obsession for vintage looking watch straps. When he bought his first Panerai in 2007 he couldn't seem to find the kind of strap he liked for his watch. After running into an old friend who runs a leather factory, Peter got excited about making straps himself. By now, Peter runs his strap business full time and he makes straps for Panerai and other watch brands.
The four straps that Peter sent me to take pictures, from left to right in the above picture:
Paupe, inspired by a photo of a vintage Pape Radiomir found on the Internet.
74, inspired by a photo of a vintage Panerai in one of the catalogs.
Egypt, thought up when imagining Egyptian artifacts that are found after thousands of years, dirty and dusty.
MI1, this straps is based on an original vintage strap that Peter received from of his customers. That person only had the long end of the strap and he asked Peter to make the short part to go with it.
Peter asked me to take pictures of 4 of his straps for his website and this blog. He told me that he didn't think that I would want to do it, because there has been some negativity with regards to his business on one of the Panerai fora. I personally think that Peter deserves more credit than he's been given and that the negativity mainly had to do with the fact that he was accused of asking people to promote his straps on the different fora - it didn't have to do with the quality of his products. After talking to some Indonesian Paneristi I believe that Peter couldn't help that others posted the way they did and in my book, he certainly deserves a break. So I agreed to take pictures and Peter was willing to accept any critique I might have.
One of the most noticeable things about all of these straps, is that the leather is extremely soft. The leather that Peter used for these straps is not real vintage leather which is generally much stiffer, but Peter takes pride in his special techniques to make the straps look the way they do. A process that he calls "vintagizing". Because that process is done by hand, no two straps will be 100% alike.
My first impression was that the straps were machine stitched because the stitches are straight and evenly done, but Peter assures me that the straps are all completely hand made, including cutting the leather, gluing and stitching. The short end of the 74 and the MI1 is thicker than the long end because it has three layers of leather like the original vintage straps. The long end is made by folding two layers.
The 74 Serie
The 74 strap is made to look like the strap on a vintage Panerai that is pictured in one of the Panerai catalogs - including the number 74 on the short end of the strap. If you have the catalog you can look up the picture and you'll see that this strap is a pretty accurate copy of the original.
I can certainly appreciate the thought behind this and it is a nice looking strap. But I also have to admit that I can't see myself wearing a strap with a number written on it. It's one of those things that you'll either love or not. Then again, if you take it for what it is, it is a great homage to the original.
The Mission Impossible 1 (MI 1)
The MI1 strap is another strap that was made to look like a strap on a vintage Panerai. This series is the result of a project that Peter worked on when he had to create the missing short end of an original vintage strap of one of his customers. It's showing on my 249 in these pictures.
The strap seems to be well made and it certainly is akin to the original strap a lot in terms of looks. Again, the leather is extremely soft. I don't know how it will hold up after some wearing. I can imagine that the leather will stretch a bit but that's not necessarily a bad thing.
The Egypt Serie
I personally quite liked how the Egyptian strap looks on the 243. The leather has a nice texture and it is very comfortable on the wrist. This particular strap hasn't been made to look as old as the previous two (the 74 and MI1) but it does have a "vintagy" feeling to it.
The Paupe Serie
The Paupe series strap has a nice color. Like the other three straps that Peter sent me, the leather is very soft. It's a well made strap that is again based on a picture of a vintage Radiomir, in thise case the Pape Radiomir.
As you can see in the above photo, this strap will certainly become much darker after wearing. The strap already shows some discoloration where the keepers have been. Most straps will change color when you wear them so this doesn't say much about the quality, but it is something you have to keep in mind when you buy such a strap.
Source : http://www.wristwatchphoto.com/2010/08/gunny-straps.html