CORRIGIA

Strapmaker brand name: Corrigia Straps
Started strap making since: 2011
Location: Kalsruhe, Germany
Types of straps made: Vintage, historical & classic straps

My name is Cengio Bilgiç from Karlsruhe Germany and I started making straps from 2011 onwards. Before this happened I was reading a lot about vintage Panerai watches and was especially interested in the old original straps
I found that were displayed in Ralf Ehler's Panerai books. Those straps were treated with salt water in order to build patina on the leather.

A very well-know Panerista made an original old strap available that was mounted on his vintage Panerai Luminor Ref. 6152/1 and allowed me to take the strap apart in order to study the building structure and design of the strap and renew the stitching. I did something more than that by making a 1:1 replica of the strap that he called Corrigia Reborn 1960 Fletch01.

Presently I create quite a variety of handmade vintage straps for various models. You can choose between "uniform thickness" or the "true vintage style", this is a trifold technique that makes the strap stronger an a bit thicker at the lug side. The straps are created with an old antique awl, antique leather knife, antique plane and antique tools. The vintage and worn look is created by many hours of grinding and polishing. The straps are finished with a saltwater and a natural leather balsam treatment. When you order a strap you can choose out of a variety of buckle to make your strap even more personalized or order it without a buckle in case you prefer your own buckles.

In the meantime I has started to expand my portfolio with belts, bags, watch rolls, etc.

I started getting recoginition after making a first attempt to re-create an original Panerai strap from the 1960's I called "Fletch01" now part of the "Reborn series of straps.