All Black Diver
Di Stefano Straps from Florence, Italy
One of the best-known European strap makers within the Paneristi community is without doubt Di Stefano Straps from Florence, Italy. It's a family owned business started as a leather tannery business in 1899 in Livorno, Italy. During the second World War they produced some leather products to military specifications for the Italian army. After the war they moved forward into the business by supplying fashion houses like Gucci, Prada and Ferragamo with their finest leather hides. Now these days Simona Di Stefano, the fourth generation of the family business who earlier worked for Officine Panerai, has combined the two and created a whole range of top-notch watch straps from Panerai and other luxury watch brands.
Di Stefano "All Black Diver Strap" (prototype)
When I booked my PAM0389 and knew I was going for a very short visit in Europe I contacted Simona Di Stefano with a cry for help, I needed a new strap for my new watch, there was no time to have one made, it had to be a ready-made one. As I experienced before, Simona is one of the nicest people in the strap maker industry and responded very fast, she sent me pictures of 10 different available straps plus gave her comment with each option, she obviously knows the PAM0389 and could give me some fantastic advice. It didn't take me long to finalize on the strap that got my attention straight away, strap number 6 on the list, the Di Stefano All Black Diver strap. This strap is a prototype, I have not seen a black diver strap before from her and could not let this opportunity pass me by.
Fast delivery
I received the strap within 2 days after I confirmed my order and was impressed about the look and feel of the strap when taking it out of the pouch. That is another nice detail, when you order a strap from Di Stefano Straps, the strap comes in a nice soft pouch, that is what I call eye for detail!
The strap
When opening the pouch, I was surprised about the finish of the strap, it has a vintage character, looks brushed, is not completely black but more 'worn-out" greyish kind of black. At the same time you notice that the strap is brand new, the leather smells like new leather.
The finish of the strap
The finish of the strap is fantastic, the stitching very sharp. The leather is nice and soft, it has sort of a silky feel to it and you can see that the strap has gone through a treatment, it has probably already seen the Mediterean Sea. the burnishing is not too much, the lining of the strap is completely in sync with the rest of the strap, like the name say, all-black!
The GPF-Mod Dep buckle
The strap has a GPF-Mod Dep style buckle, this is a big flat buckle originally used in the 1940-1950's. GPF stands for Guido Panerai e Figlio Modelo Depositato(translated Guido Panerai & Son Registered Trademark) Not all buckles have the GPF Mod Dep mentioned on the buckle, if they have it stamped or engraved they are usually not the original ones from the 1940-1950'5, but more a homage to the originals, next if the engraving is done, it is on the inside of the buckle, so you won't see it while wearing the strap.
Di Stefano calls it the Diver Buckle
The flat GPS Mod Dep style buckles made by Di Stefano are called Diver Buckle.
A nice detail is that on the 26mm buckle the logo of Di Stefano is hidden under the leather, the logo on the smaller 24mm buckles are on the top of the buckle and are rounded-off more than the 26mm buckles.
Simona was so kind to share a picture of it with me after asking her about it.
On the watch
Of course it's time now to put the strap on the watch. With my PAM0389 it is an easy task to do, the quick change strap system makes it a 2-minutes job, no need to visit a watchmaker to do it for you.
A nice thick stap that fits the PAM0389, wonderful!
Finally on the wrist
The strap feels a bit stiff and will need a bit more time to get soft and break-in, this is not a surprise, the strap is pretty thick and now after wearing the strap for 3 weeks it starts to become very comfortable and soft just like I expected.
The buckle
My conclusion
The All Black Diver Strap is a beautiful thick strap. It has a wonderful texture, the vintage look of the leather is amazing, the finish of the strap is top-notch and the GPF Mod Dep buckle complements the strap spot-on. The support and passion from the maker adds a lot of value to what you get.
The strap specifications:
Below you find summarized the specifications of the strap.
Special treatment: grinding & polishing followed by seawater & natural leather balsam treatment
Width: 26 mm
Length: 150/90 mm
Thickness strap: 5 mm
Type of buckle: Di Stefano GPF Mod Dep flat style buckle
Buckle material: Brushed steel
Type of stitching: hand-stitch