My Anonimo Polluce bronze - model 2003. This is one of the prototypes produced before the run of 150 cases in 2006

The Polluce was released by Anonimo in 2006 and although produced only in very limited numbers it has become something of an icon for collectors of dive watches, especially those interested in Panerai (and the various off-shoots that came into being when Panerai was sold in the late 1990’s). I won’t go over old ground in this post – I explained the connection between Panerai and Anonimo in some detail when I wrote about my Professionale a couple of years ago, and for those interested in reading more specifically about the Polluce I can recommend this excellent article written a few years ago now by Jon at deskdivers.com – it’s well worth a read. I’ve owned this bronze Anonimo Polluce for about 10 years now, and I love it. It’s one of the 16 black dialled prototypes that were made by Anonimo in early 2006 prior to the launch of the 150 watches later that year, and as you can see from the photo I’ve worn it quite a lot and allowed the case to oxidise naturally. It’s certainly never been a safe queen!

Sometimes it takes a while to find a strap that’s just right for a watch, and although I’ve worn this watch on many straps over the years I’ve never been completely happy with any of them. I think the closest I came was with an Aegir leather strap I made for it 18 months ago, but I always felt that a flat matt leather might suit it better than the slightly shiny Aegir. Earlier this year I came across a new leather that I thought could work – I named that leather Espresso and launched it in April this year. I’ve been very busy over the past few months but last weekend I finally found some time for myself, and so I got down to making a strap from it for my watch. This is the result.

Espresso leather strap with dark brown stitching - this strap was made for my Anonimo Polluce 2003

Espresso leather strap with dark brown stitching - this strap was made for my Anonimo Polluce 2003

Espresso is a vegetable tanned calf leather produced by a tannery in northern Italy. It is a full grain leather with a very tight grain and a slight pull-up in a flat matt brown colour. It’s quickly become one of my favourites (so much so that I recently included it as one of my favourite five). I was a initially un-decided about what colour thread to stitch it with for this watch – butterscotch would have worked with the colour of the bronze nicely, but in the end I decided to go with dark brown for a low-contrast look, and I think it’s worked well. The strap was finished this morning and after taking a few quick photos I put it on the watch. I think it is perfect and I hope you do, too.

Anonimo Polluce bronze on a new strap - made from Espresso leather with dark brown stitching

If anyone is looking for an under-stated matt brown leather strap then I can’t recommend Espresso highly enough. It’s a very soft leather, but it’s thick enough to work with a big watch. Finally I feel I’ve found the strap for my Polluce – I hope you like it.

Anonimo Polluce bronze on a new strap - made from Espresso leather with dark brown stitching