Which brown leather watch strap for my Panerai

A brown leather watch strap on a Panerai is a classic look, but with so many different brown leathers available I can understand why choosing just one can be so difficult. Obviously I like all the leathers I offer on my website - I wouldn't offer them otherwise - but I thought I'd make a personal recommendation. If you are going to have just one brown leather watch strap for your Panerai, then I think Shooting Brake is the one you should go for.

Shooting Brake is one of my "short run" leathers. By that I mean that once the leather I have is gone I won't be able to get any more of it. It's a very soft, fully vegetable tanned leather that was manufactured by a UK tannery as a special order for a customer a couple of years ago. The tannery produced a little more than was ordered by their customer, and the leather remaining was offered to me last spring. After looking at it I immediately bought all the tannery had left, and I'm very pleased I did as it makes a beautiful watch strap. As well as being very soft from the start it has a lovely delicate texture and a slight pull up. This is a truly high-end leather. It was launched on my site at the end of April last year and has been very popular, with glowing reviews from those customers who have had a strap made from it.

Over the holidays I was trying to decide what strap I should make for my Panerai 233. I've been mainly wearing Giallo, Military Grey and Aqua straps with it recently, and I wanted something a little more conservative for a change. In the end I decided Shooting Brake with dark brown stitching was a good call and got to work. I made the strap shown in these photographs with a sewn in keeper and one of the handmade buckles I'd had made & engraved for myself last year. I'm really pleased with the result.

So, if a brown leather watch strap is in your future, take it from me - I think you would be mad to miss this wonderful leather.