When I first started selling my watch straps back in 2007 I wanted to offer my customers a choice of buckles with their strap. I spoke with many of my first customers about what they were looking for in a buckle and they were pretty unanimous in their response – they wanted a decent quality buckle but didn’t want to spend much money on it. I found a supplier I could work with who supplied decent mass-produced buckles, and ever since then I have maintained a stock of standard buckles in both thumbnail and Pre-V styles.
The standard buckles I offer with my straps are obviously of a good quality and up to the job or I wouldn’t use them, but ultimately they are mass-produced (and relatively inexpensive as a result). I am still very happy to offer them with my straps, but recently I have been thinking it would be nice to give my customers the option of a premium buckle when they order too, and so I started looking around at what was available. After a couple of months of speaking to various makers around the world I found a guy making sewn in buckles by hand whose buckles looked great and who seemed to have a real passion for what he did.
These handmade watch strap buckles are all made to be sewn in to a strap rather than retro-fitted, and they are available in three styles (a historic “flat” Panerai style, a curved “Pre-V” style and a “knife edge” style – you can see photographs of the three styles on the handmade buckles page). They can be made of either 316L stainless steel or bronze (CuSn8), and what’s more they can be engraved during their manufacture. They can also, if requested, undergo an extensive process of mechanical and chemical “ageing’ to give the buckle a unique patinated look.
I’ve been talking to the maker for the last couple of months about the materials he uses, his process of manufacture and what is possible, and I liked what I heard and saw so much that I ordered a few to play with. They arrived a month ago and I have to say I am very impressed with them, so much so that I have just incorporated one into a new Military Grey strap I’ve made for my Panerai 24C – the buckle I used and is photographed for this page is a “flat” style stainless steel buckle that has gone through the “ageing” process and has been engraved with “Toshi Straps” on the reverse. I love it. He tells me that it takes around 90 minutes to make each buckle, and looking at the results I am not surprised.
I like these buckles so much I’ve decided to offer them as an option for new strap orders. As I am sure you can imagine a handmade buckle is always going to be more expensive than a mass produced buckle, and when you order a strap you’ll find they are more expensive option than the standard buckles I stock, but I am confident you will think the extra cost is worthwhile when your strap arrives. The standard buckles I’ve always offered are still available, but if you want something premium then these handmade watch strap buckles are available now with all straps of 22mm, 24mm and 26mm width and cost £30 on top of the basic cost of the strap. I’ve now created a page for these handmade buckles which shows the options as well as examples of how the buckles appear after they have been through the ageing process.
If you want to order a Toshi Strap with one of these handmade watch strap buckles, you can do so in the usual way. I have added an option under the “buckle” drop down menu that will appear when you select a strap width of 22mm, 24mm or 26mm (see the screenshot below) – select that and we can discuss exactly what style, material & finish you want when your order comes through. I keep a small number of these buckles in stock, but it may be that I have to order one in for you to the exact specification you require. If that’s the case it shouldn’t mean too much of a delay in your strap being finished, and I am sure when it arrives you will think it was well worth the wait.
Update 30th December 2020
Unfortunately the option of a handmade buckle has been withdrawn due to supply issues. If they become available again in the future I will update this post, but for now I have been forced to withdraw the handmade buckle option when ordering a strap. I do still have a few bronze handmade buckles left, but they are in very short supply – see the list below and contact me if you want one. The standard buckles are still available – see the buckles page for more information.
Handmade buckles available as of 11th July 2022 –
24mm – Flat style in brushed bronze – (blank i.e. no engraving) x 1
24mm – Flat style in brushed bronze – (engraved “GPF: Mod Dep.”) x 2
24mm – curved Pre-V in brushed bronze x 1
26mm – Flat style in brushed bronze – (engraved “GPF: Mod Dep.”) x 1
26mm – Flat style in patinated (aged) bronze – (engraved “GPF: Mod Dep.”) x 1