Typhoon leather is one of a dozen or so leathers I introduced last summer after my annual road trip, and it’s become very popular over the last 6 months (and getting rave reviews from those of you who have ordered a strap made from it, I’m delighted to say).
When I am searching for new leathers to add to my website there are many factors that determine what I buy, but one of the questions I always ask myself is “would I wear a strap made from this leather”. I believe that if the answer to that question is “yes” then there is a very good chance there will be others who want a strap made from it too. The answer to that question was a resounding “yes” when I saw Typhoon for the first time and so I just had to buy some. It’s taken a while for me to find some time to indulge myself with a Typhoon leather strap, but yesterday I got to work and this is the result. Typhoon leather with pale blue stitching for my Panerai 233.
Typhoon leather is produced by a small Italian tannery in limited quantities, and as with so many of the leathers I use it’s a fully vegetable tanned calf. This leather is also aniline dyed, which means that it’s dyed using only soluble dyes. As a result there is no topcoat paint or insoluble pigments to hide the natural grain of the leather, which shines through in all it’s glory. Of course, the lack of a topcoat that would conceal any blemishes means only the very best quality skins can be used in the production of an aniline dyed leather, and so they tend to be more expensive, but in my opinion they also tend to be worth it. I introduced Aqua, a very similar leather from the same tannery, a few years ago which has become one of my personal favourites, so I was confident Typhoon was worth buying.
As I write this post I’ve been wearing the strap for only a few hours but already I can see what all the fuss is about. The leather is supremely comfortable from the start, with a slight pull up as the strap is worn. It’s a very dark blue colour and so can be worn with just about anything, and although I paired it with pale blue stitching it also works really well with grey (as shown in the photos on the Typhoon page) and royal blue thread. I usually go for something lighter on my 233, but I really think this works. It’s certainly another to add to the list of my personal favourites.
