Officine Panerai

Gaz
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Strapaholics, please raise your hands...

Okay, got to admit that I go kinda gaga over straps.  Luck for me, there are heaps of strap makers there who can satisfy my strapaholic binges.  But for me, the worst type of strapholism is my craving for anything Pre-V.

The scarcity of these prices and the demand for anything Pre-V have lead to the prices for these straps are reaching ludicrous levels.  More recently, there have been the emergence of Pre-V "prototype straps" and "phantom editions". Anyway, I been told that to deal with an addiction, you have to talk about it...

So lets talk about PAV straps.  What are they and why are they so special.

Firstly, the PAV straps are "loose" OEM straps made by Panerai circa 1993.  These straps differ from other Pre-V straps, i.e. the straps that come with Pre-Vendome 5201-XXX pieces in terms of material and design.  Namely the PAVs were longer (135/85) and had a sewn in keeper.  They were made in Italy.  After the sale to Vendome and subsequently the sale of Vendome to Richemont, OEM strap production was "outsourced" to Hirsch.  These straps were made in Austria and are known as A-series straps (I think that warrants a whole other post ).

Secondly, the PAV straps (so named because of Panerai's production serial number for these were PAVXX) were made from a water proofing process called Kodiak.  Presently, this process is now exclusive to Anonimo.  The PAVs are the only Panerai straps to bear the Kodiak stamp on the back.

Thirdly, the buckles of the PAVs are a thing of beauty.  They have a rounder look to them and the engraving is much more pronounced.  They are sewn in and come in either 22mm or 24mm.

There are 5 PAVs - PAV90, PAV91, PAV93, PAV98 and PAV99, each with different leathers and dimensions (but they are all the same length).  While I have a photo that shows all five together, I don't have the owner’s permission to publish them so I'll describe them.

PAV 90 - Material: Calf skin. Colour: "Orange". Buckle: PVD. Dimension: 24/22. [Editor's correction: PAV90 is 24/24 with a light chocolate brown strap in PVD]

PAV91 - Material: Calf skin. Colour: "Reddish Brown". Buckle: PVD. Dimension: 24/22.

PAV93 - Material: Crocodile. Colour: Blue. Buckle: SS. Dimension: 22/22.

PAV98 - Material: Calf skin. Colour: Black. Buckle: SS. Dimension: 24/24

PAV99 – Material: Calf skin. Colour: Light chocolate brown. Buckle: PVD. Dimension: 24/24 [Editor's correction: PAV99 is 24/22 with the orange strap in PVD]

The strange thing about the PAVs is that there are more PVD buckles than the SS buckles.  There are also some variations that pop up now and then in the strap market, namely PAV91 with the PVD stripped off.  

Here are some scans.

This last scan has a bunch of other pre-v or older style straps.

So here you go.  My name is Gaz and I am a strapaholic.  I am sure I am not alone, so please share your collection

Cheers

Gaz