Di Stefano Straps from Florence, Italy

One of the best-known European strap makers within the Paneristi community is without doubt Di Stefano Straps from Florence, Italy. It's a family owned business started as a leather tannery business in 1899 in Livorno, Italy. During the second World War they produced some leather products to military specifications for the Italian army. After the war they moved forward into the business by supplying fashion houses like Gucci, Prada and Ferragamo with their finest leather hides. Now these days Simona Di Stefano, the fourth generation of the family business who earlier worked for Officine Panerai, has combined the two and created a whole range of top-notch watch straps from Panerai and other luxury watch brands.

Di Stefano Kommando strap

After I got my All Black Diver strap I was looking for a grey strap that would fit well with my PAM00389. In December I found a few that met my requirements and one of them was a a new strap launched by Di Stefano straps, the Kommando strap. This strap was before only available in black and has now come out in Midnight Mare Blue (more grey) and Verde Militare Storico (greenish brown) with different stitching color so you can match the strap with the dial or the color of the indexes.

My choice was the Midnight Mare blue with grey stitching that would suit my PAM00389 best.

Delivery with the help of a friend, again

The strap was ready within two weeks time and sent to a fellow Panerista who was so kind to bring the strap along with him to India for me again, the easiest way to get my straps here.

The writing on the pouch

On the pouch on one side is mentioned Kommando, on the other side it says "Cucito a Mano" which means "hand-sewn", the hand print that stands for completely handmade, it has the logo of the Decima Flottiglia Mezzi d'Assalto, also known as La Decima or Xª MAS (The Italian Commando Frogman), the skull with the rose and at the bottom the symbol of Florence, The Fleur-de-Lis. It's a nice touch and confirms the dedication the maker puts in every strap they make.

The strap

As all the straps Di Stefano supplies, they all come in a nice high quality pouch that you could use to store your watch in as well. This strap comes in a bigger suede pouch than the standard size just like the Bruno Allegrini Gamma Diver strap I got earlier. The leather is feels stiffer than the Bruno strap but is surprisingly very easy bendable. This strap has also gone through process to make it worn and still very durable. The tail of the strap is so-called "Deutscher-Schnitt" tail, instead of a pointy end it is straight. As mentioned the strap is completely hand-made, in this case by their old artisan from Florence, Roberto. I asked what kind of leather this is, it is "Dorsale di Toro conciata al vegetale con ingrassi naturali" which means in English leather hide of the back of a bull that is vegetable barrel dyed with high natural fat content.

The finish of the strap

The finish of the strap is fantastic, it is a hand-made strap and the stitching is very sharp. The leather is thick, feels stiffer than my other Di Stefano straps and stillsoft, it has sort of a silky look & feel to it and you can see that the strap has gone through a treatment, soaked in the Mediterean Sea, treated with leather balsams and emollients. there is some natural burnishing done, the lining of the strap is the same as the top layer of the strap and feels comfortable on the wrist. Due to the thickness of the strap I am sure it will take the hot and humid summers without a problem.

The screw-in Vintage Style buckle

The strap has a screw-in Vintage Style buckle, that is not flat like the GPF-Mod Dep style buckle, This Di Stefano Vintage Style buckle is made of forged steel and has the "Di Stefano" logo engraved on the inside of the buckle.

On the watch

Only by putting the strap on the watch will make out how good and nice the strap looks and feels on the wrist. The strap has a lovely almost same grey color as the ceramic bezel of my PAM00389, the color has come out really nice!

Another thick strap that sits tight against the case and fits perfect.

The strap on the wrist

The strap feels remarkably soft from the first time I put it on despite the stiffer feel of the strap. This strap comes also just like the Bruno with 3 keepers to hold the tail nicely. My strap is 150/90 and looks nice with having keepers spread out.

The buckle

My conclusion

The Kommando strap is a very well fitting strap with a color that completely matches the color of my PAM00389. The finish of the strap is very good and although you can see at the stitching it is hand-made, it is very solid and precise made, no rough edges. The hole of the buckle are slightly bigger than on the Bruno which makes it easier to mount the first time. Also this strap feels very comfortable on the wrist right from the first time I put it on. The texture is matt due to the triple treatment the leather got is giving a worn look and at the same time smells and looks completely new. The triple keepers, the longer "Deutsche Schnitt " tail completes the strap.

As a remark I would have preferred to have a sewn-in Vintage curved buckle instead of a screw-in version of the buckle, most of my straps have sewn-in buckles and saves me even more time when changing straps. I would not know if the buckle that came with this strap will ever be put on another strap, time will tell.

If you are looking for more info about Di Stefano Straps, you can find the strap maker at www.distefanostraps.com and if you interested in more details about the strapmaker of Di Stefano Straps, Simona di Stefano, click here

I hope you like the review, feel free to post your comments here

The strap specifications:

Below you find summarized the specifications of the strap, the prices mentioned are only indicative just to give you an idea what you could expect if you order one.

Leather type: Italian bull leather, vegetable barrel dyed treated with natural oils, specific back of the bull (thicker) leather
Special treatment: seawater & natural leather balsam treatment
Width: 26 mm
Length: 150/90 mm
Thickness strap: 5 mm to 4.5 mm at tail
Type of buckle: Di Stefano Vintage style screw-in buckle
Buckle material: Brushed steel
Type of stitching: hand-stitch
Price range: 155-225 EURO (depending on choice of buckle and destination, VAT & shipping charges vary)

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A few additional images of my strap. Enjoy!