Panerai wristwatch photo blog: Swedish "Gustav" ammo strap by Kevin Rogers

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Swedish "Gustav" ammo strap by Kevin Rogers

Kevin Rogers

Many third party strap makers have their own line of ammo straps for Panerai watches. Kevin Rogers (with BigB from watches24seven.com) is probably one of the most famous strap makers and the only one that "legally" has the right to use the term - as they are the ones that trade-marked the name ammo strap. I don't think that anyone using the term for their own straps will get into problems, but it's an interesting fact nonetheless.

The name ammo strap is used for straps that are made from the leather of old ammo pouches. Having straps made from very old leather - with a history - is what makes these straps unique. Some straps are made from leather that may be well over 60 years old.
Ammo straps usually have a very unique look and feel. And smell. I'm not joking, you can sometimes even smell the gun powder.

"Gustav" ammo

I recently received a new strap from Kevin for my Fiddy (PAM127). The leather that was used for this particular strap is called Swedish Gustav ammo referring to the Swedish K/Carl Gustav M45 submachine gun - a "weapon of choice for SEALS in Vietnam" back in the late 1960's (more information on www.philaord.com).

Swedish ammo by Kevin shown on Panerai 127 aka Fiddy

I particularly liked the darker color and the structure/grain of this leather. The specs of this strap are akin to the specs of the vintage Panerai straps. Long, widely spaced holes and a straight vintage style buckle (photo below). I was lucky that the strap fits my wrist the way it is, because I would hate having to punch another hole.