Swiss ammo strap by Septimus straps

Sometimes a first look at a strap that is sent to me to take photos, can really make me sigh. When I received this Swiss ammo strap by Septimus Straps I even had to sigh more than once. And that's because I just knew that this was going to cost me money... I just have to add one of these amazing straps to my collection!


Swiss ammo strap made by Septimus Straps

The strap is made from a vintage Swiss ammunition pouch. The kind of pouch that is showing in the background in the above photo. In my experience, the Swiss ammo straps are quite stiff and not very comfortable to wear. This particular strap however is very pliable and soft - as you can see in the below photo. It is quite unlike other Swiss ammo straps that I've bought before. I love how the leather is cut so that the original stamps are visible on the straps.


The leather is soft and pliable

The strap has no holes punched yet, but I mounted it on my 243 to see how it looks. It's a perfect match in my opinion.


Panerai PAM243 submersible

Fran - from Septimus straps - was so kind as to let me have one of his ammo pouches. I had been looking to buy one to use as a photo prop for a while. Now that I've seen these pouches I have all the more appreciation for all the strap makers that turn these things into the excellent straps that they sell. I'm convinced that it takes many hours, a lot of passion and fine craftsmanship to be able to build such straps. These vintage ammunition pouches are getting harder and harder to find. I don't know how many straps you can make out of one pouch, but it can't be many.


The pouch shows a stamp like most Swiss ammo straps have

The Septimus strap has an amazing texture and it is really soft to the touch. The leather has a semi gloss finish. The strap came with a sewn in GPF style buckle, the same one that I have on my Yugoslavian ammo strap from David Lane Design. Funny how I was looking to find one of those buckles and to then receive straps with the same buckle from two different makers shortly after each other. The nicest buckle, no doubt.


The strap comes with a sewn in GPF style buckle

The inside of the strap (photo above) is the same leather as the outside. It would be a shame to use some other kind of leather on the inside, simply because that would hide how nice the original leather really is. Of course every real ammo strap is a one of kind so other straps will look different, but as you can see in the photo, the inside shows the stitch holes of the original pouch.


Swiss ammo strap made by Septimus Straps

Septimus straps are two friends and Paneristi from France. They make straps out of passion for Panerai and the community - and it shows. Their straps are exceptionally well made. It takes them 4 to 7 hours (depending on the strap) to make a strap and it is all done by hand from start to finish. Now that I know a little bit about the costs of original ammo pouches and about how much time it takes to make an ammo strap like this - I can only say that these guys are not in it for the money. Their prices are certainly more than reasonable for what you get and definitely in comparison to what other strap makers are charging for similar straps. But that comparison is unfair because making straps is not their business but rather a hobby.


Click the photos for a larger version

The Septimus straps website has lots of very nice photos by their fans. It's definitely worth it to have a look. You can contact Fran by e-mail too.

You can find more photos of this strap in this gallery on paneristipix.com.

All photos © 2010 M.Wilmsen - do not use these photos without permission.

Related posts

An overview of entries about straps on wristwatchphoto.com
Yugoslavian ammo strap by David Lane Design
Swedish "Gustav" ammo strap by Kevin Rogers