Hirsch / Panerai

[crystalmethod]

Hi all

I recently asked a department store for an official Panerai replacement strap for my PAM48, and later found that the one they sold me is a Hirsch one.

Are Hirsch the official suppliers of Panerai straps, or do Panerai supply their own ones? I see straps are shown on their website.

The reason I ask is that the Hirsch one seems much poorer quality vs ones I've bought in the past when asking for a standard calf skin Panerai strap.

Thanks for any help anyone can give.

[nikaiyo2]

All the Panerai straps I have ever seen have been branded with Officine Panerai embossed on the back of the strap, it can be a bit hard to see on dark straps, but it is there.
They also come packaged in a funny shaped "box" in a similar material to the outer carton the watches come in, inside that is a little ziplock baggy with a sticker showing the strap model with barcode and a little hang tag thing in the actual strap.

I would imagine the Hirsch strap would cost a LOT less than the Panerai version, like £150 less. Someone at a Panerai event told me the straps were made for them in Austria.

To be honest I was massively disappointed with the quality of the genuine Panerai Calf strap I bought and would not buy another. For similar money to what they charge much nicer and better quality straps are available or for a 1/4 of the price something from steevio, toshi or Etsy are on par.

[crystalmethod]

Very interesting, thank you.

I was charged £170 for what turned out to be a Hirsch strap when I'd asked for an official Panerai one.

The official Panerai ones I've had over the years seemed to vary in quality, but I don't remember any being as poor as the current strap - which is why I'm in a discussion with the store about it.

And as part of the discussion they've told me that Hirsch supplied the strap, and not Panerai, which is why I asked the question yesterday.