THE HISTORY
I have been a watch enthusiast for many years buying, selling, and trading in pursuit of the perfect timepiece. On a hot summer afternoon while hanging out with some friends I noticed an usual (and clunky) chunk of metal on a friend's wrist. After closer inspection and deep conversation I was very intrigued and decided to research the brand more. Obviously I was hooked from that day forward with a small brand called Panerai. The history and complexity of the watch brand was overwhelming and absolutely amazed me how deeply rooted it was. One of the best features of this watch brand was the fact that you could switch out straps at any time completely changing the look. The build style of each strap and the subtle differences interested me, so I decided to look a little deeper. I had the opportunity to learn many of my leather working skills from a master saddle maker (a friend of the family). In my opinion, this job is a skill and could be considered art. Many jobs can be broken into steps and easily repeated by others. This is not one of those jobs. Repeating the steps can be very difficult since you will find many variables that may alter the final product. Every piece of leather you cut, skive, and stitch allows you to hone your skills even more. Working with leather is a journey!
THE BEGINNING OF FROGMAN STRAPS
Many people ask why I decided to use the name Frogman Straps? Well, the name Frogman came from the Italian Navy divers referred to as "frogmen" during the 1930's. Understanding the history and culture of the original Panerai straps helps to drive my thought process and how I build my line. .
CRAFTED BY HAND
You have a lot of strap options for your fine timepiece. Many aftermarket makers use lower quality leather materials to reduce cost. Others simply use machinery and other methods that help decrease the build time and increase productivity. Although these are accepted business practices in today's market I choose to walk a different path. All of my straps are hand built by myself without the use of machinery. The focus is quality not quantity. I use the finest leather hides and stitching from all over the world to produce my straps. In many cases I hand dye my leather with custom mixed colors to achieve the desired color tone. I feel the details are the most important part of the strap. I'm amazed when I see a vintage Panerai strap that has survived the test of time. It really goes to show that someone took pride in there work and produced absolute quality. My goal is to have someone 80 years from now think the same thing about a Frogman leather strap. FROGMAN
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