projectologist Posted November 24, 2011 Report Share Posted November 24, 2011 So I saw the ad in the Accessories forum @ p.com for these 2 Dirk straps with refurbished (by Dirk) PreV buckles. Since the seller was local, we met up for lunch and I picked up the calf. My favorite sharky is the green khaki version that originally came with the 201a, so I passed on this olive brown version Bit of a mystery surrounding these "refinished" strap/buckle combinations, but the stitching is correct, the PANERAI stamp and logo on the reverse is legit and the buckle is stamped per the original with the proper slightly flattened "R" (as opposed to both 1st and 2nd gen Dirks with the more rounded "R") All I know is these typically sell for about 1/5th the price of a documented original PreV strap and supposedly shares the same DNA. So a quick sale of a rep 5002 with a gen strap and this baby will eventually end up on my 201a project when it's done. Some quick phone pics for now... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Watchmeister Posted November 24, 2011 Report Share Posted November 24, 2011 Very nice stuff. I have been sitting on an original sharkie myself for a long time now waiting for my Pre-V project. But I am well behind you timing wise. I am loving the brown one. Can't wait to see the finished project. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
projectologist Posted November 24, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 24, 2011 Very nice stuff. I have been sitting on an original sharkie myself for a long time now waiting for my Pre-V project. But I am well behind you timing wise. I am loving the brown one. Can't wait to see the finished project. Would love to see a pic of that sharky! Timing wise, I bet we "take delivery" around the same time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Watchmeister Posted November 24, 2011 Report Share Posted November 24, 2011 A little bit older still in original package but just for you : Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
projectologist Posted November 24, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 24, 2011 Cool, thanks. That's going to make the tritium color really pop! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Watchmeister Posted November 24, 2011 Report Share Posted November 24, 2011 That is my theory. My only concern is whether the strap holds up. I can't believe they were made that flimsy back in the day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
projectologist Posted November 24, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 24, 2011 Click on the "5218-201A, deep ind" in the side menu, then click on the thumbnails. The same sharky sitting unused in the box. http://www.vannic.it/sitoframe.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Watchmeister Posted November 25, 2011 Report Share Posted November 25, 2011 Click on the "5218-201A, deep ind" in the side menu, then click on the thumbnails. The same sharky sitting unused in the box. http://www.vannic.it/sitoframe.html I wish. I presume mine is an early Dirk. But I am happy with it. I just hope our projects look as good as the Vanni watch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeteM Posted December 2, 2011 Report Share Posted December 2, 2011 Dirks buckles and straps can get very confusing IMHO however the thing to remember is some of his buckles are actually PreV buckles that he picked up in the early days these are much more deeply engraved and have a different metal.... the later ones he sold were refurbed versions using same minting but were slightly different because they were originally rejects after that the buckles were newly made using same coinage and similar minting... they are all easily recognisable as their parentage by the metal finish and the minting.. However you can tell all Dirks by the length of the tongue.... the Prev tongues are longer ie they reach almost the middle of the P but all Dirks only get as far as the bottom of the P maximum... this is because Dirk replaced them ALL to stop them being resold for 4-5 times the money and also because the original tongues could not be bent back in to the buckle... There a numerous editions of the dirks.... as I mention above... but you also get the Dirk 2nd Generation Dirks these arent Dirks but are made by the same guys who tried to pull a fast one on Dirk... so to speak... these can be recognised by the stitching on the straps by the buckle, instead of 5 stitches the stitches go right round the strap and also because the buckles themselves are rejects from OP... There are other tells like the finishing of the buckle edges and the shape or curviature of them that also hep in assessing the age or type of buckle... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blue_sphere Posted December 3, 2011 Report Share Posted December 3, 2011 I love that black stich/black suede strap... just looks SO SWEET! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
projectologist Posted December 3, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 3, 2011 I love that black stich/black suede strap... just looks SO SWEET! Shark strap and it's gonna look awesome on his build Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubiquitous Posted December 3, 2011 Report Share Posted December 3, 2011 but you also get the Dirk 2nd Generation Dirks these arent Dirks but are made by the same guys who tried to pull a fast one on Dirk... so to speak... these can be recognised by the stitching on the straps by the buckle, instead of 5 stitches the stitches go right round the strap and also because the buckles themselves are rejects from OP... That is what I have... Quality of the leather seems on par with any other Dirk I've owned in the past... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeteM Posted December 3, 2011 Report Share Posted December 3, 2011 As Rob mentioned in your thread there is some interesting reading on Dirk 2nd Gen in Risti etc.... I spent many an hour researching the forums on these but ended up going direct to the horses mouth so to speak to discuss the discrepancies in the info provided. But very basically the cheaper buckles produced in 2001/2 by Dirk and later in 2005 by his partners used a higher mix of nickel in the metal 316 unlike the original PreV buckles which were purer... Issues came up about stamping and getting a deep finish to the stamping without damaging the buckle... hence the use of increased nickel... Though a lot of his PVD buckles are the better 316 because you can hide the arisings defects better from the stamping...Dirk did not issue his 'Bag of Goodies' till 2009 these were the original PreV buckles though he did sell them to certain guys before this... Also on your buckle notice the different shape of the tongue tip compared to the Dirk... and if you see Warrens buckle you can see this is the higher nickel content buckle produced in 2001/2 by Dirk though that strap came a few years after... I notice yours is the VC (Vero Cuoio) leather.... I aint seen many 2nd gen like this or that type of leather usually they are Kodiak as per the original versions.. As an example here is a pic of an original PreV buckle next to a Dirk buckle in the back ground is a second gen.. if you want other pics let me know.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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