Cajun gator straps on my 118... BEST of the BEST

[V]

Well I have to admit I was never a big fan of Gator straps.. I had many in the past years and i always selling them because they were just not me.. i always wear jeans and t-shirts so they looked too formal.

When I bought my 118 I have seen a photo with a Simona gator combo which looked divine..

Although I know Simona and she gives me good discounted prices on her straps, still 200+ was too much since I didn't know I would like it in the end. Plus this strap was not distressed by her but by a customer..

So I decided to commision a custom made one to Brent (xlr8tn) aka. 'Cajun straps'.

I remember Brent when he was starting making straps asking me for help with tools, threads etc.. and i have seen the result on mjmurphy's and siesta's gator straps and they looked very very nice.

So I got two of them.. One is the dark brown with a hint of grey /ash something colour.. Amazing colour 100% match with the panerai tobacco dial and it is made with the utmost detail in mind.. It is thicker in the lugs to compliment the watch and thinner in the end of the tongue for the elegant look.

The other is the replication of the distressed Simona strap. This one started as a normal dark brown gator and he distressed it for me. Not very much so when it came home I gave it my personal touch. I did it more with sandpaper and now it looks perfect as well. I also burnished the edges. This one is more vintage style with the same thickness all the way through but again the detail in craftmanship is amazing.

A very difficult strap to photograph...

Finally I asked him for a small scrap piece of leather to try different methods of distressing and he has sent me a fully finished piece which of course I decided to do a keychain for my car key instead of ruining it

Now I am waiting for him to bring honey and black hides for my 112

[dadog13]

K...that's a perfect combo...both are nice although I prefer the distressed one a little bit more...CAJUN straps seem to be great quality....I already wanted to order one but have too many gator straps already...but they are definitely on my strap list to get...

[ravishingrick]

Truly a wonderful strap.

[gianton]

I am not a gator fan as well, but these look nice.

[fishgodeep]

In my humble opinion ...BLOODY PERFECT!!!!

Especially the distressed one ...you can almost smell Havana Tobacco plantations when you look at those photos V!!!

Best

FGD

[ubiquitous]

Great looking straps! I especially like that distressed gator.

[V]

Thanks guys for the kind words..

I like the 'non-distressed' so much that I had to put a sewn-in logo buckle to it

So this one is staying in my 118 strap collection for sure.. I am not so sure about the distressed even though I got many compliments..

[old skool]

Looks great.

[V]

Looks great.

Thanks Zack.. I love the sewn-in logo buckle and I believe that strap deserved one

[ubiquitous]

Hmmmm... How difficult is it to unstitch and re-stitch a strap to add a SIB?

[V]

Hmmmm... How difficult is it to unstitch and re-stitch a strap to add a SIB?

Depends on the strap.. I have done it in more than 10 straps of my own and 10 straps of FGD with 100% success... Keep in mind that you have to CUT the leather on the buckle part.

[siesta181]

The secret's out......

Wonderful catch V. Both straps look blardy awesome. Told you that you weren't gonna regret it.

Like you, I am waiting for his honey and black gator hides for my 113 and my IWC doppel. Hope he gets em soon. Gonna be awesome.

Did I mention that his turaround time is about a week?

Cheers

Siesta181