Jamie Weiss
Most watches these days feature lug widths ranging from 18 to 22 millimetres. You might have heard the term “strap monster” before. In essence, that’s a watch that not only looks good on a wide variety of strap styles but features a popular lug width – say 20mm – that facilitates easy swapping out of straps. But not all watches feature a Goldilocks lug width. If you’ve got a watch with a particularly large lug width, such as a Panerai, it can be challenging to find decent third-party straps for your watch… Which means you’re stuck paying a significant premium for an OEM strap. Never fear: Australian accessories brand Artem has the solution to your problem.Artem’s PAM Style straps, as the name implies, closely resemble Panerai OEM straps in design, boasting a 24mm lug width, familiar oversized tang buckle and oval-shaped holes. They even come equipped with stainless steel tubes in the lug holes, which means you can use your OEM Panerai screws for models with screw bars as opposed to spring bars. (Of course, they’ll also work just as well with normal spring bars too.)An Artem PAM Style strap pictured on the new Panerai Luminor Destro Otto Giorni ref. PAM01655.Crafted from Artem’s signature synthetic, embossed upper sailcloth material paired with a durable and comfortable blend of leather and natural rubber on the underside, these straps will stand up to the rigours of saltwater swimming and are available in a wide range of colours and stitching combinations to suit any watch or personal aesthetic. Additionally, the tang buckle is available in either brushed stainless steel or black DLC – great if you have a DLC-decked-out or ceramic watch. It’s also easy to swap out the buckle for your own choice of hardware.While Artem has designed these PAM Style straps with Paneristi in mind, they would also suit other large watches with 24mm lug widths, especially large dive watches: the Breitling Superocean Heritage 46, Citizen Promaster Marine ‘Godzilla’ and the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms 500 Fathoms (the latter of which, like many Panerais, also has screw bars, meaning it’s nigh-on impossible to find an aftermarket strap for it) immediately come to mind.Naturally, they look great on just about any Panerai, from Luminors and Submersibles to Radiomirs and Mare Nostrums. While they’re not exactly the cheapest straps on the market, they’re a damn sight better than any other third-party solutions – and even rival OEM straps for quality, comfort and looks.Artem’s PAM Style straps retail for A$246 / US$146. Find out more at Artem's online store here.
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