# BRONZE on BRONZE: Simona's Bronze Buckles Arrived!! Showcase & mini-review with aftermarket straps.



## timefleas

*BRONZE on BRONZE: Simona's Bronze Buckles Arrived!! Showcase & mini-review with aftermarket straps.*

Following up on a thread started by Willith a couple of years ago regarding bronze buckles for the bronze cased watches, I contacted Simona of Di Stefano Straps, located appropriately enough in Firenze, Italy.​
Though the web site, in terms of watches, is primarily focused on servicing Panerai needs, there are bronze buckles available there--though only 24mm and 26mm are listed. I inquired about 22mm, learned that they could be made special order, so I went ahead and ordered three buckles, one in each size: 26mm for my 26/26 Toshi custom-made strap on my Bronze Nautilo; 24mm for my 24/24 strap made by forum member "igory76" for my Bronze (orange) Polluce, and; 22mm for my 22/22 Gunny strap, again custom-made, but based on his "Breitling Aviator" strap, for my Bronze (black) Polluce. The Gunny strap has very appealing brass rivets, rather than the usual steel, so this too matches well with the bronze case.

The bronze Simona uses appears to be pure, so the color is much redder, and brighter, than the bronze alloy formula that Anonimo uses for their cases, so the match isn't perfect, but it is nice. One nice feature for all three buckles is that they use a double screw assembly for attaching to the watch strap, much like the screws Anonimo uses instead of spring pins for attaching straps to the lugs--these screw assemblies also appear to be bronze. A few other points should be made--all three buckles are the "Pre-V" style, and are big! At the widest point of the mid-sized buckle (24mm), for example, the width is 38mm! A second point is that the underside edges, which contact the skin, are fairly sharp upon arrival, so I had to file all three of them down a bit to keep them from irritating the wrist. Further, the buckles appear to be coated with some sort of protective seal in order for them to retain their brightness forever. This may not be appreciated for those who like "patina" (I don't, as I grew up crewing for racing yachts in the San Francisco Bay (salt water), and the last thing anyone wanted on their brass, bronze and steel cleats, housings, pulleys, etc., was "patina"--i.e., left unattended, this becomes rust, corrosion and eventually destroys the metals.) I have heard that another owner of one of the Simona bronze buckles has worn his so much that the coating is gone, and it is now aging "properly"--if so, I suppose someone could lightly sand the buckles off to give them a head start. Finally, please note that the three sizes available will not work on most of your Kodiaks (for those watches with the 42mm cases) as Kodiaks taper from 22mm to 20mm at the buckle. I don't like tapered straps, and I don't like mass-produced straps, even Kodiaks, so this wasn't a problem for me. (And, if any of you are trying to figure out what is wrong with my wrist or arm--I am left handed, so the watches are on my right hand. Also, for comparisons, my wrist is 7 1/8 inch.)

Obviously watches, straps, buckles and so forth are all very subjective--below are the combinations that work for me, and hopefully they will be helpful in giving you an idea of what may or may not look good on your own watch(es). Enjoy!


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## tevj

*Re: BRONZE on BRONZE: Simona's Bronze Buckles Arrived!! Showcase & mini-review with aftermarket str*

AWESOME!!!...thank you for sharing, the buckles, straps and watches look great!


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## JayVeeez

*Re: BRONZE on BRONZE: Simona's Bronze Buckles Arrived!! Showcase & mini-review with aftermarket str*

Very cool matches! Thanks for sharing!


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## Willith

*Re: BRONZE on BRONZE: Simona's Bronze Buckles Arrived!! Showcase & mini-review with aftermarket str*

Excellent! I'm glad you could still get the 22mm buckles from Simona. The straps look great and all are great combos! I hate to tell you, but if you don't like patina you might want to give your orange Polluce a little attention. ;-) Great choices and pictures, thanks for sharing! :-!


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## timefleas

*Re: BRONZE on BRONZE: Simona's Bronze Buckles Arrived!! Showcase & mini-review with aftermarket str*

_(As for Patina--I am most vigilant on the Nautilo--its too classy of a watch to be allowed to go too far. As for the other two, they are both actually less dark than they appear in the photos (no flash, subdued light), but are allowed to age gracefully--all are buffed on a regular basis, but no solvents are used as these will actually destroy the protective finish that Anonimo puts on them to slow the aging process. I guess you can say my approach is "Patina-lite"--I do polish them with a special cleaning cloth (definitely not a toxic cape cod cloth), but that's it.)_


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## Willith

*Re: BRONZE on BRONZE: Simona's Bronze Buckles Arrived!! Showcase & mini-review with aftermarket str*

I see, it sounds like you have a very thought out approach to the patina issue. :-! I was only ribbing you a little, but I am glad you got the buckles you wanted and Simona was able to still source the 22mm version for you as well. :-!


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## timefleas

*Re: BRONZE on BRONZE: Simona's Bronze Buckles Arrived!! Showcase & mini-review with aftermarket str*

Yes--it all started with your original post--great how the forum works--what goes around comes around (and thanks for steering me in Simona's direction!)
Peter


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## nelsondevicenci

*Re: BRONZE on BRONZE: Simona's Bronze Buckles Arrived!! Showcase & mini-review with aftermarket str*

Very nice strap colors, looks very well, the stitches nice too, as i said before Bronze all the way.

SO lovely the buckles too Im not big fan of the pre-vendome style, but a little source of Bronze buckles.

Thansk for sharing I enjoyed a lot seeing your pictures.


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## amers

*Re: BRONZE on BRONZE: Simona's Bronze Buckles Arrived!! Showcase & mini-review with aftermarket str*

Congrats on getting the buckles....I love mine......Just FYI....I don't know about yours but mine from Simona had some kind clear coat which slows the patina....The problem is over time the coating comes off in some areas and not in others. Therefore certain areas will patina much quicker over time. I ended up scrubbing the coating completely off. Also i don't know how "pure" it is or what % of alloys are in her bronze buckles but my patina turned slightly green when the coating came off. The area under my wrist was also green, which personally I was fine with. Just the nature of this type of Bronze.

I will try and find photos if you want.


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## timefleas

*Re: BRONZE on BRONZE: Simona's Bronze Buckles Arrived!! Showcase & mini-review with aftermarket str*

I think mine must be made the same way--a clear coating--I may actually sand my down at some point, just to soften some of the other edges as well, and like you I don't mind a bit of stain on the wrist, as even the best stainless steel, for me at least, also leaves a bluish gray stain on particularly hot (lots of perspiration) days. Of course add your pictures to the thread! 
Peter


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## Legmaker72

*Re: BRONZE on BRONZE: Simona's Bronze Buckles Arrived!! Showcase & mini-review with aftermarket str*

Very cool! Thanks for sharing the info!
Love the Dino Zei !! I soo want one of those !


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## StefB

*Re: BRONZE on BRONZE: Simona's Bronze Buckles Arrived!! Showcase & mini-review with aftermarket str*

Your terrific collection of Bronze beauties is driving me nuts! I'm loving the champagne Nautilo more and more...

Congrats and thanks for sharing.


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## phunky_monkey

*Re: BRONZE on BRONZE: Simona's Bronze Buckles Arrived!! Showcase & mini-review with aftermarket str*



amers said:


> Congrats on getting the buckles....I love mine......Just FYI....I don't know about yours but mine from Simona had some kind clear coat which slows the patina....The problem is over time the coating comes off in some areas and not in others. Therefore certain areas will patina much quicker over time. I ended up scrubbing the coating completely off. Also i don't know how "pure" it is or what % of alloys are in her bronze buckles but my patina turned slightly green when the coating came off. The area under my wrist was also green, which personally I was fine with. Just the nature of this type of Bronze.
> 
> I will try and find photos if you want.


Mine also has a clear coat that is coming off in parts. Perhaps I should sand it back and see if it starts to develop a patina...

Great collection of Bronzes btw. I'm a patina lover myself, but to each their own. Looks like the DZ Nautilo is getting a lot of love lately - glad I managed to pick one up when I did!


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## Cybotron

*Re: BRONZE on BRONZE: Simona's Bronze Buckles Arrived!! Showcase & mini-review with aftermarket str*

Looks good...


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## amers

*Re: BRONZE on BRONZE: Simona's Bronze Buckles Arrived!! Showcase & mini-review with aftermarket str*

Ok see attached photo but don't freak out...It is not as bad as it looks. The center discolored area by the logo is from the coating going bad. I was able to remove the center coating and from the tongue very easily by scrubbing with soap and water (Looks completely fine now). Keep in mind this is the underside where the buckle meets the skin....Currently the underside is green and dull however the other side is dull a few shades brighter...I'm guessing due to less interaction with the skin and sweat.

What you see is from an entire summers wear in 98+ degrees Fahrenheit and swimming in the ocean, including a brief swim in the Dead Sea which is supersaturated with salt. (Watch was thoroughly washed in regular water immediately)

My guess is some of you may experience the same wear and change in bronze coloring as I did. I'm also guessing it has to do with the buckles bronze properties VS. the watch case. I can take photo's of the other side sometime tomorrow for all to see if there is interest.

I hope people are not disappointed because I'm not. It is simply the nature of this particular bronze and unfortunately not everyone can make these. I am pretty happy and have not regrets....Just makes the whole thing more unique IMO.


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## timefleas

*Re: BRONZE on BRONZE: Simona's Bronze Buckles Arrived!! Showcase & mini-review with aftermarket str*

Thanks for sharing, and please do include a photo of the other side--just to clarify--this is the result of simple aging, plus just soap and water on the both the tongue and the horizontal bar?


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## amers

*Re: BRONZE on BRONZE: Simona's Bronze Buckles Arrived!! Showcase & mini-review with aftermarket str*



timefleas said:


> Thanks for sharing, and please do include a photo of the other side--just to clarify--this is the result of simple aging, plus just soap and water on the both the tongue and the horizontal bar?


Yes correct simply aging/greening after I removed the coating with soap and water. It took some time but it came off after a few washes. I used my nail to remove the coating between the edges. I'll take some photo's tomorrow and post. I have another unused 22mm bronze buckle so I will take side by side photo's.


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## amers

*Re: BRONZE on BRONZE: Simona's Bronze Buckles Arrived!! Showcase & mini-review with aftermarket str*

As promised....I took some photo's this evening...The left one as you can tell is the "aged" one on my beater Kodiak strap which I use for swimming. For non swimming I use a variety of GSD straps with the bronze buckle. Greg also made a torched buckle which is really nice and compliments the case as the colours are close.
The left one has a little patina if you call it that, less bright, dull, slight colour change and green on the inside. After extended wear the green ends up on the skin which I am fine with.


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## timefleas

*Re: BRONZE on BRONZE: Simona's Bronze Buckles Arrived!! Showcase & mini-review with aftermarket str*

Thanks for sharing--I do like the natural look of your "aged" buckle over the overly bright version with the clear coating. Will have to take some soap and water to mine as well.


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## phunky_monkey

*Re: BRONZE on BRONZE: Simona's Bronze Buckles Arrived!! Showcase & mini-review with aftermarket str*

I just looked under my Simona and have noticed that where the coating has peeled it has now got a green tinge. Will snap some shots of it this weekend.

I'm not much of a fan of the coating so think I may remove it entirely.


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## laughinggull

*Re: BRONZE on BRONZE: Simona's Bronze Buckles Arrived!! Showcase & mini-review with aftermarket str*

Just awesome looking Nimos with those straps and buckles. I'm drooooooooooooooling. Really. No really. I am.


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## stew77

*Re: BRONZE on BRONZE: Simona's Bronze Buckles Arrived!! Showcase & mini-review with aftermarket str*

Awesome looking strap combos, and I absolutely love the Bronze Buckles!!!|>|> Thanks for the reference and pics all.

I would definitely be one of those that would immediately take a scotchbright pad to the buckle to gently brush the protective coating off...I'm a fan of patina.:-!


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## SactoJohn

*Re: BRONZE on BRONZE: Simona's Bronze Buckles Arrived!! Showcase & mini-review with aftermarket str*

Love the buckles and watch/strap combinations. What a great collection. I
just put a deposit down on a Magrette bronze, and am now starting the hunt
for the perfect strap/buckle combo.


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## joefromnj

*Re: BRONZE on BRONZE: Simona's Bronze Buckles Arrived!! Showcase & mini-review with aftermarket str*

Hadley Roma 2035 with a custom screw on Pre-V bronze buckle on my Magrette Regettare Bronze works for me


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