Strap for Royal Oak Automatic 29 Hour - Minute Stainless Steel / Blue

Not in the conventional sense. The bracelet is integrated into the case with proprietary hidden attachments between the case and the links: a standard strap has no way of connecting. I work on this watch only in the atelier, building each terminal by hand directly on the watch.

Everything goes through <a href="/pages/casati-booking">Casati Milano</a>, by appointment only, at Via XX Settembre 15 in Milan. I bring the watch to the bench, take measurements directly from the case and shape the terminals to respect the exact angles of the octagonal case. I do not work from photographs or technical sheets: the watch must be in front of me.

I recommend naturally aged Barenia. The Royal Oak has a dual character — sporting in its geometry, refined in its finishing — and Barenia follows it over time with the same consistency. It develops a patina that tells the story of wear, without ever looking out of place against the satin-brushed and polished steel of the case.

With a first-rate leather and basic care, I expect five to seven years of regular use. That means keeping it away from prolonged water exposure, conditioning the leather twice a year with a natural grease and letting it breathe. A well-kept Barenia does not degrade: it transforms, and often improves.

In 1972, Gérald Genta did something simple and radical: he took steel, a material then considered ordinary, and worked it as if it were precious. The eight visible hexagonal screws, the integrated bezel, the Tapisserie dial — every element is functional and declared. I have seen many sports watches over the years, but few have a constructional logic this coherent from the inside out.