HERMES EXOTIC LEATHERS
You can't make your mind up, or interested to know a bit more about Hermès exotic leathers? Below is a quick summary to guide you.
CROCODILE SKIN
One of Hermès’ most coveted bags. Hermès crocodile handbags come in two different types: porosus and niloticus (nilo).
Porosus crocodile, comes primarily from Australia and is the most expensive of the two skins. It is known particularly for its small and symmetrical scales. Niloticus comes from Africa. Nilo scales tend to be larger. Most of the time it is quite difficult to distinguish the type of skin, so to make it easy, Hermès added a signature marking next to the embossed Hermès logo. Porosus is indicated by a ‘^’ mark ( See photo) while niloticus has the umlaut marker of ‘••’.
This type of skin is resistant to practically everything, but funny enough, it must be kept away from water.
ALLIGATOR SKIN
Another luxury skin that Hermès uses is alligator. Also known as Alligator Mississippians, is farmed in Florida. The fact that this leather comes from farm alligators somewhat lowers costs of production and renders greater availability. Prices at Hermès store do reflect the skin but the variation in price has narrowed over the years.
Unlike the crocodile skin, alligator skin has no pores and tends not to be as uniform as the crocodile scales. Other aspects of indication include a square (See photo) symbol near the embossed Hermès logo . Today, matte is most frequently found to be made of alligator, but you can still find plenty of beautiful shiny (or lisse) options.
It seems like shiny bags tend to be a bit harder to care for as they are susceptible to water stains and can lose their shine over time.
Something to keep in mind when you are looking for a bag is that not all colors come in both shiny and matte.
LIZARD
Lizard skin is the fourth exotic option - A Lizard skin handbag is rare and again very hard to obtain from Hermès store.
The symbol used for lizard skin is a ‘-’ next to the Hermès, Made in France logo displayed on each product ( See photo). As one of Hermès’ most delicate skins, it requires a lot of special attention to avoid drying and peeling off. Ideally, it must be kept at a comfortable room temperature. Due to the size of the African lizards that Hermès uses for the product, this type of skin is mostly used for smaller handbags and mainly accessories.
OSTRICH
New addition, in 1990 the Birkin bags come in calfskin, cowhide, and ostrich leather!
Ostrich skin is very easily recognizable with its numerous pores giving these Hermès handbags a unique look and feel. There are plenty of beautiful Kelly and Birkin bags made of Ostrich, do not hesitate to send us your request and we will try to source your dream bag.