You know, I was thinking why some of the leathers that Hermes uses are not as hardy as Togo or Clemence in the rain. I think (well, it's a guess, I haven't heard anyone confirm it) it's because they want to preserve the characteristics of the leather. A carebook from another high-end designer said that the leather that they used for a specific product did not use any type of waterproofing of any kind to preserve the suppleness inherent for that specific type of leather. So maybe it's the same with Box, Barenia, Ostrich, etc. Just a guess.