does anyone own swift *and* gulliver?

Katel

Katel

O.G.
Feb 17, 2007
7,211
7,626
#1
I know swift is the "new" gulliver, but does that mean they have the same look/properties? In hermesgroupie's leather book, she lists them with one pic, which implies yes to the question.

I have just purchased a Karo GM in swift, and it is very very smooth (like a soft box). It doesn't feel or look like my "mystery leather" gold Bolide.

Can anyone explain the texture and feel of their gulliver bag (etc.)? Is it really stiff? Does it have a teeny slight texture (almost like porc but less so)? If you have swift too, how do they compare? Are they identical in look/properties?

I would love to solve this mystery about my Bolide. Maybe it is gulliver. But my new swift leather doesn't look like this. Or feel really stiff (stiffer than my fjord Bolide). Or shine like my Bolide. It's almost like chevre, without a hint of a spine. Oy.

Any help or insight is appreciated. TIA :heart:

attachment.php
 

Attachments

  • 2007 cadena4.jpg
    2007 cadena4.jpg
    56.2 KB · Views: 515
#2
Katel, it does look like swift/gulliver. HG has said that the grain varies in different pieces of leather. But the stiffness is puzzling. Has it softened at all?
 
#3
KATEL......I had a Gulliver Kelly at one point and the leather was smooth and buttery to the touch with a hint of texture. Just a hint. Gulliver is also a leather that scuffs easily on its corners. The new Swift leather is more resistant.
 
#4
Your Bolide is a rigide, so there's an extra layer of leather to help it keep its shape and which may explain why it doesn't sag. You have to take into consideration the construction of the bag when discussing sagging. I saw a Swift Web II (like a Bolide) that was rigide. It held its shape very well.
 
#5
^^^Thank you all.

My wonderment stems more from the texture of the two leathers, then the stiffness. My swift Karo looks *nothing* like my Bolide. Is that typical, I wonder? They look like two completely different leathers. The swift is matte and *really* smooth and the "gulliver" is slightly bumpy, textured and shiney.

hmm....
 
#6
shopmom411 said:
KATEL......I had a Gulliver Kelly at one point and the leather was smooth and buttery to the touch with a hint of texture. Just a hint. Gulliver is also a leather that scuffs easily on its corners. The new Swift leather is more resistant.
Click to expand...

Shopmom, did your leather look like mine above, do you recall? Did your Kelly have as much texture?
 
#8
^^^^Oh! Well, if that's the case! I thought all swift was super smooth...I'm gonna assume it's gulliver and close the book on that one. Thanks hermesgroupie.
 
#9
I still have a lot to learn... it's like reading a different language...a lot of the words above didn't mean much to me...

ok time to go back to that Hermes reference libraries...
 
#10
hermesgroupie said:
^^^Don't worry about it. I've seen Swift that looked like clemence in grain size.
Click to expand...

And.....there's large grain as well as small grain clemence......( just thought I'd throw that in meaning.....a leather's grain/texture can vary within it's own family)

Katel, I'm looking at the texture of your Bolide and comparing it to my Swift Birkin. The texture appears larger on your Bolide, it's almost like evergrain ( only one piece of evergrain in our family and it's on my DH's wallet) But, ok....MightyKismet ( spelling?) has an evergrain Kelly on auction. When I looked at your Bolide, the first thing I thought before I read the title of the thread was.....evergrain.

Not to say I think your Bolide IS evergrain, absolutely not 'cause you know what it is....but to say that different leathers can have different grains and grain sizing, as hermesgroupie has pointed out. You could put swift and gulliver side by side and not recognize them as being mother and daughter.
 
#11
isus said:
...
Not to say I think your Bolide IS evergrain, absolutely not 'cause you know what it is....but to say that different leathers can have different grains and grain sizing, as hermesgroupie has pointed out. You could put swift and gulliver side by side and not recognize them as being mother and daughter.
Click to expand...

Thank you, Isus. ^^^^This is the problem - I *don't* know what the leather is - I bought it from a reseller and it's 12 years old. Has evergrain been out for 12 years? Or is it a fairly new leather?

It's probably gulliver but it's so shiny, slightly textured, and SO stiff. Much stiffer than my brand new 2007 fjord 31 Bolide.

I'm going to go with gulliver until I can bring it to a boutique - by plane, train or, in 2009, by automobile. :smile:
 
#12
Hi Kate,

I have a Kelly in Gulliver, and the leather is very smooth with a tiny bit of a grain. I don't know how it compares with swift bec. I've never actually touched anything in swift. It reminds me more of Box without the stiffness.

HTH

Katel said:
I know swift is the "new" gulliver, but does that mean they have the same look/properties? In hermesgroupie's leather book, she lists them with one pic, which implies yes to the question.

I have just purchased a Karo GM in swift, and it is very very smooth (like a soft box). It doesn't feel or look like my "mystery leather" gold Bolide.

Can anyone explain the texture and feel of their gulliver bag (etc.)? Is it really stiff? Does it have a teeny slight texture (almost like porc but less so)? If you have swift too, how do they compare? Are they identical in look/properties?

I would love to solve this mystery about my Bolide. Maybe it is gulliver. But my new swift leather doesn't look like this. Or feel really stiff (stiffer than my fjord Bolide). Or shine like my Bolide. It's almost like chevre, without a hint of a spine. Oy.

Any help or insight is appreciated. TIA :heart:

attachment.php
Click to expand...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top
Back