Darkening handles, which leathers are the worst culprits?

Serenity Now

Serenity Now

Insanity later
Feb 6, 2006
5,319
9
#1
A listing on eBay for a clemence Kelly has triggered my question about darkening handles. The auction link is: eBay: 100% Authentic Hermes "KELLY 35cm" Light Brown Bag NR (item 190030872218 end time Oct-08-06 21:00:00 PDT)

After seeing this, I got a little concerned that my Potiron clemence Birkin will eventually succumb to this..:Push: I mean, the seller has told us how often she's used the bag and going by the blindstamp, her bag is 26yrs old. But has anyone encountered this with their bags, maybe not to this extent but some darkening? Which leathers do you have?

I suppose the natural leathers like Barenia will tend to do this more? What is the heirarchy of leathers in terms of susceptibility?
 
#5
That bag is 26 years old. My take on the darkening of the handles is that the untreated leathers will darken faster. Also, the SA's told me that the lighter colors will have some darkening, but not as fast as the untreated leathers. This is my opinion on darkening in descending order:
Vache Natural
Ostrich
Cuir a Bride
Barenia
Light colored leathers
 
#7
Thanks all, for your input! HG, ok.. those on top of the list, I'll have to avoid.. dark handles kinda bug me inordinately for some reason.

TG, I agree! Apart from the near black handles, the rest of the bag has held up remarkably well!
 
#8
Hmm, now I'm thinking maybe I should Twilly my Birkin's handles, lol! Same design twillys for both handles of course.. If it's insane, just tell it to my face.. I'll test out the thickness of my skin..:roflmfao: It's very late here (early morning actually) so I've probably lost some of my faculties.:nuts:
 
#9
SerenitySue said:
Hmm, now I'm thinking maybe I should Twilly my Birkin's handles, lol! Same design twillys for both handles of course.. If it's insane, just tell it to my face.. I'll test out the thickness of my skin..:roflmfao: It's very late here (early morning actually) so I've probably lost some of my faculties.:nuts:
Click to expand...
Sue, a SA at NYC actually recommends doing just that to protect your handles.
 
#10
Oh really?? Hahahaha! And here I thought I'd lost my mind and ppl are going to start looking at me sideways, pointing.. whispering.. :upsidedown::lol:

That's good to know, HG! Thankyou! Now.. to find the Twillys that will do the job..
 
#11
I posted my handle hang-ups in another thread somewhere (I think leather care).

I actually wrap a bandana around the handles of my bag when I run out of the house, because the last things I do are putting on handcream and putting on rings. And I don't want the handcream to stain the handles.

Since this is a cheapie bandana (usually used in the gym as a headband) and not a twilly, I do remove it when I get to my destination. :P
 
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