Exotic skin / alligator maintenance

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Z

zazou

O.G.
Mar 22, 2011
28
355
#1
I recently bought a new alligator wallet, and I have a question for owners of exotic leather products from Hermes about how they care for the exotics leather.
When I bought it, the wallet looked like the first photo – very shiny, with a glossy, lacquered surface.


IMG_3674.jpeg


But after just a few days of use, all the shine disappeared, and the surface became matte with marks from touching. Every touch leaves fingerprints, and in just a couple of days, the entire leather surface got smudged and now looks matte. Wiping it with a regular dry cloth has no effect, and as far as I understand, you can't clean this type of leather with water.

What products do you others use to restore the gloss and remove handprints?

Or is Hermès' idea to just leave the leather as it is and let it age naturally? I understand that bags can stay looking good for a long time since you can minimize contact with your hands, but with a wallet that you take out 10 times a day and constantly touch, there must be some way to clean the leather at home, right?


After two days, the wallet looks like this:

IMG_3694.jpegIMG_3701.jpegIMG_3709.jpeg
 
#2
zazou said:
I recently bought a new alligator wallet, and I have a question for owners of exotic leather products from Hermes about how they care for the exotics leather.
When I bought it, the wallet looked like the first photo – very shiny, with a glossy, lacquered surface.


View attachment 6069076


But after just a few days of use, all the shine disappeared, and the surface became matte with marks from touching. Every touch leaves fingerprints, and in just a couple of days, the entire leather surface got smudged and now looks matte. Wiping it with a regular dry cloth has no effect, and as far as I understand, you can't clean this type of leather with water.

What products do you others use to restore the gloss and remove handprints?

Or is Hermès' idea to just leave the leather as it is and let it age naturally? I understand that bags can stay looking good for a long time since you can minimize contact with your hands, but with a wallet that you take out 10 times a day and constantly touch, there must be some way to clean the leather at home, right?


After two days, the wallet looks like this:

View attachment 6069077View attachment 6069078View attachment 6069079
Click to expand...
Where do you store the wallet while carrying it? Basically mechanical wear on shiny croc makes it matte.

My guess would be the material of the garment (maybe pocket of a pant or something rubbed against the shiny croc to create a nearly even matte finish).

Can’t say this is something common and even stranger how quickly it happened given the time frame you mentioned.


The gloss isn’t a top coat of lacquer but rather something that is attained by rubbing the hide with an agate stone while at the tannery. In contrast, the matte finish is attained by rubbing it with wool felt so effectively a garment rubbing against the wallet will eventually make it matte.

You might be able to add some shine with products but that’s not the original shine. Your best bet is to take it to H and see what they recommend as in-house treatment.

As for products, you need to use dedicated care products for exotics, use very very very little and buff with a lint/dye free cotton cloth. (Saphir reptile is one often recommended formulation)
 
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#4
I carried the wallet in the pocket of a nylon Prada bag. There was nothing else in the pocket besides the wallet, so it's safe to say that the friction was only with the nylon. Later, I tried wiping the wallet with regular cotton cloths used for cleaning eyeglass lenses. I don't think that affected it much.

I asked my SA what could be done, and she assured me that these are completely normal signs of wear on delicate leather, meaning it's perfectly okay not to do anything about it. Any polished croc will look like this over time. I read about the leather treatment technology on Hermes website, and now it makes sense why this happens. Hermès doesn't protect the leather in any way, so essentially, it's completely raw, untreated alligator skin polished to a shine by a stone.

Does anyone know the purpose of leaving the leather in such a state without any protection, where every 'touch' leaves marks? For example, I have a watch with an alligator strap that’s already 5 years old and still looks like new. Watch strap has been exposed to sweat multiple times, and I've even washed it under running water a few times. It dried naturally without leaving any marks.

What is the advantage of Hermès’ technology that makes the leather so delicate compared to how other brands produce exotic leather goods? I already understand the downsides – it scratches easily, can't be exposed to moisture, loses its shine, and you can’t restore the shine yourself, etc. But what are the benefits?

I was considering buying a few more exotic skin pieces from Hermès, but now I’m having doubts about how they will look over time with reasonable use without babying.

If anyone knows, please share your experience – are alligator products from other brands like Berluti, Prada, or Fendi just as delicate and made using the same "wonderful" IMG_3715.jpegIMG_3716.jpegprocess?
 
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#5
zazou said:
I carried the wallet in the pocket of a nylon Prada bag. There was nothing else in the pocket besides the wallet, so it's safe to say that the friction was only with the nylon. Later, I tried wiping the wallet with regular cotton cloths used for cleaning eyeglass lenses. I don't think that affected it much.

I asked my SA what could be done, and she assured me that these are completely normal signs of wear on delicate leather, meaning it's perfectly okay not to do anything about it. Any polished croc will look like this over time. I read about the leather treatment technology on Hermes website, and now it makes sense why this happens. Hermès doesn't protect the leather in any way, so essentially, it's completely raw, untreated alligator skin polished to a shine by a stone.

Does anyone know the purpose of leaving the leather in such a state without any protection, where every 'touch' leaves marks? For example, I have a watch with an alligator strap that’s already 5 years old and still looks like new. Watch strap has been exposed to sweat multiple times, and I've even washed it under running water a few times. It dried naturally without leaving any marks.

What is the advantage of Hermès’ technology that makes the leather so delicate compared to how other brands produce exotic leather goods? I already understand the downsides – it scratches easily, can't be exposed to moisture, loses its shine, and you can’t restore the shine yourself, etc. But what are the benefits?

I was considering buying a few more exotic skin pieces from Hermès, but now I’m having doubts about how they will look over time with reasonable use without babying.

If anyone knows, please share your experience – are alligator products from other brands like Berluti, Prada, or Fendi just as delicate and made using the same "wonderful" View attachment 6069757View attachment 6069758process?
Click to expand...
Your watch strap is in matte, you might be better off sticking to matte if you want items that are more easy going. (For one they don’t have the fingerprint issue since they don’t have a mirror shine and they are also less susceptible to water damage if you wipe them off quickly).


If you want even easier going exotics, the “millennium” finish which is a modern take on “shiny” croc without the agate stone is quite popular but I don’t have any experience with this one. (I don’t believe H uses this type of finishing either)
 
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#6
zazou said:
I carried the wallet in the pocket of a nylon Prada bag. There was nothing else in the pocket besides the wallet, so it's safe to say that the friction was only with the nylon. Later, I tried wiping the wallet with regular cotton cloths used for cleaning eyeglass lenses. I don't think that affected it much.

I asked my SA what could be done, and she assured me that these are completely normal signs of wear on delicate leather, meaning it's perfectly okay not to do anything about it. Any polished croc will look like this over time. I read about the leather treatment technology on Hermes website, and now it makes sense why this happens. Hermès doesn't protect the leather in any way, so essentially, it's completely raw, untreated alligator skin polished to a shine by a stone.

Does anyone know the purpose of leaving the leather in such a state without any protection, where every 'touch' leaves marks? For example, I have a watch with an alligator strap that’s already 5 years old and still looks like new. Watch strap has been exposed to sweat multiple times, and I've even washed it under running water a few times. It dried naturally without leaving any marks.

What is the advantage of Hermès’ technology that makes the leather so delicate compared to how other brands produce exotic leather goods? I already understand the downsides – it scratches easily, can't be exposed to moisture, loses its shine, and you can’t restore the shine yourself, etc. But what are the benefits?

I was considering buying a few more exotic skin pieces from Hermès, but now I’m having doubts about how they will look over time with reasonable use without babying.

If anyone knows, please share your experience – are alligator products from other brands like Berluti, Prada, or Fendi just as delicate and made using the same "wonderful" View attachment 6069757View attachment 6069758process?
Click to expand...
I think it's really personal preference and what the need is for an item whether to go with a delicate exotic or a more treated and more sturdy item.
For example, one person may buy a thicker cotton blouse for every day wear and easy wash at home, rather than a dry clean only silk blouse for occasional wear.
I've also had to learn the hard lesson that sometimes the more expensive item is actually more delicate and needs less frequent usage.
I am sorry about your experience with this wallet, but it's valuable information to have! Tbh I've always loved the look of a shiny croc wallet or bag and would be heartbroken to see it turn out like yours did, without knowing in advance what to expect.
 
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#7
I don't think shiny alli is supposed to look like this. I have a matte alli wallet that literally goes in jeans pockets and gets no TLC and it's in better shape than this wallet. Hermès doesn't glaze leather the way Berluti does, but shiny croc and alli stay shiny.

I would say 1) read the care threads in the reference forum and 2) Just take it to spa.
 
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#8
A bottle of Red said:
Tbh I've always loved the look of a shiny croc wallet or bag and would be heartbroken to see it turn out like yours did, without knowing in advance what to expect.
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Here’s the key point. Not knowing in advance how to care for the item and what to expect has been the biggest question I’ve had to H after the purchase. At this price point, I believe they should properly educate customers by including something like a booklet that explains the material, its pros and cons, what you can and can’t do with it, etc. That way, after the purchase, I would know exactly what I’ve got and how to maintain it to keep the item looking as Hermes envisioned.

For me, what happened isn’t a big issue, as I don’t tend to baby the things I use, and I see wear and tear as adding more character.

However, this has been a good learning experience, and in the future, if I buy anything from Hermes made of non-standard materials, I will definitely ask the after-sales team to educate me on all the care and usage details.

QuelleFromage said:
I don't think shiny alli is supposed to look like this. I have a matte alli wallet that literally goes in jeans pockets and gets no TLC and it's in better shape than this wallet. Hermès doesn't glaze leather the way Berluti does, but shiny croc and alli stay shiny.

I would say 1) read the care threads in the reference forum and 2) Just take it to spa.
Click to expand...


I don’t think I did anything unusual or caused any specific damage to the wallet, which makes me think that the same look will return even after the spa treatment. Unless there are people out there who can confirm that they use shiny alligator regularly and their items still look almost brand new, I tend to believe the SA. It seems that shiny exotic leather from Hermes will only look brand new if you keep it in a safe. I found another photo I took at the time of purchase, and you can clearly see fingerprint marks that won’t go away, even after wiping them with a cloth. These are basically permanent marks that appeared just after I had been handling the wallet for a few minutes.
 

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#9
My husband uses his matte croc wallet daily. It is overstuffed and is roughed up. But it does not look anywhere like this.

I don’t use my Croc wallets daily and I have not changed wallet since the pandemic.

None of my shiny or matte bags look like this either. While I don’t use them daily, they have been used and certainly not babied.

May I ask if you use hand sanitizers heavily? My SA and I had a conversation and there was one Croc wallet that was destroyed by kids putting a huge amount of hand sanitizer on it. Apparently, alcohol and Croc don’t mix.

I would suggest that you send it to the spa soon and ask them for feedback. They can do a lot. My sticky Porosus Birkin (yes, my sticky niece made the handles and the bag very sticky) looked brand new after they worked on it.

Good luck!
 
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#10
Does anyone have a himalaya or very light croc or matte alligator bag - if so does the color become yellow over time (happens very obviously with lizard but I’m specifically asking about croc/gator)
 
#12
hermesandchanel said:
Does anyone have a himalaya or very light croc or matte alligator bag - if so does the color become yellow over time (happens very obviously with lizard but I’m specifically asking about croc/gator)
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Yes it is inevitable and only a matter of how long it takes. Most Hima owners know this or are informed by their SAs. Also colours like Poussiere will darken quite a lot as well.
 
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#13
periogirl28 said:
Yes it is inevitable and only a matter of how long it takes. Most Hima owners know this or are informed by their SAs. Also colours like Poussiere will darken quite a lot as well.
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Darkening like regular patina I can handle…yellowing I can not :(

I have a vanilla matte alligator bag and now am having second thoughts! At least it’s a semi warm shade to begin with… cool toned colors turning yellow is a no go for me.
 
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#14
hermesandchanel said:
Darkening like regular patina I can handle…yellowing I can not :sad:

I have a vanilla matte alligator bag and now am having second thoughts! At least it’s a semi warm shade to begin with… cool toned colors turning yellow is a no go for me.
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I have vanille matte too. Now I’m also concerned about yellowing. Do you store you bag away from sunlight? I keep mine on display. 🤪
 
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