Could you please scan or take pictures and post it here? I don't have access to one and I'm sure others don't, too. Thank you
Volynka Russian Leather
- Thread starter Tony Yang
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It feels more barenia than togo, and it smells like Chanel's Cuir de Russie minus the soapy/floral notes.
Could you please scan or take pictures and post it here? I don't have access to one and I'm sure others don't, too. Thank you
For copyright reasons that would not be the right thing to do.
Could you please scan or take pictures and post it here? I don't have access to one and I'm sure others don't, too. Thank you
Is French ok?
Sounds heavenly indeed!! Can’t wait to touch it myself. Does it absorb oil like barenia does? (Meaning can I put my entire nose against the leather without making a mark lol. Did that with barenia before and got major side eyes!)
I'm aware of Moynat we have a stand alones ad concessions in London. It's just this particular Gabi, in this particular leather that escaped my notice.
What I don't get is that this batch (sunk off the coast of Britain on Plymouth Sound by a Russian ship) was reindeer according to George Cleverley and 'Vintage Watches (see below) but the leather H tans is not reindeer and yet they are doing everything to mimic the original sunk leather. How may Russian ships were sunk carrying 'Volyanka' leather were there then? Is this whole story/hype 10% trad. Russian leather tanning recipe and 90% 'romance'?
http://www.vintage-watches-collecti...pwreck-leather-straps-for-early-wristwatches/
"Having tracked down a first class manufacturer, the next step was to source a suitable leather from which the straps could be made. The ultimate choice for sheer opulence was the so called “shipwreck leather” that had been brought up from the wreck of the Metta Catharina, a trading ship that had gone down in a storm off the coast of Plymouth in 1786 on its way from St. Petersburg to the Mediterranean. Remarkably, due to the rolls of hide being kept away from air by a covering of thick black mud, they were still supple and effectively as they were over two hundred years ago. As with the Nanking cargo of shipwreck recovered china sold by Christie’s in the mid-1980s, there had been quite a bit of media exposure relating to this discovery, with HRH the Prince of Wales having several pairs of shoes made from this hide by both John Lobb and R.E Tricker. While phenomenally expensive, the leather itself is incredibly beautiful and ideal for the application here.
This shipwreck leather couldn’t be more attractive. Its surface has a very unusual cross hatched grain caused by hand embossing. The same effect can often be seen on leather upholstery and book bindings from the Georgian era. At the time when it was new, this Russia hide, actually almost certainly reindeer, was famous for its ability to repel water and insects, this latter attribute no doubt coming from its extremely strong, and very pleasant, aroma."
I think what H was after was not specifically the animal the leather came from but the treatment, as it was the treatment that was the guarded (or couln't be replicated outside Russia) process during the 17th-19th century rather than the resulting leather, which can be reindeer or cow. That secrecy of the process is what H uses to hype the product, and therefore the romance. So I guess it's 50% niceness of the leather and 50% romance/myth/hype/essence.
From the New York Times: "Scientific scrutiny showed the hides were almost certainly reindeer and that they had been treated in the classic methods typical of Russia leather. In its time Russia leather was a top-of-the-line luxury, whose manufacturing secrets Western Europeans and Americans couldn't crack. The St. Petersburg artisans used willow bark to tan the hides, curried them with birch oil and embossed a crosshatched grain on them by hand. The birch oil gives these hides -- even today -- a characteristic aroma, while the cross-hatching is the accepted visual trademark of Russia leather. The product was famous for being long-lasting, water-resistant and insect-repellent."
If this thread's suspicion is true that Tanner Bates is the source of Volynka, their page says they use a young cow, "bigger than a calf but smaller than a cow".
Also, in case anyone is curious, Volynka is an expensive non-exotic leather. A Bolide 45 in regular leather is €6000 while the Volynka Bolide is €9000. This is why I bought the Tanner Bates notebook cover to know if I really REALLY like it that much. lol
What a fascinating thread! I have spent nearly all day reading up on the history behind the leather and the history of the shipwreck. Being a russophile and history lover it is right up my street!This is a nice little article, mentioning H's use of the material. Apologies if it has been posted before; I don't think it has.
https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/m.sc...eather-coveted-luxury-brands-moynat-and?amp=1
And if anybody fancies a much cheaper original part of the original leather's history https://classicleatherfobs.co.uk/product/vintage-russia-reindeer-hide-teardrop-keyring/
Perhaps OT but I quite fancy the Tanner Bates bag in the replica leather. The idea of a fragrant leather messenger bag makes me all gooey inside. I have requested some external changes though to stitching and hardware so will see what they say.
https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/m.sc...eather-coveted-luxury-brands-moynat-and?amp=1
And if anybody fancies a much cheaper original part of the original leather's history https://classicleatherfobs.co.uk/product/vintage-russia-reindeer-hide-teardrop-keyring/
Perhaps OT but I quite fancy the Tanner Bates bag in the replica leather. The idea of a fragrant leather messenger bag makes me all gooey inside. I have requested some external changes though to stitching and hardware so will see what they say.
Actually the full article is available in French and English online.sure I just wanna see pics
https://www.hermes.com/us/en/story/126096-volynka-russian-leather/
The pictures in le monde aren't interesting at all, there are no leather goods and they're similar to the one in the article online. The article online is also updated with pictures of the items that will be made in volynka.
I still have no idea why they chose to name the leather after the word bagpipe in Russian... It seems completely unrelated to anything.
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@Liberté I am Scottish, speak Russian and didn't even pick up on that!!!!!! Well spotted and very true. I was actually wondering why they had named it after felt boots!!
I wanted to post that first article but the pictures of the H bags are wrong. That Kelly is made of sikkim/sakkam, and that Sac a Depeches is made of leathers other than the shipwreck Russia leather.
Also, OT, but Hey! Thanks for the Trans-Siberian trip tips you gave me last year
I think the main source book on this leather is:
http://www.editions-monelle-hayot.com/en/livre/cuir-de-russie/
It is credited at the end of the Hermes article.
http://www.editions-monelle-hayot.com/en/livre/cuir-de-russie/
It is credited at the end of the Hermes article.