There is no other material that can embody nature, strength, ease of care, beauty, and sensuality like leather. Far from aging with time, leather acquires patina that accentuates it character.
However, how can you choose what is the right leather for you? What are the different types of leather and does it matter? How to recognize quality leather furniture and how to care for it? People often ask these questions; we propose to answer them in this article. We offer you this advice which, we hope, will make you a more informed consumer who will appreciate leather and share our passion for this beautiful material with extraordinary properties.
Leather generally does not refer to the skin of one particular animal, but to the skin of any animal. Many leather pieces bear the label "genuine leather," this term is by no means a label of quality, all leathers are genuine. This label does not provide useful information as to the value of the material, but is a label that manufacturers use for marketing purposes, as a way to distinguish their product from manmade leather, by using a recognizable symbol.
Manmade leather is a textile base covered with a layer of synthetic material with characteristics similar to leather. The thing to remember about this kind of leather is that if the base for making this material is an inferior leather instead of a textile, then the piece can be labeled "genuine leather." This is a very deceptive marketing device.
Real "genuine leather," in comparison is a natural product with unique properties. It is resilient and elastic, it accepts mechanical demands of production better than cloth; it has a longer lifespan. It is easy to care for, breathable and pleasant to the touch. As noted it is will last a long time, and as time goes on it will have a patina and wrinkles that will add to it character. It will take little care and maintenance for leather furniture to look good for many years.
The quality of leather is of course, dependent on the conditions of the animal that produced it. The better fed and the better the animal conditions, the better is the leather.
The second factor in producing quality leather is tanning. It the process that skin undergoes to become leather, and it requires a skilled craftsman to produce the best leather.
There are different types of leather: full-grain, top-grain, corrected-grain, and split.
Full-grain leather uses a skin that remains in its most natural state when tanning, this allows better natural breathability and less moisture from prolonged contact, resulting in more comfortable seating. Full-grain is the best quality leather you can buy.
Top-grain leather is the second quality you can buy. Its surface has been sanded and refinished. It will give a colder feel, a leather that does not breathe as well, and patina will be reduced. The advantages of top-grain leather are that it is less expensive than full-grain and it is more resistant to stains.
Corrected-grain leather has had an artificial grain applied to its surface. It is an inferior quality leather, although it looks perfect, as the imperfection of the hide have been covered up.
Split leather is what remains when the top-grain was split from the hide. It is what makes suede leather. Suede is "fuzzy" leather on both sides.
If you would like to know more about the composition of leather the International Union of Leather Technologists and Chemist Societies has a glossary of leather terms that can be found at IULTCS
We now know that leather is a material like no other, that there is much latitude in the label of leather, that the quality can vary greatly. For furniture it is preferable to choose a full-grain leather to ensure longevity, comfort, and lasting beauty, as well as easy maintenance. Leather furniture is an investment that you will never regret.
