Protected vs Unprotected leathers - wear and cracking

[LastingFurn]

Hi Duane, you provided some great advice on about leathers in this thread. In summary for others, great information on the differences between leathers is here. The little known options for stitching are discussed here. Miles77 provides a picture of the wear that protected leathers can show over time as the top leather coating wears off here.

As you recommended I got leather swatches from Hancock and Moore for the protected Document Claret and Philosophy Burgundy, and the options you suggested would look better over time the unprotected Remington Garnet Burnished and Tilton Ruby. My wife is considering.

So I'm wondering if unprotected will show less cracking over time. Our existing sofa acquired from a friend 25 years ago when almost new when she had to move might be a Hancock and Moore, it is certainly well made, here it is:


Being smarter as I am now, I now realize the cushions are Springdown, and remarkably bounce back and hold their shape as well as when we got it. However, the leather is very cracked, and in some places the top layer is actually worn off, as in these pictures:


The leather "seems" be be protected to these amateur eyes, a bit shiny. So my question is, in your experience would the kind of cracking and wearing shown in these pictures be more, less, or not affected depending if the leather is protected or unprotected?