Burnished, Hand-Antiqued, or special effects?

[drcollie]

Here's a photo I took for a customer today and I thought it a good time to go over some of the differences in these hides while I have the photo handy. These are Hancock and Moore leathers, but would apply to any leather house that works in a similar vein.

You're seeing three leathers here:

Document Tobacco: A price class 2 leather from China, that has the blackish swirls put in at the tannery. There are called 'special effects' in the trade, and applied to the hides when they are loose and stretched out. Its very even, very uniform and attempts to mimic the look of a hand-antiqued leather. This leather will not soften or change over its usable lifespan. It is very consistent from batch to batch. This is a fully protected leather and will not show any natural markings.

Sunrise Hand -Antiqued: Price class 3. This is an Italian leather "crust" and the entire piece is fully made at H&M right down to the nails set into the sofa. The piece then goes back to the finish room and is shaded and glazed by hand to achieve this antiqued effect. Everything is glazed, even the nails and stitching, the a light protective sealer top coat applied when the artisan is satisfied with their work. This leather will 'break-in' with some use and soften as well. While technically an 'unprotected' leather, it will repel most all food and drink, though heavy oils and acids should not be spilled or placed on the leather. Natural markings will be abundant.

Weston Cane Burnished: Price class 3. Another crust from Europe, it follows the same process as the Hand-Antiqued. Essentially, "Hand-Antiqued" and "Burnished" are the same, however I find that generally the Burnished is done a little lighter in the glazing effect. As these are both artisan-toned leathers, done by hand - expect them to vary considerably from one to another and be very difficult to match to at a later date.