Quintessence vs. Capri

[EddieB]

Good morning everyone,

Does anybody have experinece with either Quintessence or Capri leathers from H&M? I am looking for softness and consistency of color and tone and was wondering if one was better than the other in that regard. Any feedback that I can get would be most appreciated.

Thanks!

[needstuff]

i have a chair in Capri Navy. The leather is soft, IMO. For leather.

I subsequently purchased a ring cover for the base of the chair. I sent them a sample of the chair leather first for them to do a "closest match".

The base cover is not a perfect match with the chair. The color is close, but not exact. And the leather has more texture to it than the chair leather has. Fortunately, at the distance from the chair that the base becomes clearly visible, the differences between the leathers in the chair vs. the base are basically undetectable.

The colors are so close that I can't imagine that someone who selected one would have a problem if they received the other. In isolation.

Not sure I understand your question, but within the chair itself, the color and tone seem completely consistent.

Before I ordered my chair, I saw the same chair model chair in Quintessence [Mink??], in a different store. It looked and felt great. I don't know why we picked Capri instead of Quintessence. Maybe they didn't have Quintessence in Navy then? Or we liked the shade of the Capri Navy more? Or the price? i've no recollection on that point whatsoever.

[EddieB]

Thanks for the info. I heard that both leathers were soft, but that one had more "work, molting" done to it than the other. I wasn't sure which one that was, but I am hoping to get one that has as little work done to it as possible. Basically, I am looking for a smooth consistent finish along with a soft hand.

[James]

I have seen Quintessence in my local store and the color is consistent. I also have many 6X8 samples and except for Tigereye the colors are consistent. If you look at pictures on this site you will see that Capri tends to have what you refer to as molting.
There is one picture of Capri Tobacco where it is very clear. My 6X8 samples of Capri show what you refer to as molting and it varys depending on the color. Capri Creme and Navy seem to have less color variance.

[Vegas]

I have a chair in Capri Navy which is very consistent in color. There are photos posted here on the forum that were taken very recently. It is a very soft yet strong leather. My dogs lay on the chair and sometimes they drool (yes, I know). All I do is wipe it with a damp cloth and dry. No problem.

[EddieB]

Thanks, everyone, for your comments. It really helps out!

[drcollie]

Quintessence and Capri come from the same tannery in Germany. The only difference is Capri has some more high-low contrasts and Quintessence had fewer. There is also a bit more topcoat on Capri. Both are fantastic.

[EddieB]

Got it. I honestly cannot see how customers are able to make decisions on high quality furniture without resources such as this forum. With the four H&M authorized retailers near me, NONE of them were able to provide the answers to my questions like Duane and everyone else on here. Although they were all "designers", they really did a poor job representing H&M from a sales perspective. Thanks again to everyone here!

[goldem]

On this topic, I'm down to my final choices in a cover for an H&M recliner, Quintessence Navy/Tigereye or Capri harness. I prefer the feel of the samples I've felt of Quintessence compared to Capri in terms of drape and hand. However, when I consider Quintessence on a recliner, I'm cautious about how much the supple surface of the leather will grip during the motion of the piece. Every recliner I remember trying has had a somewhat smooth surface (Capri being the softest).

When I rub the surface for two pieces of Quintessence together it seems like there is more resistance than when I use two pieces of Capri.

Can anyone who has experience with Quintessence on motion seating say whether this is something to be concerned about (in terms of wear on the material or making the piece less friendly to activate)?

[drcollie]

These two leathers come from the same tannery, the only real difference I see between them is the high/low shading (also called Special Effects). Capri has quite a bit of it, Quintessence is subdued. And the colors ae different in the series. Hand and Softness varies from swatch to swatch and hide to hide, but both are effectively the same. I have both on motion chairs in my store and its great.