How to distinguish a genuine leather bag from a fake. How to distinguish natural leather from artificial leather? Does real skin burn?

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Buying an expensive brand handbag is like buying a car. You need to approach this responsibly and check every detail. But nevertheless, they often want to deceive us and give us an ordinary fake instead of a famous brand.

That's why website I’ve put together several ways to help protect you from buying blatant junk.

Attention to detail

Each model of a famous brand is very carefully checked for defects. Uneven seams, protruding threads and other minor imperfections are simply unacceptable. In addition, high-end items are usually made by hand, so stories about factory defects should be alarming.

Rivets and clasps

Particular attention is paid to the fittings: locks, zippers, rivets and other details are made simply perfectly and are often marked with their own markings, which is a sign of the quality and originality of the item.

For example, Hermes bags bear the Hermes Paris made in France stamp, an embossed letter on the tongue, the year of manufacture, and a silver bag number on the strap.

Material

Well-known brands almost never use rough leather; most often they are thin, but very high-quality materials. The painting should be even, without drips or abrasions. At the same time, branded bags bend well and immediately restore their shape.

Brand name

But while looking for details, we often miss the most important thing: the name. Often the brand name is written in the wrong font, in uneven letters, or even with mistakes.

Serial number

The serial number is the most important sign of authenticity. The sticker with the number is sealed and attached so that it is impossible to remove it without damaging it. On a fake, the sticker with the number is most often simply pasted on top.

Editor's response

Modern technologies make it possible to skillfully imitate not only the structure, but also the smell of leather. AiF.ru tells how to distinguish natural leather from artificial leather.

How can you tell genuine leather from leatherette in a store?

1. Heat transfer

As a result of touch, natural leather will quickly become warm, while remaining dry. The leatherette will heat up only after some time, and the material will become a little damp from human hands.

2. Edge thickness and edge

Genuine leather is usually thicker than leatherette and has a more rounded and rough edge, while artificial materials have a smooth and even edge.

3. Elasticity

If you press on a product made of genuine leather, then at the moment of bending or pressing, small wrinkles will appear on the material, and when straightened, they will instantly disappear. After stretching, natural leather quickly returns to its original state.

When stretched, bent or pressed, genuine leather does not change color. Artificial leather can change shade.

Artificial leather can give off a strong chemical smell. However, you shouldn’t trust your sense of smell alone when choosing products, as there are special skin scents.

The pores of artificial leather are the same in depth and shape, while in natural leather they are located randomly.

On the cut of a genuine leather product you can see many intertwined fibers. If there are no such fibers or instead there is a fabric base, knitwear or non-woven material, then it is a leatherette.

How to check the naturalness of leather using fire and water?

IMPORTANT: the following two methods cannot be used in a store or market.

How to read a label on a leather product?

Some manufacturers include a sample of the material with the product, which can tell about its composition. A label in the shape of a regular diamond means that it is leatherette, and a figured one means that the product is made of genuine leather.

The label of a genuine leather product may also read:

• genuine leather (in English),
• vera pelle (in Italian),
• cuir (in French),
• echtleder (in German).

What types of genuine leather are there?

Genuine leather may vary:

1. By type of animal

Pigskin is the cheapest. Used to make the most budget-friendly shoes and linings. Cheap leather jackets are also made from it.

Oxhide is thick, tough and lasts much longer than pork skin. Belts, some bags, backpacks and jackets are made from it.

Cow leather is quite tough, the strength is slightly lower than that of calf leather. Most inexpensive and mid-price shoes are made from it.

Calfskin is soft and highly durable, with virtually no creases. Shoes, bags, jackets are made from it.

Sheep leather is soft and durable. It is used to make bags, jackets, gloves, belts - mostly premium ones.

Goatskin is soft and dense. Used to produce expensive gloves, wallets, purses and accessories.

Deerskin is soft and pleasant to the touch, retains its shape well and retains heat. Products made from it are rarely found on sale.

Crocodile leather is durable. Shoes, bags, jackets are made from it.

Snake skin has an original appearance. Shoes, bags, jackets are made from it.

Ostrich leather is soft and elastic, and is used to make shoes, jackets, raincoats and luxury accessories.

2. According to processing and painting methods

Nappa is treated cattle leather, which is distinguished by its high ductility, softness and very even coloring. Durable, but not very expensive. For example, leather jackets are made from it.

Saffiano is vegetable-tanned goatskin leather, lightly tanned and brightly colored.

Velor is chrome-tanned leather, finished on the bakhtarma side to look like velvet using special grinding.

Suede is leather made from the skins of any not very large animals; the front side is melon; the pile is thick, but not fluffy and without shine; the skin is soft and does not absorb water well.

Shagreen is a soft vegetable tanned leather made from the skins of sheep or goats, which has a beautiful fine relief pattern.

Laika - leather made from the skins of sheep, goats, and dogs; tanning with aluminum alum using salt, flour and yolk; the leather is soft, thin, and is used to make gloves.

Nubuck is a fine-haired leather of cattle (cow or calf), similar to suede, velvety to the touch.

Patent leather is smooth leather coated with a special varnish on top. Products made from it can only be worn at temperatures from −10 to +25 degrees and only in dry weather.

Artificial leather is a polymer material used instead of natural leather for the manufacture of shoes, clothing, haberdashery and technical products. It is made by applying a polyurethane film coating to a fabric base. Modern artificial leathers are complex multicomponent composite polymer materials with a variety of purposes and compositions. Depending on which polymer is used, the corresponding prefix is ​​used in the name: elasto (elastomers (rubbers) are used), vinyl (polyvinyl chloride), amido (polyamides), nitro (nitrocellulose), urethane (polyurethanes).

Aniline coating is a finish that adds shine to leather and slightly evens out the surface. Unlike varnish, this coating has an unexpressed shine and is more transparent.

*** Tanning is a chemical process that turns animal hides and skins into tanned leather. The process uses acids, alkalis, salts, enzymes and tannins to dissolve fats and non-fibrous proteins. Vegetable tanning is based on the chemical action of plant materials containing tannin (tannic acid). The skins are soaked in cauldrons in a strong solution of these substances. Chemical tanning uses mineral salts such as chromium sulfate. Tanning can also be done using fish oil and synthetic types of tannin.

**** Bakhtarma is the lower surface of tanned animal skin.

How to check the authenticity of a leather bag?

The wardrobe of a stylish girl or a respectable young man cannot be provided without a high-quality leather bag from a famous brand. This category of goods is extremely in demand on the market, and branded products sometimes cost a lot of money. This creates ideal conditions for scammers and swindlers who lure buyers with low prices, and then manage to sell them Chinese counterfeits, passing them off as products from Chanel, Dolce & Gabbana, Hermes or one of many other legendary brands. It is difficult to deal with this, but it is possible. If you learn to distinguish high-quality natural leather from a low-quality copy, then bringing the scammers to clean water will not be difficult.

How to distinguish genuine leather from a substitute?

There are many parameters for determining genuine leather. In Moscow, of course, there are many reputable stores where you can buy a bag of the best quality, the best of them is BrandendStyle. But again, you do not always visit trusted stores. And most of the unscrupulous manufacturers have learned to fake some features of the real material, some only partially, but there are also nuances that are completely impossible to imitate. Let's go through the main ways to identify artificial leather.

Heat transfer

One of those features that is almost impossible to fake. The structure of the material is such that when touched, the skin instantly becomes warm due to good thermal conductivity, while remaining dry. The substitute will take much longer to heat up and during this time will become wet from the touch of your fingers.

Texture

Genuine leather has a unique surface pattern; it is rough and has a rounder and thicker edge. Artificial materials are usually thinner and have an almost perfectly smooth surface. But! If you are dealing with a patent leather bag, then this method is not very effective. Here we will say a few words about pores. In a substitute, the pores are identical in size and shape, but in real skin they are located in random order and are not similar to one another.

Elasticity

Brand bags made of genuine leather are resistant to deformation. When choosing an accessory, lightly press or bend it - if wrinkles appear, and after you stop applying effort, they instantly smooth out, then you are holding a real leather product in your hands. The substitute takes a long time to return to its original state and over time, the appearance of such a bag will change beyond recognition.

Hue

Perform an action similar to that described in the previous paragraph. During bending or other deformation, genuine leather does not change its color, while the substitute will most likely darken.

Smell

Probably everyone knows what genuine leather smells like. But if you feel a strong chemical “aroma” emanating from the bag, then it is better to refuse to purchase it. But this factor should not be taken into account in the first place, as modern technologies make it possible to treat artificial material with a fragrance, the smell of which is indistinguishable from natural leather.

The following two methods will not be approved by boutique sellers, but they can provide much more information.

First, the famous test by fire. Genuine leather can withstand short-term interaction with open fire without consequences, but leatherette will instantly begin to melt and emit an unpleasant odor.

Well, and secondly, you can drop clean water onto the surface of the bag and see what happens: the real leather will absorb the water and darken slightly, and the water will roll off the substitute. But again there is one “but”: a patent leather bag will not absorb moisture either. Be extremely careful when choosing and these tips will protect you from purchasing a fake!

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that you are discovering this beauty. Thanks for the inspiration and goosebumps.
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How to distinguish natural leather from artificial leather? Manufacturers are required to label products, but, unfortunately, labels cannot always be trusted. Modern technologies make it easy to imitate leather. And what if you want to buy a leather item, for example, at a market in Europe or in a small family boutique?

By what signs can you quickly determine what is in front of you: leather or leatherette?

website I have collected the main methods that can be used simultaneously to make the right verdict.

1. Skin retains heat

Artificial material does not retain or transmit heat, but genuine leather will almost immediately warm up in your hands and retain the temperature for some time.

The leatherette may also warm up slightly when touched, but its surface will be slightly damp. The skin always remains dry.

If you hold leatherette and natural leather in your hands, you can almost immediately feel the difference.

2. Unique design

Genuine leather has its own natural and unique pattern, while artificial material is characterized by a repeating pattern and “islands” of the same size. But in this case, there is a risk of confusing leatherette with printed leather - its pattern is also monotonous.

In addition to its special structure, genuine leather has pores, and if you look at it up close or through a magnifying glass, you can always see them. The pores are also randomly located. Modern technologies can already imitate them, but still, if you look closely, you can see that these are just a pattern, not holes.

3. Check the reverse or cut

Not all products can be easily seen on the reverse side, by which one can judge the naturalness of the material. Try to find an exposed cut to see the structure.

Genuine leather is a large number of suede fibers, and the base of the artificial material is natural fabric or synthetics.

In this way, you can distinguish high-quality artificial material - eco-leather - from genuine leather: the appearance may be almost identical, but the base of eco-leather will always be fabric.

4. Weight is an argument

Genuine leather is always heavier than artificial leather. This is noticeable even in small products, and is especially noticeable in the example of leather jackets. Of course, different types of leather can also have different weights - for example, sheepskin weighs less than bovine leather.

But faux leather will still be lighter than any natural leather. Moreover, it can sometimes be lighter even than some fabrics.

5. Smell is the difference

Anyone who has ever bought shoes made from a leather substitute knows what this difference is: new shoes have a pungent chemical odor, which takes quite a long time to dissipate.

Leather items have an unobtrusive and light smell (if we are talking about high-quality material). However, manufacturers may use special fragrances that imitate the smell of leather. But such flavors can deceive the buyer only if the artificial material is of good quality, because the smell of cheap chemical ingredients cannot be overcome by anything.

6. Reaction to moisture

This is a very easy and visual way to distinguish leather from leatherette, but it is quite difficult to use when purchasing. Genuine leather always absorbs moisture. This is especially noticeable on light skin: a dark spot will appear on the product until the moisture has completely evaporated.

Leatherette will not absorb water and will not change color.

7. Tactile sensations

Genuine leather (except patent leather) will never be smooth. The texture may be different, but it is always a little rough to the touch. Artificial material is smooth and slippery.

If you fold the leather, it will change color slightly at the fold, but there will be no crease marks left. Faux leather will not change color, but there will definitely be a mark.

Experts advise paying attention to price:Good quality genuine leather cannot be cheap. But you need to take into account the types of skin.

Budget price segment

Pork, bovine, cow leather - these inexpensive varieties are distinguished by thickness, density and stiffness. For budget shoes and jackets, pig or cow leather is often used, and durable cow leather is most often used to make belts and backpacks.

Middle price segment

Calf, sheep, goat leather are soft and durable varieties. There are practically no creases on them. The leather is thin, but at the same time it is of very high quality and holds its shape perfectly.

High price segment

Rare and expensive types of leather - deer, crocodile, snake, ostrich. Products made from them are distinguished by the highest quality and original appearance, but such an item will cost the buyer a tidy sum.

Many tourists coming to Florence ask the question “where to buy leather in Florence?” Leatherwork has always flourished in the city and was known far beyond Italy many centuries ago. Today you will find a large number of shops and markets selling leather goods. So where can you buy a leather bag or leather jacket in Florence? Of course, the quality of branded products differs from leather goods sold in the markets, but you choose depending on your preferences:

If you prefer quality and do not look at the price, then you should go to the famous boutiques in Via Tornabuoni, Via Strozzi or Via Roma, located in the very center of the city, near the Duomo and Piazzale Repubblica. Here you will find original leather items from Italian designers, which have always been considered to be of the highest class.

If you want to save money, then visit the San Lorenzo Market or the Market del Porcellino. The goods sold in the markets are monotonous, the quality is not always the best, but the prices will please you, and it is customary to bargain here.

If you want to find the optimal price/quality ratio, you should visit the stores of local manufacturers selling their brands.

-If you want to be sure of the quality and be sure of the Italian origin of the goods, we advise you to visit a tannery, where you can see what kind of leather is used and how leather bags and leather accessories are sewn.

But it is important not only the quality of tailoring and finishing of a leather bag or jacket, but also what kind of leather the product is made of: natural or artificial. Let's look at a few main signs by which you can distinguish natural leather from artificial leather:

1. Smell. Genuine leather has a natural, slightly noticeable odor, while faux leather smells like synthetic materials. This smell is immediately noticeable.

2. Warmth. Hold the product in your hand. If it heats up and retains your warmth for some time, then it is genuine leather. Faux leather does not transmit or retain heat.

3. In appearance. Genuine leather has a natural, unique pattern; on artificial leather, the pattern is repeated. However, it is easy to confuse it with printed leather, which has a monotonous pattern.

4. To the touch. Real leather is soft and resilient, it has a soft, uniform texture and quickly returns to shape when pressed and stretched. At bending points, natural leather does not change its color, while folds remain on artificial leather. The back surface of genuine leather is velvety and in some ways resembles suede.

5. Cut. If there are open cuts on a leather product, then a cut of natural leather can be identified by its fibrous structure, while a cut of artificial leather has a smooth surface.

6. Material sample. If a product is accompanied by a sample of the material from which it is made, then a simple diamond indicates artificial leather, and a figured diamond indicates genuine leather. However, this is where manufacturers can deceive you.

7. Resistance to flame. Theoretically, when you bring fire to natural leather, it does not catch fire, but begins to gradually shrink and emit a smell similar to the smell of smoked chicken. However, due to the fact that leather products are treated with anilization, genuine leather may catch fire. When applied to a flame, artificial leather flares up and begins to behave like a plastic bottle, caking and producing a pungent odor and often black smoke. But be careful with such experiments so as not to spoil your leather product, since even real leather is deformed when exposed to fire for a long time.

8. Water. When water comes into contact with natural leather, it is absorbed and a small dark spot remains on the leather until the moisture is completely evaporated from the surface of the leather. Artificial leather does not absorb moisture. This method is more suitable when choosing a leather jacket.

So, by following these simple tips, you can easily distinguish natural leather from artificial leather. However, remember that each leather product has its own characteristics depending on the type of leather, its dyeing and processing, so do not get carried away with experiments, especially those that can damage the leather product, or entrust this matter to professionals. Happy shopping!

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