Russian Leather

This season, we are delighted to present a selection of pieces crafted from an exceptional leather: Russian leather.

Legendary for its firmness, water resistance, and distinctive woody scent, this rare leather is the result of a traditional bark tanning process combined with birch oil impregnation. Its cross-hatched grain makes it remarkably resistant to scratches and allows it to develop, over time, a deep and nuanced patina.

Produced exclusively in Russia from the 17th to the 19th century, it was exported around the world and sought after for the finest leather goods, bookbinding, and decorative crafts. Its singular fragrance — smoky, woody, almost animalistic — even inspired several perfume houses, who paid tribute to it by naming some of their creations “Russian Leather”.

Gradually forgotten, this mythical leather nearly disappeared — until the serendipitous discovery, in the 1970s, of a shipwreck off the coast of Bristol carrying a perfectly preserved cargo of it, intact after more than two centuries underwater.

This rediscovery sparked the interest of the British family tannery J & FJ Baker, one of the last in the world to practice traditional oak-bark pit tanning.

Their meticulous study of these ancient hides enabled them to recreate a contemporary leather of exceptional quality, as close as possible to the historic Russian leather.

It is this rare and storied leather that we are proud to offer you this season.