How do you differentiate a faux leather bag from a genuine leather bag?
You like a bag at the first sight, only when you get closer to it - you start to have doubts despite it states 'genuine leather'. Here are 5 simple tips on how to recognise genuine leather bags.
Tip 1: Look at the bag closely
Read the labels to see if they state genuine leather or not.
Some independent leather goods makers use the term 'genuine leather' despite using bonded leather. Please note that bonded leather is made of unwanted scraps of leathers that are glued together.
Note the difference contrary to genuine natural full grain leather here and here.
Tip 2: Touch of the bag
Run your hands over the articles' surface. Faux leather will have superficial smooth surface whereas genuine leather will have some slight unevenness surface. Genuine leather is normally heavier than faux leather too, feel the volume and body of the article.
Tip 3: Scent of the bag
Pick up the bag and notice its scent. Faux leather is made synthetically and will have residue smell of plastic or glue. Whereas, genuine leather has a distinct scent of leather.
Tip 4: Flame test
Note to not test this in stores. Holding a lighter close to genuine leather, it should resist burning or catching fire. Contrary to that, faux leather catches fire more easily and more quickly resulting in plastic-burnt like smell.
Tip 5: Price of the article
Note the price of the leather article. If it is too cheap, it is possibly not genuine leather. As leather is organic, it will contain some imperfections at random places. Inspect the article closely to see if it is uniform surface or not.
Similarly when you buy exotic leather goods, they are typically in the range of hundreds for a small card holder and tens of thousand of dollars for a medium-large size bag.
