How can you tell the difference between genuine and imitation leather?

HOW CAN YOU TELL THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GENUINE AND IMITATION LEATHER?

Recognising the real from the fake!

In this video tutorial, Jean-Baptiste explains how to tell the difference between genuine leather and imitation leather. It may seem surprising, but it can be challenging for non-expert eyes to tell the difference. It's only after a few months or a few years (depending on the quality of the hide for leather and the quality of the plastic for imitation) that you'll be able to tell the difference with the naked eye. Leather's lively, durable nature will take its toll on imitation leather after a while. In less than three minutes, we'll give you all the tips you need to know about the subject! You can tell the difference between imitation and genuine leather with just a few tests you can carry out at home.

Watch out for the price of leather!

That's the first thing that should alert you! Leather is a living material with an incredible life expectancy. Each piece of leather is unique! The first price for a genuine leather jacket is around 200 euros. Below that, it's a safe bet that you're looking at imitation leather.

It smells of leather, yes, but be careful...

Your first instinct is to smell the material. And you're not wrong... leather should smell like leather! Be careful: an excessively strong or unpleasant smell usually means the material has been treated poorly. So, whether it's leather or not, it's never a good sign. It's better to go for a product with a pleasant smell, the characteristic smell of good leather as if you'd just stepped out of your local cobbler's... Then, you'll be almost sure to avoid making a mistake.

The visual aspect of the material

Leather is an organic material, which means that it lives. It is, therefore, irregular, with imperfections such as scars and tiny pores. And that's what makes it so charming. If you have a good eye, you should be able to tell the difference between imitation leather and leather. However, some manufacturers precisely imitate these imperfections on imitation leather. Moreover, every skin is different, and no single appearance will allow you to tell the difference. For example, goat leather will be more grainy, whereas lamb leather will be smoother.

Bad imitation

Very good imitation

Genuine leather

Tests to check the authenticity of your leather

If, despite all these tips, you still have a doubt, here are 2 tests to help you confirm your intuition!

The nail test

After all that, you may still have some doubts. So, here's my first test, the so-called fingernail test! It's a quick and easy test that you can carry out in just a few seconds without any risk of damaging your jacket. All you have to do is lightly scratch the surface of your leather with your fingernail. Then look at your fingernail. If there's any residue, your jacket is an imitation. Once again, a quality imitation may not show any residue, so to be sure you're not making a mistake, there's one last test..

The flame test

This is the one we'll only suggest at the end because it's the most reliable test but also the riskiest! Yes, if you want to try this test, you'll have to bring a flame close to your leather. Real leather does not burn! Faux leather, on the other hand, will melt under the heat of the flame. And yes, remember, imitation leather is none other than a chemical compound that belongs to the family of plastics, namely polyurethane! In all cases, carry out this test very carefully. If the leather doesn't burn, it fears heat and could blacken or shrink. If you wish to carry out this test, do so by sliding the flame in a non-continuous manner and only over a non-visible part of your product.

Search Products

Quick Search: