How to tell real leather from fake

Look at the grain

Real leather has an irregular surface: pores, fine creases and the odd small mark, and no two square centimetres look quite the same. Faux leather (usually PU or PVC) is printed or embossed with a pattern, so the grain repeats and looks too even. Look closely at the folds: real leather creases into soft, random wrinkles, while faux leather tends to pucker or form sharp, regular lines.

Check the edges and the back

Turn the piece over or look at a cut edge. Real leather is made of fibres all the way through, so the edge looks dense and slightly fuzzy, or burnished smooth by hand. Faux leather is a plastic coating on a fabric base: at the edge you can often see the woven or knitted backing, a foam layer, or a coating that peels.

Smell it

Real leather has a warm, rich smell that comes from the hide and the tanning. Faux leather smells of plastic or chemicals, or of nothing at all. Smell is not proof on its own, since scented sprays exist, but together with the grain and the edge it is a strong clue.

Press it and bend it

Press a fingertip into real leather and it wrinkles around your finger, then slowly recovers. Bend it and it flexes like skin. Faux leather springs back at once and often feels rubbery. Real leather also warms to your touch, while plastic stays cool and slick.

What do full-grain, top-grain and genuine leather mean?

• Full-grain keeps the whole outer surface of the hide, with its natural marks. It is the strongest and ages best.
• Top-grain has the very top sanded smooth and finished. It is more uniform and a little less hard-wearing.
• Genuine leather is real leather, but usually a lower layer of the hide, often heavily finished. The label tells you it is leather, not that it is good leather.
• Bonded leather is leather scraps glued and pressed into a sheet. It wears out much faster.

Should you try the water or flame test?

Skip the flame test: it damages the piece and the result is easy to misread. A single drop of water is gentler. Untreated real leather slowly absorbs a little of it, while faux leather lets it bead and run off. Many real leathers are sealed, though, so a drop that beads does not prove the leather is fake.

What leather does Cipher use?

Every Cipher piece is cut from [leather type], saddle-stitched by hand with waxed thread and burnished at the edges, so you can check all of the above for yourself. Feel the grain on the Fold or the Snap, and read more in our story.