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Materials and Techniques

Precious Leathers

The “Precious Leathers” category offers a carefully selected range of precious, exotic leathers, such as alligator, crocodile, lizard or ostrich – all of them symbolising wealth and prestigious status and very popular in the world of luxury.

Many of these materials (alligator, crocodile and lizard) are covered by the CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora), also known as Washington Convention, which means that these leathers come from farmed animals bred under permanent, strict control of official authorities and preserve the wild species.

These materials have a natural surface structure which is accentuated further by the craftsmanship and finishing applied by HIRSCH. Since all of these materials are unique, each leather has its very own character, such as a specific colour shade or structure. Each bracelet is unique; a coveted and highly appreciated original.


Upper leather: Louisiana Alligator semi-matt, 100 m W-R
Alligator skin – one of the most precious types of leather – has become one of the most sought after materials in the watch industry. The alligator skins used by HIRSCH are hand-picked and display the popular and well-known rectangular grain. They come from alligator farms in the south of the United States of America, where the animals are bred under strict supervision of official authorities to preserve the wild species.
For this mat, 100 m water-resistant variant, a high-quality, drum-dyed Louisiana alligator skin is used, brushed by hand in a sophisticated process to create its silky shine. Another sign of the high-quality craftsmanship is the elegant two-tone effect, the contrast between dark and light shades of scales and the lower parts of the scales that is achieved through brushing.
This leather boasts yet another HIRSCH-specific and unique novelty:
A special procedure makes the high-quality alligator skin durable (hydrophobic tanning), so that this bracelet doesn’t even have to be taken off when swimming or diving! Even repeated exposure to water, a medium normally not conducive for the longevity of leather, will not harm this material.
The advantages of hydrophobic tanning are, however, not limited to longevity alone but also extend to the pleasant feeling of this material on the skin. As hydrophobically tanned leather absorbs much less water than traditionally tanned leathers, the material will dry much more quickly and will be pleasantly dry on the wrist shortly after it has been exposed to water.



Upper leather: Louisiana Alligator semi-matt
Alligator skin – one of the most precious types of leather – has become one of the most sought after materials in the watch industry. The alligator skins used by HIRSCH are hand-picked and display the popular and well-known rectangular grain. They come from alligator farms in the south of the United States of America, where the animals are bred under strict supervision of official authorities to preserve the wild species. For this mat variant, a high-quality, drum-dyed Louisiana alligator skin is used, brushed by hand in a sophisticated process to create its silky shine. Another sign of the high-quality craftsmanship is the elegant two-tone effect, the contrast between dark and light shades of scales and the lower parts of the scales that is achieved through brushing.






Upper leather: Alligator flanc
Alligator skin – one of the most precious types of leather – has become one of the most sought after materials in the watch industry.
The alligator flanc skin with its typical oval grain used by HIRSCH come from alligator farms in the south of the United States of America, where the animals are bred under strict supervision of official authorities to preserve the wild species.

Alligator flancs are soft and particularly suitable for the production of bracelets where the beautiful visual effect created by its round, slightly raised scales can be best appreciated. The elegant two-shade colouring and the silky shine that is achieved by brushing underline the expert craftsmanship of veritable leather experts.







Upper leather: Croco shiny
Besides American alligator, the skin of the South-American crocodile is one of the most popular precious leathers. This classic skin is distinguished by its typical structure in the style of a web, displaying alternately large and small scales buffed and polished to beautiful shine. A long-time, highly popular classic.









Upper leather: Lizard
Lizard leather – an evergreen among exotic leathers – stands out with its small-structured, pearl-like surface in elegant two-tone colouring.
Each bracelet is polished by hand and has its very own character reflected in the structure and colour of the surface making the leather so preciously unique.











Upper leather: Ostrich
Exotic ostrich leather, with its extravagantly plastic grain, is an extra-ordinary, yet traditional adornment for classic watch models.
Each individual skin is obtained from farmed animals and thoroughly dyed in a drum; the skin has material-specific, round, dark bumps and an individual, natural surface structure and colour highlighting the unique character of this leather. As a feature of uniqueness, it is important for HIRSCH that each bracelet has a minimum of five bumps.







HIRSCH Lining Leather

It is important to use the best lining leather to ensure longevity of a bracelet and to make it pleasant on the skin. Directly touching the skin, the bracelet is always subject to perspiration and other external influences. These factors cause a “de-tanning” of the leather, leaving it frail and brittle.

HIRSCH uses carefully selected and particularly skin-friendly, water- and perspiration-resistant lining leathers (tanned and coloured in a way to make them gentle on the skin). The visual appeal and wearing comfort of the bracelet are therefore ensured throughout the bracelet’s lifetime.


Lining leather: HIRSCH Oysterglove Supersoft
As suggested by its name, Oysterglove Supersoft lining leather is a particularly supple and soft material. The leather owes its suppleness and flexibility to “milling” as it is called, a process employed to loosen the leather fibres and make them flexible.
The visual expression of this procedure is the 3D grain structure. The process has a positive impact on wearing comfort, as it makes the material so supple and adaptable, and underlines the material’s natural character. Oysterglove Supersoft is especially suitable for more heavily padded models or bracelets with harder upper leather, because it makes the bracelet as a whole softer and more supple.
In addition, Oysterglove Supersoft is very durable and long-lived and stands out with its water resistance (100 m water-resistant), i.e. the perfect lining leather for functional bracelets developed to be used in water.

Lining leather: Velvet Glove
Velvet Glove is dyed to the fibre in a drum and processed without any further trimming. It is, in a manner of speaking, a piece of pure nature on your skin.
Velvet Glove has particularly strong fibres and with its pleasant, velvety surface it is utterly pleasant to wear.