Leather Care 101

First of all, there’s no need to be afraid that keeping the leather in your jewelry looking great is any big hassle, so don’t tune out!

This is not going to be an in-depth discussion of advanced leather care for the upholstery in your Ferrari or for your jumping saddle…just the basics for the limited amounts of leather that we incorporate into some of our products.

The instructions included below in the first section, General Care for Non-Coated Smooth Leathers, are intended primarily for the leathers found in most of our jewelry designs that include leather. For the coated leather found in some of our designs, disregard the oiling instructions in this section and see the special instructions in the second section of "Leather Care 101",  The fact that the leather is coated is indicated in our color name, such as "Medium Brown (Coated)" that you will see when making your color selection for a particular product that offers this excellent leather.

General Care for Non-Coated Smooth Leathers

If you’re not used to working much with leather, it may be good to point out that leather is not at all like the inert, chemical stuff that is plastic. Leather is perhaps the most ancient of all man’s manufactured products. It is a very dynamic material that, consistent with its living origin, retains almost living characteristics…warmth, need to breath, tendency to mellow with time and the ability to respond to its environment. These are only some of the things that contribute to leather's magic.

Although plastic can mimic the look of leather, it falls way short of capturing the charm and warmth of the real thing. That’s why we at Phoenix Sterling use only real, natural leather in any jewelry application. So it takes a little more care than something synthetic. It’s worth it!

The best thing for the leather in our jewelry is same as for the jewelry itself. Use it, touch it, live with it! A little water, even the occasional dousing won’t hurt it. With day-to-day use and some common-sense attention, the leather will actually become softer and more supple over time.

Once in awhile it’s a good idea to gently wash the leather with mild soap and cool to warm (not hot) water. I doubt there are many soaps you would use on your face that would damage the leather we use! So there’s no real need to buy some expensive special leather-cleaning product. Can if you want, but no need.

This occasional washing will remove perspiration salts as well other grunge that may come from the subway or supermarket or wherever.

Keep in mind that leather tends to be quite soft and pliable when wet, so try not to overdo the water thing. Don’t throw your bracelet into the washing machine or blast it off with your pressure washer for example!

When you’ve finished washing and rinsing the leather, blot it as dry as you can with a paper towel. Then gently straighten it and place it on another paper towel and let dry naturally. Don’t use a hot hair dryer or place in the oven or on/near a heated surface. Generally speaking, don’t subject leather to anything that would be uncomfortable for your own skin.

If you leave the leather twisted, it will dry that way. It’s important, then, to take advantage of the pliability of damp leather to gently straighten, shape, and mold it into the shape you want it to have when it dries. Just be gentle and extra careful with fingernails. Fingernails can actually put permanent grooves into wet saddle leather if you’re not careful.

After the leather dries, it’s a good idea to rub just a bit of oil into the leather, much as you might use hand or body cream after washing your hands or showering. My preferred leather oil is called “Neatsfoot Oil Compound”. This can usually be found at nicer shoe or department stores. Sometimes even mass merchants will have it. It should only cost maybe three or four dollars at most for an 8 oz. bottle that will last for years and years and can be used on all sorts of non-suede leathers.

You can also use a tiny drop of the extra virgin olive oil you probably already have in your kitchen. Olive oil, however, is a bit greasier and slower to penetrate the leather than neatsfoot oil, but, with care, it will do the job nicely.

No hard, fast rules here, just oil whenever you think the leather might appreciate it. No need always to wash it first.

The key to using any oil is not to use too much at a time. If you think you’ve gotten too much on the leather, blot thoroughly then wrap it up tightly in a paper towel or tissue and let it rest for a couple of hours. Years ago people would just sprinkle corn meal on a leather surface to absorb any excess oil.

Occasional rubbing with a soft dry cloth will keep the oiled finish looking great.

That’s about it.

With occasional cleaning and oiling, but most importantly, loving use and time, your leather will soften and light colors darken a bit as it gradually mellows and takes on a warm, personal patina that no cold plastic could ever achieve!

Coated Leather: Special Care Instructions
...advantages & precautions

Currently we offer a "Medium Brown (Coated)" leather band on some of our bracelets. As the name indicates, this leather features a special protective coating. The coating makes this leather almost impervious (from the front) to water and most other liquids you’re likely to encounter on a day-to-day basis. This coating makes the leather easier to keep clean and helps retain the product’s original color.

In the application of the coating, a unique process involving heavy pressure and controlled heat, seals the coating to the leather grain surface as well as compacts the entire structure of the leather. This pressure and heat make the leather water resistant even from the back and edges. A further benefit of this compaction is that the leather will retain its original shape for much longer than untreated leather.

Special Care Requirements for Coated Leather

The coating and compaction of this leather results in some considerations for its care that do not apply to uncoated leathers. The main difference is in the use of leather oil.

Whereas un-coated leathers normally absorb leather oil readily, this is not the case with coated/compacted leather. The coating will repel oil applied to the coated surface of the leather just as it repels water, and the compaction will slow the penetration of oil applied to the back or edges of the leather.

As a result, our general recommendation is that you do not attempt to oil coated leather.

If, however, in spite of this recommendation, for whatever reason, you desire to oil the coated leather, you do so at your own risk. At least, please take the following points into consideration.

First of all, successful application of oil to nearly any light or fairly light-colored leather will result in significant darkening of the leather’s color. Our Medium Brown (Coated), for example, will darken to a very dark brown…attractive, but much darker than the original color.

Secondly, you should not attempt to oil this leather with olive oil as would be acceptable for many uncoated smooth leathers. Olive oil is relatively thick and may never properly penetrate the compacted fibers of the coated/compacted leather.

Neatsfoot oil compound, however, will penetrate the coated leather, but only from the back and edges, and even then, much more slowly than it does with un-coated or un-compacted leathers. In addition, several applications of oil over several days may be required to achieve uniform fiber penetration.

Finally, be aware that, until oil does fully penetrate all the leather’s fibers, the leather will take on an unattractive splotchiness at the top or grain surface just beneath the impervious coating. It will appear dark where the oil has penetrated and light where it has not. Normally this splotchiness can be cured by additional applications of neatsfoot oil, each time giving the oil several hours or overnight to penetrate. Later you may find it necessary to remove excess oil from the leather’s surfaces before wearing.

In any case, we repeat our recommendation against oiling this leather and remind you that we cannot be responsible for the results you achieve if you attempt it.