Black is the one colour that does not really patina, and for a lot of people that is exactly the point. A black full grain bag in year five looks like the same bag it was in year one, slightly softer and slightly more burnished at the corners. If the idea of your bag changing colour is unappealing rather than romantic, buy black.

How black ages instead

It cannot go darker, so it changes in sheen rather than colour. The high points burnish to a low gloss where they rub, the creases stay matt, and the overall effect after a few years is depth rather than difference. The other thing that happens is the edges: on a well made bag the edge paint or burnished edge is the part that shows age first, and on black it shows as a grey line if the edge was painted rather than burnished.

Which is why we burnish edges

Painted edges chip. Burnished edges, where the edge is sanded, wet, compressed and waxed by hand, wear down rather than flake off. It takes far longer to do and on a black bag it is the difference between looking five years old and looking worn out. Every black bag here has burnished edges.

Keeping it looking right

Black shows dust and lint more than any other colour, especially in pebbled finishes. A soft brush every couple of weeks does more for a black bag than conditioner does. Use a neutral conditioner rather than a black one: pigmented products build up in the grain and go grey over time, and they transfer onto clothing.

What to pair it with

Black hardware on black leather reads modern and quiet. Brass on black reads traditional and is what most people picture when they think of a good bag. Neither is wrong, and we make both so you can choose rather than accept whatever was cheaper to fit.