What's this "Patina" business?

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I'm sure you own (or have seen) a piece of furniture that is unpainted but has a beautiful natural shine. We use furniture spray or oil soap to polish the wood, but antique furniture's deep & rich color comes with age, right? Louis Vuitton leather is the same way; it just does not take decades.

Patina
a surface appearance of something grown beautiful especially with age or use (Webster)

Louis Vuitton's natural leather is just famous for its rich "patina". When the leather is new, the color is very pale beige. Over years of use, it darkens to its full patina in various stages, to deep honey (amber) brown. The tanning of the leather is caused by air, Sun, oil from hands, and DIRT. If you just store a brand new piece in the closet without use, the tanning is only caused by oxidization, so it remains light even after 10 years. Exposure to sunlight speeds up the darkening, so if you look at a strap under the buckle or a D-ring tab inside, you continue to find lighter leather spots for years. This is why I do not appraise any models by the age but by the degree of use, determined by the color. Let's take Noe, as it is a model with a lot of leather (and I handle a lot of them).

The left picture is a brand new Noe , and the right picture is a 5 year old one with NO stains. You really want to shoot for this gorgeous stage without stains, but we all know it's next to impossible. Stains give character to your own purse, so you need not go nuts to keep it clean (it's a PURSE after all!), but you definitely do not set it on the ground or any unclean surface!

This is a good comparison of how an "occasional" purse can tan a lot more slowly than an "everyday" purse. I placed an older purse on top of a newer one. The newer Noe is 8 years younger than the older one, but it already has a full patina. Although both are very clean, the occasional purse's leather is a lot lighter than the newer everyday purse.

This one has a full patina but also with lots of stains! When the leather is at the point of chocolate or black color, that's simply called DIRTY (UGLY).

What you can do to shoot for the gorgeous patina

I'm going to tell you what Louis Vuitton lovers on the EXTREME end do. This may sound humorous and silly, but some people are dead serious about this procedure. How forgiving we should be concerning stains really depends on the individual, so you decide how paranoid you want to be with your brand new Louis Vuitton.

You open the package after coming home from your Louis Vuitton boutique, making sure your hands are VERY clean.
Place the purse on a "carefully selected" spot in the house where no Sunlight reaches.
After a couple of months of exposing the leather to the air, the leather should have very slight oxidization.
Move the purse near the window where the Sun light is filtered. Leave it there for another couple of months, turning the purse once in a while for even exposure to the Sun. Don't forget turning the strap, as you want even tanning both front & back. Then the leather is very light brown, looking like real leather.
Start carrying the purse, ONLY when there is no chance of rain. If in doubt, carry a Papillon (older version, with treated leather) or another model to which rain drops don't matter.
Be sure to avoid all kinds of water or other stains; make sure the countertop or the vanity top where you set your purse is clean and dry. Be extra careful not to let the leather touch anything like the car exterior or the ground. Be sure that you do not hug children without setting your purse aside. Remember, dog noses are WET too!
After a year of very careful daily use, the leather is about the color of beech wood. Now you don't feel embarrassed about carrying a brand new Louis Vuitton. Continue for 5 years, then you'll have a stain-free gorgeous honey color Noe leather!

Nuts? I think so!! BUT, just about everybody has Louis Vuitton in Japan. If there are 5 ladies at a cash register of a grocery store, expect 3-4 of them carrying Louis Vuitton. The lady in front of you may pull the exact same wallet that's in your purse! So they think carrying a brand new purse with a brand new leather makes them look like a Louis Vuitton newbie, and they want to look like a seasoned collector! You'll bet I would be a "closet" Louis Vuitton collector if I were still living in Japan and probably carry a no-name purse outside!

I do recommend to really take care of your purse, by avoiding rain & stains, and I "almost" beg you to use a pen case inside the purse (just because I hate ink stains inside!). Pale & small water stains on a newer leather are more likely to blend in and disappear as the leather continues to darken, so do enjoy your new purse without having a nervous break down!

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