Hermès Béarn wallet · black crocodilewallet
The scales around the H tab. Before, the scale faces look pale and hazy; after, each scale holds a crisp reflection. The after photo was taken at a slight tilt.
Hermès crocodile · gloss
Bringing back the gloss on crocodile
Crocodile that has turned dull or cloudy, brought back along the grain of the scales.
Some pieces need the gloss alone. Others have faded patches, which are touched up in their original colour before the gloss is evened out.
The work shown here is a Hermès Kelly Pochette (a bag) and Béarn wallets.
First evidence
From a cloudy haze back to scale-by-scale reflections
Gloss can’t be measured from a single photo. Look instead at whether each scale carries its own reflection, or whether a cloudy haze spreads across several.
Hermès Béarn wallet — black crocodile · same-colour touch-up and gloss
About the photos
Shot on white cloth from the same front angle; the after photo is slightly closer. On this page the photos’ colour and brightness have not been changed (cropped and resized only).
Scales and light
How light sits on the scales
This is a 3D piece of crocodile leather made for explanation. Each scale is tilted slightly differently, so as the light moves the reflection travels from scale to scale. In the real photos, look for whether each scale holds its own reflection.
3D specimen for explanation — not a photo of any job, and not a model of any client’s piece
Opens right here: move the light across the specimen yourself.
Real photos of the same area — each taken under a single light, so they cannot be relit
Hermès Kelly Pochette · purple crocodilebag
The back, close up. The reflection varies from scale to scale and looks hazy in places.
There is no after photo taken from the same distance.
Hermès Kelly Pochette · purple crocodilebag
The base and corners. The two photos were taken from different angles, and in the after photo the flap is open.
Case record
One case, from start to finish
From the condition on arrival to the limits that remain — only as much as the record holds, word for word the same as in the dye archive.
Dye record
Black (dulled, faded at the corners) → BlackRestored in the same colour
01Condition on arrival
An Hermès Béarn wallet in black crocodile with gold H hardware. The front had lost its gloss and looked cloudy, and the colour had faded at the corners and folds that are handled most.
02Target colour
Touching up the faded areas in black matched to the depth of the original leather, and bringing back the gloss. The colour was not changed.
On arrival the surface looks cloudy, with almost no reflection. 03Colour mixing & process
- Cleaning
- Mixing to the original black
- Touching up the faded areas
- Gloss along the scales
Only the faded areas were touched up, and the gloss was brought back along the scales.
The gold H hardware was not touched.
04Result
05Limits
There are no before/after close-ups of the touched-up corners and folds. 06About these photos
Pairs 1, 3, 4, 5 and 6 show the same areas from similar angles. In pair 2 the before shows the folded edge and the after the front with the tab, so it is not used for comparison.
The same spot, shot from a similar angle. An overlay opens once the two photos have been checked for alignment.
Gloss and dyeing
Gloss and dyeing
Gloss work is not the same as changing a colour. One line for each kind of work, and where the cases on this page sit.
| Work | Colour | Cases on this page | What it means |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gloss alone | Unchanged | Kelly Pochette (purple) | The colour is left alone; only the gloss is redone. |
| Same-colour touch-up + gloss | Original colour | Béarn, black · Béarn, burgundy | Only the faded areas are touched up in the original colour, then the gloss is evened out. |
| Re-dyed in the original colour + gloss finish | Original colour (looks slightly deeper in the photos) | Béarn, green (flagship) | An earlier dye job that had gone patchy was prepared and the piece re-dyed to its original colour. In the photos it looks slightly deeper than when it came in. |
| Dyed darker than it is now | Darker | No published crocodile case | Whether it can be done depends on the leather; we’ll tell you once we’ve seen it. |
| A lighter colour | — | — | Not possible — dyeing only goes darker than the current colour. |
Dyeing can only go darker than the current colour. A lighter colour is not possible.
What the published cases involved
- A dull, cloudy surface — the gloss evened out so each scale holds its own reflection.
- Colour faded at corners, folds and scale grooves — touched up in the original colour, with the gloss evened out at the same time.
- Gloss kept deliberately quiet — the finish tuned to a restrained look rather than a conspicuous shine. Journal (in Korean)
Worth knowing first
- A lighter colour — not possible.
- Some features remain after the work — the red lines in the scale grooves of the burgundy wallet are still visible. The cause is not recorded.
- The level of gloss differs from case to case — after the green Béarn was re-dyed, its gloss looks lower than when it came in. We don’t claim that gloss work always makes a piece shinier.
- Gloss can’t be measured from one photo, so we don’t put numbers on it, such as a percentage of gloss restored.
Enquiries
If you have crocodile like this
Send us a photo of the whole piece and a close-up of the surface, and we’ll tell you what can be done. Cost is quoted after we’ve seen the piece.
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Questions
- Can the gloss be redone without changing the colour?
- On the Kelly Pochette, no new colour went on — only the gloss was redone. Every piece is different, so we look at photos first.
- Can it be changed to a lighter colour?
- No. Dyeing can only go darker than the current colour.