HOW TO SPOT HIGH QUALITY LEATHER GOODS

Touch it - Touch and feel the leather to see if there are any noticeable creases and wrinkles. These usually indicate that the material is the real deal. If a material that simply dips when pressed, or one that simply bounces back, is usually fake.

Smell it – Also, bring the material up to your nose to see how it smells. Fake leather material usually has a synthetic and plastic-like smell. In contrary to that, real leather has a natural, sort of musty scent.

Fire test – Another trick that you can try to distinguish fake leather from the real thing involves burning a small part of it to see how it smells.

Genuine leather has a very distinct burnt smell that’s similar to burnt hair. On the other hand, the synthetic leather will definitely smell like burnt plastic.

It’s not hard to tell the difference in appearance too, because real leather will only get a slight singe from the fire, versus a synthetic material that will actually go up in flames.

Water test - Pour some water onto it to check if it absorbs or repels the water. If the water just slides off or puddles, then it’s not the real leather. However. if the water gets immediately absorbed then it’s the real thing.