Original subtitles

Welcome back to the Gentleman's Gazette. In today's video, we take a closer look at alligator leather goods and croc leather or crocodile leather to see why it is so expensive.

Gentleman's Gazette Theme Song Among all exotic leathers, crocodile and, particularly, alligator are some of the most

well-known skins. They're also very well-liked, but also one of the most expensive options you can get out there. Consider prices of $600 for a wallet or $900 for a watch

strap from Omega. How about a pair of $3,300 Gucci loafers or maybe a $15,000 Franklin briefcase? Too cheap for you? How about this $110,000 Phillip Plein

crocodile leather jacket? While it seems absurd at first, there are many reasons why alligator and crocodile leather goods are a lot more expensive than, let's say, calf or bullhide

leather goods. First up, let's talk about the terminology, then how the hides are tanned. We talk about sizing, grading, manufacturing, and anything else that impacts the price of

an alligator or crocodile leather good. Frankly, as a kid, I thought alligators and crocodiles were

all the same. I wasn't aware of all the different subspecies. Basically, you have alligators, caimans, crocodiles, gharials, and false gharials. All of these are crocodilians, but not all of them

are crocodiles. All these animals skin can be used to produce leather and, in recent years, caiman has

been more popular. Why is that? Well, caiman is a lot more affordable than, let's say, alligator leather.

If you have an eye for detail, you'll notice it's not alligator, but a lot of people won't notice. And the leather is not as nice. It will probably crack more easily. But, if it costs less and get

you almost there, it can be very tempting for many because it is a less expensive option. We're going to be talking only about crocodile and alligator leather today.

Both are semi-aquatic predators and some of the species today are extinct or close to extinction. For example, the Chinese alligator is critically endangered. Because of that, you cannot legally hunt

for those animals. That leaves the American alligator as the only alligator that can be harvested for leather today. Now, on the flip side, there are almost two dozen species of crocodiles

in existence. Now, how are crocodiles different than alligators? Well, typically, they're larger animals.

They're spread across Africa, Asia, the Americas, and Australia. The crocodile species most commonly

used for leathers are the Nile crocodile, the New Guinea crocodile, saltwater crocodile, and Siamese crocodile. Even though there's subtle details between those four species, we're not gonna go into

those and just distinguish more broadly between alligator and crocodile. One may think that alligator and crocodile is a fairly recent luxury phenomenon, but it is not. Alligator hides and leathers

have been used for centuries in areas where they naturally occurred. For example, a crocodile skin armor was used for religious ceremony in Roman Egypt in the 3rd century AD. Alligator

and crocodile skins were also traded among native tribes in North America, who used the animals as a source for food. Just look at this engraving from Theodor de Bry from 1591 that shows Timucua

tribesmen trying to hunt a massively oversized alligator or crocodile. Marco Polo also encountered Chinese alligators and mentioned how prized and expensive their hides were. Nevertheless, until

the 19th century, alligator and crocodile leather remained rather rare because it wasn't until then

that a more soft, supple, and usable crocodile or alligator leather could be developed. But, in the late

1860s, alligator leather was a prized resource in North America, for example. While the Southern US were the main exporters for alligator skins, Africa and Asia had crocodile skins. The only method to

getting those skins was to hunt wild animals. In 1892, the American writer and conservationist Kirk Monroe recorded his experiences hunting for an alligator in conjunction with tribesmen. Monroe

wrote that two seminal tribesmen were able to kill 24 alligators in one night. If you add that up, they killed over a hundred over the span of a week. They merely received 50 cents per hide

from the traders, which is roughly about $15 in today's money. So, obviously, that was quite cheap. Why is alligator leather so expensive, then? Well, by 1962, the species were so endangered that wild

hunting of alligators had to stop. Because of that, alligator farms now started growing the animals with a specific intent of leather production. Similar farms soon, thereafter, developed across

the globe, focusing on raising crocodiles. Meanwhile, the Chinese alligator became critically endangered because the habitat got lost and people just hunted too much. In America, the protection plan

worked and, by the late 1980s, the wild population was back to healthy levels. On the other hand, the Chinese alligators never really recovered fully and it's estimated that there are still around a

few thousand that live in the wild, but also quite a few more who live in captivity. Today, about 750,000 alligator skins and 750,000 crocodile skins are harvested annually. Now, that seems like a big

number. But, if you compare it to the 350 million cowhides that are tanned every year, you realize that the alligator and the crocodile are just about 0.2 percent of that. The vast majority of

alligator and crocodile skins today come from breeding farms. You can find them in Africa, Southeast Asia, Australia, and the Southern US. Here's a trivia question for our James Bond fans:

in which James Bond movie does he escape from a crocodile farm? Some of these farms are directly owned by luxury brands. For example, Hermes owns their own crocodile and alligator farms and

nope, these are not small. They hold thousands of animals. Now, because the wild alligator population

in the US has stabilized, there's very clear rules about how many animals can be harvested each year.

Maybe you've heard the American show "Swamp People", but it has become more aware for people that wild alligators are still hunted that way. The trade of wild alligator hunting is not

as lucrative and popular anymore as it used to be. In 2019, about 2,000 hunters in Louisiana got about 20,000 skins; compare that to 450,000 skins from the farms. As you can imagine, it's hard

to keep alligator hides pristine in the wild and, frankly, less than five percent of all wild, caught

alligator skins qualify as "top quality" because most customers desire unblemished belly skins from the alligator. There are some farms who really pay attention that animals don't accidentally bruise

themselves and they even employ padding. That being said, even in captivity, the alligators and crocodiles still spar with each other. Sometimes it can also suffer from illness, which marks the skin,

which then potentially lowers the grade of the hide. Unlike most domesticated animals, crocodiles and alligators are carnivores. As you know, meat is expensive and most alligators are grown between

two and four years. So, you can see how that adds up. In general, the longer an alligator or crocodile lives, the bigger it gets and the bigger the resulting skin is. But, there's also a risk involved

because the older they get, the more likely they are to damage the skin. And just imagine if you have an animal that you grow for its leather for four years and then it's scarred and you

can't use it, that is extremely wasteful. So, as the breeder with a financial incentive, they have to

balance risk and reward. Now, that doesn't always lead to animal welfare treatment. The regulations regarding the conditions of how they can be bred vary between countries and can vary greatly. Some

brands like Chanel, for example, have stopped using crocodilian leathers because they believe they cannot source it ethically. So, generally, alligator is more expensive than crocodile.

But, how can you distinguish between the two of them? Actually, it's quite easy. If it'll see you later, it's an alligator. If it'll see you after a while, it's a crocodile. Jameson:

Jameson: "You serious?" Alright, fine. It's not that easy. Alright, so how do you distinguish them? Now, let's

look at the belly because the belly is the most desirable part in leather production for both crocodile and alligator. Alligators generally have smaller scales than crocodiles. They're generally

also smoother and result in a smoother and softer final leather. Now, an easier way to distinguish an

alligator and a crocodile is to look at the scales. The alligator has a rapid transition in size from the belly to the flank. The belly is bigger and the flank gets rapidly smaller. With a crocodile

skin, the size decreases more gradually towards the flanks. Alligators are also the only crocodilians who have a unique umbilical cord scar that you won't find on a crocodile skin. In fact, many

manufacturers like to use this umbilical scar to show that it's genuine alligator and not crocodile

or something else. Now, sometimes, farmed alligators have a much larger and elongated umbilical scar,

and we'll talk more about that later. Also, some of the crocodile scales have the ISO pore. It stands

for "integumentary sensory pore." I had to Google that one. Sometimes, it's referred to as "hair pore,"

but, of course, crocodiles don't have hair. It's actually a tiny sensing organ that's supposed to detect

minute changes in its environment. Pretty smart, isn't it? Now, alligators have ISO pores too, but just on their head. So, if you see it in other parts of the skin, you know it's a crocodile.

I'd say, at the end of the day, for leather goods, alligator leather is more desirable than crocodile

leather. Why? It is softer, it's more supple, and it's just a nicer-looking leather overall. Alligator is

generally more expensive than crocodile. That being said, crocodiles grow larger, so you have very large

items you may not get around using crocodile. All right, so how are alligator skins harvested? Yes,

you guessed it, the animal hedas to be skinned. But, there are two ways. On the one hand, you can have

the belly skin or you can have the hornback skin. For leather goods, most people want the belly skin. The

hornback skin is much more three-dimensional and I've seen it sometimes used for cowboy boots. But, overall, it is probably more visually interesting and dimensional, but most people prefer the belly,

smooth, flat side. Now, farmed animals generally get fatter and so they have a wider belly skin, while wild alligators typically get longer and have a slimmer belly skin. The skinning has to be

done properly. Otherwise, if you damage parts of the skin, it can result into holes later on, which can

make the skin less desirable and yield much lower price. After the animals have been skinned, hides are preserved in salt or in brine in order to stop them from decomposing. There's only a few quality

tanners left in the world that specialize in alligator and crocodile. And so, sometimes, between transit times, the volume that is needed to tan the same color consistently, it can take a while to get

there. So, proper curing is essential; otherwise, the skin will decompose and not be a final good

product. Now, the skins are divided into the primary area, which is sometimes called the "pattern area,"

which is mostly used for leather goods, and then the secondary area, includes the snout feet and the end of tail, which are often used for smaller leather goods, such as business card holders,

wallets, key rings, and so forth. Everything else is made from items in the primary area. The price of a

tanned skin can vary greatly and it mostly depends on the grade and the size. So, how exactly does grading work? Typically, the final grading happens after tanning because, during the tanning process,

holes can emerge, maybe not have been visible previously because of the chemical rotation forces from the drum in which they're tanned. Typically, there's a grade scale from one to five with one

being the highest. I mean, some tanners will even refuse a grade five because they consider it too low of quality. But, frankly, if an animal had to die for that skin, I think it should be used.

The grade is primarily determined whether there is damage and how much damage. Bow, there are elements

of subjectivity, especially with wilder skins, but for farmed bellies, there is a very rigorous, strict standard. Basically, the belly is divided into four quadrants. If there is no damage in any of

the quadrants, it's considered a Grade-1 skin; if there is a defect in one quadrant, it's considered a Grade-2; if it's in two quadrants, a Grade-3; and so forth. Now, what exactly is a defect?

Well, that varies. It can be anything from a hardly noticeable, healed scar to a big, gaping hole.

Also, you can sometimes find parasite damage, which looks like round holes, which are caused by leeches.

That's typically something you only see in wild animals. You can also have this wide umbilical cord

scar, which can be long and much wider than on the smaller ones. It's really rare in wild alligators, but much more common in farmed ones. Some claim it has to do with the handling of the eggs.

Others suspect it has to do something with a hatching. We don't quite know. Now, the other big impact on the price of an alligator skin is its size. The bigger it is, the more expensive.

Now, most leather in the US or around the world is sold by surface area; in either square feet or square

meters. Now, alligator bellies, on the other hand, are sold by centimeter of width. So, no, it's not square

centimeter. It's just centimeter. Basically, you take a ruler from left to right of the widest area,

excluding the outermost half bone. Measurements are always rounded down. So, let's say, you measure 47.8

that means it's a 47-centimeter skin. As you can see, the size is really determined by the belly, so farmed animals are typically fatter so they have a square a belly skin that is perfectly usable.

A wild alligator will have a more rectangular shape. Interestingly, the exact length of the skin doesn't

impact the price because the belly is the most desirable part. Typically, a skin is six and a half

times as long as it is wide. So, knowing that, let's say, you want an alligator or crocodile suitcase,

you know you have to buy a big skin. So, how exactly does pricing for a skin work then? Well, since most

skins for alligator come from the US, you will have the lowest prices here generally. Why? Because of

CITES. It's a multilateral treaty meant to protect endangered animals and plants. Because of that, you can't just ship an alligator skin from the US to Europe. You have to undergo lots of paperwork

and, if you don't do it, it's a felony crime and the fines are very steep. Even if you do all the proper stuff, get the paperwork, just sending two skins to Europe, for example, to a tanner

would cost you several thousand dollars. So, if alligator skin is tanned outside the US, it's generally

more expensive than within the US. Because of CITES, you could argue that alligator leather is one of

the most traceable leathers in the world today. So, what's the pricing per centimeter of width? Well, of

course, it depends on the tannery. Generally, the ratios between the different grades are similar. Let's say Grade-1 costs €18 or $18, then Grade-2 typically costs about €15 or $15

per centimeter. Grade-3, $10 to $11; Grade-4, $7; and Grade-5, often $4 or less. You can see, between the grades, there's quite a big difference. Now, keep in mind that's just the price

of the raw skin. If you now want to ship that skin to a leather goods manufacturer somewhere, you have to deal with all the CITES and all that stuff and the price goes up. Another reason alligator

leather products are so expensive is because the tanning is also expensive. Why is that? Well, it's quite time intensive. Interestingly, the finish of the skin doesn't really have a big impact on

its price. Back in the day, the most traditional finish is a glossy finish, which I always thought was done in a way with layers of lacquer. But, in fact, it's like a heated, round stone and it's a

mechanical process that's quite interesting and relatively quick. And then, of course, you can polish it afterwards. But, overall, it is much more mechanical and less chemical than

I thought it would be. This shiny finish is also known as "glazed." Then you can find half-glazed or

matte crocodile leather or even a nubuck style. So, how exactly is it tanned? Well, that's one way to do it. First, hides are descaled and softened, then it's submerged into a processing solution,

which just softens everything up. It also helps to descale and this process can take up to two weeks. Then the leather is either chrome or veg-tanned. Like most animal hides, crocodile and alligator

are typically chrome-tanned. As we discussed in our video "Chrome tanning vs. Veg tanning", there are reasons why you would prefer chrome tanning in situations and no, chrome tanning

is not always inferior. Chrome tanning is the best option for alligator and crocodile skins for most applications because it's great for thin, flexible leather and it's colorfast.

Chrome-tanned hides are often left for weeks in this wet, blue state to make sure the hides properly took the tannage so, later on in the coloring process, the color is very uniform. Through the

shaping process, a machine is used to bring these skins to a uniform thickness. The hydrogen bleach is to remove minor blemishes and to create a uniform color. Sometimes you see these white alligator

skins and they're called "crust leather." Typically, crust leather is less expensive because it doesn't

have a color yet and you either have to color it or you can hand patina it, like it is popular now on some shoes for example. Then, a special mixture of colorants and oils are used to get the color

into the leather. Of course, there are also finishing process with colors, so you have two tones or different shades; sometimes the area between the scales are even hand painted. The sky is the limit

here when it comes to creativity. Once the skin is dyed, it's left to dry for several days before the final finishing is applied. Again, the glazing process, which yields in that super shiny finish,

is very mechanical. Often they're also hand waxed and polished because it is an expensive leather

and people want to make sure it is perfect. Now, it doesn't end there. Alligator and crocodile products are even more expensive because it is typically takes more time to make leather goods out of

this material than with, let's say, a cowhide. Also, there are other issues to consider when you make

an alligator or crocodile product, such as a boot or shoe, a briefcase or a submarine. Can you guess that film? We've seen a lot of Roger Moore today. That aside, just think about it. A larger product

like a suitcase may use multiple skins to actually create one perfectly-looking item. Now, all these different skins have the same color and, if they have multiple sides, you probably want the scales

to be the same size, so you have to select and pair the right skins to create just one product. Now, what type of skin and what grade you need depends greatly on the use case. Now, for example,

a pair of shoes could be cut from one 45-centimeter wide skin or you could choose two smaller skins at about 33-centimeters wide. Again, buying two skins that look very much similar is more expensive.

But, it also allows you to get a very similar or identical look on the left shoe and the right shoe.

If you want a belt, though, you probably need a 40 or 45-centimeter skin if you want a one-piece belt. Otherwise, less expensive belts are usually cut into multiple pieces. It's not always obvious at

first. But, on closer inspection, you can see it's not just one piece. That, of course, makes the belt

less expensive. So, watch out when you buy if it's a one-piece belt or multiple pieces pieced together. Because leather is so expensive, there's also a lot more hand detailing and handling to make

sure that nothing gets damaged and there are no mistakes in the production. Most leather factories, you can use machines to cut the leather. Well, with alligator and crocodile it's all done by hand to

painstakingly avoid faulty areas and to maximize the yield. Overall, can take days to make just a single alligator product. And think about it, you can do all this work and, if the maker makes just

one mistake, they have to start all over and they have to cover that with a price. So, in a nutshell, alligator products and crocodile products are so expensive because you have a number of factors.

Number one: it's expensive to grow the animal. Then there's a limited number of animals and it takes a

long time to grow them. There's not many tanneries who do this kind of work, so they can command a higher price. It's also resource intensive and takes a long time. So, people have to consider

that for their cash flow needs. Then even during the manufacturing process, it needs special care, handling, and attention. And all of that together yields in a very high price. And, of course, luxury

brands know that and so they sometimes charge even more for their products. But, even if you go to your

local craftsman and you have an alligator product made or a crocodile, there will be a significant markup compared to other leathers. And in today's video, I'm wearing an outfit with a tweed jacket

that is vintage. It's a nice tweed and brown with patch pockets, a pair of chinos from Bills Khakis, a blue checked shirt from Spier & Mackay, silk knit tie from Fort Belvedere, a pocket square.

It's wool and silk from Fort Belvedere with little bunnies because I didn't have crocodiles. And you

can find both of them in our shop here. My boots are hand patina, kind of a hiker style from Idrese.

And I quite like their style. For this video, I wore my crocodile belt; even though the color doesn't

match my boots exactly. I'm planning on having a pair of alligator shoes made at a local shoemaker, but she's currently booked out for over a year. So, that's also something to consider.

Gentleman's Gazette Theme Song