What is the difference between Full Grain and Genuine Leather

While both are often confused with one another, Full Grain and Genuine Leather are entirely different from each other in both appearance and in quality. Unfortunately at times even leather companies themselves will mislabel their leather products and thus cause even further confusion.

Full Grain leather is treated without sanding the top layer of the leather out. It is the complete hide, without the hair, and not “corrected” in any way. This makes it the strongest and most durable type of leather that develops a beautiful patina with use due its porous nature. Think of it like your own skin, full grain leather will expand and break in, whereas genuine leather will break out.

The reason why Genuine Leather breaks out or peels off with time is because this form of leather has the Top layer sanded off and since it still has the under-layer of the leather, it is still technically “genuine leather” – hence the name. The top layer could be sanded off due to too many imperfections on the hide or it could be just be the remaining underpart of the leather after the top grain is cut off. This is then coated with paint or artificial PU embossing to give it a leather-like texture. Full Grain leather is not painted but dyed, the way you would stain wood and paint particle boards. 

And so since genuine leather is painted or coated with PU, it doesn’t allow much room for stretching and flexibility and eventually wears out by the top layer peeling off. 

That being said, even though Full grain leather is an absolute winner, there are still some who would prefer genuine leather due it being much cheaper in cost. And as mentioned before, Full Grain leather develops a beautiful patina with use, and although most people prefer that, there are some who see the stretch marks, wire cut marks etc on full grain as an imperfection and would prefer something with a more even tone. In this case, genuine leather would be their preference.

At Man and Crown we prefer Full Grain for most of our products due to its durability, quality and beautiful aging that makes every product unique in their own way.