John Lobbs
John Lobbs is a bespoke British luxury shoe makes that most people would consider it to be the epitome or the holy grail of men's formal shoe. They have been around since 1849 and was acquired by Hermès Group in 1976. Since then, Hermès developed the John Lobbs ready-to-wear shoes around the world. The John Lobbs brand was really well known for their "museum calf" leather which they acquire from ILCEA Tannery. These "museum calf" leather that is dubbed by John Lobbs are basically Radica Leather from ILCEA Tannery. They are amongst some of the highest quality Italian leather with a unique pattern that many other tanneries have tried to replicate but failed. The pattern making of this that is closely guarded secret by ILCEA. Below is an image of these beautifully made leather. I have always been a firm believer that quality doesn't lie so take a look at these pictures and be your own judge.
Source: Rocky Mountain Leather Supply
Hermès
Hermès is a French high fashion luxury goods manufacturer that needs no introduction. They are most well-known for their Birkin bags. These Birkins are the most popular bag amongst handbag collectors, with the likes of Jamie Chua owning a couple of dozen of it. These beautiful bags are made with many different kinds of leather such as Togo Leather that comes from a tannery in Germany known as Perlinger. The Togo leather is a shrunken calf leather. It is made by shrinking high quality calf leather in order to make the grains of these hides more pronounced and yet have a soft and supple feel to it. Other notable leathers that Hermès uses are Barenia and Zermatt leather that comes from Tannery Haas in France. But it is no surprise that most desirable and the most expensive Birkins are made by Himalayan Crocodile leather that comes from Hermès own tannery. Crafted from Nile crocodile hide, the ‘Himalaya’ moniker does not apply to the origin of the bag but instead the gradation of colors that mimics the snow-capped Himalayan mountains. These bags are so desirable that the Matte Himalaya Niloticus Crocodile Birkin 35 with 18k White Gold & Diamond Hardware went for record-breaking £236,750 at Christie's auction.
Source: Christie's