To carry
Most wallets open one way. This one opens twice, and the reason has more to do with how coins behave than with design.
At a glance
Maker: Zucchero
Place: Japan
Material: Oil-shrink cowhide, brass fittings, twill lining
Closures: Sprung coin frame at the top, press stud below
Inside: Stepped card slots and a longer note pocket
Arrives: In its own box
What oil-shrink leather is
Oil-shrink is a finishing process rather than a type of hide. The tanned leather is treated with oils and then shrunk, which draws the grain up tight and gives the surface a pronounced, slightly irregular texture. The leather stiffens a little and develops a faint creak when a hand closes around it.
It behaves differently from soft, flat-finished leather. It holds shape rather than slumping, which suits a wallet that has to keep its structure with coins in the top of it, and it loosens towards the shape of your hand over months rather than going baggy in weeks.
The dye settles darker at the edges where the leather is cut and burnished, which is why the back reads as one shaded field with nothing on it at all.
Why a separate coin frame
Coins are the reason most wallets fail. Put them in a zipped pocket inside the fold and the wallet has to be opened fully, tipped and dug through at a till, usually with somebody waiting.
Here the coin frame lifts on its own sprung clasp at the top, independently of everything else. A handful of change is reachable without unfolding the wallet, and the pale twill lining inside makes small coins easy to see rather than lost against dark leather. Below that, the wallet folds flat to stepped card slots and a longer pocket for notes, held shut with a press stud.
Two closures on one object sounds like complication. In use it is the opposite, because the two things you reach for at different moments are separated.
The wildflowers
A row of wildflowers is pressed into the front, each stem a different plant, running the full width like a band lifted from a botanical plate. It is pressed into the leather rather than printed onto it, so it catches light instead of sitting flat.
The maker's name sits among the stems rather than on a plaque, small enough that you find it rather than read it. This is a particular Japanese habit worth noticing: branding placed where the owner will discover it and a stranger will not.
The brass is left bright
Most small leather goods antique their hardware to look older than they are. This one leaves the brass bright, which lifts the whole piece against the dark leather and gives the coin frame a small, satisfying weight as it shuts. Brass will dull slowly with handling, so the piece ages towards the antiqued look rather than starting there.
Size and care
Compact enough for a coat pocket rather than a bag-only wallet. Wipe with a soft, dry cloth. Keep it out of prolonged wet and away from radiators and direct sun, which dry out oiled leather faster than anything else. Do not overfill the card slots in the first month, while the leather is still tight.
See the Japanese Leather Wildflower Clasp Wallet
Is oil-shrink leather real leather?
Yes. It is cowhide put through an oil treatment and shrinking process that tightens the grain and gives the surface its texture.
Will the texture flatten with use?
It softens rather than flattens. The raised grain stays, and the leather gradually loosens to the shape of the hand carrying it.
How many cards does it hold?
The card slots are stepped and sized for everyday use rather than for a full set of loyalty cards. It is built to be carried in a coat pocket, which sets the limit.
Does the coin section open on its own?
Yes. The coin frame has its own sprung clasp at the top and opens without unfolding the wallet.