The Shebag artisanal workshop is currently mass-producing a new color for the Hermès Birkin 25: Blue-Grey. Crafted in Togo leather, this shade immediately exudes a sense of sophistication. While ordinary buyers typically opt for black or grey Birkin 25s, this Blue-Grey variation looks distinctly more premium at first glance.

Today’s Birkin 25 features silver hardware. There is a specific sense of luxury to silver hardware, particularly with Hermès’ craftsmanship. In fact, Hermès’ silver hardware is arguably more advanced than Chanel’s silver hardware.

Hermès’ Palladium silver hardware and Chanel’s Rhodium hardware are effectively two different precious metal surface systems with distinct orientations. The difference lies not in “who is more expensive,” but in their completely different design philosophies, durability goals, and visual orientations.

Material and Craftsmanship Essence: Hermès’ silver hardware involves Palladium electroplating on high-strength copper-based alloys (such as brass). Palladium is a precious metal known not for being “bright white,” but for its chemical stability and long-term durability. Chanel’s silver hardware often uses Rhodium electroplating, which also belongs to the precious metal family but is renowned among platinum group metals for its high reflectivity and brightness, emphasizing visual impact.

Color and Visual Perception: Hermès’ Palladium silver presents a cooler, greyer silver tone. Its luster is restrained and non-glaring; the reflection is deep but not ostentatious, appearing steady and enduring overall. Chanel’s Rhodium plating is a typical bright silver-white with strong mirror-like reflection. It looks very “new” and “bright” at first glance, creating distinct highlights under artificial or natural light, which aligns with a fashion brand’s emphasis on visual impact.

Durability and Stability: Palladium holds a clear advantage in durability. It is highly resistant to air, sweat, sebum, and daily chemicals, meaning it does not oxidize easily and will not turn black like silver. Hermès typically employs a relatively thicker and more uniform Palladium plating layer, allowing the hardware to maintain a stable tone even after years of use. Chanel’s Rhodium plating is very hard, but in practical application, the design often leans towards a thinner, brighter layer. With increased wear time, high-contact areas are prone to a drop in brightness or localized wear, revealing the base material color or appearing “dimmer.”

Long-term Aging: In terms of aging, Hermès’ Palladium silver tends to develop an overall “polished feel,” where edges become softer but the color remains consistent. This change is viewed as a natural trace of use, maintaining a premium look. Chanel’s Rhodium plating is more prone to visual changes—not necessarily turning black, but experiencing a decay in brightness and a weakening of the mirror effect, leading to more obvious localized contrast.

Design Logic: The difference is especially clear in design logic. Hermès views hardware as a structural component of the bag, emphasizing lifespan, stability, and the long-term user experience; thus, they choose Palladium, a precious metal coating with balanced, extremely stable comprehensive performance. Chanel emphasizes fashion expression and initial visual effect; the high-gloss white appearance of Rhodium aligns perfectly with the brand style, fitting its product positioning even if it is slightly inferior in long-term durability.

Having covered the hardware, let’s discuss Togo leather. Leather quality control is one of Shebag’s core competencies.

The supply chain for Hermès’ Togo leather has very distinct characteristics. Its core strength lies not in “rare leather sources,” but in a European tanning system that prioritizes long-term binding and consistent stability. Togo is Hermès’ most typical and most heavily used daily workhorse leather, and its supply chain logic is highly representative.

Raw Hide Sources: Togo uses European adult bull hides, primarily from France and surrounding countries. It is precisely because of this that Shebag’s leather supply chain in France can secure the same top-tier leather as Hermès. Hermès’ requirement for raw hides is not “the younger the better,” but emphasizes the maturity of the leather fibers and thickness stability. The fiber structure of adult bull hide is tighter and more resistant to deformation, which is a crucial prerequisite for Togo to maintain the bag’s shape and prevent collapsing over long-term use. Strict screening occurs at the raw hide stage; hides with bug bites, obvious scars, or loose fibers are immediately rejected, resulting in a low percentage of hides that actually make it to the processing stage.

The Tannery Level: Togo is not a leather found in general market circulation; it is produced through deep binding between Hermès and a few long-term cooperative French tanneries. These tanneries typically have decades of history and highly stable process systems. They do not seek capacity expansion but adjust their production around Hermès’ order rhythm. Hermès does not frequently switch suppliers or shift to other regions due to cost fluctuations, which makes the tactile feel and texture differences of Togo relatively controllable across different years and batches.

Tanning Process: Togo is a full-grain leather. Its surface does not undergo heavy sanding or correction. Its typical “natural grain” is not embossed but is formed during the tanning and drumming stages. By controlling humidity, time, and mechanical action, the leather surface shrinks naturally to form an irregular but overall uniform grain. This is fundamentally different from the embossed cowhide common in the market and is one of the key reasons why Togo is so difficult to truly replicate.

Tanning Method: Togo is primarily vegetable-tanned, supplemented by a light mineral stabilization treatment. The goal is not to pursue extreme softness, but to obtain good structural support and durability. After tanning, the leather undergoes multiple rounds of natural drying and re-oiling (fatliquoring) to maintain a certain oil content within the fibers without reaching an “oily and shiny” level. This is why Togo looks somewhat matte and feels dry to the touch.

Color Treatment: Togo’s dyeing emphasizes “uniform penetration without over-covering.” The color penetrates deep into the leather layers but does not completely smooth out the natural texture, so the same color may show subtle depth variations on different hides. This inconsistency is not a defect but a “natural leather characteristic” intentionally preserved by Hermès. At the same time, the surface coating on Togo is very restrained, providing only basic protection rather than pursuing strong waterproofing or high gloss. This is a major reason why it easily accumulates traces of use but ages naturally.

Secondary Screening: Before entering the Hermès workshop, Togo leather undergoes a secondary screening. Even hides that have finished tanning are graded based on grain density, thickness uniformity, and resilience. Different grades of leather are allocated to bags of different sizes and structures. This is why large Birkin and Kelly bags often use structurally more stable Togo, while smaller bags may have slight differences in tactile feel.