Hermes Calvi Duo Compact Card Holder Handmade In Box Calfskin Leather Silver Hardware 55 Rouge H

Rouge H is the old burgundy of the house, a deep red with brown in it, and on Box calfskin it looks like the leather binding of a serious book. It is the least shouty red I know, which makes it easy to live with even if a bright red wallet would not be your instinct.

This Calvi Duo measures 7 by 10 by 2 cm, roughly the footprint of a passport but far thinner in the pocket. It carries cards on both faces with a slim centre for folded notes, and the silver hardware on the closure keeps everything formal. It fits a coat breast pocket, a small handbag, or the back pocket of jeans without leaving a visible line.

Box calf is the most traditional of the smooth calfskins and the most demanding. It marks, it water-spots if you are careless, and it repays attention: the surface takes a polish, the colour deepens at the edges, and after a few years a well-kept piece looks richer than it did when new. Mine has deepened a shade along the fold line already. If you want something that never needs a thought, buy grained leather. If you want something that improves with handling, this is it.

For dinners and travel it has been the most satisfying small thing I own, and the deep red makes it worth opening every time.