Hermes Constance To Go Wallet Handmade In Bright faced Alligator Leather from Mississippi Enamel Fittings Hardware 89 Nior

Of everything in my wallet drawer, this is the piece I take out for its own sake. Bright-faced Mississippi alligator is glossy in a way calfskin cannot fake: the scales are large and flat, each catching light at a slightly different angle, so the black looks alive rather than painted.

It is the Constance To Go, 20 cm across, three and a half deep and twelve tall, with the enamel H fitting as its only decoration. As a wallet it takes what a day needs, cards in the slots, folded notes, a coin or two in the middle. Because it is this slim it slides into a tote without adding a shape of its own, and on its strap it is the lightest way to leave the house.

Care is the price of the material, so here it is honestly. Alligator wants a dry bag, a normal room and no long afternoons in direct sun. If the skin dries out, the scales can lift at the edges, and once they lift they do not lie back down. Mine gets a light conditioning twice a year and has stayed flat. Rain is manageable if you blot it straight away, but I would not carry it through a storm.

What it is not is a knock-about everyday wallet. For that I keep grained calfskin. This one is for the days that deserve it.