Hermes R.M.S. Passport Holder Handmade In Evecolor Calfskin Leather Enamel Fittings Hardware 10 Craie

Craie and travel sound like a bad pairing, and for a week I thought so too, until I realised that a passport holder spends most of its life inside a bag, not on a table. In a zipped inner pocket this chalk-white R.M.S. cover has stayed clean far longer than I expected.

The build is the same 13.5 by 9.5 cm cover, 1.5 cm thick, in Evecolor calfskin whose surface is smooth, finely grained and matte. Against the enamel detail at the closure, craie looks like a sheet of good paper, which is a reassuring thing for a document cover to resemble.

I keep a passport, a folded visa printout and a spare passport photo inside, and the sizing takes all three with a millimetre to spare. The soft calf means the cover opens flat without strain, so nothing has to be forced at immigration desks.

The caveat, stated plainly: craie records pen marks and dark denim like a notebook. Mine bears a faint blue shadow along one edge from a pocket it shared with jeans, and I have decided it reads as patina rather than damage. Anyone who wants their leather pristine should choose a darker tone; anyone who wants the cleanest cover in the queue is in the right place.

Where it has been happiest: in the inner pocket of a canvas holdall and in the front compartment of a weekend bag, both places where nothing else rubs against it. Given a little separation from keys and chargers, craie stays remarkably clean, and it is the cover I reach for on summer trips.