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Not a skin but a membrane: the dense, flat muscle beneath a horse's hide. It does not crease — it rolls, and takes a glassy shine that only deepens with wear.
What it is
Shell cordovan is made from the fibrous membrane — the “shell” — found beneath the hide on the rump of a horse. There are only two shells per animal, which makes it scarce and costly. Unlike cow leather it does not crease: it ripples and rolls as it flexes, and takes a deep, glassy shine.
Why we chose it
Horween Shell Cordovan is the benchmark the industry measures shell against, and effectively impossible to mass-produce. It is tanned by hand to a centuries-old, in-house recipe: pure vegetable tanning in pits with tree-bark extract over at least six months.
Each shell is then hand-shaved to thickness, hand-dyed, hot-stuffed and hand-glazed with glass rods rolled across the surface to compact the fibres. The result is exceptionally durable, and only improves with wear.
Made by
Chromexcel belongs to a wider making practice. Return to DA.MA. & CO. to understand the maker, its place and why Archibald chose to work with it.
Other materials from this partner
In the collection
Every product built from this material. Current pieces link through to the collection; discontinued pieces stay on the record.
Material, maker, product
The parent relationship remains part of the material record. Continue to the maker, the wider partners index or the workshops and places behind Archibald products.
