We work with four leathers in our Târgu Mureș workshop: deerskin, lambskin, peccary and carpincho. They differ in feel, warmth, durability and price — a pair of deerskin driving gloves is €85, while peccary and carpincho start at €170. That gap is not a matter of branding. It comes down to how rare the hide is and how much hand-work it takes to make it into a glove.
Where our leather comes from: deerskin from Finland, nappa and lambskin from Italy, peccary from Peru. We buy from the places that do each one best, rather than taking whatever a single supplier offers.
At a glance
| Leather | Feel | Durability | Best for | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deerskin | Soft, supple, slightly grainy | Very high | Driving, everyday wear | from €80 |
| Lambskin / Nappa | Smooth, light, close-fitting | Good | Dress wear, formal occasions | from €80 |
| Peccary | Exceptionally soft, distinctive grain | Very high | Those who want the finest available | from €170 |
| Carpincho | Soft with a fine dotted grain | High | Driving, a quieter luxury | from €180 |
Warmth depends far more on the lining than on the leather itself. An unlined glove in any of these leathers is a three-season glove; a lined one carries you through winter.
Deerskin — the everyday choice
Our deerskin comes from Finland. Northern hides grow denser and finer-grained in a cold climate, which is why Finnish deerskin has long been the preferred choice for glove-makers who can get it.
Deerskin is the most forgiving leather we work with. It is naturally soft from the first wear, breathable, and it stretches slightly to the shape of your hand without losing form. It resists scuffing better than most glove leathers, which is why it holds up to daily use on a steering wheel.
Choose deerskin if: you want comfort straight away, you will wear the gloves often, and you would rather not think about them too much.
See our deerskin driving gloves
Lambskin and nappa — the dress glove
Our lambskin comes from Italy, where nappa finishing has been refined longer than anywhere else.
Lambskin, finished as nappa, is the thinnest and smoothest of the four. It sits close to the hand and has a clean, formal appearance that suits a coat and suit better than a heavier grain does. The trade-off is that it is more delicate than deerskin — a glove for the opera, the office and the evening, not for scraping ice off a windscreen.
Choose lambskin if: appearance matters most, and the gloves will be worn with formal clothing.
Peccary — the rarest glove leather
Peccary is widely regarded as the finest leather in glove-making, and its price reflects genuine scarcity rather than a markup.
Ours comes from Peru, from the wild collared peccary. The animals are not farmed, and export is subject to regulated quotas, so supply is limited and does not scale with demand. The hides are also small, which means more of each skin is unusable and fewer gloves come from each one.
The leather itself is unmistakable: the hair follicles grow in groups of three, leaving a distinctive pitted grain that no other leather has and no embossing convincingly imitates. It is extraordinarily soft from the very first wear — peccary requires almost no breaking in — and it stays soft for years.
Choose peccary if: you want the best glove leather that exists, and you intend to keep the gloves for a long time.
Carpincho — the connoisseur's alternative
Carpincho comes from the capybara and shares much of peccary's character at a slightly different register. Its surface carries a fine, evenly dotted grain, and the leather is soft, pliable and notably good at grip — which is why it has a long history as a driving glove leather.
Like peccary, it is a wild hide with limited supply. It is less well known, which makes it the quieter choice: recognisable to people who know leather, unremarkable to everyone else.
Choose carpincho if: you want peccary-level quality without the more recognisable grain, and grip at the wheel matters to you.
Why do peccary and carpincho cost roughly twice as much?
Three reasons, in order of weight:
- Scarcity. Both come from wild animals under regulated harvest. There is no way to increase supply to meet demand, and the raw hides cost several times what deerskin or lambskin cost.
- Yield. The hides are small and irregular. A larger share of each skin cannot be used, so fewer pairs come from the same quantity of material.
- Hand-work. Our finest pairs are hand-sewn, which takes up to eight hours per pair depending on the model. That work is done by people, not machines, and it is the difference you feel at the seams.
Which should you choose?
- Driving in a modern car, most days of the year → deerskin
- Driving a classic, and you want the gloves to be part of the experience → carpincho or peccary
- Formal wear, evenings, worn with a coat → lambskin
- A gift for someone who already owns good gloves → peccary
- Cold winters, everyday warmth → any of the four, lined; ask us and we will advise
Still unsure? Tell us how and where you will wear them and we will recommend a leather. Every pair we make is hand-cut and hand-finished in our Târgu Mureș workshop, and we can make any of these leathers to your measurements.