Product Review: Wallets

Whilst writing up a very detailed article on the humble shirt collar, I took receipt of my new Launer wallet and felt it was a good opportunity for a product review. I also bought a wallet from Ettinger not long ago so have decided to do a broad comparison.

Launer: Black Calf Wallet With Dark Red Lizard Interior

Official Photograph

I purchased this item brand new off eBay for £125 including postage and packaging. It normally retails for £195! The wallet comes in a small protective black material bag, packaged in a black cardboard box. The box has a distinctly cheap, "Made in China" aesthetic to it, though is most likely sourced in the UK. The protective bag also has a somewhat cheap feel to it. Both are stamped in gold print with the words "Launer London". Quite where London comes into anything I am unsure. The wallets are manufactured in Walsall and the head office is in Surrey, with only a showroom on Regent Street in London. It's a sad indictment of today's consumerist society that a product must have "London" stamped on it to increase sales.

Okay, enough complaining I hear you say! What about the wallet? Well, it's very good, fabulous even. On removing it from the protective bag one is presented with a flawless, slightly shiny, black, supple calf skin exterior. The special part though, comes when the wallet is opened. Inside is a dark red lizard interior, a touch of pizzazz in an otherwise inanimate object. Exactly which species of lizard is not stated by Launer. The inner right hand side of the wallet is stamped with the Royal Warrant and the company name in gold. The quality of stitching is second to none, with perfectly straight lines and absolutely no imperfections. The corners of the wallet are compressed and stitched, without cutting a small piece of leather out (see Picture 4). The wallet is an homage to handcrafted perfection. There are 8 credit card slots, 2 note pockets and 2 slip pockets.

On the downside, the lizard skin is noticeably stiffer than the calf skin exterior and feels less durable. Whether this will prove to be the case, only time will tell. The lizard skin is darker and duller that the picture displayed on Launer's own website, and in my opinion slightly less attractive in reality.

Summary: For those in search of a luxury wallet where only the best will do, Launer may be the answer. However, the price seems unreasonably high, regardless of what it is made from. Yes handmade production in England is expensive, but not enough to justify the price in my opinion.

Quality: 5/5
Aesthetics: 4/5
Packaging: 3/5
Value for money (eBay): 3/5
Value for money (retail): 2.5/5

Picture 1: Box
Picture 2: Bag
Picture 3: Wallet outside
Picture 4: Wallet inside corner
Picture 5: Wallet inside

http://www.launer.com/red-lizard-eight-card-wallet.html

G Ettinger: Purple Billfold

Official Photograph

Some time in late October last year I visited the Ettinger head office in Putney, getting the address from their website. Not being a long journey from where I live, I figured it would be a good opportunity to view Ettinger's entire range close-up. The website states that the building looks like a normal house, and indeed it does. Situated on the corner of Bective Place and Putney Bridge Road, at number 215 it would be easy to miss if it were not for the word "Ettinger" printed on the downstairs window.

On arrival the front door was already open so I walked in. The downstairs has a small space displaying some of the Ettinger products. With nobody around and nowhere to go but up, I duly ascended the staircase. At the top of the staircase were a number of rooms that looked like office space and the Royal Warrant displayed on the wall infront of me. I had the peculiar sensation of walking around a stranger's home, uninvited. I peered through a doorway to see a young gentleman with his back to me. I said "excuse me" and he turned around looking rather surprised. I explained why I was here and he asked "...but how did you get in? We normally only accept retail customers by appointment." I said that the front door was open and that the website made no mention of this address being for commercial clients. He remembered that the door was in the process of being varnished and said that the workmen must have left the door open. In any case, he was happy to show me Ettinger's products. I was taken in to a smart room with large table in the centre, surrounded by Ettinger products on shelves. They were organised by the different collections that Ettinger offer; Purple, Bridle Hide, TT etc. I was immediately drawn to a collection of goods with a dark red lining. There was a beautiful wallet, not too dissimilar to the Launer wallet above but without the lizard skin that I picked up. I was told that this was a prototype being shown to retailers, to see if there was enough demand, and that unfortunately was not for sale. To this day I am still disappointed as they looked tremendous, and can only hope that a retailer such as Fortnum & Mason has the good sense to place an order.

Anyway, after much deliberation I settled on the Purple Billfold pictured above, for the princely sum of £125. I believe the price has increased since then, inline with the UK VAT increase. The wallet was handed to me in a dark blue, small, expensive looking carrier bag with the words "Ettinger London" embellished on the front in gold font. Inside was a "With Compliments" slip thanking me for my custom. Like Launer, Ettinger products are also manufactured in Walsall, an historic centre for fine hand crafted leather goods. The wallet itself was hand wrapped in matching dark blue paper with the words "Ettinger London" in black running diagonally across, placed inside a solid dark blue cardboard box. The front of the box had the Royal Warrant and company name stamped on it in silver. Altogether, the packaging was of high quality - something Launer could learn from.

So, what is it like? In a word, superb. Similar to the Launer wallet featured above, the wallet is made from supple calf skin, with the outside in matt black, and the inside a medium purple. In contrast to Launer, the Royal Warrant and company name is stamped on the inner left hand side of the wallet in silver. The wallet has 6 credit card slots, 2 note pockets and 2 slip pockets. This differs from Launer's 8 credit card slots. The note pocket separator is visible, in line with the top credit card slot on the Launer wallet. The stitching is perfect with the corners cut slightly, then stitched, differing from Launer's method. I suspect doing it this way is easier and could be considered to be "cutting corners" if you pardon the pun. It does however look very tidy and overall the wallet is flawless.

On the downside, the wallet is very expensive. While not as expensive as the Launer wallet I purchased (comparing retail with retail), it is in actual fact more expensive than Launer's standard leather wallets with coloured interior (£110). I also feel that the interior would look better with a darker shade of purple, similar to the packaging in which it was sold, but this is just my personal preference.

Summary: For those in search of a luxury wallet where only the best will do, Ettinger may be the answer. However, the price seems unreasonably high, regardless of quality and origin of manufacture. Yes handmade production in England is expensive, but not enough to justify the price in my opinion.

Quality: 5/5
Aesthetics: 4/5
Packaging: 4.5/5
Value for money (retail): 3/5


Picture 1: Bag
Picture 2: Box
Picture 3: Inside box
Picture 4: Wallet outside
Picture 5: Wallet inside
Picture 6: With compliments

http://www.ettinger.co.uk/shop-online/index.php/cPath/22_31/products_id/74

Closing Thoughts: I am very happy with both wallets, which I expect to last me many years to come. I currently have a slight preference for the Ettinger wallet. Why? I'm not entirely sure! I resent myself for being so unobjective but it really is difficult to put my finger on it. It may have something to do with the matt finish and more discreet nature, the overall softer hand or just the nicer packaging. In reality though, there is little to separate these two exceptional items.

With regard to price, both manufacturers succeed in making their products exclusive, in the purest sense of the word. Their high price means quality is sadly unobtainable for most.