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CHARLES UNDERWOOD MATERIALS
Endangered species are never used in our collections and all leather hides are by-products of the food industry. Swatches closely represent hide colors but may vary slightly due to monitor resolution etc. Not all products are available in every color.
AMERICAN ALLIGATOR
  
Handbags, Belts, Wallets, Desk Accessories, Briefcases and Business Accessories.
   
Black Chocolate Cognac Red
The American Alligator (Alligator Mississippiensis) is found primarily in Louisiana and Florida U.S.A. and are indigenous only to North America. Hides are purchased at U.S. Government auctions and each skin has an authenticating CITES tag attached (Convention for International Trade of Endangered Species). They are tanned by the Worlds finest tanners and polished to a brilliant sheen with a marble cylinder glazing tool. The three-dimensional effect on our skins is a Bombe (Bomb-Bay) finish which is achieved by applying heat to the center of each tile. The end result of these efforts when combined with Underwood craftsmanship is the ultimate luxury of the worlds finest leathergoods.
ALLIGATOR ACCENTS
Cognac Alligator on Black Kid
Desk Accessories, Briefcases and Business Accessories.
Genuine American Alligator accents highlight the natural sheen of "Hand Glazed Kid" to create the elegant symmetry consistent throughout this collection. "Hand Glazed" refers to the painstaking process of polishing leather with the repetitious stroke of a marble cylinder. This age-old method produces a beautiful natural sheen when applied to tightly grained hides such as our full-grain aniline Kidskin and American Alligator.
BRITISH LAMB LEATHER
 
Desk Accessories and Business Accessories.
Black
Butter-soft with a matte-finish is the best possible description for this elegant leather. The finest full-grain lamb leather from Europe is tanned in a drum-dyed tumbling process to create such softness. The inherent suppleness of the hide is preserved by special tanning agents which also form an amazingly efficient water-proofing agent.
HAND GLAZED KID LEATHER
 
Desk Accessories and Business Accessories.
     
Black Burgundy Chocolate Cognac Forest Red
"Hand Glazed" refers to the painstaking process of polishing leather with the repetitious stroke of a marble cylinder. This age-old method produces a beautiful natural sheen when applied to tightly grained hides such as our full-grain kid leather. Kid is actually a young goat that is the primary food for much of the world's population. A final water-resistant finish is applied to each product for prevention of water spotting from the rain etc.
KARUNG SNAKE
Belts and Picture Frames
  
Black Chocolate Red
The Karung Snake or "Acrochordus Javinicus is a large reptile indigenous to South-East Asia. This massive snake grows up to six feet in length with rugged, naturally textured skin. This translates beautifully with Underwood craftsmanship to create unsurpassed quality in exotic leathergoods.
RANCH OSTRICH
  
Handbags, Belts, Wallets, Desk Accessories, Briefcases and Business Accessories.
   
Black Chocolate Red Saddle
These large birds are raised on ranches primarily in South Africa. After processing the meat for food, hides are tanned to preserve softness and maximize relief of the quill openings. These "quill bumps" give the hide its remarkable character and are formed ultimately by the tremendous size of the feathers. Despite their beauty, Ostrich hides possess a remarkable wearability factor and will provide many years of functional use.
RATTLESNAKE
Belts and Picture Frames
 
Natural
The Western Diamondback Rattlesnake grows up to 7 feet in length. Their distinctive scaled back pattern resembles a repetitive diamond motif. Sometimes called a "Coon-Tail Rattler" due to the rattle-tipped black & white striped tail they are aggressive when disturbed and administer deadly venom through retractable fangs. Our skins are harvested from snakes that are first milked of venom for medical use and their meat is then sold for food.
SUEDE LINING: Silky-soft taupe colored Boar Suede Leather which has been sueded on both sides provides a luxurious lining for many of the Charles Underwood products. The neutral color is dark enough to hide dirt and light enough to disguise lint while richly complementing the exterior leathers.
THREAD: Multi-strand, left twist, nylon thread is used in all sewing operations. We use extra strong nylon as opposed to polyester or flax which has a proclivity for disintegration form perspiration. Our stitches per inch are dictated by a combination of function and aesthetics and are always more than adequate for absolute security of the seam. Back tack or overlapping stitches are standard for all stress points.
ZIPPERS: Extremely durable nylon zippers are used in Charles Underwood products. They not only provide less harshness to overall aesthetics, but actually provide better strength and durability than brass-tooth zippers. Unlike the rigidity of brass, nylon has resiliency to "spring back" with self repairing type characteristics.
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