Producing shell cordovan requires the highest level of tanning expertise. More than simply a matter of color, it is an exceptionally special leather extracted from a specific part of horsehide.

The irregular, oval-shaped shells are tanned, stuffed, shaved, and polished through a process that takes at least six months. Each shell is slowly tanned in a gentle vegetable tanning solution.

Highly skilled artisans then reveal the hidden surface by hand. The leather is then hand-rubbed with dye for an aniline finish.

Finally, the cordovan leather is polished by hand, achieving the rich, lustrous look and feel treasured by the tannery’s craftsmen.

This is the process of Horween, the pride of American leather and a name synonymous with cordovan for five generations.

They have been tanning leather in the same way for over 120 years.

Rugged and unrefined, perhaps — but this is the history they have preserved.