The Most Expensive Types of Leather, and What Makes Each One Cost So Much

The most expensive leather is generally alligator and crocodile, with alligator usually priced above crocodile. Their price comes from scarcity, years of farming per skin and strict grading of the belly. Shell cordovan, ostrich, stingray and rare fish leathers such as pirarucu also sit near the top, and fine calfskin is the dearest everyday cow leather.

This page is part of our guide to leather cost and value. It explains why each leather costs what it does. To pick between them for a jacket or a race suit, see the most expensive leathers compared.

The most expensive leathers at a glance

"No sourced price found" means we could not verify one, not that the leather is cheap.

Alligator and crocodile

Scarcity is the first reason. About 750,000 alligator and 750,000 crocodile skins are harvested a year, compared with about 350 million cowhides tanned. Most farmed alligators are raised for two to four years, and as carnivores they are costly to feed.

Making goods from them is slower too. Alligator and crocodile items typically take more time to make than the same item in cowhide.

Is a crocodile or alligator more expensive?

Alligator, generally. It is softer and more supple, though crocodiles grow larger, which helps for big pieces. Caiman, a related crocodilian, is much cheaper than alligator.

How grading sets the price

The belly is split into four quadrants. No damage in any quadrant makes a grade 1 skin; damage in one quadrant makes grade 2, and so on down to grade 5. Fewer than 5% of wild alligator skins reach top quality.

Unlike cowhide, these skins are sold by centimeters of belly width, not by area. In one publisher's example ratio, a raw grade 1 skin costs about $18 per cm, grade 2 about $15, grade 3 $10-11, grade 4 $7 and grade 5 $4 or less.

Is it legal to buy crocodile leather?

Trade in crocodilian skins is regulated, and moving skins between countries, for example from the US to Europe, needs CITES paperwork that adds cost. Check the import rules of your own country before buying abroad.

Shell cordovan

Shell cordovan is not cut from the outer skin. It comes from the shell, a layer of connective tissue on a horse's rump, and it does not crease the way ordinary leather does. It is known as a difficult and expensive material to make. Read more in the Wikipedia entry on shell cordovan.

Ostrich, stingray and pirarucu

Ostrich leather has a "goose bump" surface from the follicles where feathers grew. In ostrich farming, one advocacy group says the skin is worth four times the meat, which makes the leather the main product.

Stingray leather is tough and durable, and it is used in high-abrasion areas of motorcycle racing leathers. Pirarucu, an Amazon fish, is described by one exotic-leather seller as among the rarest leathers in luxury fashion.

Kangaroo and lambskin: premium options you can order

Not every premium leather is exotic. Some riders favor kangaroo for its light weight and abrasion resistance. On one maker's custom race suit, standard leather is 1.2-1.3 mm cowhide, and kangaroo, described as thinner and lighter for its strength, adds $400.

Lamb leather is used for soft leather in more expensive apparel. On the same maker's custom jacket, a lambskin shearling finish adds $400 and kangaroo adds $200. Is lamb worth it? See is lamb leather expensive?

Both options are on the made-to-order menus at Leather Collection, with the surcharge shown before you order.

The most expensive cow leather

Within cowhide and calf, the finer grades cost the most. At one European tannery, box calf and fine calfskin run about EUR 3.00-6.00 per sq ft, the top of its bovine range. For every grade's price, see how much leather costs, and for the cost chain behind them, why leather is so expensive.

FAQ

What is the highest quality leather in the world?

Price and quality are different questions. By grade, full-grain leather is usually rated the highest quality, because it keeps the whole grain layer.

What is the lowest quality of leather called?

Bonded leather is at the bottom, because it is not wholly animal hide. It is made of shredded scraps bonded to a backing, with 10-90% leather fiber. US guides say it should not be sold as plain "leather".