Brown Stingray leather bifold wallet

Stingray skin, also known as shagreen, is the upper portion of certain species of shark and ray used in leathercraft.Today, the skins we buy to make wallets, watch straps, wrapped boxes and small bags, are mostly from farmed stingrays in Asia. In particular, Thailand.

The surface is made up of small spheres, sometimes called pearls. They are larger in the centre of the skin and smaller on the outer edges.

Each tiny sphere is made up of a hard substance called dentin, with an even harder outer coating of enamel. Very similar to your teeth.

The stingray uses this tooth like outer armour as a defence system against attack, which is why the spheres only cover the area of the ray around the vital organs. 

During processing, the soft meaty exterior wings are removed (for food consumption), and the upper layer of shagreen is sent off for tanning.

This is why stingray skin isn’t consistent with the shape of a live stingray.

Most stingray skins are chrome tanned which allows the skin to remain strong and flexible for product manufacture.