Lunburg Leather Guide: Opus Briefcases, Signet Wallets, Travel Bags and Journals

Lunburg makes leather goods by hand: briefcases, wallets, travel bags, folios, journals and cases for pens and cigars. The house is based in the Netherlands and its pieces are built by artisans in Fes, Morocco, from vegetable-tanned Tuscan leather. They cost more than high-street leather, so here's what you're paying for and how to pick the right piece.

What sets it apart

• Leather: full-grain, vegetable-tanned leather from the Tempesti tannery in Tuscany, which Lunburg says is tanned over 40 days. Linings are goat leather and the hardware is 316L stainless steel.
• Construction: edges are folded and stitched by hand (rempliage) rather than cut and painted. Lunburg says an Opus briefcase takes 1,233 steps and about eight artisan-days.
• After-care: a 50-year international warranty, lifelong care and restoration at the atelier, and a Buy-Back Pledge that gives 30% credit when you trade a piece in for its successor.

Vegetable-tanned leather darkens and softens with use. Tuscany's vegetable-tanned leather consortium describes it as leather that matures over time and improves with use, so expect your piece to look different, and more personal, after a year.

Opus briefcases: Classic, Essential or Integral?

Every Opus briefcase comes in a 7 or a 10 depth. The 7 is slim for a laptop and a few papers; the 10 has room for files and a folio too.

• Opus Classic has one open interior with no fixed compartments. Choose it if you carry different things every day.
• Opus Essential is pared back to protect a laptop with little bulk. Choose it if you carry light.
• Opus Integral has separate compartments for a laptop, tablet, documents and accessories. Choose it if you like everything in its place.

Signet wallets by size

• Two cards: the Small Vertical (with a hidden reserve for a spare note) or the Small Horizontal for jeans and weekends.
• Four cards: the Card Holder, the smallest wallet that still takes folded notes.
• Six cards: the Horizontal for trouser pockets, or the Vertical, which sits flat in a jacket's breast pocket.
• Thirteen cards: the Coat Wallet, with three currency compartments for travel.
• For work: a Business Card Wallet that holds forty cards, and a Badge Holder that converts to a card holder after hours.

Travel: Estate bags, Chamberlain and passport folios

The Estate duffle is a weekend bag in tumbled leather with one open cavity, sized for major-airline overhead bins. The Estate Club is a smaller 40 cm barrel bag for the gym or one night away. The Chamberlain toiletry bag (a dopp kit or wash bag) opens wide on three sides, hangs from a rail and nests inside the Estate bags; the Grand version adds a second zipped section. A Signet passport folio keeps your passport, boarding passes and hotel keys together.

Memoir folios, journals and laptop sleeves

Memoir notebook covers come in pocket and A5 sizes, with or without a pen holder. They ship with a notebook and take any standard refill, so the cover lasts long after the pages are full. For meetings, the Dossier keeps papers for two clients apart, the Grand Dossier holds A4 flat, and the Workstation and Grand Workstation open flat into a desk for a tablet or a 13-inch laptop. Padded laptop sleeves come in 14 and 16 inch sizes.

Pen and cigar cases

Curator pen cases hold one, two or four pens, each in its own channel so they don't knock together in a bag. The double cigar case has separate channels and a removable humidity pouch.

Leather care

Keep leather away from radiators and long spells in direct sun, and let it dry naturally if it gets wet. Wipe off dust with a soft dry cloth and condition it now and then with a product made for vegetable-tanned leather; test it on a hidden spot first, as it can darken the colour. For scuffs or wear you can't fix, Lunburg's Atelier Care service restores pieces it made.

Gifts, shipping and returns

Wallets, journals and toiletry bags make easy gifts. Lunburg offers complimentary shipping to about 45 countries, including the US, UK, Canada, Australia and most of the EU, and a 30-day return policy. Its affiliate feed has no coupon code; see the Lunburg deals page for current links.