Featured Water damaged leather Underwood jewellery box

I often pick up nice tins and boxes and fill them with goodies as they always sell well.
This box was in a local charity shop and it immediately screamed quality at me even though badly damaged and it was very cheap (£7).
I’ve googled Underwood and was astonished to see how expensive they are! They make watch winders and bespoke safes.
However I can’t find any preowned examples at all on the internet. A few watch winders and cuff link boxes but nothing like this and particularly nothing at all with this label. At first I thought it was a knock off but the quality of the work isn’t commensurate with a fake and also I can’t find any others .
Any tips on restoration?, we have proper leather dye........?
I have the key.
Apologies it isn’t antique but I’d love to hear if anyone knows anything about this brand or if indeed they do get faked.
I’m going to email the company to see if they can help with the label and authenticity.
Thanks for looking

 

Forgot to add the size. It’s big at c11” x 8.5”

 

Yes, gutted. It sort of has cat and vase damage written all over it!.

 

Excellent advice above. Contact the company and ask for their advice on restoring. (They may even provide that service.)

Debora

 

I think this was more and over a longer period than cat and vase.
Even if the company can't do anything for you, I'd still use it. It is excellent quality, and has a ring tray from heaven for ring addicts.

 

I have a friend who brought back badly stained older leather cushions on a couch and chair. He's hiking the Grand Canyon at this moment, but I'll ask him when he returns next week. It worked great.

 

You would need to bleach it first, you can use oxalic acid, which is what they use to bleach oak and other woods. Don't use domestic bleach, it would ruin it. Due to how severe the dark marks are I'm not sure how successful it would be though.

As an alternative dye the whole item darker, so matching the darkest areas of stain, something like a deep oxblood might do it and look snappy.

Also be aware some leather has a protective plastic type coating, if so you can't really do anything with it.

 

Except for the larger dark areas, you could ALMOST go with a “mottled” look and add to it!!! Could be very pretty!!! Except!!! Inside looks to be perfect!!!

 

The larger university libraries have conservation departments, where they address condition issues with old leather-bound books. I recommend that you contact a librarian working in Rare Books or Conservation, maybe they will have some helpful advice for the leather material. Or contact a museum. At the least, either will likely recommend an appropriate dressing for the leather after it's been restored, to better preserve it.

 

The quickest and easiest thing to do -- and you can do it right now -- is contact the company via their Customer Service "Can We Help?" page. It can be found on their web site here:

https://www.underwood-london.com/customer-care

Debora

 

If you don't find what you are looking for on their customer care page and can't get a response. I would personally try saddle soap. I have washed dozens of leather purses in the washer... and they come out surprisingly well! It is usually a "bag" type purse with a zipper - and they need to be blocked and stuffed with paper. Afterwards I give it a new leather dressing. They usually come out great! In your case however, you can't pop it in the washer... but still, I've had very good results with saddle soap....working damply, not wringing wet!
Leslie

 

Thankyou for all your amazing responses!

Good plan. I’ve emailed them.

Hasn’t it just. A good excuse to fill it!

Yes please! Thankyou.

I think this will be the way forwards as the stains are so dark.

The lady in the shop asked me if I thought it was meant to look like that....err...no but I can see where she was coming from.

Great idea

On it!. Thanks for the link.

I agree and was tempted to leap in with the saddle soap but worry that if it doesn’t work well enough I may then have scuppered it for accepting dye evenly. Once I’ve sorted the colour then it will get a good glycerine feed.

 

I'd have grabbed that, damage and all.

I swear by proper old saddle soap in a tin. I'm still using some I bought over twenty years ago. If nothing else, it will even out the marks.