Salmon leather

Salmon leather is a prestigious material with an exotic appearance, highly prized for high-end leather goods, ornamentation, watchmaking, lining, jewelry, and more. It is a rare, precious leather endowed with properties that terrestrial leathers cannot match: it combines technical performance with aesthetics. At Deco Cuir, we offer the Squama® range from the French tannery ICTYOS, an essential reference for professionals and all creators in search of an exceptional material. It is a luxurious leather that will age beautifully over time.

Salmon leather: an exceptional material with unique properties

Marine leather is distinguished from terrestrial leather by the multidirectional organization of its fibers, which gives it very high natural resistance.

Salmon leather is recognizable by its tight, perfectly symmetrical scale grain. It is a highly supple leather that is both thin and resistant to friction, water, and UV rays. It is perfectly suited for creating watch straps, card holders, bracelets, jewelry, and more. It can also be combined with other types of leather to mix textures and add a decorative touch to a bag, for example. Original and trendy, let your imagination run wild to showcase salmon leather.

The ethical French tannery ICTYOS

Founded by three chemical engineers, the Lyon-based tannery ICTYOS combines traditional craftsmanship with an eco-responsible approach to transform fish skins into high-quality marine leathers.

Its approach is based on a rigorous upcycling principle: the skins used come exclusively from French agri-food partners, recovered before they are destroyed. This is a recycling process for the finest fish skins. No farming is practiced for the skin, and no endangered species are used. By relying on a network of local suppliers and a controlled short supply chain, ICTYOS reduces its carbon footprint while ensuring total traceability of its supplies.

Vegetable tanning, carried out using tannins derived from leaves, roots, or fruits, minimizes environmental impact. The tanning process developed after three years of R&D enhances the leather's strength and makes it hypoallergenic.

The entire production complies with the European REACH standard, guaranteeing the absence of harmful, toxic, or polluting substances.

ICTYOS marine leathers are the first in the world to meet the technical requirements of French and Swiss watchmaking houses.

Choosing Squama® salmon leather means supporting a virtuous circular economy, without compromising on quality.

Several finishes to enhance your creations

The standard Squama® range offered at Deco Cuir comes in three different finishes, each revealing the beauty of salmon leather.

• The glossy finish was developed to obtain a luminous and perfectly smooth leather.
• The metallic finish takes this effect even further. The very particular shiny character enhances the leather's natural pattern by playing with light: each scale catches and reflects light differently depending on the viewing angle.
• The gradient finish, unique in the world, adopts a radically different approach. Rather than uniformizing the color, it highlights the natural relief of the scale by shading the background and the top of the leather. Each scale is highlighted, creating an effect of depth and movement impossible to reproduce identically.

You can also find the satin finish in limited series: a perfect medium between glossy and matte.

Each of these finishes provides a homogeneous tint to the leather and greater resistance. The entire surface is plated to fix the pattern, reinforce resistance to friction, and preserve the scales over time.

Squama® salmon leather - Standard range and limited series

All salmon leathers offered at Deco Cuir come from the Ictyos Squama® range: they have received the same treatments, same finishes, and same quality controls. The only difference is availability.

The standard range guarantees regular restocking. The leathers are easily identifiable with their "standard range" ribbon. Ideal for finding the same reference from one order to the next.

Limited series leather will not be restocked once the available quantity is sold out. Ideal for creating pieces with rare shades!

How to care for salmon leather?

Even though salmon leather is resistant to water, UV rays, and friction, we recommend regularly applying a suitable waterproofing agent to prolong its lifespan and preserve its shine.
You can use Saphir's Reptan cream for the regular maintenance of your leather.
For deep cleaning, we advise you to call on a professional.

Hot stamping is not recommended on this type of leather.