I am selling this Eames knockoff. Can anyone tell me definitively if it is leather or vinyl or did they make both ways? It sure looks and feels like leather to me, but some one responding to the ad said it wasn't. I don't want to mislead anyone the chair so that's why I'm asking you guys!
It's pretty hard to tell
from a photo of that low resolution. It should be obvious in those areas that looks like it's splitting, if that's indeed what's happening. Vinyl has a backing that is obviously manmade (sometimes a jersey knit, sometimes just non-woven something-or-other). Leather will have fuzzy edges where it is torn.
I wonder if it was redone at some point. It looks like it has double welt and I've never seen these with anything but single welt. They were also mostly done in that weird yellowy-brown leather (which everyone thinks is vinyl because it's so cheap and ugly).
I also am wondering about the unevenness of the vinyl or leather around the button tufting and where it wraps around the back of the plywood on the cushions. The fullness isn't evenly distributed at all. It looks sloppily done, in other words. But maybe it doesn't look that bad in person, I dunno.
I would get a magnifying lens and look at the splits in really bright light. If they are not actually splits, then find an exposed raw edge somewhere, like where the ends of the welt are joined.
I posted some higher...
I posted some higher resolution images at the link below. Also any feedback on the item description and priceing would be welcome. I am not a dealer and I want to make sure the description is as accurate as possible. Thanks.
http://www.scooterbomb.com/images/Plycraft/
Still not sure..
..but I would guess leather just based on the look of the splits in the arm rest and the way the texture is pebbled in some areas and not so pebbled in others. Pebbled vinyl is uniformly pebbled all over. Plus it does look vintage and not recent, and I don't think vintage vinyl was ever pebbled.
Still, you should look at a cut or torn edge with a magnifying lens to be sure, if it's that crucial to the sale.
Best bet is vinyl
I have seen a LOT of these over the years and most of them were vinyl. That is not necessarily a bad thing. I've known folks who sought these out because they were vegan and did not want a leather chair.
If you want to be sure, all you need do is unscrew one of the back cushions from the wood support and try to get a look at the back of the material. Some vinyl is quite deceiving when you touch it (which is the idea) and some cheap leathers can feel more like vinyl than leather.
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