Merry Christmas to everyone! Yesterday, we introduced the Birkin 30 from the Shebag artisanal workshop. Today, we are introducing an even more popular bag: the Birkin 25. It is also in Ebony (Ébène), an incredibly sophisticated color. It is not black; it is a deep, dark brown—a truly premium dark brown.

Hermès boasts a library of 65,000 colors and possesses professional expertise in color control. Today, I will share insights into Shebag’s craftsmanship regarding color and chromatic aberration control for handmade Hermès bags.

The color control for the Ebony Hermès Birkin 25 is not simply about “dyeing the leather as black as possible.” It is a system of engineering built around depth, stability, and long-term evolution.

In the Hermès system, Ebony is not a cool-toned pure black. Instead, it is a “woody black”—predominantly deep black but implying a very faint, warm brown undertone. This color exhibits layered variations under different lighting: it appears matte when static, but shows a mellow reflection when dynamic, effectively avoiding the common issues of “flat black” or “greyish black” found in ordinary black bags.

The first gateway of color control lies in the raw hide stage. Ebony has an extremely low tolerance for the base color of the raw hide (crust). Even the slightest grey, red, or yellow undertones will be infinitely magnified after deep dyeing, so such hides are rejected immediately. At the same time, the fiber density must be highly consistent; otherwise, uneven color absorption occurs after the deep dye penetrates. On a bag model like the Birkin 25, which is smaller and viewed from a closer distance, this unevenness becomes exceptionally glaring.

The dyeing process is not a one-off event. Hermès typically employs a multi-stage dyeing structure:

1. First, a warm dark base dye is applied to establish the woody foundation of Ebony.

2. Next, the main black dye is applied, carefully controlling the depth of penetration to avoid saturating the surface and “sealing off” the fibers.

3. Finally, a low-concentration color correction step fixes minute differences in color absorption across different parts of the leather. Throughout this process, we would rather sacrifice some “factory blackness” than allow dye to pile up on the surface.

Gloss control is the most critical yet most overlooked aspect of Ebony. Hermès does not pursue surface brightness; rather, they let the luster emanate from the leather fiber itself. Through multiple rounds of light polishing and ultra-thin wax sealing, the leather surface appears restrained when viewed head-on but produces a soft reflection under side light. This treatment ensures the new bag does not look oily or shiny; instead, it gradually reveals a mellower texture (patina) after long-term use and friction with natural oils.

** regarding overall color uniformity, the control of edge paint and stitching is equally strict.** The color of the edge paint is usually slightly darker than the leather surface, but it cannot be absolute pure black, otherwise, it creates a distinct color break. The wax color of the stitching must also avoid cool black or blue-black tones. Otherwise, upon close inspection, one would face the issue of the leather, edge paint, and stitching all being “differently black.” Such incoordination is considered an unacceptable flaw within Hermès.

Hardware selection plays a “reverse color correction” role in the Ebony system. Palladium (Silver) hardware brightens the overall look through cool light reflection, preventing the deep color from appearing dull. Therefore, it is the most stable and classic pairing for Ebony. Gold hardware strengthens the warm tones, imposing higher demands on color control—even a slight deviation can make the bag look too brown.

The ultimate sophistication presented by the Ebony Hermès Birkin 25 does not come from its initial blackness, but from the anticipation of time. Hermès designs color with a usage cycle of over a decade in mind, allowing the leather to deepen and mellow through oxidation, oil absorption, and friction, rather than relying on heavy coatings to maintain a short-term visual effect. This is why, compared to ordinary black leather bags which often look grey and old prematurely, an Ebony Birkin retains its depth and layers even after many years.

It is precisely through this in-depth research into Hermès’ dyeing craftsmanship that Shebag is able to create top-tier handmade Hermès bags that are indistinguishable to the naked eye.