Why is there such a big price difference for leather sofas?

Leather sofas are comfortable, high-end, easy to clean, and easy to maintain. Choosing a leather sofa represents quality and enjoyment. However, the prices of leather sofas on the market vary greatly. In high-end brand sofa stores, a leather sofa costs tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of yuan, while in ordinary furniture stores, a leather sofa only costs a few thousand yuan. What exactly is the difference?

Leather sofa material

Leather sofas are categorized into three types: faux leather, half leather, and full leather. As the name suggests, faux leather is a synthetic leather made from basic chemical raw materials foamed or laminated onto a textile or non-woven fabric base. Examples include PVC, PE, and the more common PU leather. While faux leather's feel, elasticity, and breathability are far inferior to genuine leather, its diverse styles and rich textures make it a popular alternative to genuine leather in leather sofas. This type of sofa is very common on the market, with genuine leather covering the body's contact area and faux leather covering the rest, such as the base and back. This type of sofa offers a slightly better value and a higher quality than faux leather. However, poor workmanship can easily reveal the seam between the genuine and faux leather, significantly diminishing the overall appeal of the sofa. Leather sofa manufacturers often use different materials when producing sofas, which can affect the quality of the final product.

A sofa that's entirely made of genuine leather, except for the base, is truly a genuine leather sofa. Leather sofas are naturally high-quality, breathable, and flexible, especially the highest-quality, top-grain cowhide, which reigns supreme in comfort. Placing a genuine leather sofa in your living room elevates the room's class and ambiance.

The grade of leather sofa

Genuine leather is animal hide processed through a specific process. Common leathers include cowhide, sheepskin, and horsehide. Even the leather used in high-end leather sofas is categorized into different grades, with cowhide and buffalo being the most common. During leather processing, thick cowhide can be cut into multiple layers, resulting in the division of genuine leather into top-grain and split-grain leather. This is how leather grades are differentiated: top-grain leather is superior to split-grain leather, and cowhide is superior to buffalo leather.

Top-grain leather, also known as full-grain leather, is directly processed from the original hide of an animal. It offers superior leather quality, excellent elasticity, toughness, breathability, and durability. Split-grain leather, also known as half-grain leather, is the lower layer of thick leather cut horizontally into two layers. Due to its looser fibrous tissue, it has more scars and fly eyes than full-grain leather. When producing genuine leather sofas, top-grain cowhide offers the highest quality.

Compared with top-grain leather, it has slightly lower tension and toughness, but it has good breathability and is relatively wear-resistant. It also has good texture and comfort. It is cheaper than full-grain leather and is the choice of most people. Second-grain leather also has cracks. After processing, the surface is coated with a thick waxy texture. The texture is stiff and breathable, but there are no surface defects. It is also called waxed leather. Many ordinary leather sofas are made of this leather.