Hi

My first post here. Thank you in advance for the time you put into solving things.

My bag is a vintage Chanel and is approximately 30-35 years old. I am very experienced with the brand as a collector of vintage items. It is a navy lambskin leather - Chanel lambskin has many textures and this one is very fine. There is wear on the corners and it has balded. The lining could do with a touch up but I will of course want to preserve the original stamping.
Chanel in Japan take a strict museum approach to their leather goods and repair only, but do not do leather resurfacing of any kind. I have sent a bag to Chanel USA for leather repair which takes some months, but is usually excellent.

There are lots of excellent products in Japan, but I am hampered by not being able to read the instructions well. There is also not a huge leatherwork tradition here, so there is less experience to draw on, but this is changing.

I'd like your advice on how to deal with retouching this. Is it bad enough to need to veneer a new layer of lambskin over the top, then mix a dye to match it? Or is there some kind of surface fixer, which could adhere nicely? Chanel lambskin does not seem to suit using Saphir recolorants, unless they are mixed down.

The bag is old and classic, but as I will never part with this particular bag, I am willing to experiment. Here are some pictures of my bag taken in natural light (except for whole bag shot.)

The bag:


Leather in what looks to be good condition,


Sample of corners needing treatment


Sample of the inner lining - only the corners are worn, other areas are ok.


Thanks in advance!