Ettinger - A Family Affair

Founded by Gerry Ettinger in 1934, the company is still family owned and run by his elder son, Robert Ettinger . We are one of the few remaining British luxury leather goods companies still manufacturing in the UK and pride ourselves on designing and hand crafting only the finest leather goods.

In 1996, in recognition of the work carried out for the Royal Household, Ettinger of London was appointed with a Royal Warrant to HRH the Prince of Wales.

Here, you can learn some more about the Ettinger family and the company heritage and also about the leathers we use and the extraordinary craftsmanship that has built our reputation over nearly 80 years!

Timeline - Ettinger's story over the past decades

Manufacturing - a step by step guide into luxury leather manufacturing

Our Leathers - each type of leather we use has its own story

Craftsmanship - meet some of the people behind our success

The Ettinger Story

The story of the Ettinger family is a remarkable success story. Constantly reinventing themselves throughout the ups and downs of 20^th century Europe, they have built one of the best luxury leather goods companies in the world and have anchored it positively for the next 100 years!
Find out some more about this story here:

The Ettinger Timeline

 
Gerry Ettinger, founder of the company

 
Robert Ettinger, the Managing Director

Personalisation

Being in control of our own production means we can offer a bespoke corporate gift service as well as offer some level of personalisation on individual products, meaning these products will become even more special.

Corporate Gifts

Initialling Service

Our Leathers

The use of animal skins by man goes back thousands of years. It is undoubtedly true to say that the leather industry is one of - if not the oldest - industries known to man. As man developed his intelligence he made use of skins to protect his body.

No one can be pointed to as a particular genius in the history of the industry and it is not a history of spectacular inventions or of outstanding contributions by great names, but a steady progress stemming from the experience, integrity and skill of innumerable craftsmen tanners over literally thousands of years.

Leather is made from the skins of any animal, reptile, bird or fish, by a process called tanning. This process preserves the skin, which would otherwise quickly decay or putrefy.

From the primitive methods of early man, the industry today is highly scientifically based and constant research is applied towards improving leathers to fit in with modern living.

With a few exceptions, hides or skins are by-products. Animals are reared for meat, milk and wool and not for the value of their skins. As a consequence, the tanner is not able to control the supply of raw hides and skins, which he purchases in open markets all over the world and is in competition with tanners on a global basis. Many attempts have been made to create artificial leather however nothing can compare to the real article for durability, look and feel.

Craftsmanship

Ettinger takes great pride in its craftspeople. Among the last to still make leather goods in the UK, the quality of our goods and attention to detail are paramount to our success. We therefore only work with the best leather craftsmen and women in England and continuously improve our quality control to ensure the highest standards throughout the production process.

It is no wonder, then, that it takes at least 5 years to fully train a new Ettinger craftsperson and that, collectively, we have over 600 years manufacturing experience!

Meet some of our top craftspeople here:

- Pattern Maker

- Sample Maker

- Quality Controller