I am afraid I do not have any first hand experience . I have read that seal skin is “dense, shiny and durable” and very rare today.In the book Handbook for Shoe and Leather Processing this is written ” When properly tanned they are considered to produce a leather of greater strength, in proportion to their weight, than any other kind of leather. Seal skins are commonly made into black enameled leather for ladies’ shoes, boots, etc.” Hope this helps.

The description usually given in “grades of leather” articles on blogs for “genuine leather” describes a kind of leather called a finished split, basically cheap suede with a coating to make it look smooth. But, were you to call up a tannery, you couldn’t ask to buy “genuine leather” and expect them to know what you wanted.

These “leather grades” or types are not grades in the same sense as that USDA Beef, Gasoline, lumber, diamonds or anything else that is “officially graded” Not hierarchy where one type is always better than the next.

The differences in cost have a lot more to do with the tannery, animal and country it’s made in than those terms. Less than 10% difference in cost for full grain vs corrected grain from the same tannery.

I work for a leather goods company in the USA that my dad started in 1969 and we’ve spent millions on leather over the years from some of the best tanneries in the world. The way the internet presents “leather quality” is misleading and not as cut and dry as it’s presented.

Thank you for this important information