Saphir Renovateur Questions

[The Knize]

There seems to be Saphir Renovateur Medaille d'Or 1925 and also a less expensive Saphir Renovateur. Has anyone used both? Can you provide a comparison? I have only used the Medaille d'Or 1925 version. It is great stuff, but it is remarkably expensive. The apparently more basic "regular" Saphir Renovateur may also be more readily available.

Has anyone found a cheaper price than the US for the Saphir Renovateur Medaille d'Or 1925 than I am paying on Ebay, which is about $23 plus $3 shipping for the 75 ml jar?

There seems to be a 250 ml jar available for $48 with free shipping, which I am tempted by, but I assume that is for the less expensive "regular" Saphir Renovateur.

 

[Rotflmao]

I order my Saphir polishes and creams from meschaussettesrouges.com. They have good prices on the saphir products and ship worldwide for 6€. The only problem is that they won't sell the renovateur outside of France so I'll be watching this post as I'm interested in trying the renovateur.

 

[The Knize]

I guess I am going to have to buy a small jar of the regular Renovateur and make my own comparison to the Renovateur Md'O! If I do I will report back.

Thanks for the URL link! Those do seem like good prices.

 

[Doc4]

I guess I am going to have to buy a small jar of the regular Renovateur and make my own comparison to the Renovateur Md'O! If I do I will report back.

Thanks for the URL link! Those do seem like good prices.

I’ve only ever heard of or tried the more expensive Md’O, so I can’t help but am curious ...

 

[The Knize]

I just ordered some of the cheaper stuff up from ebay so we shall see. I wonder why meschaussettesrouges.com will not ship the Renovateur to the States. I find a go through the Renovateur Md'O not so slowly. I have not actually used the Saphir Md'O crème show polish, just the paste. A can of paste lasts a lot longer than a 75 ml jar of Renovateur Md'O for me.

The prices for the pastes on meschaussettesrouges.com seem very good. I did just buy a can of mirror gloss paste from them that was pretty pricey. I am not sure what the description is trying to tell me about what it is designed for!

I will report back.

 

[dudesweet157]

I found this blog post that seems to indirectly answer your question. It looks like the Medaille D'Or range of products are the exact recipe that won the award in 1925 (excepting ingredients that are no longer legal to use, like seal oil). The Beaute du Cuir range of products, of which the cheaper Renovateur that you found is a member, is a more economical line that uses different ingredients than the Medaille D'Or range. Some of them may be cheaper alternatives, and some of them may be ingredients that weren't available in 1925. The article doesn't specify, but the author does say that they believe that the Beaute du Cuir line is of higher quality than Kiwi or other drug store brands.

Perhaps also of note, the description of Renovateur Beaute du Cuir web page on the Avel website (whom I presume own Saphir) says, "Based on beeswax and mink oil, this product was awarded the Gold Medal in 1925 in Paris and has become the essential product of the greatest leather goods manufacturers," so perhaps they are exactly the same, with the Medaille D'or just dressed up in a fancier jar.

Definitely of note, the Beaute du Cuir product seems to come in a 50ml size whereas the Medaille D'or comes in a 75ml size. This accounts for part of the increase in price, but certainly not double.

Now I'm really curious about the differences, so please let us know your thoughts after you've had a chance to use them both.

 

[dudesweet157]

I did just buy a can of mirror gloss paste from them that was pretty pricey. I am not sure what the description is trying to tell me about what it is designed for!

I will report back.

I assumed it served the same function as Kiwi Parade Gloss.

 

[The Knize]

Thanks! The plot thickens. Pretty unclear.

The description of the mirror gloss on meschaussettesrouges.com , which is a translation from the French I am sure, seems to talk about it being intended to cover the tips or edges or something like that of shoes where other polishes do not adhere well. Does not really make sense to me. I think of Kiwi Parade Gloss as just being super shiny shoe polish. I like the way Parade Gloss makes shoes look, but I have been somewhat concerned that may be loaded with silicon and thus damaging to the leather somehow over time. I really do not know, though, and I do not know what is in the mirror gloss either.

 

[dudesweet157]

Thanks! The plot thickens. Pretty unclear.

The description of the mirror gloss on meschaussettesrouges.com , which is a translation from the French I am sure, seems to talk about it being intended to cover the tips or edges or something like that of shoes where other polishes do not adhere well. Does not really make sense to me. I think of Kiwi Parade Gloss as just being super shiny shoe polish. I like the way Parade Gloss makes shoes look, but I have been somewhat concerned that may be loaded with silicon and thus damaging to the leather somehow over time. I really do not know, though, and I do not know what is in the mirror gloss either.

Military standards notwithstanding, I've read that you're supposed to use cream polish on the entire shoe, and only apply wax to the flat areas that do not bend, mainly the toe and heel. The reasoning given was that if you applied enough wax to the areas that bend to achieve a glossy finish, the wax would crack and look terrible. I can say, from experience, that too much wax in the areas that bend will definitely crack and look bad, and it's a real pain to remove. These days, I forgo the wax altogether and use cream exclusively. I don't mind the matte finish, and, as long as you don't scuff your shoes up, it's a lot easier to maintain.

 

[The Knize]

That may be it. There has been a fair amount said on this subforum about bringing only the toe up to a high polish. I cannot see spending a lot of effort on the heel in any event. But if would have been hard to get that out of what that web site says!

The Saphir pastes are pretty "soft" and I am pretty spare in my application of any shoe polish. I do not think I have had any problems. As others have said, I think the Renovateur Md'O results in a very serviceable shine all by itself. I do not know if one can over use it and cause damage or anything.

 

[Doc4]

Renovateur Md'O ... I do not know if one can over use it and cause damage or anything.

Damage? I doubt it. I have noticed, however, that if I just use the Renovateur on a repeated basis that the pigment (thinking of a couple pairs of brown/burgundy shoes I have) can start to "fade" ... I suspect you need to reapply the pigment (in terms of a coloured cream/wax polish) from time to time to keep the colour of the shoe leather. I have not noticed this on black, tan or dark brown shoes, with similar use of only Renovateur.

 

[The Knize]

That is interesting, Doc4. I have some tan shoes that I might not mind having lighten up a bit and thus get back to the original lighter color, but I guess if does not work with that color. One think I just noticed about shining the black shoes I am wearing today with just the Renovateur is that the outside front halves of both shoes along the outside edge (edge of the uppers not of the sole and not on any part of the cap toe) had become dull over the course of the day, perhaps from contact with something one would think. In any event, I do not think shoes freshly polished with conventional shoe polish would lose luster over such a large area. However, a quick couple of strokes with a piece of lamb's wool brought the shine right back. I doubt whether conventionally polished shoes would come back as nicely, either. The capped toes have remained gleaning all day, which is sweet and may really be all I should desire anyway.

 

[Doc4]

I have some tan shoes that I might not mind having lighten up a bit and thus get back to the original lighter color, but I guess if does not work with that color.

Generally, I find with tan shoes that if you get any change at all, you tend to get a darkening where the treatment soaks in and moistens the leather. But certainly there would be no pigments being added to the shoes just using the Renovateur (or a neutral cream polish for that matter) so apart from that moistening affect, you may see whatever added pigment there is on the shoes slowly (slowly) being removed.

 

[Edinburgh]

Has anyone found a cheaper price than the US for the Saphir Renovateur Medaille d'Or 1925 than I am paying on Ebay, which is about $23 plus $3 shipping for the 75 ml jar?

I get mine here. VAT is deducted from the prices when you check out.

 

[dudesweet157]

Hey @The Knize, according to the website at @Edinburgh's link, the Beaute du Cuir Renovateur "is a similar product with a slightly lower concentration of mink oil than the MDO product."

The more you know. ;-)

 

[The Knize]

Thanks guys.

Edinburgh, any idea how much shipping to the States turns out to be.

Great catch dudesweet157!

 

[Natsoi]

I use the Saphir creams in the various colours. Is there a difference between these and the Renovateur or is it just the lack of pigment?

 

[The Knize]

Different, they say. Neutral cream is much cheaper.

 

[The Knize]

My jar of "regular" Saphir Renovateur--as opposed to the Md'O version--arrived, and I played around with it a bit. First of all, definitely not exactly the same as the Md'O. Md'O is a pure white in the jar and has a shine to it. The regular version is yellowish and not as shiny in the jar. Perhaps a bit thicker. Not as silky. They also smell different.

Initial impressions on application. The regular does not spread on the shoe as easily as Md'O and dries to a non-shiny surface quickly. I have not buffed it off yet, but I assume it will be shiny when I do. The Md'O seems more shiny when first applied and shines very nicely when buffed. The regular seems much like any shoe "lotion" by one of the major brands, such as Kiwi. The Md'O is distinct. I think I will stick with the Md'O even though it is more expensive and harder to get.

 

[The Knize]

I got the mirror finish Saphir from Chaussettes homme de luxe - Mes chaussettes rouges . Unfortunately they sent me brown instead of clear, but in an email immediately said they would send the clear and I could keep the brown. Very shiny stuff. Very hard in the container. The application brush barely gets any on it. I am impressed with the results so far. Like I said, very shiny. Interesting stuff. I do not think I have used a polish product that is this consistency.