Beautiful and well-made
The Why: I love this case - it gets better and better as it's used. The seller was upfront about the case being from China, not my first choice but I loved the look of this case, so I went ahead and ordered it.<br /><br />The Good: The leather is initially very stiff but I noticed right away how well-made it is - the leather is thick and the stitching is perfect. I absolutely love the closure - I don't like using magnetic closures because of my phone's S-pen - and this one is perfect. The leather is stiff but will get more pliable over time.  I get a lot of compliments on this case. It should last forever - or at least as long as I have this phone.<br /><br />The Weird: When I opened it, it reeked! Some kind of chemical leather-finishing smell - and not the good kind of leather smell we all like. It was awful. I let it air out for a day or two and it got better. The finish on the leather was strange. I don't even know how to describe it. Kind of chalky, easily scratched, and like I said, it stunk. So the first thing I did was rub some leather conditioner I already had into it - real good and I did not skimp on the conditioner. I let it dry and air out the smell some more. After a couple days, I put my phone in it. Two things to make note of -- it will take some time and daily use to stretch and be pliable and easy to use; also it will bleed color onto your phone's glass protector. Be sure to treat with leather conditioner inside (which I didn't do at first) and out before use to stop the color bleed. The conditioner will take away some of the contrast of the design but it's still there and still really cool-looking.<br /><br />The Take-Away: this is a great case. It looks beautiful and it's strong and well-made. I love it.
Rating: 5 stars