The house's founding silhouette. Twenty-six hours of hand-saddle stitching, a single hide per bag, gold-plated solid-brass hardware cast in South Africa.
Nandi was drawn first and changed least. A flat-topped, hand-shaped body that holds its line for decades, with a single rolled handle set into gold rings so the weight falls where the hand naturally sits. It is the piece we measure the others against.
All MBALI metal components — chains, rings, buckles, sliders and feet — are brass with a 24-carat gold-plated finish.
Vegetable-tanned in small batches by a specialist tannery selected for this particular hide. The process develops tonal depth and strength while preserving the natural grain and markings of the animal.
Specification
- Exterior — Full-grain African game hide, vegetable-tanned with bark-derived tannins, including African acacia and mimosa/wattle extracts
- Hardware — Solid-brass hardware with a 24-carat gold-plated finish; chain carry option
- Making — One lead artisan is responsible throughout — hide assessment, cutting, shaping, principal seams saddle-stitched, edges built and burnished, hardware set
- Record — Piece serial struck on the reverse of the seal and linked to its Hide Origin ID
- 32 × 19.5 × 11 cm
- Handle drop 7.5 cm
- Full-grain Greater Kudu exterior, goatskin lining in Deep Protea Burgundy
- 30 mm MBALI Gold Nugget at the centre, serving as signature and closure
Making & delivery
Ten to sixteen weeks from confirmation, then insured express delivery worldwide.
Prices exclude import duties and local taxes. Some countries restrict the import of game leather; we confirm this before taking your order.
Why the time matters
Every MBALI piece is made to order. The estimated ten-to-sixteen-week period allows the selected hide to be conditioned and mapped to the pattern, its tone to be completed, and each panel to be cut, shaped, saddle-stitched, fitted and finished under the responsibility of one lead artisan.
The finished piece is then inspected, individually numbered and entered into the MBALI Origin Register before insured delivery.
We confirm the expected completion date when your hide and allocation are approved. We do not shorten the process by substituting an anonymous hide or a pre-made body.
Origin Commission
The requested hide is not presently held in the MBALI register. You may request an Origin Commission, through which a suitable hide is identified through an approved wildlife-management programme, documented, tanned and reserved specifically for your piece. The schedule is confirmed before the commission is accepted.
Returns & care
Cancel in full any time before cutting begins. Unpersonalised pieces may be returned within 14 days; personalised pieces cannot be returned unless faulty.
We restore any piece we have made, quoted in writing beforehand.
Authentication & resale
The serial struck on the reverse of the seal is linked to the Hide Origin ID of the material this piece was cut from. Send us the serial and we will confirm the hide origin, the tannery, the maker and the date it left the bench.
Ownership can be transferred in the register free of charge, so a resold piece keeps its provenance. MBALI does not deal in the resale market and does not appraise resale values.
Tones — 5 available
- Bushveld Tan
- Espresso
- Oxblood
- Ink Indigo
- Black
- Availability
- Made to Order
- Next step
- Begin Configuration
- Lead time
- Ten to sixteen weeks from confirmation
- Made in
- Made in Cape Town, South Africa
- Hide
- Greater Kudu, full-grain, bark tanned
- Hardware
- Solid-brass hardware with a 24-carat gold-plated finish; chain carry option
- Price
- €4,200
Made to order · Estimated completion 10–16 weeks
Your hide is conditioned and mapped to the pattern, the tone completed, and every panel cut, shaped, saddle-stitched and finished under one lead artisan before the piece is numbered and registered. See why the time matters above.
Choose your tone, monogram, any engraving and the name the piece is registered to on the next step — no account needed. You sign in only at checkout to settle.