Home — The Journey — Step 2 of 7
A raw hide isn't worth a number until someone measures it and reads its flaws. Grading is where price is made — and where a single careless cut can cost a hide several grades.
Measured by the Centimeter
Alligator hides are sized by belly width in centimeters — measured across the smooth belly scales between the horny flank scutes. Farm skins typically run 20–44 cm (Louisiana's 2024 farm average was 28.82 cm); wild skins run larger, roughly 30–100 cm. Width drives use: a wide, clean belly can yield the large, unbroken panels a handbag or briefcase needs, while a narrow one is destined for wallets and straps.
Then comes the grade, on a 1 to 5 scale — and crucially, only the belly is judged. The bony back and the tail don't count against the grade.
Defects are scars, scratches, shading, or scale deformities. Grading framework: Pan American Leathers; belly-width figures from LDWF.
Why the Trapper Decides the Grade
Because only the neck-to-vent belly is graded, the people who skin, flesh, and salt the hide hold its value in their hands. A nick in the belly during skinning, fat left to "grease-burn" the leather, or too little salt and the scales begin to slip — any one of these can drop a Grade 1 into a Grade 4 before it ever reaches a tannery. LDWF is unambiguous about whose job this is:
"A commitment to quality must start with the trappers who harvest the alligator and must be shared by the helpers and processors who skin the hides."— Louisiana Department of Wildlife & Fisheries, hide-care guidance
Their instructions are exact: scrape all meat and fat from the hide "with dull objects… taking care not to cut or tear the hide," then salt heavily — a half-inch to an inch thick, rubbed into every part of the skin. The tannery American Tanning & Leather (AMTAN), which buys directly from Louisiana trappers, makes the same point about timing:
"The proper care of alligator skins begins as soon as the animal is harvested."— American Tanning & Leather (amtan.com)
Born Traceable
This is also where every hide gets its identity. At harvest, each wild alligator — and each hide — receives a serially numbered CITES tag issued through the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. LDWF keeps a database of who harvested each animal, where, and where each hide shipped; unused tags must be returned at season's close. That tag is what lets a finished Hermès-grade skin be traced back to the very Louisiana property it came from — the luxury world's proof of legal, sustainable origin, and a guarantee you simply don't get with most leathers.
It's also the consumer's single best authenticity check. When you buy genuine alligator, you can ask to see the CITES documentation — see our genuine vs. embossed guide for how to spot the real thing.
Why It Matters to the Finished Piece
A wide Grade 1 wild belly commands a large premium over a scarred Grade 4 — and a maker building a $3,000 handbag needs clean, large panels with no surprises. Honest, careful grading protects everyone downstream: the tannery knows what it's tanning, the artisan knows what they can cut, and the buyer gets leather whose price reflects what's actually in the hide.
Sources: LDWF alligator hide-care guidance; Pan American Leathers grading reference; American Tanning & Leather (amtan.com); LDWF 2024–2025 Annual Report (CITES tagging). See also The Hide.
Next — Step 3
120-plus days. Two dozen steps. An agate stone polishing each skin by hand. This is where raw hide becomes luxury leather.
Step 3 — Tanned