INTRODUCTION: The Summit
The Two Realms
In the automotive world, there are two realms. The realm of production — measured in seconds and millimetres. And the realm of creation — measured in months and human intention. The first strives for repeatable perfection. The second — for unique excellence. Carlex Maison is the definition of the latter. As stated in our Constitution: “Carlex was not born in an analysts’ office. It was born at a drafting table, in the scent of leather, in the noise of working hands.” This is not a slogan. It is a practice, a daily rhythm, a way of seeing both material and time.
With the opening of our Dubai showroom, we cease to be part of the market. We become its point of reference. We do not compare ourselves. We set the standard. This Book contains five manifestos of our philosophy. It is a record of what “The Summit of Everything that can be made by hand” means to us — the pinnacle of human capability where the hand, the eye and the heart meet in one point.
CHAPTER I: THE FINAL MATERIAL
Hierarchy of Materials
In the world of absolute luxury, there is a hierarchy dictated not by fashion but by rarity and the difficulty of acquisition. At its top are materials whose mere procurement and processing are already a form of art. At Carlex Maison, we never treat these materials as optional. They become our language. The mass-luxury standard is bovine leather — the best factories select it with obsession. Rolls-Royce uses hides from dozens of bulls, raised in the harsh climates of Northern Europe, far from insects and barbed wire.
But that is only the starting point. In the age of catalogue configurators, we reach for materials that do not forgive mistakes. Reptile hides — American alligator and Nile crocodile — are to the craftsman what marble and onyx are to the stone carver. Alligator skin (most commonly from the USA) is renowned for its smooth, “architectural” belly and regular pattern. Nile crocodile has a more expressive texture and tiny sensory points that give it a wilder character. The choice between them is not fashion — it is the intention of the project.
Exotic Leathers as Foundations
Alongside these reptiles come ostrich and stingray. Ostrich leather is soft and strong at the same time, characterised by its pearly quill bumps that give it sculptural depth. Stingray (shagreen) is almost mineral — thousands of glassy beads that behave like obsidian dusted with light. It was no coincidence that samurai sword handles were wrapped in it: it offered grip and endurance. At Carlex Maison these materials are not accents. They are foundations. They cover the centre console, dashboard, door panels and even the steering wheel.
The material stops being decoration and becomes the architecture of the interior. Owning the world’s most expensive leather is not an art. Using it is. Unlike bovine leather, an alligator’s scales have a DNA — a rhythm that must be “composed”. A Carlex craftsman aligns the pattern so it flows across curves, meeting scale-to-scale on seams. This is closer to Renaissance marquetry than traditional upholstery. A millimetre of misalignment destroys a panel.
Head of Design and first fittings of precious Himalayan leather.
The Rigor of the Process
The definition of “The Summit of Everything” does not lie in the price of the material but in the rigor of the process: hand-selection, cutting, conditioning, gluing, stitching, controlling. Hundreds of hours turn leather into an artefact. This is our standard. Market examples illustrate the challenge but are never our goal. Bentley Mulliner can book-match veneer like a mirror; Pagani treats carbon fibre like haute couture fabric; Rolls-Royce paints a coachline with a single brushstroke.
At Carlex we go our own way: integrating silver, gold, and copper; applying hand engraving; and — when the project calls for it — combining exotic leather with solid wood and jewellery-grade metalwork. Material obeys the vision of the craftsman, not the limitations of the process. This is the meaning of the “final material” — it is not about rarity, but about whether we can reveal its truth.
CHAPTER II: PATINA AS THE RECORD OF LIFE
Master of Leather Patination working on G-Falcon One of One
The Value of Time
In an age of immediacy, the greatest luxury is time. Time cannot be bought — only invested. Patination is precisely that: an investment of time and attention that gives a material a soul before history begins to write itself through use. Our Constitution states: “The cars we create are made to last. To be cared for, respected, and passed on. From generation to generation. As symbols.” Patina fits this thinking — it is not ageing, but ennobling.
The roots of patination lead back to leathercraft traditions and the legendary Olga Berluti, who in the 1980s transformed classic finishing into an artistic ritual of layers. Her Venezia leather became a canvas, and colours — Tobacco, Feuille d’Automne, Caviar — became poetry in pigment. Patination is not painting. It is the alchemy of layers: cleansing, opening pores, massaging oils and pigments, building translucent depth, polishing to a glassy shine.
The Craft of Layers
Tools? Brushes, sponges, cloths, hands. Above all — hands and patience. One wrong movement can undo days of work. At Carlex Design, the scale is far larger than in shoemaking — we work on the three-dimensional architecture of an entire cabin. In projects like the G-Falcon — a tribute to the art of falconry — patinating the interior took almost two months, whereas standard upholstery takes only a few days.
The difference is not a costly whim — it is the measure of luxury understood as time devoted to contemplation and to the hand-made decision behind every layer. Patina is like “Fordite” — the Detroit agate formed by decades of accumulated paint layers. Except here the beauty is not accidental — it is intentional. Layer after layer we build depth that cannot be accelerated.
Patina as Identity
In automotive design, patination often stands as a counterpoint to synthetic, “perfect” finishes. A well-executed patina does not pretend to be worn — it grants maturity from day one. This is why connoisseurs commission interiors that arrive already carrying character — an “old soul” in a new car. Market examples reinforce this trend. In the restomod world, ECD Auto Design and Eagle E-Types celebrate the natural charm of hand-dyed leathers.
Ferrari, when restoring classics, treats patina as a dialogue between past and present. We go further: we create patina as a craftsman’s signature. The G-Viking — created with VO Vapen, a Swedish gunmaking atelier — combines patina with engraving and metal, honouring Nordic techniques. Each example is as unique as a fingerprint — because there are no identical strokes, no identical hands. Patination escapes automation. Machines cannot measure it — and precisely for this reason, at Carlex, it is a foundation.