But shagreen remains a tiny, unglamorous industry. First, the shark flesh, about a half-inch thick, must be scraped–”a smelly job,” said Joachim Springer–until it is cardboard-thin.

Shagreen-covered items are usually antiques; nobody takes the time nor the effort to veneer anything with this costly, difficult and labor-intensive material.

A pop of pebbled, shagreen-style leather adds a chic texture to this sunburst ring by Nicole Richie's House of Harlow 1960 label; $45 at Nordstrom in the Galleria. TOE THE LINE ...

My long-held fascination with a rare and exotic finish began some years ago on my first trip to Asia. Tokyo was my initial stop and it was glorious and exciting despite the intense July heat and ...

Dunhill's shagreen-covered Rubik's cube - each of the 54 squares is covered in hand-applied polished galuchat - costs $1,950 (U.S.), while a series of gem-studded shagreen cuffs by Toronto ...

Faux shagreen (if you haven't already guessed) is a vinyl material , though it's also available in leather. It has a repeating pattern that renders it far less costly than the real deal, ...

Shagreen tic-tac-toe set, $695, Aerin, aerin.com. Photograph courtesy of Aerin. Shagreen is a pebbled leather traditionally made from rayfish skin, though it can also come from shark or dogfish.

Oh, those fashionable, forward-thinking French. Home accessories made with shagreen (pronounced chagrin) only look like the latest thing. In fact, Louis XV probably had wig cases and snuff boxes ...