Aston Martin – original new old stock 1970s/ 1980s Manhattan Windsor gear knob badge inlaid into a new leather keyfob in black oak bark tanned leather

Original new old stock vitreous enamel Aston Martin gear knob badges which we would think will have been produced in the 1970s or 1980s which we are offering inlaid onto new leather keyfobs in black oak bark tanned leather as can be seen in the photos.

We have just a few of these keyrings with these badges to offer  – when they have all been sold this listing will be cancelled.

These jewellery quality vitreous enamel badges are in superb new old stock condition .

Badges like these were produced by Manhattan Windsor of Birmingham ( and also a few years earlier by Melsom Products also of Birmingham ) and will have been produced for inlaying into gear knobs at the time – but lend themselves to inlaying into keyrings which is something which we have done with other gear knob badges for other makes of car over the years .

This green border Aston Martin badge was produced by Manhattan Windsor again in the 1990s – but as a keyfob badge mounted onto a leather keyfob : not as a gear knob badge like the ones inlaid into keyfobs in this listing .

The badges are marked ‘ Manhattan Windsor – Made in England ‘  on the reverse as can be seen in the final listing photo – but this can no longer be seen of course as it is on the reverse of the badges which are now inlaid into the leather keyfobs !

Manhattan Windsor were the Company who produced Aston Martin keyrings at the time .

The badges have been bonded onto thin oversized circular brass plates which have then been inlaid into the keyfobs and stitched in .

Although not original Aston Martin  keyrings as such ………….. these are superb keyrings with an original vintage Aston Martin badge which could be used with any Aston Martin car .

We have listed and sold original Aston Martin keyrings with this exact design of Aston Martin badge with this thin green enamel border – the green border badge was produced again in the 1990s but with a thicker green border .

We have chosen to inlay these original badges into keyfobs in black oak bark tanned leather :-

Oak bark tanned hide is a brave survivor of England’s past before the Industrial Revolution transformed the use of natural materials.

There is just one remaining tannery in England producing oak bark tanned leather and still powered by a waterwheel- the site has been a tannery since Roman times.

The oak bark is harvested from coppice oakwoods and contains the necessary tannins needed for producing this leather.

The tanning method has changed very little over the years and is a long gentle process which protects the natural fibres of the hide and takes anywhere from 12 -24 months to produce each hide which is then hand finished by the curriers.

The resulting leather is prized for it’s quality, durability & finish and is a shining beacon standing out in this 21st Century world where uniformity & bland industrially produced plastic materials have replaced almost everything which went before.

There is no other leather which actually smells so richly of ‘leather’.