Ghurka Owners- What Do You Like or Dislike?

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What is your favorite Ghurka bag? Briefcase, accessory or piece of luggage?

To this day I'll still pick up a well kept piece of vintage Ghurka / Marley Hodgson when I find it.

I have pieces as follows:

The Express / No2 in the twill (an olive).
The Examiner / No 5 in all leather (chestnut).
The Kilburn III / No 157 in the dobie weave twill (olive)
The Valet / No 45 in twill (tan).

And Gus, you are right ... the twill (especially the tan) gets dirty quickly.

Some years back I had a No2 in all chestnut leather with me on an overnight trip down to L.A. After my meeting, I put it in the trunk of the rental car. As I still had some time before I was scheduled at the airport, I decided to go to LACMA. When I got to the airport I opened the trunk and it was gone. There was no sign of tampering, but someone had definitely been in my trunk. What I'm remembering is that I closed the trunk and a minute later opened it again as if I expected it to reappear.

That was a sad loss.

 

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I'm not sure who made it but this bag was retailed by Paul Stuart back in the 80s. I'd love to have more luggage like this.

Not sure why I'm posting ... I know this is an old thread. Sadly these kinds of treads are no more.

 

[Leander walker]

Few companies have been as badly run as Ghurka. The new owners took an iconic American brand known for high quality and classic style and turned it into a mass market made in china brand sold on tv shopping shows and chasing the millenial consumer. They took beautiful vintage pieces and splattered them with paint and graffiti in order toook "cool" to the clueless millenial consumer,who are less about the heritage and quality of the brand. Finally now the brand is in the hands of owners who are committed to the legacy and quality of the brand. So many customers were turned off when they purchased Ghurka ba k then,and reading ads about "American Heritage and American legacy" and pay over $1000 for a product Nd find a "made in china" label inside. As far as the leather being heavy,a good quLity leather bag has some weight. They are not overly heavy. One terrible style change was on the Counselor briefcase - the straps used to actually be kle and can be adjusted,now they use that cheap looking metal slides thatare used on cases that look like this that are made in china. All high end made in england buckle cases have buckles that actually work. They also discontinued 3 great business styles -the barrister,the delegate and the satchel. Very small selection of business cases now. But it's encouragong to see the committment to quality the new owners have. They are only sold online,which is odd,considering they used to be in numerous mens stores as well as Nordstroms and Neiman Marcus. The Examiner is an iconic American business case,ND the Counselor probably still is. We wish them every success and would hope the company has learned from the past mistakes

 

[Phileas Fogg]

They had a store on Madison Avenue but it closed a few years ago.

I have the Examiner in walnut. I’m quite happy with it and it has held up very well.

I believe they produce the core line here in Connecticut but some of the smaller items and accessories are off-shored.

 

[Leander walker]

The madison ave store was a ridiculous and massively costly idea. At the opening party,they invited a group of "influences", trendy twenty-somethings who stood around posing with a few ghurka products while Ghurka executives stood around hoping some of these influencer 's perceived massive coolness would rub off on the brand. It was pathetic in how far they had moved from the core customer. When they had the store at the Sherry Netherland hotel off fifth ave,it was designed for the traditional Ghurka customer most of the items are now produced in Connecticut,and some are made in Italy and Spain. The Examiner is a wonderfully and iconic American briefcase with timeless classic style. And the chestnut leather is a superb color

 

[dauster]

The madison ave store was a ridiculous and massively costly idea. At the opening party,they invited a group of "influences", trendy twenty-somethings who stood around posing with a few ghurka products while Ghurka executives stood around hoping some of these influencer 's perceived massive coolness would rub off on the brand. It was pathetic in how far they had moved from the core customer. When they had the store at the Sherry Netherland hotel off fifth ave,it was designed for the traditional Ghurka customer most of the items are now produced in Connecticut,and some are made in Italy and Spain. The Examiner is a wonderfully and iconic American briefcase with timeless classic style. And the chestnut leather is a superb color

Is owned by a private equity company ? seems like exactly what a bunch of keyboard warriors would do... huntsman on savile row suffered a lot of quality issues when they were owned by a PE firm.

 

[Phileas Fogg]

The madison ave store was a ridiculous and massively costly idea. At the opening party,they invited a group of "influences", trendy twenty-somethings who stood around posing with a few ghurka products while Ghurka executives stood around hoping some of these influencer 's perceived massive coolness would rub off on the brand. It was pathetic in how far they had moved from the core customer. When they had the store at the Sherry Netherland hotel off fifth ave,it was designed for the traditional Ghurka customer most of the items are now produced in Connecticut,and some are made in Italy and Spain. The Examiner is a wonderfully and iconic American briefcase with timeless classic style. And the chestnut leather is a superb color

you seem very angry. Is everything ok?

 

[Sartorium]

The definition of bad business is when the business stops doing things I like to try and do things other people might like.

 

[Leander walker]

Ghurka still a very well made product but not available in stores. It is an internet only company. Seems an odd strategy for a company who always gushed "how beauriful the leather feels and smells"(verbatim quote from a print catalogue a few years back). Perhaps the current owners are under the impression that you can feel and smell leather through a computer screen or phone