Saphir Size and Fit guide

Brand & fit at a glance

Size system
One size, plus UK 5 trees and EU 36 insoles
Fit
Polish by leather colour, not by shoe size
Origin
France
Best for
Smooth leather that you want to feed and shine

About Saphir: Saphir Médaille d’Or is a French shoe-care house. The house dates its name to a gold medal at the 1925 Paris fair, and the polishes are made in France. What we stock is mostly jars and bottles, not footwear.

Saphir fit & sizing tips

  • Polish is one size. Saphir polish is a coloured cream for smooth leather. Match the jar to the shoe (we keep black, neutral, beige, light brown, medium brown, dark brown, cognac, burgundy, mahogany, navy, grey, khaki and Hermès red), not to a shoe size.
  • Shoe trees are UK 5 only at the moment. The cedar shoe trees are a solid wood pair for holding shape and taking damp out of the shoe. If you are not a UK 5, ask us before you buy this pair.
  • Foam insoles are EU 36 only in stock. The listing also mentions a 38, but the size we have on the shelf is 36. They are a latex-foam footbed with a textile top, punched for a bit of airflow.
  • Clean before you cream. foam cleaner lifts dirt off smooth leather. sole cleaner is for the sole and welt, not the upper. Leave polish to settle, then brush and finish with a cloth. mirror gloss is the high shine, in black.
  • The rest is one size. 120 cm leather laces are 120 cm. White Novelys is the white renovator. None of these need a size chart.

Using Saphir on smooth leather

Brush or wipe the dry dirt off first. If the shoe is muddy, use the foam cleaner and let it dry. Put a little polish on a cloth, work it in circles, leave it for a while, then brush and buff. Neutral feeds the leather without shifting the colour. A coloured cream will tint, so test it where a trouser hem will not show the result.

Cedar trees earn their keep if the shoes are worn on consecutive days. Put them in while the shoes are still warm so they take up moisture, and keep the trees somewhere airy rather than in a closed box.

Glossary

Crème polish

A wax cream that feeds smooth leather and leaves a shine. It is the wrong product for suede and nubuck.

Mirror gloss

A harder shine than the coloured cream, for a toe cap you want glassy. We stock it in black.

Shoe tree

A wooden last-shaped insert. Ours is in UK 5 only, so it will not fill a larger shoe.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need a shoe size for Saphir polish?

No. The jars and sprays are one size. Choose the colour, or neutral if you do not want to tint the leather.

Will a UK 5 shoe tree fit other sizes?

Not usefully. The pair we have is UK 5. A tree that is much too small will not hold the vamp, and one forced into a smaller shoe can stretch it.

Which insole size do you have?

EU 36 only. If you need a run of UK sizes, the Dasco insoles on our shoe-care shelves are the ones sold by shoe size.

Can I use the polish on suede?

No. Cream and mirror gloss are for smooth leather. Suede wants a brush and a suede cleaner, which we keep in the Dasco shoe-care range.

We could not find any products that match your selection.
 
Subscribe


I am interested in: