I bought the black version of this belt in 2010. I still use it today. It's fantastic and has withstood all kinds of abuse. About 9 years later I was looking everywhere for a nice brown sash for a dress, so I thought, "Hey! Why not buy the same belt in brown?β Clearly a lot has changed in that time. The belt no longer has a "Full Grain Cowhide" stamp on the back, instead it has a generic "Real Leather" label which can represent a VERY wide range of leather qualities. Second, when I opened the package in my bedroom, it smelled like a nail salon. The smell of the acrylic was so strong that I immediately had to put it back in the box, seal it with tape and then figure out how to start the return process.