Guide - Saphir Medaille d'Or colours

One of the most common questions we at Skolyx gets is which colour of shoe cream and wax to use for a specific pair of shoes. To give the best possible guidance, here is a substantial guide to all the colours of the Saphir Medaille d´Or that we offer.

General info about shoe cream, wax and choice of colour

Saphir is one of the world's most reputable manufacturers of shoe care products, and their finest shoe cream is called Medaille d’Or Crème Pommadier, and is delivered in square shaped glass jars. The texture is a bit like a fatty mayonnaise, it’s a very nourising product that also provides protection and some shine. In the same series, Saphir has its wax polish Medaille d’Or Pate de Lux, which is supplied in tin cans and are much harder in consistency, they provide some care but above all protection and shine. Both are available in a colourless neutral variant, as well as in a wide variety of colour shades.

The advantage of using products with pigments is that they re-colour the leather and not least cover the scratches that inevitably arise, this especially goes for the shoe cream which in an excellent way cover various damages to the leather and makes the shoes look new again. Neutral products are mainly recommended for shoes that have a special mottled shade or similar, where you don’t want to change the look, or if you want the shoes to brighten over time. However, it’s good to also use coloured cream in those places where it has marks, to hide these, but then go with neutral on the rest.

If you want to keep the shade on your shoes, it’s best to choose a colour that is the same or slightly lighter than the colour of the shoes. Then again, the pigmented shoe cream is not paint, it does not dye the shoes completely, but more that over time it takes the hue in the direction of the chosen cream. This applies especially to lighter shoes, where you can adjust the colour in the chosen direction in a clearer way than on darker shoes where the colour of the cream does not affect as much.

A good way to look at the matter can also be to choose the colour of cream that is closest to what you would like the shoes to be in, over time, instead of just focusing on choosing the "right" shade.

If you want a so-called "burnish" effect with a slightly darker toe, then you polish up a spit shine on the toe part with a clearly darker colour than the shoes. It can look really great.

Review colours Saphir Medaille d’Or

Here all colours we offer of Saphir Medaille d'Or Crème Pommadier shoe cream and shoes in similar colours. Click here or on the picture to enlarge the image.
From 12 o'clock: Light brown, Medium Brown, Havana, Parisian Brown, Dark Brown, Black, Neutral, Navy, Burgundy, Hermés Red, Mahogany, Cognac.


Same type of image with Pate de Lux wax polish. Click here or on the picture to enlarge the image.
From 12 o'clock: Yellow, Medium brown, Havana, Dark Brown, Black, Neutral, Navy, Burgundy, Mahogany, Cognac, Light brown.

Saphir colour chart

Here's the official Saphir colour chart, with all available colours. Click here or on the picture to enlarge the image.
Depending on your screen setting, how correct it displays the colours may vary.
NOTE: Not all colours are available for the Saphir Medaille d'Or range, and it varies which products that comes in which colours.


Black 01 (colour code for Saphir)
A very simple colour to deal with, since black is always just black, here there are really no nuances. If you want dark brown or dark red, oxblood cloured shoes to become even darker, you can choose black cream and polish on them.




Neutral 02
Colourless, transparent cream and wax, which does nothing to the colour of the shoes. If you have many shoes in tricky colour shades, perhaps with a lot of colour variations, this can be good, or if you just want a product that works for many different shoes. It’s quite common to use coloured shoe cream that fits the shoes you have, and then neutral polish which you can use for all your shoes.




Light brown 03
Saphir Medaille d’Or's brightest brown colour, suitable for light brown shoes, often referred to as tan. It’s quite yellow, resembles mustard in colour.




Medium brown 37
A warm brown tone reminiscent of milk chocolate in the colour. One of the most popular shades, often used on both lighter and darker brown shoes.




Dark brown 05
Saphir's darkest brown colour, which is often called espresso among shoe manufacturers, and it really resembles just dark coffee. It’s not very common with shoes that are this dark in the colour, so often it’s chose when you want dark brown shoes that continue to go towards dark, or to, as mentioned above, choose wax in this to create a "burnish ”effect on brown shoes.




Havana 34
The colour in Saphir's range is the most popular choice for dark brown shoes, as it is more of a classic dark brown that is not as dark as the one above. Goes towards a warmer dark brown, and works very well for many different brown shades.




Parisian Brown 910
A bit darker than Havana, but not as dark as the Saphir colour dark brown. A slightly colder, grayish dark brown.




Cognac 10
A relatively light shade with a lot of orange in it, usually works well for shoes called chestnut. If you want your light brown shoes to be more orange-brown, cognac is a good choice.




Mahogany 09
A shade that goes a lot towards red, but has a bit more brown in itself than, for example, Hermés red. Worth noting is that it is redder than what shoe manufacturers usually call mahogany.




Burgundy 08
Relatively dark red hue, which is excellent for most shoes called burgundy or bordeaux. Reminds of a red wine in its shade.




Hermés red 12
The most bright red shade Saphir offers, a real cherry red colour. Best suited for real red shoes, or some brighter burgundy coloured shoes where you want the red colour to remain distinct.




Navy blue 06
These colors are clearly more self-explanatory, and often one is less sensitive for the shade should be just right when it comes to shoes in a clear colour (which one should really also be for brown shoes). Here a little darker blue tone, navy. If you want a bit more life in a black shoe, blue shoe cream can actually be something that causes the black shoe to pop more after some time, can be really nice.




Dark green 20
A darker green shade, often referred to as "bottle green", the colour of green glass bottles, or forest green.

The colour of Saphir Medaille d’Or that is closest to many common shoe models

For all our shoes from Skolyx, Yanko and TLB Mallorca, we provide a guide to colour choices on shoe cream and wax polish in the text on each shoe's product page, but we also get many questions about other brands and what colour of Saphir Medaille d’Or you should choose. Therefore, here's a large guide to the shade of Saphir Medaille d’Or that is closest to many common brands leathers:

Allen Edmonds Cigarr – Havana
Allen Edmonds Coffee – Havana
Allen Edmonds Dark Chili – Mahogany
Allen Edmonds Oxblood – Mahogany
Allen Edmonds Walnut – Light brown

Carmina Brown Vegano – Medium brown
Carmina Brown Boxcalf – Dark brown
Carmina Burgundy – Mahogany
Carmina Tan Vegano – Light brown

Crockett & Jones Chestnut Burnished Calf – Mahogany
Crockett & Jones Chestnut Antiqued Calf – Cognac
Crockett & Jones Dark Brown Burnished Calf – Havana
Crockett & Jones Dark Brown Antique Calf – Havana
Crockett & Jones Tan Antique Calf – Light brown
Crockett & Jones Tan Burnished Calf – Light brown
Crockett & Jones Tan Scotch Grain – Light brown

Loake Brown Calf – Medium brown
Loake Burgundy Calf – Burgundy
Loake Dark Brown Calf – Havana
Loake Mahogany Calf – Cognac
Loake Mahogany Grain Calf – Light brown

RM Williams Chestnut – Havana
RM Williams Tan Bark – Light brown


Here you'll find our full range of Saphir Medaille d'Or Crème Pommadier, Saphir Medaille d'Or Pate de Lux, and other Saphir shoe care products.