I bought a NOS Ideale 92H Diagonale leather saddle on a certain auction site. Date of manufacture is stamped June 1996 on the underside. It's not made in France. A little bit of googling suggests to me that this saddle may have been a product of an unsuccessful and/or brief revival of the Ideale brand name, perhaps by different people. Does anybody know if this saddle is worth trying to ride on and break in? It is very hard, but looks good visually. Did the people making these saddles in 1996 know what they were doing, or did they flop because the saddles were not well-made? I have to develop more impulse control on that auction site...

Condition the saddle with some Obenhaufs lightly. Not the oil but the waxy stuff. Leather is natural and some is better than others. If the leather holds form and conforms comfortably for several thousand miles the seat is good. But leather eventually quits.

As long as there are no tears in the leather, it should be fine. I'm still using a Brooks Professional from 1967.