Rich colour and quality leather. A must for a home office.Exactly what I needed.Very hight quality and elegantI've been looking for a writing mat for a while now as I journal, pen pal, and practice my penmanship/calligraphy regularly. My desk's wooden top is highly textured, so I had to use a clipboard or notepad every time I was using paper that was not padded or in a notebook. Seems ridiculous to use a clipboard on a desk, right? Someone also told me I look very nerdy ^_^" that's cool, I'll take that as a compliment.So I've been researching for mats that I could roll up if I wanted to move where I was writing, but it to be firm enough to handle just one page or piece of paper that is not card stock. Though this is a little larger than I was hoping for to be portable enough, it still would fit in my backpack if I wanted to take it with me far. This mat is perfect in its thickness: for rolling up; its firmness: for a single normal 20lb bond sheet - printer paper to be written on with ultra fine 0.38mm pen or 0.5mm mechanical lead pencil; and the texture and beauty of the mat itself has me thrilled for the next time I can write! The little latch/tie thing too keep it together is a very nice touch too.If you're looking for more than a mat that is good for mouse pads or your laptop, this is the one to write on and still look classy. There are a few nicks and scratches since I've used it a few times already, but that adds to the character, right? At some point I may put some conditioning stuff on it perhaps. Though you may still see me with a clipboard, I'll try to use this mat as much as possible.I thought this pad would be thicker, like it showed in the listing, but it is still a very durable desk pad so I decided to keep it. The only thing I don't like is that it was made in China. We can't make desk pads here ?? Lord knows we have plenty of leather.This mat is small and fit perfectly in the small space on my office desk. It looks expensive but it was a great value and it gives me a nice surface to write notes. Very satisfied.After building our log home, I wanted a rustic looking desk. I have a base from an old drafting table, so I just needed a new desktop. I used some scrap Cedar 2x4's to build a desktop and then used a torch to burn it and some chain to distress it. We then routed out the area where the leather pad was going and after applying urethane to the wood, we glued the pad in place. Unfortunately, I don't have a photo of the finished desk, but there are two photos here of the pre-urethane and finished product.We originally purchased one of these desk protectors and found the quality and color to be very good. A few months later, after acquiring a new desk, we ordered a second protector due to the desk’s L shaped design. We were very disappointed to find that the color, finish and texture were noticeably different between the two protectors (see photos). One has a suede texture and is much lighter in color, while the other is much darker and has a shiny, smooth finish. Both protectors were purchased using the same item number and color.This is a very nice looking desk mat, and impressively good quality for the money. I had purchased it after doing a fair amount of shopping around several on-line retailers, including Amazon.Some reviewers have complained about problems with getting it to roll flat when first received, or scratches with use. Regarding the laying flat issue, simply use books to weigh the corners (or elsewhere around the edges if required) for a few days and there shouldn't be a problem. My mat quickly went flat and has remained that way ever since.As to scratches, I have a laptop on top of mine, and simply avoid dragging it about. When I need to write a note, then I use a pad so that the pen doesn't have the ability to mark through. These are just the simple sorts of things to do to avoid damage, cautions that would have been taken to prevent scratching your desktop if you didn't have the mat. As others have posted, even if there were to be some scratches over time, it is a true leather item after all and any minor imperfections will attest to that; call it "character". If you want something that won't mark, then buy a faux leather product. In a worst case scenario, replacing it altogether won't break the bank. There are countless of other leather desk mats, on Amazon and elsewhere, that frankly are not as attractive yet are several times more expensive.