Crocodile and alligator skins are often misidentified by retailers or used interchangeably. The Alligatoridae family includes the American alligator and the caimans; Crocodylidae includes the saltwater (porosus) and Nile (niloticus). There are other varieties, but these four are the only ones legally traded in the United States.
The easiest way for a layman to decipher the difference is to know that only crocodile has a dimple in each scale, called a dermal pressure receptor. American alligator is noted for its clean, totally smooth skin.
In regards to the various luxury finishes that tanneries like www.sunnyexoticleather.com uses to achieve timeless, beautiful & aesthetic brilliant exotic finished skins:
Regardless of how fantastic they might look, a lot of the new trendy tanning techniques like white, metallic, and hand-painted finishes can compromise the durability of the skin. The glaze finish is classic, most gorgeous in porosus but prone to fingerprinting and sensitive to water. The matte finish is oil- and water-resistant, doesn't smudge, and looks great in both alligator and Nile crocodile. The protective topcoat used in the millennium finish, a hybrid of glazed and matte, tends to take away from the natural beauty of the skin; it gives the pieces a bit of a plastic look.
