I don’t really believe in phone cases, not even the minimalist “condom” ones. You change your phone almost as often as you change your underwear, so what’s the big deal if it has a couple of scratches on it? Okay, so the resale value is lowered if it’s not pristine; fair enough. (And the clumsier among us might want to avoid the repairs that the inevitable five foot drops result in.)

One reason I do like cases, however, particularly for smartphones, is that if they completely enclose the instrument, one is less likely to constantly glance at it over dinner, annoying one’s companions at best and being seen as a complete boor, at worst. Let’s face it, phones are now an addiction not unlike tobacco, and something can help us kick the annoying habit, all the better. (Nikita Kruschev, legend has it, had Soviet engineers design a cigarette case that would eject one cigarette per hour, and no more. Of course, legend also has it, he kept a spare pack in the other pocket and chain smoked away.)

So, a nice leather pouch, one that completely encloses an iPhone, might help one cut down on obsessive checking of Twitter feeds, and has the added benefit of making the phone look, well, not like a phone and more like a wallet. (Or a cigar case, enclosing the other habit one might want to be weaned off.) Sitting on the table, it will look better, and will definitely make you think twice about extracting the phone while someone is telling you an amusing anecdote…this one is by Apogee Handmade; one piece of natural leather that will age, and acquire a patina, more beautifully than any of us will.