History of seal skin sporrans

[Woodsheal]

Leaving aside indigenous hunting and usage by native peoples, according to Wikipedia the main market for seal hides during the height of commercial sealing (early 1800s) was China. (It's not stated why the demand was so high in China, or what they used the skin for. Clothing items, I suspect.)
Anyways, with the vast majority of sealskins being exported to the Far East market, perhaps they were fairly scarce in Scotland. Would sealskin then be considered a "luxury item," and a sealskin sporran a status symbol?

[slohairt]

I've always wondered if the waterproof nature of the fur had something to do with it's use. After all, the western Highlands receive quite a bit of rain.