I don't think I've ever heard them discussed. I've been very happy with my cordo: bought for a song on Ebay.
have some in the bin somewhere. decent, heavy, well made shoe.
Just succumbed to buying a pair of their ox-blood smooths from an English Ebay seller. My wingtips, still going strong after £85 worth of soling and heeling last September, came from the USA circa 2007/8.
I thought I'd fallen out of love with the heftier shoe but, for just a touch over £30, including postage, I'm willing to give them another try.
They arrived today. Described as a 'Chester' shoe - about which I freely admit to knowing nothing: possibly Shooey will enlighten me - these look to have had little, if any, wear. Made In Tennessee. The seller presumably burnished them before putting them into a box for posting. Not an expensive shoe but, if they're anything like my cordovan wingtips, they will give enormous satisfaction for years to come.
If they fit then that’s a big win in itself!