With so many fakes flooding the market, it important to be able to spot small differences and determine whether a Chanel bag is genuine or not. While there’s no single, magical way to verify the authenticity of a Chanel bag, there are a number of things that you can check.
It is always advisable to buy your vintage Chanel bag from a reputable website such as thevintagebar.com to ensure you are getting an authentic bag.
In this post, we have compiled a list of 10 steps that our authentication team uses to verify the authenticity of Chanel bags, so that you can feel a bit more assertive and comfortable in being able to spot both the obvious and non-obvious tell-tale signs of a genuine Chanel bag. Let’s jump right in!
1. Examine the Leather
Lambskin is the leather of choice for many Chanel bag. As such, it should feel soft to the touch and have a noticeably smooth appearance. The superior leather quality should be quite distinguishable from that of a counterfeit product. When looking at a lambskin leather Chanel bag, the key is to make sure that it feels exceptionally soft.
Caviar skin is another popular type of leather Chanel uses for its bags. This leather is obtained from calf leather, and has a bubbly appearance, with more texture to the touch. It’s much less likely to mark and scratch, and is a more long-lasting material than lambskin. You should feel some raised dimples when running your hands on the genuine caviar leather bag.
2. Check the Quilting
The quilting pattern has become rather synonymous with Chanel, and it can serve as a good indicator of whether a bag is authentic or not. One of the great places to check the quilting is at the back of the bag, ideally where the back pocket lies. The stitching should line up perfectly and generally maintain the consistent diamond pattern.
Nevertheless, keep in mind that if you are buying a pre-loved Chanel bag, it’s possible that the stretching or general wear of the leather has led to the lines becoming a bit out of line. For this reason, this is only a valid indicator when buying a new bag.
3. Count the Lining or Stitching
Chanel tends to use a high number of stiches in order to help maintain the original shape of the bag. A such, this can be a good indicator of a genuine Chanel bag. A genuine bag will feature up to eleven stitches a panel. A panel refers to the distance of one side of the diamond shape. Replica bags generally have a lower number of stitches for each pane.
The lining is another area that differs between replicas and genuine bags. The lining on an authentic Chanel bag will lie flat against the material without any visible bumps or lumps. Replicas usually skimp on this detail and use inferior leather, which tends to crease easily and become a little loose.
4. Check the CC Logo
One of the most recognizable and famous features of any Chanel bag is the CC lock. The original 2.55 is rectangular with no Chanel stamping or logo. The brand makes bags with both styles of locks, and if yours has the rectangular lock, it might still be genuine. The CC lock can be either flat or raised with the right overlapping the left while at the bottom, the left C overlaps the right C. Counterfeit locks usually have minor mistakes such as the placement of an additional metal above the lock, the shape of the Cs, and the style of the interlocking Cs.
The lock system is another feature worth checking out. Authentic locks have stems made from 24 karat gold, and will maintain their condition even when used for long periods of time. However, replicas are generally plated with gold (at best), which will peel off over time. Be sure to also inspect the fee and quality of the studs. Genuine press studs generally maintain their original appearance even after extended use, while replicas will fade and peel rather quickly.
5. Check the Lock’s Back
Stamping marks will vary based on the style of the bag and when it was made. Some of the CC locks usually have a stamping mark and others don’t have any mark at all. So, even if your bag doesn’t have a stamp, don’t fret. If the lock has a stamp, it just means that it was made in France, while if it doesn’t have a stamp, it means it was made from Italy. The key giveaway here is the stamping on the back plate.
When you open your bag, you’ll find the back plate at the back of the turnstile lock. Chanel usually attaches this plate using flat had screws that feature lettering with a clear font and even spacing. Counterfeits might use different kinds of screws with other fonts and styles of lettering on their back plate.
6. Check the Logos and Branding
The stamping of the brand name is another way to check if a Chanel bag is genuine. Check the quality and font of the brand stamp. A lot of replicas rush the branding process and use a thin font. The branding might also be placed on the leather instead of being embossed into it. The positioning of this Chanel logo and how it’s embossed is another tell-tale feature that you should check. The logo should sit about 1.5 cm. under the quilted letter and the overall width of these two Cs and the gap that remains between them being consistent at 0.9 cm. a genuine Chanel logo has a width of 3.3 cm.
7. Authenticity Cards
A quick way to see if the authenticity card for your bag is genuine is to check how many numbers make up the code. If your bag was made between 1984 and 1986, it should have 6 digits, and if it was made between the year 1986 and 2004, then it should have 7 digits. Those made from 2005 onwards have 8 digits. Currently, no Chanel authenticity card has 9 or more digits.
8. Check the Chain Straps
The famous leather and chain straps from Chanel are not only a signature feature of their bags, but also a great way to verify authenticity. Vintage Chanel bags have a link without threaded leather, while for replicas, the straps don’t even have a link. Nonetheless, the contemporary Chanel bags comes with leather straps folded back onto themselves with stitching through every link, and it’s therefore important to inspect these details up close.
9. Observe the Shape
Counterfeit Chanel bags are often constructed poorly and don’t have the boxy shape of genuine Chanel bags. So, be on the lookout for rounded corners on replicas, which is generally a sign of a bag either not turning out at intended or being constructed from inferior materials,
10. Don’t Forget to Check the Zippers!
Genuine Chanel bags usually come in a variety of zippers. These include the EZ zipper that usually comes with a leather pull tag, Lampo zipper that’s commonly used on metal teeth, the C-trio in a circle zipper, the acute zipper, OPTI DMC zipper, the YKK Zipper, the DMC zipper, and the no mark zipper that can be found in many vintage Chanel bags.