OVERVIEW replica handbags
In recent years, Chanel has increased its bag prices by up to almost ten percent a year. With every price increase, the demand for Chanel on the second-hand market also increases. With so many fakes and super fakes flooding the market, it’s useful to have some basic knowledge to tell if a Chanel bag is real or fake. There are several signs you need to look out for in a Chanel bag. In this article, we use a Classic Chanel Wallet On Chain case to walk you through the authentication process.
So that you can better recognize the authenticity of a Chanel bag, we will demonstrate 6 steps that our team of experts also use during authentication. In each step we have prepared an exercise for you so that you can check your skills. There is no one way to authenticate a Chanel bag. Every Chanel bag model is different. Since Chanel changes details every year, it makes authentication difficult. We have been in the business for many years and have seen many great fake Chanel bags. We strongly encourage you to always buy from trusted sellers, have a third party verify authenticity, and always pay using a secure payment method. This gives you the opportunity – should it be a plagiarism – to get your money back.
EXERCISE 1
Before we start authentication, let’s start with a riddle. Which bag is real and which is not. (A: Left / B: Right)
Tip: You can find the answer for each task at the end of the article.
STEP 1: CHECKING THE LEATHER
Chanel selects only the highest quality leather for its handbags. Therefore, you should first check whether the bag is made of real or synthetic leather. For the leather goods enthusiast, it is quite easy to tell the difference between real and synthetic leather. If you are not that experienced, we recommend that you smell the bag. Genuine Chanel bags carry a natural leather smell. Counterfeits, on the other hand, smell more like chemicals due to the poor quality of the leather and the cheap glue.
Chanel mainly uses two different types of leather: lambskin and calfskin. The lambskin should feel soft and look smooth. You can recognize a fake when you see and, above all, feel the bag. Fake Chanel bags are often made from cheap materials.
The calfskin used by Chanel has another well-known name: caviar leather. It has a bubbly appearance that resembles real caviar. When you touch the leather, you notice that it feels more textured. Compared to lamb leather, it is more durable and less prone to scratches and stains.
STEP 2: CHAIN CHECK
Karl Lagerfeld started threading leather into the chains of Chanel bags in the 80s. Since then, the leather strap chain has become a distinctive feature of Chanel bags. That’s why it’s important to look at the chain up close. To find out if the chain strap is real, there are three factors: the weight, the stitching and the leather.
The first point is the weight. In most cases, the chain strap on the real bag is much heavier than the fake one. Also, you can tell the difference between cheap and high-quality metal parts. The fake chains really always have cheap metal elements. These are smaller, thinner, lighter and not well closed (always a large gap between the closing part of each small metal element).
The second point to note is the stitching on the leather. The stitching of a genuine Chanel bag should be clean and seamless. In other words, if you spotted any crooked lines or bumps, it’s more likely to be a fake.
The third item to look at is the leather that goes through the metal chain. In the authentic Chanel bag, there is no double layer on the upper flat part of the leather. But with fakes we have always discovered a double layer on the upper flat part of the leather.
EXERCISE 2
Which chain is from a real Chanel bag?
STEP 3: NOTE THE POCKET SHAPE
Fake Chanel bags are usually constructed differently than real Chanel bags. Look at every detail of the bag and then look at the entire piece as a whole.
Today we are going to look at the Chanel Wallet On Chain. The dimensions of the bag are 12.3 × 19.2 × 3.5 cm. If the size does not match, the bag is definitely a fake. The reference of this bag is AP0250 Y01480 C3906. You can find these numbers either on the outside sticker of the Chanel box or on the receipt.
It’s always good to look at the bag and compare it to the pictures on the official Chanel website. The proportions, the size, the number of diamonds – these detailed features make the bag.
Here is a picture of the Wallet On Chain (taken from the official Chanel website). Look carefully at the position and embossing of the logo.
EXERCISE 3: WHICH BAG IS REAL?
Fake Chanel bags are usually constructed differently than real Chanel bags. Look at every detail of the bag and then look at the entire piece as a whole.
Today we are going to look at the Chanel Wallet On Chain. The dimensions of the bag are 12.3 × 19.2 × 3.5 cm. If the size does not match, the bag is definitely a fake. The reference of this bag is AP0250 Y01480 C3906. You can find these numbers either on the outside sticker of the Chanel box or on the receipt.
It’s always good to look at the bag and compare it to the pictures on the official Chanel website. The proportions, the size, the number of diamonds – these detailed features make the bag.
Here is a picture of the Wallet On Chain (taken from the official Chanel website). Look carefully at the position and embossing of the logo.
STEP 4: CHECK THE ZIPPER
Depending on the year of manufacture, Chanel used different zippers. These include Lampo zipper, EP zipper, YKK zipper and so on. The Lampo zippers are commonly used on metal teeth for Chanel Timeless, the EP zippers are usually fitted with a leather pull tag, the YKK zipper can also be fitted with a leather pull tag. The YKK zipper is often found on vintage Chanel bags.
If you look at the Chanel Wallet On Chain, you will notice a difference to the older models. Today’s Wallet On Chain has a metal zipper, unlike the old models, which had a leather zipper. So check that the zipper on your handbag matches the year it was made.
STEP 5: HOLOGRAM STICKERS AND ID CARD
We have noticed that many customers think a Chanel bag is genuine as soon as it comes with a hologram sticker, an ID card and an invoice. Just like the bag, the sticker, card and invoice can all be counterfeit. So don’t be fooled if you see a Chanel bag online with the title “Full Set”.
The hologram sticker is placed differently depending on the model. The serial number is located on the classic Chanel bag, in the lower left corner. With the Chanel Wallet On Chain, on the other hand, the hologram sticker is at the top left.
The serial numbers of Chanel bags indicate the year of manufacture. If the bag was produced between 1984 and 1986, it has 6 digits. Between 1986 and 2004 it will be 7 digits. You can identify the year by the first digit. From 2005 the serial numbers are 8 digits and the first two digits indicate the year of manufacture.
The ID card is the black card that comes with every Chanel bag. It feels like a credit card. So if it’s very thin and bends easily, then it’s a fake ID card. A real authenticity card also does not have a rainbow effect. If you notice a rainbow effect on the surface of the card, then it is definitely a plagiarism. Bags from 2005 are marked with a gray circle icon in the upper right corner. Fake cards tend to be whiter and the Chanel logo on them tends to be more visible than the genuine authentic cards. In the end, you should always compare whether the numbers on the authenticity card match the serial number (hologram) inside the bag.
STEP 6: THE STITCHING
The quilting pattern has become somewhat synonymous with Chanel bags. The embroidery should consistently maintain the diamond pattern and align symmetrically. Chanel uses a high number of stitches to keep the bag in its original shape. The distance between each stitch should be very small, and the length of each stitch is also very short. Real Chanel bags have up to eleven stitches per field (it can also be 10 stitches if you count the connecting stitch between two fields). Fake Chanel bags generally have a lower number of stitches per panel and are more widely spaced.
EXERCISE 6:
Which bag is real (A: top/B: bottom)?
SUMMARY
When shopping for luxury second-hand goods, it is important to develop a basic understanding of the brand. Basic knowledge includes the second-hand market value, the current collections and an eye for detail. We opened our boutique EM CHANGE in Munich 5 years ago. In the meantime we have joined forces with several second-hand boutiques in Germany: Munich, Cologne, Hanover and others. We realize that the market is large and we cannot meet every customer’s needs. To ensure all bag lovers feel confident with every purchase (not only at EM CHANGE, but also when you shop outside of our boutique), we offer our customers Certificates of Authenticity. This allows everyone to ensure that all products they buy are 100% genuine.
You can purchase a certificate of authenticity from us under this link: https://emchange.de/product/echtheitszertifikat-gutachten/
These are the solution answers of the exercises: B B A B
