HOW TO RECOGNIZE A VINTAGE COUNTERFEIT SECOND-HAND HERMÈS BAG

Recognize a real bag, detect a counterfeit, we will reveal to you the secrets of an authentic second-hand Hermès bag.

Discover our 10 authentication rules. 

This baggage is so copied that one always has apprehension when one sees a second-hand sale offer, not expensive enough to be true, too expensive to be a fake. Note that, just like at Louis Vuitton ,  90% of Hermès second-hand Kelly and Birkin bags sold on the internet are fake.

Buying directly from Hermès is of course always possible, this guarantees the authenticity of the product. But for collectors of old pieces weathered by the years, the adventure is complicated.

The  infringement  is a violation of intellectual property rights in that reproduce or imitate something without having the right or stating or implying assume that the copy is authentic. The notion of counterfeiting often has a pejorative connotation, implying an article of poor quality.

We are going to dissect a Hermès Contance Kelly and Birkin bag for you in order to reveal all the little secrets of its authenticity!

The purpose of this article is to give  advice   during acquisition and to remove certain doubts.

Thanks to these tips you will be able to detect errors and manufacturing defects to unmask counterfeit Hermès bags.

Because even a vintage counterfeit is never perfect.

And it cannot compete with the know-how of Hermès, which since 1837 has created the most luxurious leather goods, a heritage of prestigious saddlery.

Don't dream, 100% of new Hermès bags at reduced prices are fake!

So beware of the tempting prices.

A new Hermès bag is not worth 1,000 euros.

An original Hermès invoice, a dust bag, a paper bag, packaging box, etc., are all clues and elements that can give a hint.

Since 2010 the cardboard boxes covered with the mythical orange canvas are protected. Check the authenticity of your cardboard boxes covered with the mythical orange canvas using a UV lamp (the same as the one used to check banknotes)! The latter highlights the security marks "Hermes logo on the entire surface", so you are protected from possible counterfeits. Black light also helps highlight cleanliness on items.

Counterfeiters counterfeit all these elements, but which are often not produced with the same care as luxury houses.

If the seller offers you a  certificate of authenticity,  beware because it has no value.

Be careful, some sales sites between individuals can display real bags in photos and send you a fake bag. It is a regular practice, complicating the a priori detection of this kind of fraud. It is therefore better to hand delivery to an expert.

The Hermès bag is made by detail-conscious artisans. 

The bag has a HOLD it does not sag on itself.

The silhouette has a presence and this even occasion.

Check for proportion errors, nothing is left to chance.

Check the location of the girth mortises.

Poor positioning of the handles, handle cap or strap mortise, no room to approximate, the bag must keep the line.

The leather is neither too stiff nor too soft, the profile gussets are perfect.

If your product is still in the catalog, it is also possible to simply check the silhouette of the bag with the photos from the official Hermès website.

All Hermès bags are hot stamped. 

Marking color:

• Natural for natural vegetable tanned leathers (cow, calf, pork).
• Golden for the golden garnishes.
• Silver for the silver trim.

There are more than forty different typographies, depending on the years of production from 1 to 4 lines.

The marking is of high quality, perfectly legible and without burrs.

On vintage bags prior to 1950, it is an unstoppable control element to distinguish a real bag from a counterfeit.

HERMES PARIS

On certain Hermès bags between 1949 and 1970

HERMES

PARIS

On certain Hermès bags from the end of 1968

HERMES -  PARIS

MADE IN FRANCE

On some Hermès bags from the 1980s

HERMES

PARIS

MADE IN FRANCE

On Hermès bags between 1980 and today 2019

There are a number of symbols on the front of the bag accompanying the marking.

Type of exotic leather , crocodile, alligator, lizard: 

. . (2 points) : Nile crocodile ( Crocodylidae  Niloticus)
^ (Hat) : Sea crocodile (Crocodylidae Porosus)
□ (Square):  Alligator  (Alligatoridae)
= (equal) : Malay monitor lizard (Varanus salvator)
- (dash) : Lizard

Horseshoe:  Special order.

Shooting star:  Article manufactured and intended for Hermès personnel. find out more

(h): Hermès creation

Address and name of a shop : Name of a shop selling items made by Hermès, such as Séverin Frères, or Bonwit Teller. It remains rare and old.

Check the engraving. An authentic Hermès will have a very fine and crisp engraving. A scythe will have a large or twisted engraving, some are even outright cast.

The font and calligraphy vary from one to two line years

The seams linking the leathers are perfect, made with thick linen thread (matte finish) and not synthetic thread with a shiny finish.

These are the most complicated details to fake.

The seams are quality, do not overlap and keep a regular step, the angle of the seam is perfect.

Contrary to what an urban myth suggests, only 20% of the seams of a Hermès bag are made by hand, the rest of the seams are therefore made by machine with diamond needles.

The sewing machines used are very precise, the machinists (worker specialized in machine sewing) are trained in the know-how of the luxury house, which results in a seam whose incline of the thread suggests with hand saddle stitch sewing , this machine sewing is perfect and the angle is always regular.

Many experts and salespeople cannot differentiate between machine sewing and hand sewing.

The straps and the mortises are machine-sewn.

But the straps are attached to the bag by hand stitching just like the chains and most of the handles.

and stitching saddle stitch requires great skill and patience, it cannot be improvised. It is a good way to detect a counterfeit.

In saddlery it is said that the back of a hand seam "sings", the hand seam does not forgive.

The zipper is also perfectly finished:

• The edge of the leather polished.
• A decorative mesh on the leather.

Hot stamped without gilding or silver plating, it is located in a hidden area like the back of the sob or inside the bag. This production number is coded.

We will reveal to you how to decipher this code and know the year of production of your bag. This element guarantees a certain authenticity. 

It consists of two parts:

1.  A code made up of letters and numbers to identify the production workshop.
2. A letter :

Before 1945  : no code used to identify the year
 
From 1945 to 1971  : letter without frame, unsystematic and often unreadable marking.
 
From  1971  to 1996  : letter in a circle.
 
From 1997 to 2014:  letter in a square.
 
From 2014 to 2021:  letter without supervision.

Vintage strap:

On old models, there was no seam at the end of the strap.

Shooting star:  Article manufactured and intended for Hermès personnel.

There is a tradition at Hermès, in its bag-making workshops. Each year, each Hermès craftsman can create his own bag. He does this outside his working hours and has to buy the raw material from Hermès, around 200 to 300 euros. The bag is marked with a shooting star to distinguish it from the bags that will be sold in stores.

The rule: no more than one bag per year and per craftsman, this bag cannot be sold in any way.

S: Sale

On certain articles we find the stamp S accompanied for the most precious objects of a number.

This S means that the item was sold during the Hermès sales (private sales by invitation). When a number accompanies the S, it makes it possible to identify the purchaser of the object and to identify those who buy for resale and can thus be written off from sales. Also it makes it possible not to be able to exchange the product for another in store.

It is for this reason that the year 2015 is designated by the letter T and not S to avoid confusion with the S of Hermès sales.

If in doubt, you can go to a Hermès store to have the product authenticated or contact customer service free of charge .

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