~*~ Chanel Authenticity Tips! ~*~

[Smoothoprter]

Tips posted by Jahpson (9/18/07):

These days, some fakes can almost pass for the real thing, and you have to be extra careful.

1. before bidding or purchasing, ask as many questions as possible. Especially on eBay. A seller selling authentic products will stand behind what they are selling. Also ask for more photos.

2. sometimes fakes can be easy to spot by just looking at the bag (not always the case, but some are obvious) price for example, if a "CHANEL" bag is being sold for $300. Ask yourself, would you buy a $2,000 bag and then resell it for $300? that can also help you filter out the obvious

3. Always check their reputation. there was this website where you can look up the usernames past products and the feedback given by the buyer. it dated back all the way to the start of that buyer's business. I forgot the website. will find it and post later.

ETA: www.goofbay.com and www.toolhaus.org.

[Smoothoprter]

Tips posted by lizziebell (08/10/07):

Although it's been said many times I'm sure, I'd like to say it again - especially for the CHANEL newbies. If you're planning to buy a CHANEL bag, buy brand new from an authorized dealer if at all possible. Even though I've been a die-hard CHANEL fan all my life, I had to wait until I was nearly 50 to buy my first CHANEL bag. I paid full price to buy new at a CHANEL boutique & absolutely treasure my first purchase. Then I caught wind of all the "deals" on E-Bay and thought "Wow, here's a way I can own several CHANEL bags and stay within my budget". I was sure I knew what to watch for and started scouring the deals. I ended up buying 5 more bags, but it turned out that one of them was a fake!
Even though I got good deals initially, and 4 really great authentic bags, the money I lost on the one fake made the other deals not so great in the balance. By the time I was able to confirm that I had a fake, the E-Bay seller had closed their account & I had no recourse. Although the fake looks quite authentic, and most people would never know the difference, I know, so that bag just sits in my closet... even though it's the one style I most wanted.
I learned a lesson from this experience and have vowed to only buy from an authorized dealer from hereon out, just to be 100% sure of what I'm getting. Have a great day everyone. Happy Shopping!!!

[Smoothoprter]

Tips from Nat regarding Authenticating Sunglasses:

Note: these tips refer to old style sunglasses

Some guidelines which you can use while searching eBay for authentic CHANEL sunglasses

On the left arm you will find 4 codes/numbers:

• Model number
• Frame color/lens color number
• Lens diameter/nose bridge length
• Bar length

On the right arm you will find the following markings:

©CHANEL® Made in Italy C€ + CC logo




There must be CHANEL laser etched in one or both lenses at the top

There must be a laser etched serial number on the middle side of the right lens


Note: on CHANEL prescription eyeglasses you will find the serial number on the right arm.

A new pair of authentic CHANEL sunglasses bought in the stores comes with:

Certificate of Authenticity
Manufacturer’s information note from Luxottica Group
CHANEL hard case (mostly in black, sometimes in pearl white cases)
CHANEL box (black hard cardboard box with white CHANEL lettering)
CHANEL cleaning cloth (comes in different colors and sizes)

Warning: I've seen CHANEL sunglasses on eBay with a serial number engraved in one lens. Don't automatically assume they're real because of the engraved serial number. These serial numbers were either put on the wrong lens or they had the wrong font. Always have them double checked on the Authenticate This CHANEL thread at the top of this forum.

[Smoothoprter]

Nat's tips Continued:

Here is an example of a fake pair of sunglasses. The 5076 is a popular pair and therefore highly faked.

The font of the markings on the left arm is wrong. On the left arm (where you can see the model number, color code etc.) there shouldn't be a capital C in front of the color code. On an authentic pair there should also be a dot after the c: c. and then the color code. There should also be more space between the different codes on the arm.

Fake:


Authentic, borrowed from eBay:


They also tried to copy the certificate of authenticity, but they have made a few mistakes.
In the last sentence they have made a typo: in the wofldof CHANEL and the font of the CHANEL eyewear department address is wrong.

Fake:


Authentic:

[Smoothoprter]

Tips posted by bulletproofsoul (2/19/08)

Real vs. Fake: CHANEL "Paris Souvenirs" aka "Devil Wears Prada" Pearl & Charm Neckace

Real vs. Fake: CHANEL "Paris Souvenirs" aka "Devil Wears Prada" Pearl & Charm Neckace

Hi everyone! I'm doing this as sort of a PSA to those interested in acquiring this piece since I am FED UP with all of the nasty fakes on eBay. One of the closed auctions ended for $1,100!! For a FAKE! This makes me so angry that some unsuspecting soul got taken for that much! So, here are some pics of the real and fake pieces and some pointers in telling the difference.

First of all, this is a shot from the movie. The fakers modeled their fake piece after this photo. It looks like Anne's character is wearing a double strand pearl necklace with charms. She is actually wearing TWO separate necklaces. CHANEL makes a lot of long pearl necklaces which can be wrapped several times for different looks. The Paris Souvenirs charm necklace is actually quite a bit shorter than the standard long pearls, so it can be worn with the longer strand quite seamlessly. The longer strand she is wearing is a chunkier pearl necklace with 2 charms along each side, and does not have the metal between the pearls:



Now here are some pictures that I pulled from recently completed auctions of fakes. The fakes have merged the 2 necklaces from the movie into one cheap looking piece. That is tip number 1. Tip number 2: Notice the hardware on this fake piece is silver. The real charm necklace has brushed gold hardware. Tip number 3: The charms on the fake are really cheap looking and different in "details". The fake Eiffel Tower has CCs hanging from the bottom, the real does not. The fake Rue Cambon sign looks cheap and has white lettering on some of the fakes (but has black lettering on others, still looks tacky), the real has black lettering and is reversible. The No. 5 bottle is cheap and tacky on the fake and is enclosed in a beautiful shadow box with a camellia on the real. The CC charm is white and metal on the fake, but on the real it is black and enamel, the bus is silver with a pink camellia on the fake. It is brushed gold with a white camellia on the real. Tip number 4: The "maker's mark" on the fake is sloppily attached to the back of a CC charm. On the real it is located on the bottom of one of the Eiffel Tower charms. Basically, the fake is a big mess:












^All FAKES! I'll continue on the next post with the photos of the real ones.
__________________

[Smoothoprter]

bulletproofsoul Tips Continued:

I'll give you a chance to recover from the assault on your eyes from the previous photos...

OK, here are some detailed pics of the REAL necklace:



Bus charm:











Eiffel Tower charm:

[Smoothoprter]

Last batch:

CC charm:




CHANEL/Rue Cambon sign charm:






No. 5, Eiffel Tower and Camellia shadowbox charm:








As always, if you see a charm necklace that you are interested in purchasing from eBay or another website, PLEASE cross reference with this thread and please don't hesitate to ask in the authentication thread. HTH!

[Nat]

Tips posted by shinymagpie (07/13/09)

Gold Stickers on Chanel Bags - Dates what do they mean.
Hi

I bought a bag here in Japan yesterday. It was from the original owner. Her daughter told me when it was bought. It was in the original box.

The serial number on the bag is 149054. But it had a gold sticker saying 60.10.17 This always puzzled me. I have lots of bags with these numbers on them. Why did a bag say 60 when then the numbering system started in 1986?

My friend Yukie and I wrote to the woman asking the exact year it was bought. It was bought in 1985 in Japan. We looked at the dates together and realised that the stickers are from Chanel Bags bought in Japan and the dates are using the Japanese calendar.

Japan runs two year systems. One is the standard Anno Domini system eg 2009. But here in Japan it is now 2009 and Heisei 21. The second system is based on when the current Emperor started his reign.

For example
Roman Year - Japanese Year
1985 - Showa 60
1986 - Showa 61
1987 - Showa 62
1988 - Showa 63
1981 - Heisei 1 (the current Emperor took office)
1982 - Heisei 2
1983 - Heisei 3
1984 - Heisei 4 etc

So by having this gold sticker saying 60.10.17 I know that this bag was bought on 17 October 1985. So this bag number 149054 must have been made in 1985 or earlier. This means that the numbering system started before 1986 as previously thought. Exactly when the numbers started is a mystery. Probably around 84 or 85 I would think.

[shinymagpie]

Here are some markings from my collection of vintage jewellery. I am posting these to help people identify some of the older markings and also what can happen when bits drop off the markings. These are pre date stamping. The earliest date stamp I have is from a belt in 1982, but on earrings, the earliest date stamp I have is 1992.

ETA: Although Shinymagpie does not have any pieces marked earlier than 1982, CHANEL absolutely made costume jewelry for decades before 1982. The earliest date stamp that we have noted has been 1981. Earlier costume jewelry pieces seem only to have the CHANEL engraving.


Attachment 844528

Attachment 844529

Attachment 844530

Attachment 844531

[shinymagpie]

These are 1992 to 1993. Some are hard to read because of the style of imprinting.

Attachment 844538 Attachment 844539

Attachment 844542

Attachment 844541


Attachment 844540

[shinymagpie]

And more... all from 1994
Attachment 844544

Attachment 844545

Attachment 844547

Attachment 844543

Attachment 844546

[shinymagpie]

and 1995 to 1997 ... Attachment 844553Attachment 844550Attachment 844549Attachment 844551Attachment 844552

[Smoothoprter]

Please note: We do not authenticate watches in the CHANEL authentication thread. These J12 authenticity tips were given to me by a PF member (special thanks to Milena).

1. The font on the bezel (numbers) is wrong. Chanel's numbers are longer, while fake ones are rounder – see Picture 1: left = authentic, right = fake

2. The picture of the back is usually a dead giveaway. Most of the screws on fakes are set really deep (submerged) while real Chanel's screws are sitting on 'top' – see Picture 2: left = authentic, right = fake

3. Next thing on the back are the circle(s). Real Chanel circles are really close to the edge of the caseback, and close to each other, while fakes are farther from the edge, and set wider apart from each other. Most fakes have 2 circles on the back and serial number in the center, regardless of the model, probably because that's how most Diamond bezel J12s look like in the back, and I guess a lot of chinese fakes with diamonds are being made. – see Picture 2: left = authentic, right = fake. Also see Picture 10 of authentic 38mm J12 watch.

4. The font of Chanel-Paris and Swiss Made-200 meters in the back is a giveway as well. Chanel font is more squeezed horizontally, while fake letters are 'taller', more vertical. – see Pictures 3,4,5: all FAKE watches

[Smoothoprter]

J12 tips continued...



5. The clasp on fake watch sometimes has only a word Chanel on it. The real ones have Chanel on top and Swiss Made, Acier at the bottom. However, some fakes do to, but the shape of the clasp on fakes is different and not as finely polished as real ones. – see Picture 6: top = authentic clasp, bottom = fake

6. On autherntic J12s, right underneath the caseback, there are always 2 black letters (GW) on ceramic band (check one of yours). On the fake watch, there are none. – see Picture 9, both authentic H0682 and H1628 33 mm watches, Picture 10 – authentic H0685 38mm and Picture 11 - authentic H1628 33mm

7. Tips that you can use only if you have a watch in your hands:

a. Turn the lights off and observe luminiscent marks on the watch. Real ones have luminiscent hour marks and hands. A lot of fakes have only luminiscent hands, not hour marks!!

b. Place your finger where crystal meets the bezel. On real ones you can't feel the 'edge', it's really smooth. On the fakes, you can feel a definite 'threshhold' between crystal and bezel. Besides, on the fakes the crystal is often 'round' or curved out, while on real ones it's really straight and smooth (that's why if you looks at the dial from the angle, on real ones you can see the numbers really well, on the fake ones the numbers are kind of curved) – see Picture 12 of fake crystal

8. On fake black J12s the date window is often white!! On real ones it's always black.– see Picture 1: left = authentic, right = fake

9. On real black J12s, with numerals on the dial, numerals and words Chanel J12 are always the same white color. On the fakes, the numerals are brighter color, than words Chanel J12.– see Picture 7: left = authentic, right = fake

10. On the bezels of real black J12 the numbers and hour marks are 'stamped in' (meaning you can feel them with your fingers, and on real white ones they are covered with some sort of glass and all bezel is smooth to touch). On the bezels of fake J12s, these numbers are not edgy, but smooth, just like on white ones – see Picture 1: left = authentic, right = fake. Also see Picture 8: both authentic black and white 33mm

[Smoothoprter]

Last set of pictures related to J12 tips.