Bal Novice Questions - Color Repeats, Classic (Gold?) Hardware and Limited Editions?

Mar 31, 2009
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Hi there, Bal experts. I'm new to the brand and have a few questions:

First, I was recently looking at a "Blue Indigo" bag on eBay and realized when searching the color reference subforum that Bal came out with this color both in 2005 and in 2012. Does Bal does this often and when it does, are the colors identical?

Also, I recently came across "classic gold" hardware on the Bal website and in at least one post here on TPF. Up till then, I thought that "classic" hardware was always brass. Is "classic gold" new for 2013? How does it compare to mggh (it looks like maybe it is smooth and softer in color while mggh is ridged and brighter). If anyone has both, side-by-side pics would be much appreciated--I'm a gold lover!

Finally, I don't think I understand Bal "Limited Editions". It looks like the Holiday bags are always chevre, right? Are there other Limited Editions? And how often does Bal come out with them? I'm very confused on this. People sometimes describe their bag as a Limited Edition, but it looks like lambskin I can't tell what is different. Could it be just a color?

I know this is a helluva lotta question :smile: TIA!
 
Hi there, Bal experts. I'm new to the brand and have a few questions:

First, I was recently looking at a "Blue Indigo" bag on eBay and realized when searching the color reference subforum that Bal came out with this color both in 2005 and in 2012. Does Bal does this often and when it does, are the colors identical?

Also, I recently came across "classic gold" hardware on the Bal website and in at least one post here on TPF. Up till then, I thought that "classic" hardware was always brass. Is "classic gold" new for 2013? How does it compare to mggh (it looks like maybe it is smooth and softer in color while mggh is ridged and brighter). If anyone has both, side-by-side pics would be much appreciated--I'm a gold lover!

Finally, I don't think I understand Bal "Limited Editions". It looks like the Holiday bags are always chevre, right? Are there other Limited Editions? And how often does Bal come out with them? I'm very confused on this. People sometimes describe their bag as a Limited Edition, but it looks like lambskin I can't tell what is different. Could it be just a color?

I know this is a helluva lotta question :smile: TIA!
Hi serenityneow! Welcome to Bal! Let's see if I can help tackle some of your questions. :smile:

Yes, Bal (from time to time) remakes certain colors. For example, in 2011 there was a Dark Knight, and it was remade again in 2012. Praline was also another remake. However, they never make it exactly the same. This is because each year the quality of the leather is different. It's never the same texture, color intensity, thickness, etc. Even with bags from the same season it's not guaranteed that they will have the same quality, let alone different seasons. Plus, in 2011 Bal still had G21 RGGH, and by the time Dark Knight came around again in 2012 the G21 RGGH was discontinued; only the G12 mRGH was available. Therefore different hardware selections also influence how the bag looks. (P.S. I'm so glad I got my DK in 2011 with the RGGH instead of waiting till 2012 because it looks so amazing with the G21 hardware! But I digress...:P)

The classic gold, I believe, was first introduced in the Christmas 2011 Hamilton Collection as a special edition. It is the same as mGGH. However, when you mentioned "smoother and softer in color," that made me think of the gold palladium-plated hardware from the Pearly Collection; is that what you were referring to? If yes, then that hardware is indeed smoother and softer, not ridged like the mGGH is. But this is because the Pearly Collection is a limited edition, and so it's not unusual for Bal to make the hardware different as well.

It seems like the holiday bags of late have been the hamilton chèvre. However, this is not to be confused with the original chevre because the hamilton version is treated and thus the leather is more firm: http://forum.purseblog.com/balenciaga-clubhouse/2011-holiday-hamilton-club-721760.html. Sometimes Limited Edition can refer to a color. For example, the Dark Violet of 2012 was LE. It's still agneau leather, but for that specific color Bal brought back the G21 GGH, and like I mentioned previously G21 was discontinued so that made a lot of people (including myself) contact their SAs immediately to get a hold of it. With LE items, not all Bal stores carry it. And when they do, they only have a few items (10 or less) at each store, so we have to get on the waitlist for them. So to answer your last question, yes LE can be just a color!

Hope this helped! Let me know if there are other questions. :smile:
 
Hi serenityneow! Welcome to Bal! Let's see if I can help tackle some of your questions. :smile:

Yes, Bal (from time to time) remakes certain colors. For example, in 2011 there was a Dark Knight, and it was remade again in 2012. Praline was also another remake. However, they never make it exactly the same. This is because each year the quality of the leather is different. It's never the same texture, color intensity, thickness, etc. Even with bags from the same season it's not guaranteed that they will have the same quality, let alone different seasons. Plus, in 2011 Bal still had G21 RGGH, and by the time Dark Knight came around again in 2012 the G21 RGGH was discontinued; only the G12 mRGH was available. Therefore different hardware selections also influence how the bag looks. (P.S. I'm so glad I got my DK in 2011 with the RGGH instead of waiting till 2012 because it looks so amazing with the G21 hardware! But I digress...:P)

The classic gold, I believe, was first introduced in the Christmas 2011 Hamilton Collection as a special edition. It is the same as mGGH. However, when you mentioned "smoother and softer in color," that made me think of the gold palladium-plated hardware from the Pearly Collection; is that what you were referring to? If yes, then that hardware is indeed smoother and softer, not ridged like the mGGH is. But this is because the Pearly Collection is a limited edition, and so it's not unusual for Bal to make the hardware different as well.

It seems like the holiday bags of late have been the hamilton chèvre. However, this is not to be confused with the original chevre because the hamilton version is treated and thus the leather is more firm: http://forum.purseblog.com/balenciaga-clubhouse/2011-holiday-hamilton-club-721760.html. Sometimes Limited Edition can refer to a color. For example, the Dark Violet of 2012 was LE. It's still agneau leather, but for that specific color Bal brought back the G21 GGH, and like I mentioned previously G21 was discontinued so that made a lot of people (including myself) contact their SAs immediately to get a hold of it. With LE items, not all Bal stores carry it. And when they do, they only have a few items (10 or less) at each store, so we have to get on the waitlist for them. So to answer your last question, yes LE can be just a color!

Hope this helped! Let me know if there are other questions. :smile:

Oh wow, pinkelephant, thanks so much for answering my questions so thoroughly! This is immensely helpful. Also, you should reward yourself with a new Bal :smile:
 
Oh wow, pinkelephant, thanks so much for answering my questions so thoroughly! This is immensely helpful. Also, you should reward yourself with a new Bal :smile:

Hahaha my boyfriend actually did already in February! He got me a Mauve mini city with mGGH and I love it to bits because it's so cute! :biggrin::biggrin: I'm still on the lookout for a Twiggy though. We shall see....:smile: