Chanel Leather Quality - Current Collection

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#46
vivaciousbev1 said:
Caviar is leather, and the leather of the skin will differ. Some are more matte, some more dry, some thinner and some thicker. You can wait for one if you’re unhappy with it, however sometimes due to price increase you have to think of what’s worth it. Like bklee said, its expensive and you should not settle. Maybe call other boutiques and compare them.
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☺️ I agree that I will wait. I’m just too crazy with Chanel bags lol love it. I meant that does caviar skin really get shinner and soft over time?
 
#47
sisterhood said:
☺ I agree that I will wait. I’m just too crazy with Chanel bags lol love it. I meant that does caviar skin really get shinner and soft over time?
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I have seen and felt the dry rough ones, I would not bet my money on it becoming as shiny and soft as how I want it to be just by using it. I feel the nature of the leather is very different.

I usually buy from an SA who is on maternity leave, and got to know another SA from the same boutique who is super helpful, she was the one who was keeping an eye for a shiny soft woc for me in every shipment, she updates me almost every other day and while I really appreciate it, I really wanted the woc asap so I have been hunting it down whenever I had the chance to pass by a boutique.

Here in Hong Kong we have at least 7 boutiques and I’ve visited 5 of them. Most SAs that I’ve never met will try to persuade me to buy the dry rough woc by saying the same thing: it will get shiny and soft after a while of using because our hands have oils...and that all caviars are the same, I shouldn’t expect to find a different caviar. But I have seen and felt soft buttery shiny caviar before, and I have had the chance to hold a dry rough classic flap and a shiny soft one side by side to compare, I simply will not spend that much money on something I do not love at first sight, and I am not willing to bet on it being shiny and soft over time, I’d rather wait. And sure enough I got a shiny soft one that I love after waiting for a month.

If shiny soft caviar is what you want, wait for it, maybe you can send the comparison photos to the SA so she has an idea of what you want.

One more thing to mention, my small shiny classic flap was bought in January 2021 and it is 29 series (an exchange), my SA told me it is because of the pandemic, so the order of the shipments from France became a little messed up, not sure how true is it. The original one that I bought was a 30 series, but it had a problem with the snap closure so I had to exchange it, that one was shiny too. My shiny woc is also a 30 series, so I know for a fact that there are shiny caviars out there this season, this series, just maybe a different batch.
 
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#48
bkee said:
I have seen and felt the dry rough ones, I would not bet my money on it becoming as shiny and soft as how I want it to be just by using it. I feel the nature of the leather is very different.

I usually buy from an SA who is on maternity leave, and got to know another SA from the same boutique who is super helpful, she was the one who was keeping an eye for a shiny soft woc for me in every shipment, she updates me almost every other day and while I really appreciate it, I really wanted the woc asap so I have been hunting it down whenever I had the chance to pass by a boutique.

Here in Hong Kong we have at least 7 boutiques and I’ve visited 5 of them. Most SAs that I’ve never met will try to persuade me to buy the dry rough woc by saying the same thing: it will get shiny and soft after a while of using because our hands have oils...and that all caviars are the same, I shouldn’t expect to find a different caviar. But I have seen and felt soft buttery shiny caviar before, and I have had the chance to hold a dry rough classic flap and a shiny soft one side by side to compare, I simply will not spend that much money on something I do not love at first sight, and I am not willing to bet on it being shiny and soft over time, I’d rather wait. And sure enough I got a shiny soft one that I love after waiting for a month.

If shiny soft caviar is what you want, wait for it, maybe you can send the comparison photos to the SA so she has an idea of what you want.

One more thing to mention, my small shiny classic flap was bought in January 2021 and it is 29 series (an exchange), my SA told me it is because of the pandemic, so the order of the shipments from France became a little messed up, not sure how true is it. The original one that I bought was a 30 series, but it had a problem with the snap closure so I had to exchange it, that one was shiny too. My shiny woc is also a 30 series, so I know for a fact that there are shiny caviars out there this season, this series, just maybe a different batch.
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Omg I love it when you said “I would not bet my money on it becoming as shiny and soft as how I want it to be just by using it.” It is so true. Yes I will wait. You are so lucky that you have met nice SAs. I was about to ask you their contact number if it’s possible then I know you live in HK lol. I’m in US. We only have 2 Chanel boutiques. I don’t want to call their other stores because I think it’s better to see the leather in person, other than that I may have to ship it back to return.

I told the SA who helped that I know what I like about the leather more shiny and soft. She said all Chanel collection line such as WOCs, classic flap are the same with hard and dry caviar. It will get shinier and softer when it’s used for a while. I felt helpless and I could tell she was unhappy when I returned it.

Instead of WOC with silver hw, I told her I don’t care about the hw, I prefer the shinier and softer leather if she can check it when they have it in the store. She seemed like she wasn’t okay with that. It makes me feel a bit uncomfortable if I come to see a bag in the future. I mean I am not mad but you know I think they also prefer regular customers I guess. I am so happy for you that you have got nice SAs. I hope I will get a better one soon. Have a great day it’s morning in HK :)
 
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#49
sisterhood said:
Omg I love it when you said “I would not bet my money on it becoming as shiny and soft as how I want it to be just by using it.” It is so true. Yes I will wait. You are so lucky that you have met nice SAs. I was about to ask you their contact number if it’s possible then I know you live in HK lol. I’m in US. We only have 2 Chanel boutiques. I don’t want to call their other stores because I think it’s better to see the leather in person, other than that I may have to ship it back to return.

I told the SA who helped that I know what I like about the leather more shiny and soft. She said all Chanel collection line such as WOCs, classic flap are the same with hard and dry caviar. It will get shinier and softer when it’s used for a while. I felt helpless and I could tell she was unhappy when I returned it.

Instead of WOC with silver hw, I told her I don’t care about the hw, I prefer the shinier and softer leather if she can check it when they have it in the store. She seemed like she wasn’t okay with that. It makes me feel a bit uncomfortable if I come to see a bag in the future. I mean I am not mad but you know I think they also prefer regular customers I guess. I am so happy for you that you have got nice SAs. I hope I will get a better one soon. Have a great day it’s morning in HK :smile:
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I understand that selling Chanel bags is an everyday thing to the SAs so they might feel indifferent, but it sure is not an everyday thing for me, in fact, it is quite special to me since I do not drop large amount of money on handbags regularly anymore after downsizing my collection substantially. (Except to get 2 forever pieces within these 2 months.

Sad to say some SAs treat their non-regular customers quite poorly, and I have had such an encounter while hunting for a shiny caviar in one of the boutiques I have visited. I refuse to be treated like a beggar while I am spending this amount on a handbag, I feel that shopping for a luxury handbag entails the whole experience, sadly not all SAs can provide that. If the SA you work with does not want to be helpful, look for another one, there is no reason to stay loyal to her at all. Don’t let that certain SA make you feel uncomfortable to visit the boutique, you have done nothing wrong, after all you are paying a large amount for a woc, it is only fair that you want to have a bag that you love.

To be honest with you I got impatient of waiting, I was about to get the lambskin woc since I am sure that it will be shiny and soft, luckily I asked to see the caviar first before giving in to lambskin, and the SA brought out a shiny one. If you don’t mind lambskin, it is a great alternative.

Thank you, and a good evening to you! :) I do hope you’ll find a lovely SA who is willing to help you.
 
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#50
bkee said:
I understand that selling Chanel bags is an everyday thing to the SAs so they might feel indifferent, but it sure is not an everyday thing for me, in fact, it is quite special to me since I do not drop large amount of money on handbags regularly anymore after downsizing my collection substantially. (Except to get 2 forever pieces within these 2 months.

Sad to say some SAs treat their non-regular customers quite poorly, and I have had such an encounter while hunting for a shiny caviar in one of the boutiques I have visited. I refuse to be treated like a beggar while I am spending this amount on a handbag, I feel that shopping for a luxury handbag entails the whole experience, sadly not all SAs can provide that. If the SA you work with does not want to be helpful, look for another one, there is no reason to stay loyal to her at all. Don’t let that certain SA make you feel uncomfortable to visit the boutique, you have done nothing wrong, after all you are paying a large amount for a woc, it is only fair that you want to have a bag that you love.

To be honest with you I got impatient of waiting, I was about to get the lambskin woc since I am sure that it will be shiny and soft, luckily I asked to see the caviar first before giving in to lambskin, and the SA brought out a shiny one. If you don’t mind lambskin, it is a great alternative.

Thank you, and a good evening to you! :smile: I do hope you’ll find a lovely SA who is willing to help you.
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You are welcome and thank you. Yes I will take your advice. When I texted the SA, she didn’t bother to reply it. I will call the other boutique tomorrow. We have 2 in here. I will keep you update my fellow Chanel lover in HK :)
 
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