Chanel Leather Quality - Current Collection
- Thread starter jay_
- Start date
In my experience, it’s best to see it in person. Even within the same collection, the leather can vary.
A lot of it depends what style you like. Some are bigger, softer grains which tend to look more shiny. Others have smaller pebbles and appear more matte. I would take your time looking at several bags (even if it's not the one you're interested in) to compare and see which style appeals to you more. I personally prefer the bigger grains with very puffy quilting.
I have 3 caviar flaps, so hopefully the attached photo can help: the black has the biggest pebbles, then the beige, then the grey. The beige has the flattest quilts (though still on the puffier side of the scale, IMO).
Another thing to note: I would be less concerned about inferior leather than other quality issues (mismatched quilting, off center turnlock, popped stitches, glue residue, etc). All the more reason to see and feel the bag in person if possible! Because the style you’re after is pretty popular, I wouldn’t settle for the first one you see in the boutique if it isn’t exactly to your preferences.
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Thank you a lot for the quick answer and your help!
I have the feeling that the bag I have in view already has very small grains, but still looks very shiny. Do you think there is an even "finer version" or is it already the "softest" i can get in caviar leather?
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Thank you a lot for the quick answer and your help!
I have the feeling that the bag I have in view already has very small grains, but still looks very shiny. Do you think there is an even "finer version" or is it already the "softest" i can get in caviar leather?
Those definitely look on the smaller side of what I've seen. Maybe others can chime in if they have opinions, but if you loved it, go for it!
If it makes your heart sing when you first see the bag, I think it is a good sign that you are happy with the quality of the caviar. I’ve seen a lot of different variations of black caviar and I’ve noticed that it really affects the overall look of the bag. I personally like my bags to look shiny. Some would say it looks plasticy and not like it. It depends on preference. My mini has puffy quilts with a slight sheen. My woc is flatter and shiny. My classic m/l is super shiny! They all have small grains. Like it was mentioned above, you should check more for any defects in stitching and alignment and such. 
Here are my black caviar flaps. Hope this helps.
Here are my black caviar flaps. Hope this helps.Beautiful! I think the grains are bigger compared to the caviar nowadays. What season is your m/l from?
My classic m/l flap is 28 series. I purchased it last year. My mini flap is 16 series and was purchased about 8 years ago. The woc is somewhere in between the two.
Ah mine too! Must be a good batch haha I’ve seen so many variations in caviar and where they’re madeItaly
My very first WOC offer, when I was a complete noob @ Chanel, was fugly. Back in 2015...thing was matte, dry-looking, plasticky caviar. The SA tried to convince me it'll get shinier later...but I'm like, why would I pin my hopes on that, if I can see the other WOCs being shiny from Day 1? The second WOC I was offered, a week later, had small very shiny grains and was gorgeous. I immediately knew I had done the right thing to wait.Thank you a lot for the quick answer and your help!
I have the feeling that the bag I have in view already has very small grains, but still looks very shiny. Do you think there is an even "finer version" or is it already the "softest" i can get in caviar leather?
It is indeed important to look at it in person. Either it looks like it's $2000 worth of luxurious joy, or it feels like someone's trying to slap a logo on a mediocre item and play Emperor's New Clothes with your mind. If you look at it and go
then you know why you're paying the extra for something that brings that little extra bit of 
whenever you use it, touch it, look at it.BTW shopmycloset_lk's grey flap has the itty-bitty caviar, different from my WOC's small caviar. It's hard to explain. The itty-bitty caviar (in my mind I call it masago after the Japanese orange caviar) is quite recenty, like only 3-4 years old.
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My very first WOC offer, when I was a complete noob @ Chanel, was fugly. Back in 2015...thing was matte, dry-looking, plasticky caviar. The SA tried to convince me it'll get shinier later...but I'm like, why would I pin my hopes on that, if I can see the other WOCs being shiny from Day 1? The second WOC I was offered, a week later, had small very shiny grains and was gorgeous. I immediately knew I had done the right thing to wait.
It is indeed important to look at it in person. Either it looks like it's $2000 worth of luxurious joy, or it feels like someone's trying to slap a logo on a mediocre item and play Emperor's New Clothes with your mind. If you look at it and go
BTW shopmycloset_lk's grey flap has the itty-bitty caviar, different from my WOC's small caviar. It's hard to explain. The itty-bitty caviar (in my mind I call it masago after the Japanese orange caviar) is quite recenty, like only 3-4 years old.
I have the "fugly" version of the caviar WOC hahaha. I didn't know it was fugly when i bought it - it was my first (and only) caviar. At that time, I only had a couple of lambskin, a distressed/aged-calfskin, and a patent Chanel bag in my collection. When I bought my WOC, it looked shiny to me, I guess because of the store lighting. I realized it was fugly when I put it beside a friend's caviar bag. I would have thought my WOC was fake if i didn't buy it myself directly from the store. Hahahaha. Oh well... I still have the WOC, I use it a ton but still looks the same - like new and fugly. hahaha. It's the only caviar in my Chanel collection. It's weird but somehow, being a part of the fugly batch of caviar Chanel bags makes it just a bit more special
It was made in France.Speaking of differences in leather, my relatively older Chanel reissue size 227 has a matte aged-calfskin leather. It is black but the color seems dull (and not puffy) compared to my recently bought Chanel reissue size 225, which is shinier and puffier.
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