Documenting Chanel CC markings through time

TPF may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, and others

#197
Please direct me to another thread is this is already being discussed elsewhere. Did not find it in a search

For vintage CHANEL bags that have the larger interlocking CC's...there is small square engraved on the top corner of either the left or right C. And it appears the detailed engraving within that square differs over the years.

Does anyone have information on what details to look for to verify if the engraving and CCs look right for the bag/year?

1 - Which years was ot on corner of the right C? Which years it was on the corner of the left C? Or maybe it was just not by year but also style?

2 - What is within that small square engraving? For e.g. a 3 series bag I have seen looks like there were some scattered letters inside and some sort of object? I need a magnifying glass! And a 2 series bag I have seen looks like a small round circle inside.


Any information you have or if you can direct me on where to find out more about these variances and details over the years would be great. Always interesting to learn about the nuances.

Thanks!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Alice in Purseland
#198
sapphire3879 said:
Please direct me to another thread is this is already being discussed elsewhere. Did not find it in a search

For vintage CHANEL bags that have the larger interlocking CC's...there is small square engraved on the top corner of either the left or right C. And it appears the detailed engraving within that square differs over the years.

Does anyone have information on what details to look for to verify if the engraving and CCs look right for the bag/year?

1 - Which years was ot on corner of the right C? Which years it was on the corner of the left C? Or maybe it was just not by year but also style?

2 - What is within that small square engraving? For e.g. a 3 series bag I have seen looks like there were some scattered letters inside and some sort of object? I need a magnifying glass! And a 2 series bag I have seen looks like a small round circle inside.


Any information you have or if you can direct me on where to find out more about these variances and details over the years would be great. Always interesting to learn about the nuances.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

Thanks for moving this to the right thread. Great information!

If the square indentation on the C looks on the dark side, does that likely indicate the bad was re-dyed? Or maybe just tarnish?
 
#203
shinymagpie said:
None of the bags have pure gold plating. They all have an alloy mix containing gold. The hall marked bags had an alloy containing 24 carat gold. Don't know what the content is with the new ones. The older ones also had an alloy containing gold, but the marking was not standardised until sometime in the 1970's to early 1980s.

All metal plating is laid over another metal base. This is why the plating wears down over time and different metals react differently to plating and some wear down faster than others.
Click to expand...

First of all, you girls are wonderful! This thread is very interesting.

From your experience, would you say the locks that had the markings are more lasting than the newer ones? Could we simply put that CC locks with hallmarks are better than non hallmarked locks? Or could we assume that new is better, which is how things should be?
 
#204
I think more than anything, the markings reflect a regulatory requirement, to physically record on the product, that a process & particular materials were used, during a window of 30 years. Sounds long winded but that is my conclusion after years of studying these bags. In the future, historians will ask exactly what you did,
 
#209
Bumping to add info I didn't see yet on the thread.

I have an 11 series 2008 ghw ml flap and it has a stamp on the upper left that looks ...for lack of other way to describe......like a can with a spout (kind of like a gardening water can). It had an S on the top left of the "can" and an L on the top right. It was preowned, but authenticated (however without a pic f the tiny stamp).

Sorry, all I've got is an iPad with me and the camera isn't getting it.
 
#210
I'm considering buying a pre-owned medium flap in caviar, gold hardware.

It is a 128xxxxx series and has no hallmark on the CC lock. Very puffy quilting and slightly stiffer caviar, so it holds the shape well.

Another bag is a 126xxxxx series with the hallmark, but the caviar is the softer kind and the bag looks slouchy and the quilts are flatter. The bag is not in good shape, so I don't think I will get it.

Question is, if the 12xxxxxx series is supposed to be made in 2009, when real gold was still used in the Chanel hardware, does it make a difference whether the CC lock has a hallmark or not?

Most of the info I read is that the hallmark is to indicate the country of origin, but some TPFers say it shows whether the hardware uses real gold or not.

Silver hardware has no hallmark at all, whether made before or after 2009.

Which should I get, any advice will be really welcome, thanks!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top