OK JC Lovers... I am going to post some photos and tips to look for in trying to determine the authenticity of Ramona's and Rikis. I purchased a Blue Wet Look Ramona from an ebay seller and luckily she was very willing to refund my money. Before I returned it, I took photos and made notes of all the differences I could see between my Blue Wet Look Riki (purchased from JC store) vs the Ebay Ramona and then I took my Black Patent Leather Ramona (purchased from SFA).
The first obvious detail on Fake Patent Leather Ramona's & Riki's are the underside (handle & closure) straps are done in Patent Leather on both sides.
The Authentic bags are Patent leather on only the outside straps (regular leather on the undersides) additionally the fake bags have the patent leather on the zipper reinforcement pockets vs plain leather reinforcements and the leather band around the entire patent leather bags should also be plain leather vs patent leather.
The screws on the back of the gold JC strap closure tag are Flat head screws on the authentic bags and Philips head screws on the fake bags.
The length of the closure strap on the fake bags is about 1 inch longer.
The gold JC engraving on the fake bags seem to be about 1/2 inch lower than on the authentic Ramona's & Riki's.
The lettering/engraving on the fakes is a little thicker font as well (same goes for the purple JC tag inside the bag).
Next, the grommets on the fake bag are just a 1/4 inch larger. They are thicker too, but I could not give an exact measurement.
The JC bow on the fake Ramonas is about 1/2 longer and 1/4 inches wider (at the widest spot of the bow).
The leather snap closure on the fake Ramonas are patent leather, but not on the real Patent Ramonas. I will add some more photos in another post to give you more details. Please feel free to add any comments you might have as well, to assist all JC lovers from falling prey to all the fake bags on the market.
The first obvious detail on Fake Patent Leather Ramona's & Riki's are the underside (handle & closure) straps are done in Patent Leather on both sides.
The Authentic bags are Patent leather on only the outside straps (regular leather on the undersides) additionally the fake bags have the patent leather on the zipper reinforcement pockets vs plain leather reinforcements and the leather band around the entire patent leather bags should also be plain leather vs patent leather.
The screws on the back of the gold JC strap closure tag are Flat head screws on the authentic bags and Philips head screws on the fake bags.
The length of the closure strap on the fake bags is about 1 inch longer.
The gold JC engraving on the fake bags seem to be about 1/2 inch lower than on the authentic Ramona's & Riki's.
The lettering/engraving on the fakes is a little thicker font as well (same goes for the purple JC tag inside the bag).
Next, the grommets on the fake bag are just a 1/4 inch larger. They are thicker too, but I could not give an exact measurement.
The JC bow on the fake Ramonas is about 1/2 longer and 1/4 inches wider (at the widest spot of the bow).
The leather snap closure on the fake Ramonas are patent leather, but not on the real Patent Ramonas. I will add some more photos in another post to give you more details. Please feel free to add any comments you might have as well, to assist all JC lovers from falling prey to all the fake bags on the market.
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Robyn, we all appreciate the time it took to do this. This is a great resource.
I had my authentic blue Riki and the blue ebay bag side by side and it was very close. Anyone who did not know what to look for could easily be fooled. 
I know I would have been.
What a plus to have a fake and the real thing side by side.I am sure this thread will be of great help to those braving ebay!
