New pochette with faded zipper? Used? Authentic, or not?

[testarossa]

Hey all! I just bought my second-ever LV, this time from a third party individual online. It is a pochette, and upon receipt, I noticed that the zipper is not as "gold" as the other gold accents. (Actually, I could kind of see that in one of the pictures, but I had chalked it up to bad lighting). It is a bit faded and has somewhat of a silvery tone.

The bag was labeled both (1) authentic, and (2) new (but purchased many months ago). I've never owned a pochette and I really didn't pay attention to them in the boutique when I bought my Speedy, so I am looking to you guys for help!

Is it possible for an un-used, authentic pochette, purchased awhile ago, to have a slightly faded gold zipper, or is this a sign of use? Or worse, not being authentic? The rest of the bag looks perfect to me, and the strap doesn't show any signs of patina.

Also, I just looked in the Authenticate forum- someone posted this bag there, and it was confirmed authentic. (I hesitate to repost the exact bag because I do NOT want to sound like I am accusing anyone of anything. I am not an expert and I'm new to LV, so I just want to see what you all think.)

Here is my best effort at taking a picture, but this was pretty much impossible to document:

Thanks!!!

 

[lilmountaingirl]

You'd probably get better help in the authenticate this thread, and I'm not sure what the date code is but I do know LV has recently changed their zippers to a more matte zipper because people were complaining of the color change. I don't know if they changed all hardware...

 

[lilmountaingirl]

Oh, I skipped over the authenticate thread part accidentally, but they can still help you with the hardware. If this is the older hardware, it will turn silver over time. Mine has. That's why they changed to matte,,,, just clarifying my post.

 

[testarossa]

I don't have it on me this second, but the bag was made in 2008. I believe quite late into 2008, specifically. It was purchased in early 2009. When did they change the zippers?

I'm guessing the problem is that the zippers turned silver with use, not just time? So maybe this is authentic, but perhaps used instead of brand new? Hmm..

Edit: Just to clarify, by zipper, I mean the zipper PULL. Whoops!