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I would definitely get the artsy so you don't have to be concerned or baby the bag the way you would have to with the speedy. You might have to give more attention to it to prevent from scratching the lettering or rubbing it away- if it even stays on on its own over time. The artsy however is stunning and doesn't have this kind of defect in materials. Empreinte leather is the best!
After reading your comment, I checked mine. Mine is really off center. Now I can't really stand it. I'm so disappointed with the off center issue. Should I return it? I'm so mad at myself that I didn't notice it in the store.
It would drive me crazy after I noticed it. I don't think it's too much to ask that the stamping be centered. I know people here seem to eschew mixing price up with QC standards, but you have more than paid for this level of QA so I personally would return it. If it were $10 I would still seek out the centered one. That's how it's marketed and designed to be, that's what you'd like.
Wow!! What a disappointment! Sorry to hear you had to open your package to come across that. As soon as I saw that picture I posted of the cracking letters I knew this was most likely going to become a problem. It's such a beautiful bag otherwise too, so that's so frustrating. I had my heart set on them releasing the empreinte speedy in black for a few years now. I kept asking the SAs if/when it would be released and always remained hopeful when they kept telling me they had no current plans of the color. I was so excited when I heard they were releasing it, but I'm not going to purchase it after all. There's no way I could spend that much on something that has such a defect. I have an empreinte wallet purchased just a few months ago that has minor chipping away of the lettering already and that's disappointing as well since my older LV wallets have perfect lettering. Empreinte leather relaxes and becomes more supple in time so I can't even imagine what the lettering will look like a few years out. I have a couple of the old model empreinte speedys and I was always concerned with giving them too much use because of the handles pulling the leather up slightly, but I'd much rather deal with a little bit of sagging and pulling in the old model than chipping away of lettering on the new model. For me, I'm going to just enjoy my old model speedys and pass on the new one. So unfortunate. Thank you so much for sharing with us so we can make a more informed decision
I originally wanted mastic but didn't want to baby it and now I still have to baby it to avoid the chipping and rubbing of the font! I'm so disappointed!
Wow!! What a disappointment! Sorry to hear you had to open your package to come across that. As soon as I saw that picture I posted of the cracking letters I knew this was most likely going to become a problem. It's such a beautiful bag otherwise too, so that's so frustrating. I had my heart set on them releasing the empreinte speedy in black for a few years now. I kept asking the SAs if/when it would be released and always remained hopeful when they kept telling me they had no current plans of the color. I was so excited when I heard they were releasing it, but I'm not going to purchase it after all. There's no way I could spend that much on something that has such a defect. I have an empreinte wallet purchased just a few months ago that has minor chipping away of the lettering already and that's disappointing as well since my older LV wallets have perfect lettering. Empreinte leather relaxes and becomes more supple in time so I can't even imagine what the lettering will look like a few years out. I have a couple of the old model empreinte speedys and I was always concerned with giving them too much use because of the handles pulling the leather up slightly, but I'd much rather deal with a little bit of sagging and pulling in the old model than chipping away of lettering on the new model. For me, I'm going to just enjoy my old model speedys and pass on the new one. So unfortunate. Thank you so much for sharing with us so we can make a more informed decision
How absolutely frustrating that the rivets are off. For me, the gold lettering being so prone to cracking over time is a deal breaker. I've wanted this bag in this color for years, but I only invest in luxury goods that I know will look great long term. I don't mind the inevitable cracking of the lettering inside of the wallets because that is on the inside and doesn't bother me. But on the outside of the bag is too much of a disappointment for me. Even if I were to hunt a seemingly perfect-printed one down, the softening of the leather over time will start to show the natural hairline creasing of the naturally aging leather (inevitable to crack/chip the gold). And it's the focal point of the front of the bag so it will be noticeable. I do believe avoiding rubbing the lettering will, of course, help some but just like in the wallets (where nothing truly rubs up against the lettering) it's bound to crack somewhat, eventually, no matter how we baby the bag. I own two empreinte speedys and two empreinte Saint Germains and the smooth leather on the Saint germain has fine creases in it, on the front of the bag, which are natural, from wearing it. So being familiar with how the leather feels, looks, and ages, I am going to pass on the new model speedy. I adore the new color Noir and the look, but I don't want to one day look down at my bag and see "Ouis Vuitton" or "Louis Vuitto". I'm going to just enjoy my old empreinte speedys and empreinte Saint germains.I called me SA- going to try and exchange it- mine is Also off center! My one rivet is actually lower than the other one! Now I'm wondering if I should just pass on this bag
I couldn't make it to the store because of my young kids, so I had my SA send one to me and now I have to go back anyway!
Oh and-The flowers on the bottom of my bag don't match up either!
You're very welcome
. For what we pay for these bags, it's important we do our research and invest wisely. I've actually been having back-to-back problems with Louis Vuitton this year. I had three empreinte key pouches delivered to me with the hardware extremely scratched on all of them- one zipper pull was even jagged it was so messed up. I had a canvas speedy delivered to me with a white stain on the interior. I had a Palm Springs mini delivered to me with unaligned patterns on the front of the bag and one of the black tabs on the pocket had a white line on it (I think the black was scratched off somehow or maybe an error in production). And then, as I mentioned, my new empreinte wallet has chipping gold lettering- but the rest of the wallet is perfect so it doesn't bother me. I'm starting to see the quality of their items decrease (compared to the quality in prior years). I have yet to back away from the fashion house, as I am a big fan of the empreinte leather, but I do go the extra mile to research what I'm about to invest in and then I make sure the items I do receive don't have any significant flaws. I consider my bags investments, and hope to get at least ten years out of each piece- I don't see this as a possibility with the new speedy with the gold lettering. So I'm grateful for your post about your experience, as well as all the other posts. Now I can make an informed decision to look into something different, maybe even somewhere different 
