I used a pair of pliers to remove my chain strap from my luggage N/S Hamilton. It looks even more like the Birkin now. I still have it on my black Hamilton N/S. I think the bag looks great with the chain gone. My only concern is that someone will think that my bag is a "knockoff" since the chain is gone, but I really do not care about that. My husband was devastated I was removing the chain strap from the luggage Hamilton. The D-rings are still on it because I could not remove those.