Judging from the flat brass first bags I've seen in my shop and have in my personal collection. I believe the rings that attach the handles were initially slightly larger and more squared, and then sometime in S/S 02 production they switched over to the rounder, slightly smaller rings. All of the F/W '02 bags I've seen have those smaller, rounder rings.
Just like the hardware changes of SS '05 to the notched rivet from the larger round rivet, we see examples of both types of hardware in the season the change is first made and then the following season is consistent until the next change.
One of these rings is not like the others:
[top left, clockwise: SS '02 Black First, SS '02 Chocolate First, FW '02 Olive First, '01 FW Pebbled Black First]
The change is subtle, yet gives a different shape to the ring:
[FW '02 Olive First smaller, more rounded ring vs. SS '02 Chocolate First with larger, more square shaped ring.]
I can't say for sure that's what happened, but it makes the most sense to me right now.
, though you can see a little bit of the raw edge on the bottom of the pocket in my pic of the lining, about 2 inches from the bottom left, there's a thread from the raw edge sticking out:
