How to Authenticate Hermès Birkin and Kelly Bags in 2021
Posted by The Ban Island Team
January 26, 2023
👋Hello there, I’m Angel, and welcome to this week's 🔒member-only edition 🔒 of Ban Island’s newsletter. Each newsletter, I offer my research and insight as I tackle google’s most searched questions within the luxury bag world.
With thousands of counterfeit Hermès Birkin and Kelly bags for sale...
Q: How do you authenticate Hermès Bags? - Collection Guide #1
Authenticating Hermès bags takes years of experience and expertise that using photos alone is truly difficult. Since an Hermè bag is such a big purchase, I would advocate paying an authenticator for a certificate.
Below are some tips I’ve researched that can help you at least run away from major red flags.
Common Red Flags 🚩: Signs of a Fake Hermès Bag
The font used on the logo stamp is blocky and irregular
The Hermès logo stamp is pressed very deep into the leather or printed on
There is a certificate of authenticity issued with the purchase of the bag
There are hang tags on the bag
The leather has a chemical scent to it
The lock and keys are not the same color as the rest of the hardware.
The key peeks from the bottom of the leather clochette
The leather clochette is made from two pieces of leather stitched together
The hardware used feels lightweight and tarnishes, peels or wears with everyday use
The zipper hangs down from the zipper line
The Hermès logo on the dust bag is grey or burgundy in color
Logo Stamp
The Birkin and the Kelly feature an Hermès logo on the front centre of the bag’s exterior. The logo stamp should read:
It should be in a clean, crisp font that is neither blocky nor irregular.
Using a technique called heat stamping, the logo is embossed onto the exterior material in a color that matches the bag’s hardware. To authenticate, carefully run your finger across the logo stamp. You should feel the logo on top of the leather - not pressed into it.
🚩Fakes will often feature logo stamps that have been printed on, or have been pressed deep into the exterior material.
The fake logo on the right is pressed deep into the exterior material.
Authenticity Card and Hang Tags 🏷️
Unlike other luxury fashion brands, Hermès does not issue authenticity cards, certificates of authenticity, or hang tags with the purchase of their bags.
The only form of paperwork that is issued by Hermès is a CITES certificate (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) that ensures that their exotic-skinned bags can be shipped out of France.
Leather
Hermès is known for using the finest leather and exotic animal skins. The leather should have a deep, rich smell - like the finest leather you’ve ever smelled. This scent remains for the entire lifetime of the bag, and is cultivated during Hermès’ proprietary leather treatment process.
Counterfeiters cannot imitate the distinct smell of authentic Hermès leather.
🚩Fake Hermès bags often use leather of poorer quality, that is often stiff and rough to the touch, and has a chemical scent.
Stitching 🪡
Each Hermès bag is hand-stitched by a skilled Hermès artisan using the saddle stitching technique. The stitches are slightly angled from one another in a precise and uniform direction that is angular to the line of stitching.
Note that the saddle stitching on the base of the Hermès Birkin and Kelly top handles is a double-stitch. This is a key defining feature as many counterfeiters will neglect this.
The authentic saddle stitching on the left is slightly angled.
Shape
In general, the shape of the Birkin and the Kelly bag should be neat and pronounced with no imperfections in the leather; always make sure there are no bulges in the exterior material.
There should not be any glue visible on any part of the bag - an immediate indication of a fake.
The handles should sit straight up and down without any bending.
🚩Fake Hermès bags often feature round or misshapen top handles due to the use of poorer quality of leather.
Lining
There should be no loose threads or crooked stitches within the seam line. Always made from top quality leathers, Hermès bags are often lined with chèvre leather - a grained goatskin.
Hardware Plaque
🚩The hardware should never feel light and cheap.
While slight tarnishing is possible (but unlikely) through extended wear, the hardware should never fade or peel as they are made from precious metals.
The hardware plate on the sangles of the Birkin and Kelly should be laser-etched to read “HERMÈS-PARIS” in a clear and crisp font.
Note: the engraving on gold colored hardware will have a hallmark after “PARIS” - this is not the same for bags with Palladium hardware.
Authentic Hermès gold colored hardware will have a hallmark after "PARIS."
Lock and Keys 🔐
Perhaps the most distinguishing feature of the Hermès Birkin and Kelly bag is the lock and keys. The lock and keys must have matching numerical codes engraved into them. The numbers should be very clean, not poorly engraved.
The lock and keys should have the same hardware finish as the rest of the hardware on the bag.
🚩Common lock and key numbers used for counterfeit Hermès bags include 121, 212 and 102.
The authentic Hermès lock on the right features an engraved font that is clean and crisp.
Clochette
The bag’s clochette should be made of one piece of leather that is folded in half and stitched. Fake Hermès Birkin and Kelly bags often have clochettes made from two pieces of leather that have been stitched together.
The leather used for the clochette should be of the same colorr and texture as the leather used for the exterior of the bag.
Additionally, ensure that the key is fully concealed by the clochette when not in use.
🚩A common feature of a counterfeit Birkin or Kelly bag is a leather clochette with the key peeking out from the bottom.
Zipper
The zipper located on the interior pocket of your Hermès bag may have an “H”, a square symbol or nothing at all at the exact end of the zipper.
In terms of finish, the metal on a real Hermès zipper is more matte as opposed to lustrous. The zipper must remain parallel to the zipper line at all times.
🚩If the Zipper hangs down at a 90 degree angle from the zipper line this is a clear indication that the bag in question is fake.
The pull must be made from the same leather as the exterior of the bag.
The zipper of this authentic Hermès bag remains parallel to the zipper line and does not hang down.
Toggle (Spindle)
Authentic toggles turn smoothly and have even tension when twisting them to open the bag. This movement is similar to that of a watch.
🚩In contrast, the toggles on fake Hermès bags tend to be lighter in weight, and have a grainy and stiff feel when turning them.
Dust Bag and Rain Cover
The authenticity process goes beyond the bag; professionals will often examine the dust bag for extra clues to see if the bag in question is, indeed, genuine. Depending on the dust bag’s year of manufacture, the Hermès logo should be set in either one or two rings. It is essential to remember that the Hermès logo color on their dust bags is always dark brown.
🚩Fake dust bags are often stamped with a grey or burgundy colored logo.
In terms of color and material, vintage dust bags are a tan velour. Dust bags made in the post-2007 era are made of herringbone toile and are beige and light brown in color. Finally, newer dust bags are made of an orange cotton flannel.
While the color and material of the dust bag is constantly changing, the drawstring of the bag is always brown and made from 100% cotton. Like the handbag itself, Hermès dust bags also feature a precise, high stitch count and with no crooked seams in sight.
In addition to the dust bag, each Hermès bag is also accompanied by a rain cover that is soft to the touch.
The fake Hermès dust bag logo on the right is burgundy as opposed to dark brown.
Logo Stamp: Special Symbols 🌠
When inspecting the Hermès logo on the front exterior of the bag, you might find a special symbol. These symbols are heat stamped and often indicate additional information about the bag that you may find interesting.
Hermès special symbol reference chart,
The Horseshoe stamp on the left a hallmark feature of an Hermès special order bag.
For more information about Hermès Special Order Bags, check out our other posts:
Customary to all Hermès handbags is a blind date stamp which can be found in one of two places on the Birkin and Kelly:
On the exterior sangles (straps across the front of the bag).
Or, on the interior side panel on bags made in, and after, 2016.
Each Hermès bag will have a unique date stamp with a letter, indicating a year, and a may include a symbol.
Stamps also feature the artisan’s ID and a symbol to indicate the use of an exotic skin (if applicable).
The date stamp depends entirely on the year the bag was crafted, and is constantly changing to throw off counterfeiters.
Below is a reference chart where you can find the year of the bag’s production and the corresponding letter and symbol:
The 2021 Hermès blind stamp has yet to be released.
The Hermès blind stamp can be found in two placements: the interior side panel and the exterior sangle.
Size 📏
Hermès always stays true to size with the exact dimensions as listed. The Hermès Birkin comes in four main sizes: 25 cm, 30 cm, 35 cm and 40 cm. Thus, an authentic Birkin 25 must measure exactly 25 cm across the base of the bag; a Birkin 35 must measure exactly 35 cm across the base of the bag, and so forth.
The Hermès Kelly comes in eight main sizes: 15 cm, 20cm, 25 cm, 28 cm, 32 cm, 35 cm, 40 cm and 50 cm. As a side note, Hermès also offers the Birkin HAC which is custom-made to different dimensions than those listed above.
