HERMES AUTHENTICITY
Stitching: All Hermes leather goods are meticulously hand stitched. When examining the stitching, it is important to pay attention to the size and width of each stitch. Stitches are generally sewn on a diagonal and are very small measuring roughly 3mm.
Stamping/Engraving: All Hermes leather pieces are given three specific stamps: A date stamp, a craftsman stamp, and an HERMES stamp. The date stamp corresponds to the year the item was produced and the craftsman stamp is a unique stamp correlating to the specific craftsman who made the piece.
Date Stamps: Hermes bags can date as far back as 1945. Bags produced that year were stamped with an “A”. Every year subsequent to that followed the sequence of the alphabet (i.e. bags made in 1946 were stamped “B”; those made in 1947 were stamped “C”, and so on). In 1971 Hermes began encasing date stamps in a circle to differentiate from preceding years, and started from the beginning of the alphabet again. In 1997 the circle was changed to a square and once again, they started the alphabet over.Craftsman Stamps: Each craftsman has a unique stamp that identifies what bag they have produced. These stamps can be a combination of letters, and sometimes different symbols are used too.
Hermes Stamp: Hermes bags are stamped “HERMES PARIS MADE IN FRANCE”. Each (omitted “stamp”) is precisely stamped on straight with an accent mark over the second E in Hermes. The stamp matches the color of the hardware. On Kelly and Birkin bags however, the Hermes stamps are not centered, but closer to the top of the bag instead. If you see a Birkin with a centered Hermes stamp, this is an automatic giveaway for being a replica.
Hermes Leathers:The two most popular leathers used are Togo and Clemence. Togo is a scratch resistant leather that is made of baby calfskin, it has a defined soft pebbled finish that appears raised and feels smooth but grainy. Clemence is made from baby bull, this leather is textured and scratch resistant. The grain appears flatter and matte compared to the other grainy Togo leather. This leather makes bags slouchy as it is quite heavy. These leathers are very similar in look, however Togo is grainier with more veins.
Some other leathers include...
Box Leather- Calfskin that is extremely smooth with a glossy finish. Scratches are more visible on this leather than the textured leathers but can be blended over time by light buffing. This is the oldest type of Hermes leather and frequently appears on vintage Kelly bags.
Swift- (Formerly Gulliver) It is a soft leather with fine grain. It can get scratches easily compared to Togo and Clemence but they can be removed by rubbing the mark. It is a great dye absorbent, and bright colors look more luminous with this leather.
Epsom (Stamped)- This is the new Courchevel leather and is lightweight and sturdy. It is embossed leather that holds its shape and is scratch resistant. Epsom leather is easy to clean.
Chevre- A soft goat hide leather that is lightweight and scratch resistant. There are three kinds of chevre leather with the difference being shown in the amount of grain.
Amozonia- Rubber coated canvas that resembles real leather. It is waterproof but prone to scratches. The opposite side of the material is usually the canvas without the rubber treatment. This material is no longer produced.
EXOTICS:Croc Nilo Croc, Porosus Croc, Alligator, Lizard, Ostrich
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