5-Second Serial, Date-Code & UK Valuation Checker

Louis Vuitton stamped two-letter workshop codes alongside three- or four-digit production dates from 1982 until February 2021. Since 1 March 2021, authentic pieces carry a concealed NFC microchip instead of a leather date tab.

• Pre-1982 (No date code): Vintage pieces prior to 1982 carry no numeric date stamp; verify brass hardware, heat-stamp typography, and saddle stitching.
• 1982 – Mid-1986 (3 or 4 digits (YYM / YYMM) + optional 2 letters): First two digits denote the year (e.g. 836 = June 1983). Factory letters may appear above, below, or beside the numbers.
• Late 1986 – 1989 (2 letters + 3 or 4 digits (YYM / YYMM)): Two workshop letters followed by year and month (e.g. VI884 = April 1988 in France).
• 1990 – 2006 (2 letters + 4 digits (M Y M Y)): 1st and 3rd digits represent the month (01 to 12); 2nd and 4th digits represent the year (e.g. AR0958 = May 1998 in France).
• 2007 – Feb 2021 (2 letters + 4 digits (W Y W Y)): 1st and 3rd digits represent the week of the year (01 to 53); 2nd and 4th digits represent the year (e.g. DU1189 = Week 18 of 2019 in France).
• 1 March 2021 – Present (Concealed NFC Microchip (No Stamped Date Code)): Louis Vuitton phased out physical date tabs in March 2021. Any bag with a physical date code claiming Week 10 of 2021 or later (e.g. 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026) is a high-probability counterfeit.

From 1986 until April 2021, Chanel issued sequential 6-, 7-, and 8-digit hologram serial stickers paired with matching authenticity cards. In May 2021, Chanel retired serial stickers at series 31xxxxxx in favour of an interior metal plaque stamped with an 8-character alphanumeric code and embedded NFC chip.

• 1986 – 1988 (6 digits (0xxxxx) or early 7 digits): Series 0xxxxxx (1986–1988). Early white sticker with gold CC backdrop; serif font without slashed zero.
• 1989 – 2005 (7 digits (1xxxxxx to 9xxxxxx)): 1xxxxxx (1989–91), 2xxxxxx (1991–94), 3xxxxxx (1994–96), 4xxxxxx (1996–97), 5xxxxxx (1997–99), 6xxxxxx (2000–02), 7xxxxxx (2002–03), 8xxxxxx (2003–04), 9xxxxxx (2004–05). Slashed '0' introduced around 2000 (6xxxxxx+).
• late 2005 – April 2021 (8 digits (10xxxxxx to 31xxxxxx)): 10xxxxxx (2005–06) through 31xxxxxx (late 2020 – April 2021). Transparent hologram tape with X-cut security slits, gold glitter specks, and two Chanel logos on the right.
• May 2021 – Present (8-Character Alphanumeric Metal Plaque (NFC Microchip)): Non-sequential 8-character mix of letters and digits (e.g. E8K4M2P9, L4P9X2C7) laser-etched onto a black or gold interior metal plate.

Hermès artisans blind-stamp each bag with a year letter and an individual craftsman/workshop identifier. From 1971 to 1996 the year letter sat inside a circle; from 1997 to 2014 inside a square; and since 2015 as an unframed letter paired with an alphanumeric artisan code.

• 1971 – 1996 (Letter A to Z inside a Circle (e.g. (A) = 1971, (Z) = 1996)): Sequential alphabet inside a circular frame stamped on the sangle or interior gusset.
• 1997 – 2014 (Letter A to R inside a Square (e.g. [A] = 1997, [R] = 2014)): Sequential alphabet inside a square frame: [A]=1997, [B]=1998, [C]=1999, [D]=2000, [E]=2001, [F]=2002, [G]=2003, [H]=2004, [I]=2005, [J]=2006, [K]=2007, [L]=2008, [M]=2009, [N]=2010, [O]=2011, [P]=2012, [Q]=2013, [R]=2014.
• 2015 – 2026 (Non-sequential Unframed Year Letter + Artisan Code): Unframed year letters: T (2015), X (2016), A (2017), C (2018), D (2019), Y (2020), Z (2021), U (2022), B (2023), W (2024), K (2025), G (2026), followed by 2 letters and 3 digits identifying the workshop and artisan (e.g. WCT412 = 2024).

British heritage house Mulberry uses oval interior brass discs stamped with the Mulberry tree emblem and an individual 6- or 7-digit serial number on classic bags, alongside small woven back-of-label batch tags bearing two-letter factory/artisan initials (such as LR, SH, or AW).

• Pre-2004 Heritage Era (Unnumbered Brass Disc or Early 6-Digit Stamp): Early Somerset pieces carry an unnumbered brass fob or a 6-digit number in a clean sans-serif font.
• 2004 – 2015 (Bayswater & Alexa Heyday) (6- or 7-Digit Brass Disc + Woven Made-in Tag): Unique 6- or 7-digit serial number on the reverse of the interior brass fob, paired with a small black or brown woven care/origin tag inside the lining seam stamped with 2-letter batch initials (e.g. LR, SH, AW, MM).
• 2015 – 2020 (Johnny Coca Era) (Gold Foil Interior Stamp + Woven Seam Code): Many streamlined silhouettes replaced the hanging brass disc with clean gold-foil hot stamping and an interior pocket seam code.
• 2021 – Present (Mulberry Exchange / Digital ID) ( Brass Disc + NFC / Mulberry Exchange Provenance): Somerset Rookery and Chilcompton workshops re-emphasised heritage brass discs alongside digital circularity tracking.

Gucci stamps a two-row numeric code on the reverse of the interior leather crest tab. The top row (typically 6 digits) identifies the exact handbag silhouette, while the bottom row (4 to 6 digits) identifies the authorised Tuscan workshop. Post-2016 bags also include a black woven QR tag.

• 1990s – 2015 (Two-Row 6-Digit Style + 6-Digit Supplier Stamp): Top row matches the model (e.g. 408825 = Soho Disco); bottom row identifies the Italian factory (e.g. 213317, 493075, 520981, 001998, 204991).
• 2016 – Present (Two-Row Leather Stamp + Interior Black Woven QR Code Tag): Retains the two-row leather tab and adds a black fabric loop tag inside the pocket with a DataMatrix / QR code and 10-digit serial.

Since 1997, Christian Dior bags carry a hyphenated code on the reverse of the interior leather tag: two production digits, two workshop letters (MA, MC, or BO in Italy), and four date digits in MYMY order (1st & 3rd digits = month, 2nd & 4th digits = year).

• 1990 – 1996 (MA-0957 or 2-Letter + 4-Digit Stamp): Early Lady Dior era without the leading two-digit prefix.
• 1997 – Present (NN-LL-MYMY (e.g. 18-MA-0261 = June 2021, Italy)): 2 digits + 2 letters (MA, MC, BO) + 4 digits where digits 1 & 3 form the month (01–12) and digits 2 & 4 form the year.

Celine bags feature a leather tab inside the pocket stamped in the format L-LL-NNNN (e.g. S-AT-0199): one line letter, two workshop letters, and four date digits where the 1st & 3rd digits represent the week and the 2nd & 4th digits represent the year.

• Phoebe Philo Era (2008 – 2017) (L-LL-WYWY with 'CELINE' (accented E)): Stamped on a leather tab inside the interior zip or slip pocket; 1st and 3rd digits = week of year, 2nd and 4th digits = year.
• Hedi Slimane & Modern Era (2018 – Present) (L-LL-WYWY with 'CELINE' (unaccented)): Same structured date code format paired with modernised unaccented CELINE PARIS typography.

Bottega Veneta moved from two-line style/material/colour codes (pre-2012) to white woven interior pocket tags carrying a 10-character alphanumeric code starting with 'B0' (2012–2021), and subsequently added embedded NFC microchips and the lifetime Certificate of Craft.

• 2001 – 2011 (Style + Material + Colour Code (e.g. 115653 V0016 2072)): Printed on a white fabric tag inside the pocket detailing style number, leather code (V0016 = Nappa), and colour code.
• 2012 – 2021 (10-Character Code Starting with 'B0' (e.g. B08491023P)): Starts with letter B and digit 0, followed by 7 digits and 1 trailing capital letter.
• 2021 – Present (B0 Tag + Concealed NFC Tag / Certificate of Craft): Modern Vicenza pieces combine the white serial tag with an scannable NFC transponder.

Unlike houses that use date codes, Prada sews a tiny white square woven tag bearing a 1-, 2-, or 3-digit Italian factory number (such as 7, 8, 42, 58, 164, 165, 194, or 208) deep inside the interior pocket seam, paired since 2020 with an NFC RFID authenticity card.

• 1990s – Present (1- to 3-Digit White Woven Factory Tag (e.g. 164, 208, 42)): Authorised Italian factory numbers include 7, 8, 12, 25, 31, 42, 58, 113, 164, 165, 180, 194, 204, 208, and 232.
• 2020 – Present (Factory Number Tag + Embedded RFID / NFC Sensor): Re-Edition, Cleo, and Galleria models include a scannable RFID tag in addition to the white factory number square.

Modern Saint Laurent bags stamp an alphanumeric code inside the interior pocket following the pattern LLLNNNNNN.MMYY (e.g. GBR377828.1021): a 3-letter workshop code, a 6-digit style code matching the paper retail tag, a dot separator, and the 2-digit month + 2-digit year.

• Pre-2013 (Yves Saint Laurent) (6-Digit Style + 6-Digit Workshop + MMYY (123456.213317)): Kering two-part numeric stamp similar to Gucci.
• 2013 – Present (Saint Laurent Paris) (LLLNNNNNN.MMYY (e.g. GBR377828.1021 = October 2021)): Three uppercase workshop letters (such as GBR, GUE, PLB, ALM, CFN, PMR, FLY) + 6-digit model code + dot + MMYY production month and year.