Once Chanel said, “A girl should be two things: classy and fabulous” and iconic Chanel quote remained in many fashion lover’s hearts. Chanel created such a strong brand that after many years it’s still adored. And I understand why. Because it’s classy and fabulous!
The fashion world is still going crazy about Chanel pieces. From bags, ready to wear clothing to jewellery. Classic Chanel flap bag is on my wishlist too. But it requires a lot of savings so, for now, I started with Chanel brooch. I wanted a specific model which is sold out online so instead of looking at official Chanel website I decided to look for alternative shops. If you are looking for a model that is no longer sold on the official website or for a cheaper version, the first thing you should know that there are many fake items around. Sometimes it can look authentic on pictures online and most of the time the seller will swear on its genuineness, but in many cases, it can be a fake piece. So I decided to share some tips on How to Authenticate Chanel Jewellery | Brooch? You can either check my video, read through or both.
– The first thing to check is marking. At different times Chanel had different markings.
Pre 1939 Chanel jewellery was used as a part of clothing line so it wasn’t marked. It is really hard to authenticate jewellery made before 1939. As it’s very rare and very old, most pieces are with collectors so don’t be fooled by srandom seller selling Chanel brooch for a couple of hundreds and saying it’s vintage Chanel piece with no markings.
After 1954 Chanel resumes business and jewellery is stamped with very basic CHANEL trademark all in capital letters and sometimes three stars underneath. In 1950’s Robert Goossens joins Chanel. Between 1950’s and 1960’s designs include baroque and Byzantine styles using Gripoix glass and pearls. At the time CHANEL in capitals is stamped.
From 1970’s Alain Wertheimer takes over and started to incorporate interlocking CC, trademark, and country of origin. There are also some pieces that would have just Chanel stamp and ©.
In 1980’s Karl Lagerfeld takes over. Signature oval plaques are attached to a pearl or hangtag. Plaques include Chanel, ©, TM mark, and country of origin.
From 1986 to 1992 oval logo plates get season numbers. Seasonal numbers go from 23 to 29. From 1993 hallmarks include season and 2 digit year. A – Fall, P -spring. Current collections have also C for cruise and V for continuous lines.
In early 2000’s Chanel begins producing jewellery in Italy. Today hallmarks include CHANEL, ©, TM mark, year and season. Signatures are stamped or engraved directly on the pieces instead of plates attached.
– The second thing is quality of metal. From 1970’s to 1990’s costume jewellery is made from a heavy base metal and plated with gold, it has to feel heavy. It is important to check overall quality of finishing as all items were crafted by the best craftsmen.
If you are struggling to recognise if it’s genuine or fake, I would choose trustworthy websites where all pieces are checked by professionals. I found my brooch at Vestiaire Collective and couldn’t be happier. Authenticity and overall quality of all items are checked to make sure you’ll receive the item you bought at it’s best. If you are looking for some specific item, create an alert and every time something new is posted you’ll get a notification. Be quick as good deals are snapped very quickly. I created an alert of Chanel brooch myself, I was getting quite a lot of notifications on a daily basis and in less than a week voila. I received the brooch that I always wanted in perfect condition (basically new) and great price. Btw just before I bought it, I was browsing Ebay, well just for fun basically and I found similar brooch to what I wanted and asked for pics of markings. It was written 14 and the seller said it’s 14-carat gold marking and she swore that it’s a genuine piece. Oh well.
Get the Look:
Chanel Brooch (sold out, similar) £398
White Coat (sold out, similar) £59
Tweed skirt (sold out, similar) £40
Tie Neck Blouse (sold out, similar) £25.99
Contrast Toe Shoes (sold out, similar) £35.99
2 thoughts on “How to Authenticate Chanel Jewellery | Brooch?”
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Great look!
Thank you x