Since the demand for Chanel jewellery has risen, so have the counterfeit pieces.
The authentication process that is carried out at Susan Caplan is entirely unique to Susan Caplan and independent of any brand. Each item is meticulously checked by Susan herself. Attention to the workmanship, finer details, stampings, materials, condition and images from our archives ensure every piece we sell is consistent with the manufacturers established standards of quality.
Chanel jewellery often features signatures or markings that are a help in the authentication process - For example the stamping, always hidden from front view, can be found on an oval tag swinging from the piece near the clasp, discretely stamped with Chanel on the back of the item, added as a link on a chain, or even stamped onto a hook clasp closure. It can also be found on a small round plaque moulded into the chain near the clasp or placed on the back of any piece. A pearl bead can also have the gold plaque wrapped around it. Occasionally the small round plaque wrapped around the chain may have fallen off which makes authentication a little harder. The earlier pieces were not stamped - Considerable research and experience is needed. These signature markings or stampings not only help us to authenticate a piece, they also are a good indication for dating. With each change of Chanel's Creative Director came a new dating system. Note - If you see italicised Chanel on items, these are not Chanel but a brand that was known as 'Chanel Novelty Brand' that was sued by Chanel for infringement.
Decoding Chanel Costume Jewellery
Chanel`s Authentication Stamp or Markings during the 50`s - 70`s.
During the 50`s through to the 70`s, a simple Chanel stamp was used. This was sometimes accompanied by a few small stars which could be seen on the pieces in the early 70`s. The Chanel stamp was neatly and clearly incised.
Chanel`s Authentication Stamp or Markings during the 70`s- 80`s
When Chanel died in 1971, the new owner Alain Wertheimer recognized the commercial importance of the Chanel name. A round cartouche was used from 1971. It included a copyright sign with the iconic interlocking CC's and "R" in a circle, the symbol for registration. "Made in France" was added to the bottom of the cartouche. It was not until 1982 that the stampings changed. 1982 and 1983 were added to signify the year of design replacing "Made In France" for those years only. That made those pieces easy to date! From 1984 to1990 a number was present 23 - 29 on either side of an elongated thin oval cartouche together with the copyright symbol. (Counterfeit oval cartouches are not as thin and are more rounded.) This was a new dating system introduced by Chanel`s new Creative Designer Victoire De Castellane in 1984 under the helm of Creative Director Karl Lagerfeld. This new coding system corresponds to the season`s collections and year, 23 being 1984 through to 29 denoting 1990.
Chanel`s Authentication Stamp or Markings during 1993 - 2020
Chanel produced between 1993 and 2020 used another dating system. It included both the season and the year. The date was represented with the 3rd and 4th digit of the year. For example 95 for 1995, would be stamped onto the left side of the oval cartouche, the interlocking CC`s centred and on the right side would be a letter, A for Autumn ( French for Autumn) or P for Printemps (French for Spring). V was also added for continuous collection and C for Cruise collection. This dating system was also seen simply stamped directly and discretely onto the item. "Made in France" became "Made in Italy" on some pieces from 2000 onwards and some recent pieces from the collections have no date code. Markings were now laser etched, mostly with an oval cartouche rather than stamped or incised on the item. These later pieces have a champagne coloured finish and are lighter in weight than the earlier pieces.
We hope you have enjoyed reading about our authentication process and with our guidelines you should be able to decipher if your Chanel is authentic. Hopefully it is!
