How to Date a Chanel Bag: Complete Guide and Serial Number Decoder

What Are the Serial Number Card and Label?

In principle, all Chanel products have a serial number (a unique manufacturing number). When you purchase a bag or wallet, the number shown on the label attached inside the item exactly matches the number printed on the plastic authenticity card supplied with the product. Keep this authenticity card in a safe place.

The photos below show labels that were actually attached to products. Depending on the period, the appearance of the label backing featuring the COCO logo changes, as does the number of digits in the serial number. Older labels are shown at the top and newer ones at the bottom. As the numbers are unique, they have been blurred as a precaution.

Due to ageing, the serial number label may peel away from Chanel bags or become difficult to read. This is why it is important to keep the authenticity card safe. If the item was purchased from an official boutique, repair services remain available even without the authenticity card.

The Chanel Authenticity Card

Chanel provides this authenticity card with each of its products.
If you own a Chanel item, you have probably seen it at least once.

This authenticity card acts as a certificate of authenticity, and a different number is assigned to each item.
This is what is known as the "serial number"!

We will now explain this authenticity card and serial number in more detail.

The Serial Number and Year of Manufacture

The 7 to 8-digit number embossed in gold on the authenticity card is the serial number!

A different number is assigned to each product, and the first engraved digit gives an approximate indication of the year the product was manufactured ♪

The number of digits varies depending on the period, and the serial number currently found on authenticity cards for recent Chanel products contains 8 digits.
Please refer to the table below to check the year of manufacture.

7-Digit Serial Number - 1985 to 2005

* In 2005 only, there are also 8-digit serial numbers.

8-Digit Serial Number - 2006 to 2021

From this period onward, serial numbers contain 8 digits, and the first two digits can be used to identify the year of manufacture.

Older vintage items, sometimes referred to as "Old Chanel", often have a serial number containing 7 digits or fewer. In the rare cases where there are 6 digits, the first digit is usually 0.
An 8-digit number corresponds to production from 2003 onward, so it is relatively easy to identify a vintage item simply by counting the number of digits.

RFID Tag - From 2021

From May 2021 production onward, Chanel discontinued serial numbers: authenticity cards and serial number labels are no longer supplied with products.

Instead, a metal plate is now attached, engraved with a unique number.

Note that Louis Vuitton, unlike Chanel, continues to use date codes on its internal labels, even on recent models. How to date your Louis Vuitton bag"

This number no longer follows a numbering system as it did previously: it is a random sequence, making it impossible to identify the year of manufacture from the number alone.

Chanel Round Seal Watermark

The watermark on the round seal in the top right corner of the authenticity card was introduced in the 1980s to combat counterfeiting.
It is therefore absent from models produced before this period.

If you look closely, you can see the COCO logo through the card.

Serial Number Label

Have you ever noticed this type of label attached inside Chanel bags or wallets?

This is the serial label, which also displays a serial number, just like the authenticity card.

This is the serial sticker that must accompany all Chanel products.

It is generally placed in a location that is slightly difficult to see, such as inside a Chanel bag , particularly inside an internal pocket. So if you do not find it at first glance, make sure you check every corner carefully.

Unlike an ordinary sticker, it undergoes a special treatment that makes it difficult to peel off, although it may still detach due to wear over time.

In addition, when the interior lining has been replaced during a repair, the sticker is not replaced with a new one, so it is quite common for it to be missing!
For this reason, the presence or absence of this sticker alone cannot determine whether a product is authentic or counterfeit.

Furthermore, to prevent the sticker from being tampered with, it is also designed to leave a trace if someone attempts to remove it by force.

New Sticker (Autumn/Winter 2022~)

From products manufactured for Autumn/Winter 2022 onward, the serial sticker attached to wallets and small accessories was changed.

The new serial sticker no longer contains a number following a specific pattern as before, but instead features a random combination of letters and numbers.

It is therefore no longer possible to determine the year of manufacture from this number.

Its detailed characteristics include:

・A gold Coco logo in the centre
・An element resembling a QR code on each side of the Coco logo
・The serial number is a random combination of letters and numbers, but always contains 8 characters

New Sticker

The new sticker is a white sticker on which the serial number is printed.
A transparent sticker is also applied over the top.

Its detailed characteristics include:

・Glitter is present across the entire surface
・Two Coco logos are engraved on it
・A dark line appears on the left side
・The brand logo appears on the right side
・A faint square outline surrounds the white sticker
・A cross-shaped cut (×) is present

Some stickers are also surrounded by a black border.

Old Sticker

Here are a few examples of old sticker designs

Most of them feature the Coco logo across the entire surface.
This part has been modified many times to prevent product counterfeiting, which means there are many small differences!

(such as the typeface or the shape of the sticker)

On very old vintage products, you can also find stickers displaying only the serial number, without a Coco logo or any other element.

・The Chanel double C logo is printed in the centre as a background
・The serial number is printed in black over the logo
・Available in an 8-digit version

Boutique Label in Japan

Products bearing the gold label shown below received a "boutique label" when purchased from an official boutique in Japan. This label shows the purchase date and the initials of the place of purchase.

This boutique label system in official Japanese stores was discontinued in June 2016.
Products purchased outside Japan never carried this label, even before that date.

Boutique Label Initials / Store Names