How To Tell If a Gucci Bag is Real | 7 Easy Steps

A lot goes into making a brand and even more into creating a luxury brand. There are a lot of opinions when it comes to the purchase of luxury items, especially when it comes to brands whose main demographic is women. There are 1000s of brands out there but most of them do not have the label of luxury attached to them.

Brands like Gucci, Kate Spade, and LV are luxury brands because they offer more than products. They offer an exclusive experience that sets them apart from other brands and it is this exclusive experience that makes them stand out to consumers worldwide.

Grabbing the attention and fantasy of everyone generates an insatiable desire that at least once in one’s lifetime, one must purchase their item. And with such attention and fanfare come counterfeits and knock-offs too. The Global Brand Counterfeiting Report, 2018 states that “fake products” sold online cost fashion brands over $30 billion in sales. And these affect not just the companies but the consumers too since they are the ones who are tricked into making the purchase.

Faux Gucci Bags :

Connoisseurs of purses and handbags are savants of sales and retail stores when it comes to finding their favorite bag in the right place and at the right time but they are also aware of something the average person is not. The knowledge of telling fake luxury items from the fake.

Gucci is one of the most popular brands when it comes to luxury products and as such in markets worldwide plenty of fake Gucci rip-offs are available to purchase. Every day countless victims are unknowingly scammed into purchasing a fake because they didn’t any better.

To help you put a stop to this, you must learn the secrets of the experts and learn how to tell a copy from the original deal.

#1. Look For Controllato Cards

Every Gucci item sold comes with a Controllato card. This is not the best way to separate fakes from originals since it is not related to the item purchased but fakes of these cards are also available so it is a good place to start when you want to learn the difference between Real and Fake Gucci bags.

It is a small rectangular card. In the center will be “GUCCI”, the text will be separated by single spaces and every letter will be capitalized. Below this will be “controlled”, all the letters will be in small cases with no spaces. And below this will a series of numbers “1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0”. Each number will be separated by a space.

As mentioned, each Gucci item is sold with the controllato card, however since the cards themselves aren’t connected to the product themselves, the card doesn’t need to be available at the time of purchase, especially when purchasing a Gucci bag secondhand.

#2. Ask for the Gucci Dust Bags

Gucci items are mostly sold in dust bags. The colors vary by product and theme but are generally in 3 colors.

Black, Dark Brown, or Light Brown. They will feature a Gucci logo of double “Gs” or with the name of the brand spelled out in the capital with single spaces, the Gucci name will be in a color that contrasts with the color of the bag, for example, dark brown against a light brown bag or gold against a black bag. Also featured on the dust bag will be a label that has the Gucci name with “made in Italy” written on it.

#3. Check Hardware

Gucci places a heavy emphasis on the hardware which features most of the design elements and as such these features are one of the most varied over the years. However, they all have one thing in common, they all feature the Gucci standard of quality. The hardware items like clasps, strap attachments, locks, etc will feel solid and heavy.

There is a weight that feels just right about them that can’t be replicated by imitation. The counterfeits by comparison use cheap metal that feels light and hollow, prone to peeling and flaking. The Gucci products, however, are made with long-term use in mind and they can last a lifetime. Much of the hardware will also have the brand name or logo on it.

The Gucci hardware sometimes features screws, Gucci uses a flat head, the one that looks like a negative sign. If you see the positive sign screws it’s probably a sign of a faux product.

• Zippers, clasps, and chains

The zippers, clasps, and chains often feature “GUCCI” engraved into them. The “GUCCI” engraving will be sharp, and clear and the font will fit perfectly on the material. In fakes, however, the engraving might be rough, uneven, or unclear.

On original items there might also be leather labels attached near the zipper pulls featuring “GUCCI” or the underside of the zipper might also feature the engraving.

In all cases, the engraving will feature capital letters with single spacing between each letter.

#4. Check the Handbag’s Material

While most people are familiar with contemporary materials and styles offered by Gucci, not many are aware that these styles are traditional to the brand with historic precedence. When expensive materials were banned in Italy during Mussolini’s reign, Gucci innovated by using canvas, jute, or hemp in their designs. And this brings us to the famous interlocked GG canvas with diamond patterns that have become the very symbolizes the brand in everyone’s mind.

Keeping the tradition alive, Gucci uses only the finest materials to make their products, usually in, leather, suedes, or even Canvas. Fake products, however, are chemically treated to merely imitate the brand. Their goal is to provide a close enough look instead of making a replica, so, they will feature design flaws in the logos or materials. So if you are wondering how to tell if a Gucci bag is real based on the material, the answer lies in the very material itself. The real deal feels soft and supple to the touch whereas the faux items will be rough and hard in a way that just feels wrong.

#5. Check the Lining

Counterfeits usually rely on pictures when they are generating an imitation, however, precision is not something they are aiming at, which is the opposite direction taken by the designers that create the brand’s authentic product. In a faux Gucci purse, the lining will be uneven, it will have gaps or threads fraying. Whereas the original product will have no such flaws and the threading will be precisely separated by uniform gaps that are aesthetically pleasing to the eye.

#6. Gucci Serial Number

Checking the serial number is the best step to take. The serial number can be checked on their websites for authentication. The serial number is located on a leather tag which is found on the top or inside the bag.

The number relates to the batch or series of the bag but not the year of manufacture. It will be a 10 – 13 digit long number that will not include alphabets. On the opposite side of the leather tag, will be “GUCCI” embossed in upper case letters and a single space, also on the tag will be the text “Made in Italy” and the trademark symbol.

All three of these have to be present on the tag (on respective sides) to count as an authentic tag. Gucci never attaches the tag to the sides of their bags.

#7. Scan QR Code

Starting in 2016 or 2017, Gucci also started including QR (Quick Response) codes in their bags. These can be scanned using a QR code scanning app on your mobile phone to verify the bag is indeed authentic. The QR code can be found on a small label on the interior of the bag. The label will include a 10-digit code below “GUCCI” and to the left side will be a small box for the QR code.

Conclusion

Since people desire luxury items, it is no surprise that some enterprises produce “close enough” knockoff products to imitate the original items, and these knockoffs are sold at cheaper prices. Sometimes these items are made intently similar to confuse people into buying the fakes.

The list presented here will help you separate the fake from the real when it comes to Gucci purses, bags, and purses. It is important to note that there are a lot of variations in style and design when it comes to Gucci so never base your decision to purchase on just one detail.

Use the information provided here to evaluate the item overall and look up the item online to note the specific details of the exact model to make the best possible decision when choosing where to buy the Gucci product. Additionally, you can always use the serial number to check for authentication on the Gucci website.