Founded in 1854, Louis Vuitton is an insanely famous brand which also makes there abundance of counterfeit bags these days, especially “AAA fakes.” Here at STYLISHTOP, we are obsessed with authenticity. After authenticating thousands of Louis Vuitton bags, We have picked up some key points to look at when determining whether or not you’re your Louis Vuitton bag is real.

4 Key Points to Authenticate Louis Vuitton Bags 

Louis Vuitton Heat Stamps. The Louis Vuitton stamp is an important indicator to authenticate your bag. The heat stamp almost read:

LOUIS VUITTON
PARIS
Made in (Country)

The font shape, spacing and the quality of the stamp itself are all very important and is better if look via a magnifier, as counterfeiters always get wrong on these details.

Date Code. Since the 1980s, Louis Vuitton starts using a combination of letters and numbers to determine the time the bag was made. Even though the Louis Vuitton date code do not have many authentication details like Chanel serial number, it is important for location matches the “made in” stamp.

Canvas Patterns. Louis Vuitton have many kinds of materials, such as the most classic Monogram canvas, Damier canvas, Epi Leather, Monogram Vernis leather and vintage multicolour canvas. All these materials have their distinct characteristic to ensure authenticity.

Hardware. Since 1991, Louis Vuitton start use its heritage golden brass hardware pieces. It is important to take a close look at the color and the craftsmanship of all the hardware, including the zipper, the crews, the lock, the clasp and the bottom studs of the Capucines collection.

Louis Vuitton Heat Stamp

Louis Vuitton uses a very specific font on all leather heat stamps.  Checking the font and spacing of the stamp is a very important indicator to authenticate a Louis Vuitton Bag.

1. The O’s are very round and look bigger than the L. It must be perfectly round as a circle, not oval-shape like 0.
2. The T’s almost touch each other. Almost to the point where they appear to touch (TT) but not quite
3. The width of the "O" and "N" should be the same.
4. The “L” has a short base.
5. The "V" should have a sharp point on the bottom.
6. The "A" should be a little bit larger than other letters.
7. The two legs of "R" should be closed that almost touch each other.

Date Code

Since 1983, the codes consisted of three to four numbers immediately followed by two letters. These letters represent the year it was made. Next, the numbers following represent the month. The last two letters indicate what country the bag was made in.

From 1990-2006, Louis Vuitton has used a six-character date code stamp for its handbags. The first two characters are letters (a code for the place) and the rest of the four-characters are numbers (the month and the year of production).

Since 2007, the rest four characters are the week and the year of production.

Examples

Another key point of the logo stamp is the country on the heat stamp should be the same as countries indicated on the date code.

Canvas Material

Monogram Canvas

Louis Vuitton's monogram canvas is the most well-known LV handbag material. It is very durable, has a pebbled texture, and is water-repellant.

The pattern should be made up of yellow-green line that consisted by points.  The color should not be too yellow, too green - should between green to yellow. 

The bubbles should have a round edges and have minor gap between each other.

Damier Canvas