💎 Chanel Talk – Vintage Flap Bags, Authentication & Value 👜

I recently had a customer reach out asking if one of the Chanel bags we listed had 24k gold-plated hardware. They pointed out that newer Chanel bags shouldn’t come with 24k gold-plated or solid gold hardware — and they were absolutely right. That sparked a deeper look, and I just want to share a quick reminder here to help people spot inconsistencies when shopping Chanel on the secondary market and feel more confident in their purchases.

Chanel bags produced in the 1980s through the early 2000s were known for having 24k gold-plated hardware. That means the hardware was coated in real 24k gold over a base metal, usually brass. These vintage pieces often have a deeper, warmer gold tone, and some even have small hallmarks stamped into the turn-lock or chains to indicate the plating. But starting around 2008, Chanel stopped using 24k gold plating altogether. Since then, all hardware has been listed as “gold-tone,” meaning it’s gold-colored metal — not actual gold content.

As for whether Chanel ever used solid gold hardware — I don’t believe they ever have. Correct me if I’m wrong, but to my knowledge, it’s always been plating or gold-colored finishes, even on the most high-end or limited-edition pieces.

So basically, every newer Chanel bag — especially anything made after 2008 — will have gold-tone hardware. If anyone has more insight or comments about this shift in Chanel hardware, I’d love to hear. Personally, I’ve come across some incredibly convincing super fakes that were almost impossible to verify. It really does take a lot of hands-on experience with authentic Chanel bags (and seeing enough known super fakes) to build the confidence to tell the difference.
... the more we share, the better we all get at spotting the real thing 😉

newer "gold-tone" type

pre 2008 example with true 24K-plated

Just wanted to share something shady I came across while browsing Mercari. There’s been a Chanel Classic Double Flap Bag listed for the past few months that recently sold — it was marked as authenticated and included a certificate from "Zeko’s Authentication."

At first glance, it looked fine, but something felt off — especially the link they included to verify the certificate( just scan QR code with you phone camera):
https://verifyzekosauthentication.site/pages/38ahu43a

That site might look legit, but here's where it gets sketchy:

The certificate says it was issued on August 12, 2025.

But the domain verifyzekosauthentication.site wasn't even created until August 26, 2025 — two weeks later.

So either the certificate is fake or the whole site was set up after the fact to make the listing seem legit. Either way, not a good look.

Also worth noting — the .site domain extension is a common tool for scammers doing domain spoofing or phishing. They often register sites that look like real brand names but aren’t affiliated at all.

On top of that, the photos in the certificate don’t even match the actual bag — one of the images shows green leather, while the bag being sold is black with a burgundy interior.

This isn’t just another fake Chanel listing — unfortunately, those are pretty common and usually get taken down quickly. What’s more concerning is that someone went to the trouble of creating a fake verification site to back up the listing. That’s a new level of deception, and it could easily trick someone who thinks they’re buying a certified item.

Just a reminder to double-check any “authentication” links sellers provide, especially if the domain looks off. If you see anything like this, definitely report it.