#onlyauthentic; Let's take a close look at GUCCI logos, patent numbers, and serial references.
GUCCI logos vary from season to season. Vintage GUCCI bags and accessories do NOT have any number references.
During the 70s and 80s, many handcrafts who were commissioned normal and exotic leather creations, placed a pantent reference number, along with the "Made in Italy by GUCCI" logo, as you can see below for this SPENDID vintage genuine crocodile "cartella":
Thanks to GUCCI Historical Museum in Florence, it is easiler to go through GUCCI's luxury vintage items history, through the history of GUCCI's logos.
1920s: Gucci logo featured "Valigeria G. GUCCI Firenze", as you can see from one of the logos above.
1930s: Logos featured the "liftboy", the person in charge of carrying Florence hotel visitors and clients luggage to their rooms
1960s: First color on the logos (red) appears in the early '60s.
1950s to 1970s: This was done to give importance to GUCCIO's name. "MOD. BREV." stands for PATENTED MODEL, unique for every model which was produced.
1980s: we start spotting the TRADEMARK after the GUCCI signature on the logos
1990s: Serial and reference internal numbers in ALL bags, and in MOST of leather accessories.
Serial Numbers:
Most of the serial codes are found on the reverse of the leather internal tag, just next to any internal zipper, in the inside of bags. They should have from 10 to 13 numbers. Usually, they should look like this:
123456 (model reference)
789101 (serial reference)
OR
123456 - 789101 (model & serial references)
In accessories such as wallets or coin purses, serial references are all in a row. They are usually found just inside one of the wallet sections, impressed on the leather. They should be less tricky to find that LV or HERMES code references, since they are usually bigger and longer.
Let's take a close look at how the serial code is printed, and the logo prints. Let's look closely at every number. Accuracy is what you are looking for. Numbers should be all the same height and length. They should follow a perfectly straight line. They should all give the same stamp impression. In my very personal point of view, perfection is not the answer. Accuracy is, though.
What to look for:
“Straight, neat, even and clean. Sometimes not perfect, but accurate”. This is what we think it should be.
- Bad Stichings on tags - stiches should all be straight and perfect. Most bags are not hand stiched, but accuracy has to be there!
- GUCCI logos, fonts and prints - this has changed over the years. Have a look at all the pictures we posted. If the font looks different, this should give you an initial alert. We will be glad to help you out if we can.
- Leather quality, color - Vintage GUCCI bags should not be leather-like. They should be leather, or canvas, no inbetween. Their tags and leather logos should be the same color. Leather could have some color wear, but you should easily spot the same color of the tag or logo compared to the bag itself.
- Shop cards and booklets - many new bags and accessories should come with “controllato” cards, or brand booklets. Many people who give us consignment “never worn” fashion accessories, have never removed these cards from the inside of the internal pockets, which are usually where these can be found after their purchase.
Here's what you should expect when you purchase a NEW GUCCI bag, from a professional seller, when it described as "NEW" or "MINT:
This SOHO bag we have on sale is described as MINT. Notice logos and serials are perfect. This also comes with its GUCCI shop card inside, and in most models you will also find a black internal label, which is another sign of authenticity.
