Before our in-house trained authenticators even start to look at the bag itself, we check the date code.
Louis Vuitton Factory Location Codes & Date Codesĭeciphering the date code of a Louis Vuitton is the first step in authenticating an LV bag. Fabric Made in USA of Imported Materials tag There are three ways to identify if a Louis Vuitton item is made in the United States:ģ. If you purchase a brand new LV bag from a Louis Vuitton boutique in the United States, it’s likely that it was made in the US. The USA manufacturing locations primarily make canvas products: Monogram, Damier and (now discontinued) Multicolore canvas. There are three known Louis Vuitton factory locations in the US: San Dimas, CA, Irwindale, CA and Keene, Texas. Louis Vuitton actually has around 4,000 leather good specialists workshops throughout France, Spain, USA, Italy, and Germany. It is not true that a Louis Vuitton bag has to be marked "Made in France" to be authentic. However, the letters, representing the country, were moved to the front of the code.A misconception about the iconic French luxury brand Louis Vuitton is that all their bags are made in France. These codes still exist out of two letters and four numbers. The date code system was changed again in the 90s. Followed with two letters representing the country of manufacturing. The first to numbers show year, the last one or two numbers show the month. These letters corresponded with the factory where the specific item was made. In the mid-80s, Louis Vuitton started using letters in the date codes. The first two numbers show the year, and the last one or two numbers show the month. Louis Vuitton started using 3- or 4-digit codes to indicate the year and month in which the item was manufactured. There was no use of date codes before 1982. The combination of these letters and numbers have changed several times over the years. The letters show where the item was made, and the numbers show when the item was made. Most Louis Vuitton date codes consist of two letters combined with four numbers.
How to read the date code on your Louis Vuitton bag
Finding the code might be hard sometimes, since they are in different places for different items. The date code is commonly stamped on interior linings or tags inside of each Louis Vuitton item. This happens when the bag is heavily used. And items made before 1982 will not have a date code either. Nowadays, Louis Vuitton adds data chips to its items to make it easier to check authenticity, for repairs and to check the date the item was manufactured. Sometimes items have neither a date code nor a chip, this can be due to various reasons: sometimes it happens with older items (mainly those with alcantara linings) that the date code is faded away, with them sometimes being completely gone.
Louis Vuitton had started adding date codes to items from 1982, but recently they stopped doing so.
No, not every Louis Vuitton item has a data code. However, it is still an important factor and you should always check if the country code of the date code matches the :“made-in” stamp, inside of the bag (if this is not the case, the item is definitely fake.) Authentic Louis Vuitton items always have a date code set in a font specific to Louis Vuitton.ĭo all Louis Vuitton items have date codes? Unfortunately, the code is no guarantee that the bag is real since a lot of counterfeit items have a (fake) date code as well. Checking the date code in a Louis Vuitton item can help with the authentication. This code isn’t unique to an item, it’s rather used to recognize the manufacturing date and place of the item.
Instead of serial numbers to identify items, Louis Vuitton uses date codes. A great question, since all of our items are vintage and some of them have a quite some history! Luckily we are most of the time able to tell you when and where a Louis Vuitton bag was made thanks to the so called “date code”. Louis Vuitton Serviette Fermoir Briefcaseĭior Transparent Monogram Trotter Crossbody BagĬhanel 4 Tone Envelope Flap Bag Lambskin Leather (Limited Edition)Ĭhanel CC logo charm multi-chain braceletĬhanel Paris Silver Tone Clip On EarringsĬhanel Rectangular Single Flap Bag StripeĬhanel Timeless Crossbody Bag Mini Square Louis Vuitton Porte Tresor International Wallet Louis Vuitton Porte Documents Voyage Briefcase Louis Vuitton International Trifold Wallet