Journal
Hermès leathers and the blind stamp
Togo, Clemence, Epsom and Swift, and how the small stamp inside the bag dates it to the year.
Togo is grained and holds its shape; Clemence is softer and slouches; Epsom is embossed and the lightest; Swift is smooth and takes colour best. Each ages differently, and the condition report says which leather you are looking at.
The stamp
Inside every Hermès bag is a blind stamp: a letter, sometimes in a circle or a square, that dates the bag. Our lots list the stamp and the year it points to. The stamp does not prove authenticity on its own; our specialist checks stitching, hardware and the heat stamp together.
Keep reading
More from the journal
Buying signed jewelry at auction
Signatures, numbers, hallmarks and lab reports: how a jewel earns the word 'signed' in our catalogue.
Graded cards: the slab, the grade and the population
What PSA 10 means, why the population report matters, and how we photograph a slab so you can check it yourself.
Deadstock, VNDS and why the box label matters
The sneaker vocabulary, and the one thing we check before anything else.