Chanel decoder
Date your Chanel bag or jewellery
A bag carries a serial sticker; a piece of jewellery, an oval stamp on the back. Both date the piece to a season or a period. Type what you read, as is.
Locating
Where to find the code
The sticker sits inside the bag, often under the lining or on one side — white, holographic, with the number printed. The authenticity card, black or white depending on the era, carries the same number. Since 2021 a metal plate with a chip and an engraved logo replaces both.
The stamp is pressed into a small oval on the back of the piece: © CHANEL ® at the top, the code on either side of the CC in the centre, MADE IN FRANCE or MADE IN ITALY at the bottom. On earrings it is often on one of the pair only.
Method
How to read it
01
Bags: 1984–1986, six digits
The very first stickers, starting with 1. Rare and sought after.
02
Bags: 1986–2005, seven digits
The first digit gives the series, 0 to 9. Each series spans one to three years.
03
Bags: 2005–2021, eight digits
The first two digits give the series, 10 to 31. Series 31 is the last: from 2021 Chanel drops the sticker for a chip, whose code cannot be decoded.
04
Jewellery: 1984–1990, numbered season
A number from 23 to 29 frames the CC. 23 is 1984, 29 is 1990.
05
Jewellery: 1993–2007, year then season
Two digits on the left for the year, a letter on the right: P for Spring-Summer, A for Fall-Winter, C for Cruise, V for the permanent line.
06
Jewellery: since 2008, season then year
The season letter precedes the year, left of the CC — "A23" for Fall-Winter 2023. The letter on the right marks an internal line the house does not document.
Ranges compiled from public authentication guides — the houses do not publish their tables. They are indicative, give or take a year.
What it does not tell you
A code dates. It does not authenticate.
Counterfeits copy codes, often correctly. What they do not copy are the leathers, the stitching, the engravings, the hardware — what our experts examine point by point, and what Entrupy technology verifies under the microscope for leather goods.
Our authentication protocolThe other decoders