Home / Assurance / Authentication
AssuranceVerified before it reaches the floor
Counterfeiting has become good enough that a photograph and a gut feeling are no longer sufficient. Every designer piece we take is inspected against the specifics — and above $1,500, by someone independent of us as well.
If it is ever found not to be authentic, we refund it in full
No time limit, no restocking charge, and no argument. That includes return shipping, and it stands whether you bought the piece last week or four years ago.
In-house inspection
Every designer piece, without exception, before it is priced or photographed.
Independent above $1,500
A third-party specialist as well, at our cost. The report travels with the piece.
Returned if uncertain
Anything we cannot verify goes back to the consignor. We never sell with a caveat.
Verify it yourself
Labels, serials, and date codes are photographed in every listing so you can check independently.
What we actually look at
Construction and stitching
Stitch count and consistency, seam alignment, how a pattern matches across a seam, edge painting on leather goods. Counterfeits are usually competent on the outside and give themselves away here.
Hardware
Weight in the hand, plating quality, engraving depth and font, zip pull action, and the maker's marks on zips and clasps. Hardware is expensive to fake correctly and rarely is.
Labels and stamping
Font, spacing, placement, and stitching of the brand label; composition and care labels; heat stamps and their depth. Each house has changed these in documented ways, which also dates the piece.
Serials, date codes, and cards
Format checked against the house's known structure for the production period the piece appears to be from, and cross-referenced with the label generation. A serial that does not match the label era is a red flag on its own.
Materials
Leather grain and smell, lining fabric, the specific weave of a canvas, the hand of a silk twill. Material is the hardest thing to counterfeit and the easiest to recognise with experience.
Independent verification above $1,500
Sent to a specialist authentication service in addition to everything above. We pay for it, the report travels with the piece, and you receive a copy.
Different pieces give themselves away differently
Handbags
Hardware weight and engraving, stitch count per inch, edge paint, interior stamping, date code format, lining material, and the specific way the house finishes a strap end.
Ready-to-wear
Label generation and stitching, size and composition tag format, seam finishing, interfacing, lining fabric, and whether the piece was ever in a production season the house actually ran.
Shoes
Insole stamping and font, sole construction and branding, heel block finish, lining leather, and the box and dust bag if present.
Silk & accessories
Hand-rolled hem direction and consistency, print registration and colour depth, signature placement, and the weight of the twill itself.
Houses we authenticate
From the European houses through to contemporary designers and Canadian labels. If you are consigning something from a house not listed here, ask — we will either verify it or tell you honestly that we cannot.
Bring the paperwork
Authenticity cards, dust bags, original boxes, spare buttons, care booklets, and receipts all speed up authentication and materially raise what a piece achieves. A bag with its card and box regularly sells for meaningfully more than the identical bag without.
If a piece cannot be verified, we return it to you. We will explain what gave us pause, and where relevant suggest an independent authentication you could pursue yourself.
Do you authenticate pieces I did not buy from you?
Not as a standalone paid service. We authenticate what we take on consignment and what we sell. If you need a piece verified independently, we are happy to point you at the specialists we use.
What does the guarantee actually cover?
Any piece sold by us as authentic that is subsequently found not to be. You receive a full refund of what you paid, plus return shipping, with no time limit. We do not require a specific authentication service's opinion — a credible independent finding is enough.
Can I have a piece authenticated before I commit?
Yes. We will hold anything above $1,500 for up to five days so you can arrange an independent opinion at your own cost. If it comes back with a question mark, you owe us nothing.
Do you sell pieces you are unsure about at a lower price?
No. There is no "probably authentic" tier here. Uncertainty means the piece goes back to the consignor.
Why do you authenticate contemporary labels too?
Because counterfeiting has moved well beyond the obvious houses. Popular contemporary brands are now widely faked, often more crudely — and a buyer paying $400 deserves the same certainty as one paying $4,000.