Are you considering purchasing a pre-owned CHANEL item? Knowing the age of the piece is crucial. Luckily, CHANEL has been assigning “social security numbers” to their handbags and small leather goods since the mid-1980s, which helps identify the item’s series and authenticity. Want to learn how to locate and decode the unique serial number?

The serial number is printed on a tag or sticker inside the bag or leather item. The location of the tag or sticker varies depending on the style and year of the item. Each CHANEL item has a unique serial code.

To determine the age of your CHANEL item, look at the number of digits in the serial code. If the code has eight digits, it was manufactured between late 2005 and the present. For the serial codes with seven digits, CHANEL used them from 1986 to 2005. The production year can be identified by looking at the first digit in the seven-digit code, and for the eight-digit code, look at the first two digits.

Below is a chart that shows which number corresponds to which year. With this knowledge, you can become a pro at decoding CHANEL’s unique formula!