With the sale of knock-offs on the rise, brands and buyers are using tech to differentiate between a real bag and a fake one
“I’m going to show you a fake bag so you can see how spectacular an imitation can be.” Lucía De La Calle, is an appraiser at the second-hand luxury handbags boutique Del Páramo Vintage in Valladolid, in northwest Spain. She shows EL PAÍS a Louis Vuitton Twist MM bag, a classic model that the brand wants to make a basic, betting on its reissue year after year in different colors.
Its cost is €3,500. “I think my eye is quite trained but, often, even I am unable to perceive the difference,” says De La Calle.
The woman who bought this bag for €2,500 on the second-hand market brought it to the store with the brand’s characteristic orange box and authentic dust cover, as well as a copy of the invoice from its previous owner.