A luxury fashion expert has revealed how you can tell the difference between a ‘scarily accurate’ $1,000 ‘super fake’ Hermes Birkin bag and the real deal – so you don’t get duped by the near-identical design.
Charles Gross, a 28-year-old former handbag salesman and an online influencer based in New York who describes himself as ‘a prominent fashion and lifestyle authority,’ was left stunned after he examined a counterfeit Hermes Birkin 30 bag – and couldn’t believe how similar it looked to the real one.
However, the social media star, who has racked up 1.3 million on TikTok for often sharing his expertise, said there were a few subtle differences that he spotted – which he has now shared on the video-streaming platform so that others can protect themselves from accidentally purchasing a replica.
Charles explained in the clip, which got more than 171,000 views in a matter of hours, that the sham Hermes Birkin he was showcasing cost ‘just over $1,000.’
A luxury fashion expert has revealed how you can tell the difference between a ‘scarily accurate’ $1,000 ‘super fake’ Hermes Birkin bag and the real deal – so you don’t get duped
Charles Gross (seen in January), a 28-year-old former handbag salesman and an online influencer, was left stunned after he examined a counterfeit Hermes Birkin 30 bag
He couldn’t believe how similar it looked to the real one (right) – but the social media star (left with the fake) said there were a few subtle differences that he spotted
The company is famously very hush-hush about the price of its bags, but they are usually priced at tens of thousands of dollars – even on resale sites.
He shared them on the video streaming platform so that others can protect themselves from accidentally purchasing a replica. He is seen with a real Hermes Birkin bag
He did not specify where he got the ‘super fake’ from, but insisted he purchased it for ‘educational purposes’ only and would be returning it afterwards.
Upon receiving the lookalike purse, the fashion expert was instantly ‘blown away’ by the details, even in the packaging that it came in.
‘The box is incredibly realistic,’ he shared, as he held it up to the camera.
Inside, it contained all the stuff that comes with a real Hermes Birkin, including the ‘booklet’ and ‘two Hermes Birkin raincoats.’
However, the first red flag that he noticed was that the Hermes ribbon – which is normally tied around the box – was placed inside rather than on the outside.
The bag was also wrapped in a plastic cover, which Charles said Hermes ‘does not usually include.’
As the online star pulled the bag out of the box, he was left speechless over how real it looked.
Upon receiving the lookalike purse, the fashion expert was instantly ‘blown away’ by the details even in the packaging that it came in. ‘The box is incredibly realistic,’ he shared
Inside, it contained all the stuff that comes with a real Hermes Birkin, including the ‘booklet’ and ‘two Hermes Birkin raincoats’
The first red flag that he noticed was that the Hermes ribbon – which is normally tied around the box – was placed inside rather than on the outside. A real Hermes Birkin box is seen right
The bag was also wrapped in a plastic cover, which Charles said Hermes ‘does not usually include’
‘So it’s supposed to be a Birkin 30, with black Togo leather and gold hardware,’ he explained. ‘Immediately looking at it, I’m almost without words at how scarily accurate this is.’
As the online star pulled the bag out of the box, he was left speechless over how real it looked
He explained that the phony bag had an ‘Hermes engraved zipper pull and Hermes engraved zipper stop,’ but it looked like it was lined with ‘Chevre leather’ rather than Togo.
‘All Birkins are hand-stitched with saddle stitching, and the amount of stitches and the placement all seems shockingly accurate,’ he added. ‘The saddle stitching looks really, really uniform.’
According to Charles, many people are being scammed by purchasing the fake luxury handbags from resale sites without realizing that they’re counterfeits – and sometimes, he said even the websites that sell them don’t realize they’re knockoffs.
He said ‘celebrities, socialites, and industry professionals with years of experience’ have even been ‘fooled.’
‘I can tell that this is not authentic, there are some things that leap out to me,’ he continued. ‘But there are resale companies out there that would not be able to tell this is fake.
‘So it’s supposed to be a Birkin 30, with black Togo leather and gold hardware,’ he explained. ‘Looking at it, I’m almost without words at how scarily accurate this is.’ The real bag is seen
He explained that the phony bag had an ‘Hermes engraved zipper pull and Hermes engraved zipper stop,’ and looked like it was line with ‘Chevre leather’
When it came to the clochette and the lock on the ‘super fake,’ he said those too were extremely precise
‘Someone could acquire this, sell it to the resale company, and then it’s the end buyer that gets truly scammed.’
Charles said the sham Hermes Birkin he was showcasing cost ‘just over $1,000.’ He did not specify where he got the ‘super fake’ from, but insisted he purchased it for ‘educational purposes’ only and would be returning it afterwards. He is seen with a real Birkin
When it came to the clochette and the lock on the ‘super fake,’ he said those too were extremely precise.
‘Hermes Birkin keys have a number on them and it should match the engraving on the bottom of the lock. It matches,’ he said while looking closely at them.
‘They even lined the clochette with Chevre and pressed the edge. Wow. I’m kind of blown away, it’s scary.’
However, another thing that gave away that it was a forgery was that the lock had a ‘lot of resistance’ when he tried to close it.
In the end, Charles told his followers that he would never ‘judge’ people for owning counterfeit bags because he believes in ‘kindness and education’ rather than ‘chastising and judgment.’ But he was sharing the video in an attempt to raise awareness on the subject.
‘I personally do not wear replicas, and nothing in my collection is fake. I don’t support the replica or counterfeit industry and I don’t promote it,’ he concluded.
‘That being said, I don’t judge what someone chooses to do with their money. What someone chooses to wear is none of my business or anyone’s business.’
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