How To Authenticate Mulberry
How To Spot a Fake Mulberry
Mulberry has gone from strength to strength, turning into a hugely popular brand collaborating with the likes of Alexa Chung, Lana Del Ray, and Cara Delevingne. It created the first ever UK ‘it bag’ with the iconic Mulberry Bayswater – today, it is one of our most requested bags.
Although compared to the likes of Chanel and Louis Vuitton, Mulberry is fairly new to the luxury market however counterfeit handbags are frequently produced with the Bayswater, Alexa, and the now-discontinued Roxanne being the most counterfeited styles.
In all of the below images the authentic Mulberry is pictured on the right hand side.
Above: Authentic Mulberry Bayswater next to Fake Mulberry Baywater
Mulberry can be tricky to authenticate but attributes such as leather weight, texture, and even scent are indicators of quality and cannot be replicated perfectly in a non-luxury bag. Here, we look at how to spot a fake mulberry.
Mulberry leather and lining
Although Mulberry makes a wide range of bags, many bags are made from grained, thick calf leather that makes them sturdy, durable, and structured. Not all Mulberry bags are lined and the lining can vary between the styles of bags. For example, the classic Bayswater regularly doesn’t feature a lining and shows the raw suede inside the bag. Some bags such as the Alexa will have a plain canvas lining, while others may have a fabric lining that is printed with the mulberry tree logo. The important thing to look for with Mulberry is the quality of the material used even though this varies from style to style.
Mulberry stitching and edging
As with all bags, stitching can also be an indicator of authenticity. Counterfeit handbags will often have thick, uneven, and messy stitching. The stitching on an authentic Mulberry will be straight and each stitch is the same size throughout. The edging around handles and the edges of the leather will also be neat and consistent, whereas counterfeit bags have messy edging which varies in width throughout the bag.
Above: Authentic Mulberry Stitching next to Fake Mulberry Stitching
Mulberry hardware
If a Mulberry has buckles, these will always be stamped and the font should be consistent with that of Mulberry’s branding. Many counterfeit bags feature a font that is thinner and slightly askew. An authentic Mulberry handbag will have a branding stamp that is thick, straight, and even.
Above: Authentic Mulberry Buckle next to Fake Mulberry Buckle
Mulberry also stamps rivets and other round small hardware with the Mulberry tree logo. This stamp should be consistent with that of the mulberry tree on the inner metal disc.
Mulberry mainly has used two brands of zips – RiRi and their own branded zips. If you look at the underneath of a Mulberry zip it should either say RiRi or feature the Mulberry tree Logo. As with all of the metalwork, this tree should be consistent and neat.
The back of the front plate which is regularly used on a Mulberry Bayswater will also be secures with flat head screws. Many counterfeits use a different, probably cheaper screw to secure the plate.
The country the bag was made in
Although Mulberry used to produce all of its leather goods in England, this is no longer the case. As the Mulberry Factory in England is running at full capacity in recent years, the brand has started outsourcing some of its production to places like China and Turkey. Today, only about 30% of Mulberry bags are actually produced in England so it is common to see a “made in China” or “made in Turkey” tag inside a newer Mulberry bag.
Heat stamping and brass disc
All Mulberry bags come with a leather tab heat-stamped with its logo as well as an attached metal disc engraved with the iconic Mulberry tree. The heat stamp does occasionally vary – some feature the tree logo and some only feature the word “Mulberry”. The font however will always be the same, in Sans Serif, as shown above. The heat stamp will also be in the centre of the leather, many fakes show off centre or uneven stamping.
The metal disc is always a key feature that the replica manufacturers regularly get wrong. The tree should be stamped very delicately with negative space between the leaves. The metal disc will also usually feature a serial number underneath the disc – fraudsters regularly get this wrong. Some older bags may not feature a serial number but all modern Mulberrys will have a serial number stamped onto the brass disk.
Mulberry serial number
Do not be too alarmed if a Mulberry bag does not feature a serial number, this can be the case for older models or styles which come from an outlet. At Handbag Clinic, we have only seen a small number of bags without a serial number and these have only been on extremely old models. Though newer Mulberry bags use a unique serial number, there are certain serial numbers that are red flags and are oftentimes used in counterfeits. The serial numbers listed below are common numbers used in many replicas.
- 254571
- 026904
- 565321
- 262541
- 258798
- 275288
- 257528
- 373140
- 258668
- 025869
- 932351
- 166757
- 924565
- 249328
- 982573
- 346352
- 207542
- 1572839
- 757156
- 256678
- 390207
- 256760
- 240535
- 929976
- 929885
Very few counterfeit manufacturers get the font right for the serial number as well as the heat stamping. As well as being in the wrong font, the counterfeit discs are regularly deeply engraved rather than lightly laser etched.
Mulberry has been an iconic English brand for decades, so these points may vary slightly depending on the age of your bag. All of our bags at Handbag Clinic have been thoroughly assessed so you can be sure every Mulberry from us is 100% authentic.
Now you know how to spot a fake mulberry, shop our authentic pre-owned Mulberry handbags.
