This post can help you as a guideline to:
- Check through a PRADA bag you are not totally confident with;
- Take a closer look at the details of the PRADA bag & accessory you would love to buy online;
- Help your confidence for your future second-hand online shopping!
This of course is what I call it an EXPERIENCE GUIDE in helping you out with your online shopping. It is NOT AN OFFICIAL GUIDE. We try and outline & bring together various certain aspects which, added up, can give a concrete help in buyer confidence & safe guide in your shopping.
PRADA is very famous for the quality of the materials / fabrics they use to produce bags & accessores. Here is a list of the most popular materials:
- Bufalo - Buffalo Leather
- Canapa - Canvas
- Cinghiale - Wild Boarskin
- Coccodrillo - Crocodile
- Daino - Deerskin
- Feltro - Felt (usually wool)
- Lucertola - Lizard
- Nappa - Full Grain Leather
- Pelliccia - Fur
- Raso - Satin
- Saffiano - Textured Leather
- Scamosciato - Suede
- Spazzolato - Polished Leather
- Struzzo - Ostrich
- Tessuto - Woven Microfiber
- Vela Sport - Nylon
- Vernice - Patent Leather
- Vitello - Calf Leather
The item you are about to authenticate should be made with one or more of these materials. Take a moment to look up the title or fabric/material details of your bag or wallet, if, for example, your pristine "SAFFIANO" wallet looks more like a faux leather accessory...
Check the Color (COLORE) name on the card. Some are not intuitive. If you see a bag with a card saying "COLORE SABBIA" but it is red for example, it is not the right card for the bag. These are only a few .
- Fuoco - red
- Bluette - cornflower blue
- Cobalto - cobalt blue
- Cameo - blush
- Nero - black
- Viola - violet purple
- Ibisco - hibiscus (a deeper pink)
- Arancio - Orange
- Fumo - grey with brownish undertone
- Militaire - dark olive green with brownish undertones
- Caramel - light brown/light tan
- Ottanio - teal
- Papaya - orange
Let's start with:
AUTHENTICITY CARD & BOX
All items recently purchased by PRADA or any other authorized retailer should come with the following items:
- Authenticity cards
- Box
- Care booklets
- Dust cover (bag)
It is possible that the second hand PRADA items you are about to purchase will not come with one or more of these guarantees. Always ask for them, if not, lets go on to...
AT A GLANCE:
Quality workmanship: no open edges, small even stitching, straight seams with consistent space from edges, logo plates mounted perfectly straight.
EXTERNAL LOGOS / PLAQUES
Some PRADA bags have a triangle hardware where the logo is held. Most recent models have the gold or silver metal plaque/logo. Check our items on sale / picture close-ups to compare the logos with the items you are not sure about; the "font" & hardware MUST be the same. Some style will have the logo affixed in the back.
More useful tips on the logos:
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Commonly on the outside there is a triangle plate with the words PRADA MILANO DAL 1913. Some bags have the Prada logo or name embossed in the leather instead of a metal plate on the outside. On the inside there is a rectangular plate on the inner pocket that says PRADA MADE IN ITALY or PRADA MILANO MADE IN ITALY
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It should be attached securely on all three corners to the bag. If stitched on, the stitches must be small, even and evenly spaced from the edges
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If you you run your fingers across the logo, you should be able to feel that the letters and symbols on the logo are slightly raised (this is not the case for Vintage PRADA's - logos were applied with no relief)
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The color of the enamel on the logo must match or be very close to the color of the purse. Metal plates will have a background color matching the material, and border / lettering matching the hardware color
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The logo itself have a nice thickness to it.
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All the letters and their size are all in proportion; many fakes can be seen because, after a close-up look at the logo, you may see irregularities and letter imperfections.
- Some style of bags will have Prada embossed on the bag instead of the usual and very popular Prada triangle logo
FRATELLI PRADA (one of the FIRST PRADA logo's, back in 1913)
In the spring of 1913, Mario Prada and his brother Martino opened their first leather goods shops in Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, in Milan. The fine leather trunks of Fratelli Prada (Prada Brothers) – this was their trading name – became so popular and renowned that in 1919 the brand was appointed the official supplier to the Savoia Royal family.
INTERNAL LOGOS / PLAQUES
- Logo must be correctly attached to the internal lining. If you see any border coming slightly off, or any stiches over the lining & sides of the logo, there IS DEFINITELY SOMETHING NOT GOOD GOING ON...
- You will be able to feel a piece of backing material underneath the plaque.
- In many cases, all logo corners are rounded
- The color of the enamel on it must match or be very close to the color of the lining.
- The color on the rim of the plaque (gold or silver) must match the color of the hardware of the purse.
- The placement of the letters, their size and spacing are all proportionate to each other.
Prada wallets will have "Prada - Milano" embossed on one side and Made in Italy on the other side. All wallets are lined in either textured leather (Saffiano) that is excellent at resisting wear and tear or smooth Calf Leather (Vitello).
"R" curve - The "R" in PRADA has a partly open curve between the round part of the R and the right leg. Where the rounded part indents to meet the leg, there should be a small slit which curves partway through underneath the rounded part separating the two. Please note that older vintage styles may not have this curve, don't worry about it as long as it has other important characteristics noted in this guide
INTERNAL LINING
Prada bags are lined in the following types of lining material:
- Prada signature fabric (usually in black or coordinating color with the word Prada and a symbol that looks like a sideway letter S woven throughout.)
- Smooth calf leather (Vitello)
- Satin (Raso)
Most common is the silky canvas lining with the PRADA monogram woven throughout, one line right side up, the next upside down. Some designs have smooth leather or satin lining with no pattern, in a matching or contrasting color to the exterior
I have recently bought a PRADA wallet which matched ALL authenticity criterias (serial number printed inside, took me 10 minutes to spot it - correctly hidden!) Altough, the internal lining was a kind of microfiber fabric. Well... NOT AUTHENTIC. FAKE. Binned it straight away!
HARDWARE
Hardware used in Prada products comes in three colors.
- Silver-toned
- Gold-toned
- Rose color gold-toned
The bag's hardware will have one of those colors, never a combination of both or all colors. Hardware on authentic bags is marked with the word Prada very cleanly (Fake items hardware are quite visible, since many counterfeits are not very good at copying carefully PRADA's hardware).
ZIPPERS
PRADA bags & most accessories have one or more of the below zippers:
- Lampo (with & without the lightning bolt)
- IPI
- Opti
- riri
- ykk
In some clutch cosmetic PRADA purses, zippers do not have PRADA logo engraved, but the zipper has to have an indication of one of the brands listed above. Recent PRADA bags have gold or silver metal zippers on the inside & outside of the bag. Older (Vintage) PRADA's used to have plastic zippers on the inside.
NUMBER TAG
The general "saying" is that NOT ALL AUTHENTIC PRADA'S have the number tag inside. I personally do not believe in this. My experience until today is that ALL AUTHENTIC RECENT PRADA'S have this tag inside. In most cases, you find it inside the internal pocket. In most cases it is a very small white microfiber tag, with 1 to 3 digits. Not always present in VINTAGE PRADA'S. Any PRADA in my hands that did not have this tag inside, missed out one or more points in my guide...