The brand legal representative of Charles & Keith discusses authentic and counterfeit products

Genuine Charles & Keith items are always crafted from delicate, exquisite, and crisp leather; the needle lines are always extremely meticulously handled; there are no signs of fraying or thread defects; and the stitch spacing is always extremely even.

The market is flooded with counterfeit Charles & Keith handbags. Recently, the Inspector of the Ministry of Science and Technology orchestrated the destruction of over 1,000 counterfeit Charles & Keith bags in partnership with the Criminal Investigation Department of Economic Management and Position (PC46) of the Hanoi Police.

According to Mr. Tran Minh Dung, Chief Inspector at the Ministry of Science and Technology, counterfeit goods and imitations of Charles & Keith currently dominate the Vietnamese market, owing to our country’s several massive border gates to China.  This concerns buyers because it is relatively easy to purchase counterfeit Charles & Keith bags on any fashion street in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, and many other major cities throughout the country.

“In particular, to maximize profit, merchants frequently mix or always confirm the authenticity of their Charles & Keith products, making it impossible for consumers to tell the difference between genuine and counterfeit Charles & Keith.” Ms. Nguyen Thu Trang, a Hanoi resident who resides in Doi Can, Ba Dinh, revealed.

To assist consumers in differentiating between genuine and counterfeit Charles & Keith, we met with Mr. Nguyen Vu Quan, Charles & Keith’s intellectual property attorney.

According to Mr. Nguyen Vu Quan, genuine items always have delicate, attractive, and sharp leather material, very tightly regulated needle lines, no traces of fraying, thread faults, and very even stitch spacing.

“Consumers can rely on a variety of other aspects, including the price tag and the code printed on the rear of the bag’s label. If it is a forgery, it may be easily detected and identified. Counterfeit goods have a significantly coarser needle line than genuine Charles & Keith,” Nguyen Vu Quan explained.

According to Mr. Nguyen Vu Quan, the prices of genuine Charles & Keith merchandise might fluctuate dramatically. “For example, while a genuine Charles & Keith bag costs approximately 2-3 million VND per piece, a counterfeit Charles & Keith bag costs between 300,000 and 700,000 VND per piece, despite the fact that these counterfeiters have invested heavily in leather materials and advertising,” Mr. Nguyen Vu Quan explained.

The following are the signs that are compared to determine the authenticity of genuine Charles & Keith:

Bag 1

Sample photos of seized goods	Real Tag (back)	Counterfeit features

Bag 2

Sample photos of seized goods		Counterfeit features
		1. The plating of the zipper head is low quality and in the sample, there are already uneven “bubbles”. 2. The lining of the bag is wrong.3. The finishing of the stitching is poor quality.

Bag 3

Sample photos of seized goods		Counterfeit features
		The finishing of the wax “edge” of the bag is of low quality.The material in the counterfeit bag is crumpled at the side of the bag. In the original bag, the material at the side of the bag will be smooth.

Bag 4

Sample photos of seized goods		Counterfeit features
		A. The font used for “CHARLES & KEITH” is wrong. B. In our original bags, the inner lining of the bag is never crumpled. C. This is a design that is over 1.5 years old. In the original bag, the zipper is a similar colour to the body of the bag, not orange. D. The counterfeit is poorly constructed, resulting in a hole at the joint of the bag.