The Hermès Stamp Edit
There is a piece of information hidden inside every Hermès bag that most people walk right past. It is pressed directly into the leather, nearly invisible unless you know what you are looking for and once you find it, it tells you exactly when the bag was made and who made it. This is the blind stamp. For collectors, it is one of the most important things to understand about any piece.
What it is and why it matters
Every genuine Hermès bag carries two embossed marks pressed into the leather. The first is the date stamp - a single letter that corresponds to the year of manufacture. The second is the craftsman stamp, which identifies the individual artisan or team who made the bag. Together these two marks are what people refer to as the blind stamp.
They are called blind stamps because they are designed to disappear into the leather rather than announce themselves. You will not spot them from across a room. You have to know where to look, and sometimes you have to look carefully.
Beyond these two core marks, Hermès also uses a small family of additional stamps that tell you something more about a bag's origin. The most coveted is the horseshoe stamp (HSS) — a tiny horseshoe placed next to the Hermès signature, which signals a Special Order, or bespoke, bag made to a client's exact specifications. Slots for these are offered only to the house's most loyal clients, which is part of why an HSS bag is so rare and so sought after. There are others too, such as the shooting star, which marks a piece an artisan made for themselves rather than for sale.
These special marks each carry their own story and their own rules — enough that we'll give them a dedicated article of their own. (Coming soon on the blog.)
One rule that holds across everything: no authentic Hermès bag made after 1945 is without a date stamp. If you are looking at a piece that is claimed to be post-1945 and there is no stamp anywhere to be found, treat that as a serious concern.
Beyond authentication, the stamp helps with something collectors use constantly - confirming a bag's colour name. Certain Hermès shades look strikingly similar to one another, and because colours are retired and reintroduced across different seasons, the production year is often the deciding factor. The O-in-a-square stamp, for example, places a bag in 2011, which allows you to confirm whether a particular blue is Bleu Celeste from the Candy Collection or a different shade of similar hue. That kind of precision matters when you are buying, selling, or simply trying to know exactly what you have.
Where to find it
This is where new collectors often get stuck. The stamp is not always in the same location, and it moves depending on the bag model and the era in which it was made.
On a Birkin or Kelly made before 2016, look on the underside of the left strap (singles) - the stamp sits somewhere near the front, sometimes next to the date stamp, sometimes across from it.
From 2016 onwards, Hermès moved the blind stamp on Birkins and Kellys to the left side of the interior, near the back flap. On the Kelly 25, it sits vertically on the interior side toward the back. On the Kelly 20, it is vertical on the rear pocket. On a Bolide, check the back of the tab at the end of the zipper.
On vintage pieces, the stamp can be very faint - decades of soft leather moving and compressing can lift the impression until it is barely there. Go slowly, use good light, and work through the bag methodically before drawing any conclusions.
The 4 eras
The system has evolved four distinct times since it began. Each era has a different look, which means you can place a bag into a broad time period before you even read the specific letter.
Before 1945 - no stamp
Hermès began producing leather goods in 1922, but the date stamp system was not introduced until 1945. Bags from this earlier period carry no stamp at all, and dating them relies entirely on construction details, hardware, and provenance.
1945 to 1970 - a plain letter
This is where it begins. Each year from 1945 to 1970 corresponds to a letter of the alphabet, stamped alone with no surrounding shape:
A=1945, B=1946, C=1947, D=1948, E=1949, F=1950, G=1951, H=1952, I=1953, J=1954, K=1955, L=1956, M=1957, N=1958, O=1959, P=1960, Q=1961, R=1962, S=1963, T=1964, U=1965, V=1966, W=1967, X=1968, Y=1969, Z=1970.
1971 to 1996 - a letter inside a circle
The alphabet begins again from A, this time with each letter enclosed in a circle:
A=1971, B=1972, C=1973, D=1974, E=1975, F=1976, G=1977, H=1978, I=1979, J=1980, K=1981, L=1982, M=1983, N=1984, O=1985, P=1986, Q=1987, R=1988, S=1989, T=1990, U=1991, V=1992, W=1993, X=1994, Y=1995, Z=1996.
This era covers what many collectors consider the golden age of vintage Hermès. If you own or are looking at a circle-stamp bag in Box Calf, Barenia, or Vache Naturel, you are dealing with a genuinely historic piece.
1997 to 2014 - a letter inside a square
The alphabet starts again from A, now with each letter inside a square:
A=1997, B=1998, C=1999, D=2000, E=2001, F=2002, G=2003, H=2004, I=2005, J=2006, K=2007, L=2008, M=2009, N=2010, O=2011, P=2012, Q=2013, R=2014.
A useful shortcut: D-in-a-square is the year 2000. Count forward from there and you can reach any year in this era quickly.
Two known anomalies in this period are worth knowing. In 2011, a number of authentic bags appeared where the O-in-a-square date stamp was interlinked with the J craftsman stamp, forming a combined mark circumscribed by a rectangle. It looks unusual, but is entirely genuine.
And at the end of 2014, as Hermès began transitioning to the new system, some bags were produced with an R and no square at all - so a 2014 bag may show either format.
2015 to present - plain letters again, but no longer sequential
From 2015, Hermès returned to plain letters without any surrounding shape - but here is the critical difference from the first era: the letters are no longer in alphabetical order. The sequence is now deliberately non-sequential, changed each year as an anti-counterfeiting measure. This is important because it means you cannot simply count through the alphabet to find the year. You need to reference the known list.
The confirmed years are: T=2015, X=2016, A=2017, C=2018, D=2019, Y=2020, Z=2021. The 2025 stamp letter is K - the same letter that appeared in 1955, the year Grace Kelly's bag was first photographed.
Because these letters look identical to the plain letters of the 1945–1970 era, context matters enormously when dating a modern bag. The construction, hardware, leather, and craftsman stamp format all need to be read together with the date letter to place the bag correctly.
The craftsman stamp
The second element of the blind stamp is the craftsman mark. This records the individual artisan or team responsible for making the bag. It appears in a variety of forms - letters, numbers, symbols - and Hermès does not publicly disclose how to decode it. No one outside the house knows which specific mark corresponds to which craftsman. What is known is that when a bag is sent back to Hermès for repair, the craftsman stamp allows them to identify the original maker and, where possible, return the repair to the same hands. It is part of how Hermès maintains the integrity of each individual piece.
There are also a handful of additional symbols that appear separately from the date and craftsman stamps, and which identify specific categories of bag:
A dash (-) marks a bag made from Varanus Niloticus lizard. Two dots (..) indicate Crocodile Niloticus. An equals sign (=) is used for Varanus Salvator lizard. A small square (☐) identifies Alligator Mississippiensis. An S stamp indicates the bag was purchased at an employee discount rate. A horseshoe symbol marks a bespoke piece customised for a brand VIP. A shooting star means the bag was made for an artisan's personal use - among the rarest stamps to find. Bags made from ostrich carry no additional symbol.
What all of this means when you are buying
The stamp is a tool, not a guarantee. Counterfeiters have learned to mimic the obvious - the hardware, the logo, even the stamp itself. A stamp alone does not make a bag authentic. What it does is give you a point of reference to cross-check against everything else: does the leather look and feel right for that era? Is the hardware consistent with that production period? Does the stamp sit in the correct location for that model and year? When all of those things align, the picture becomes coherent. When they do not, the stamp is often the first place the inconsistency shows up.
For collectors, the stamp also adds a layer of meaning beyond authentication. It places a bag in a specific moment in time. A circle-stamp Kelly from the mid-1980s was made in the same decade that the bag was named. A square-stamp Birkin from 2000 - D in a square - carries a kind of millennial marker. These details, small as they are, are part of what makes each Hermès piece genuinely individual.
The quick reference chart
Plain letter, no shape - 1945 to 1970 - A through Z in order
Letter in a circle - 1971 to 1996 - A through Z in order
Letter in a square - 1997 to 2014 - A through R in order
Plain letter, no shape, non-sequential - 2015 to present: T=2015, X=2016, A=2017, C=2018, D=2019, Y=2020, Z=2021, K=2025
At Plamexs, every piece we carry is checked against the stamp as part of our internal authentication process - cross-referenced with the leather, the hardware, and the construction of each individual bag. If you are looking at a piece and want to understand what its stamp is telling you, we are always happy to walk you through it.
Guide: How to Read a Hermès Date Stamp
The Hermès Stamp Edit
There is a piece of information hidden inside every Hermès bag that most people walk right past. It is pressed directly into the leather, nearly invisible unless you know what you are looking for and once you find it, it tells you exactly when the bag was made and who made it. This is the blind stamp. For collectors, it is one of the most important things to understand about any piece.
What it is and why it matters
Every genuine Hermès bag carries two embossed marks pressed into the leather. The first is the date stamp - a single letter that corresponds to the year of manufacture. The second is the craftsman stamp, which identifies the individual artisan or team who made the bag. Together these two marks are what people refer to as the blind stamp.
They are called blind stamps because they are designed to disappear into the leather rather than announce themselves. You will not spot them from across a room. You have to know where to look, and sometimes you have to look carefully.
Beyond these two core marks, Hermès also uses a small family of additional stamps that tell you something more about a bag's origin. The most coveted is the horseshoe stamp (HSS) — a tiny horseshoe placed next to the Hermès signature, which signals a Special Order, or bespoke, bag made to a client's exact specifications. Slots for these are offered only to the house's most loyal clients, which is part of why an HSS bag is so rare and so sought after. There are others too, such as the shooting star, which marks a piece an artisan made for themselves rather than for sale.
These special marks each carry their own story and their own rules — enough that we'll give them a dedicated article of their own. (Coming soon on the blog.)
One rule that holds across everything: no authentic Hermès bag made after 1945 is without a date stamp. If you are looking at a piece that is claimed to be post-1945 and there is no stamp anywhere to be found, treat that as a serious concern.
Beyond authentication, the stamp helps with something collectors use constantly - confirming a bag's colour name. Certain Hermès shades look strikingly similar to one another, and because colours are retired and reintroduced across different seasons, the production year is often the deciding factor. The O-in-a-square stamp, for example, places a bag in 2011, which allows you to confirm whether a particular blue is Bleu Celeste from the Candy Collection or a different shade of similar hue. That kind of precision matters when you are buying, selling, or simply trying to know exactly what you have.
Where to find it
This is where new collectors often get stuck. The stamp is not always in the same location, and it moves depending on the bag model and the era in which it was made.
On a Birkin or Kelly made before 2016, look on the underside of the left strap (singles) - the stamp sits somewhere near the front, sometimes next to the date stamp, sometimes across from it.
From 2016 onwards, Hermès moved the blind stamp on Birkins and Kellys to the left side of the interior, near the back flap. On the Kelly 25, it sits vertically on the interior side toward the back. On the Kelly 20, it is vertical on the rear pocket. On a Bolide, check the back of the tab at the end of the zipper.
On vintage pieces, the stamp can be very faint - decades of soft leather moving and compressing can lift the impression until it is barely there. Go slowly, use good light, and work through the bag methodically before drawing any conclusions.
The 4 eras
The system has evolved four distinct times since it began. Each era has a different look, which means you can place a bag into a broad time period before you even read the specific letter.
Before 1945 - no stamp
Hermès began producing leather goods in 1922, but the date stamp system was not introduced until 1945. Bags from this earlier period carry no stamp at all, and dating them relies entirely on construction details, hardware, and provenance.
1945 to 1970 - a plain letter
This is where it begins. Each year from 1945 to 1970 corresponds to a letter of the alphabet, stamped alone with no surrounding shape:
A=1945, B=1946, C=1947, D=1948, E=1949, F=1950, G=1951, H=1952, I=1953, J=1954, K=1955, L=1956, M=1957, N=1958, O=1959, P=1960, Q=1961, R=1962, S=1963, T=1964, U=1965, V=1966, W=1967, X=1968, Y=1969, Z=1970.
1971 to 1996 - a letter inside a circle
The alphabet begins again from A, this time with each letter enclosed in a circle:
A=1971, B=1972, C=1973, D=1974, E=1975, F=1976, G=1977, H=1978, I=1979, J=1980, K=1981, L=1982, M=1983, N=1984, O=1985, P=1986, Q=1987, R=1988, S=1989, T=1990, U=1991, V=1992, W=1993, X=1994, Y=1995, Z=1996.
This era covers what many collectors consider the golden age of vintage Hermès. If you own or are looking at a circle-stamp bag in Box Calf, Barenia, or Vache Naturel, you are dealing with a genuinely historic piece.
1997 to 2014 - a letter inside a square
The alphabet starts again from A, now with each letter inside a square:
A=1997, B=1998, C=1999, D=2000, E=2001, F=2002, G=2003, H=2004, I=2005, J=2006, K=2007, L=2008, M=2009, N=2010, O=2011, P=2012, Q=2013, R=2014.
A useful shortcut: D-in-a-square is the year 2000. Count forward from there and you can reach any year in this era quickly.
Two known anomalies in this period are worth knowing. In 2011, a number of authentic bags appeared where the O-in-a-square date stamp was interlinked with the J craftsman stamp, forming a combined mark circumscribed by a rectangle. It looks unusual, but is entirely genuine.
And at the end of 2014, as Hermès began transitioning to the new system, some bags were produced with an R and no square at all - so a 2014 bag may show either format.
2015 to present - plain letters again, but no longer sequential
From 2015, Hermès returned to plain letters without any surrounding shape - but here is the critical difference from the first era: the letters are no longer in alphabetical order. The sequence is now deliberately non-sequential, changed each year as an anti-counterfeiting measure. This is important because it means you cannot simply count through the alphabet to find the year. You need to reference the known list.
The confirmed years are: T=2015, X=2016, A=2017, C=2018, D=2019, Y=2020, Z=2021. The 2025 stamp letter is K - the same letter that appeared in 1955, the year Grace Kelly's bag was first photographed.
Because these letters look identical to the plain letters of the 1945–1970 era, context matters enormously when dating a modern bag. The construction, hardware, leather, and craftsman stamp format all need to be read together with the date letter to place the bag correctly.
The craftsman stamp
The second element of the blind stamp is the craftsman mark. This records the individual artisan or team responsible for making the bag. It appears in a variety of forms - letters, numbers, symbols - and Hermès does not publicly disclose how to decode it. No one outside the house knows which specific mark corresponds to which craftsman. What is known is that when a bag is sent back to Hermès for repair, the craftsman stamp allows them to identify the original maker and, where possible, return the repair to the same hands. It is part of how Hermès maintains the integrity of each individual piece.
There are also a handful of additional symbols that appear separately from the date and craftsman stamps, and which identify specific categories of bag:
A dash (-) marks a bag made from Varanus Niloticus lizard. Two dots (..) indicate Crocodile Niloticus. An equals sign (=) is used for Varanus Salvator lizard. A small square (☐) identifies Alligator Mississippiensis. An S stamp indicates the bag was purchased at an employee discount rate. A horseshoe symbol marks a bespoke piece customised for a brand VIP. A shooting star means the bag was made for an artisan's personal use - among the rarest stamps to find. Bags made from ostrich carry no additional symbol.
What all of this means when you are buying
The stamp is a tool, not a guarantee. Counterfeiters have learned to mimic the obvious - the hardware, the logo, even the stamp itself. A stamp alone does not make a bag authentic. What it does is give you a point of reference to cross-check against everything else: does the leather look and feel right for that era? Is the hardware consistent with that production period? Does the stamp sit in the correct location for that model and year? When all of those things align, the picture becomes coherent. When they do not, the stamp is often the first place the inconsistency shows up.
For collectors, the stamp also adds a layer of meaning beyond authentication. It places a bag in a specific moment in time. A circle-stamp Kelly from the mid-1980s was made in the same decade that the bag was named. A square-stamp Birkin from 2000 - D in a square - carries a kind of millennial marker. These details, small as they are, are part of what makes each Hermès piece genuinely individual.
The quick reference chart
Plain letter, no shape - 1945 to 1970 - A through Z in order
Letter in a circle - 1971 to 1996 - A through Z in order
Letter in a square - 1997 to 2014 - A through R in order
Plain letter, no shape, non-sequential - 2015 to present: T=2015, X=2016, A=2017, C=2018, D=2019, Y=2020, Z=2021, K=2025
At Plamexs, every piece we carry is checked against the stamp as part of our internal authentication process - cross-referenced with the leather, the hardware, and the construction of each individual bag. If you are looking at a piece and want to understand what its stamp is telling you, we are always happy to walk you through it.