Named after the Arc de Triomphe this bag was first debuted on the catwalk in fall-winter 2018

I bought my bag from the Handbag Clinic online. They used to have a shop in Chelsea, (and are now fully based in Selfridges in the basement area)

The below is designed to help you with buying a real Celine Triomphe Classique. There are many many fakes, and counterfeits out there.

For a detailed review of the Classique Triomphe check out my post.

1. A quick overview of the different Triomphe Bags in the collection and their sizes.

You have:

MINI : 4 X 3 X 2 IN (11 X 8 X 4 CM)
Hand carry, shoulder carry and cross body carry.
Removable and adjustable leather strap with 22in (55cm) drop.

TEEN : 7 X 6 X 2 IN (18.5 X 14 X 6 CM)

Shoulder carry and cross body carry.
Adjustable leather strap with a minimum drop 14in (35cm) drop and maximum drop 20in (50cm)

CLASSIQUE : 9 X 6 X 3 IN (22.5 X 16.5 X 7 CM)
Cross-body and Shoulder Carry
Adjustable Strap with a minimum drop 17in (44cm) and maximum drop 20 inch (51cm)

BUT BE AWARE….

Celine also specifically produce a Triomphe Shoulder Bag… you see these on resale sites a lot more because they can’t be worn crossbody! The 90s shoulder bag trend is very 2025 – but for longevity I’d get the crossbody/shoulder. I say beware because sometimes sellers miss out the key word ‘shoulder’ in the description and the two bag types look near identical at a glance. The price is the giveaway. It will always be less that the crossbody.

How can you tell the difference?

On the Triomphe Shoulder Bag the leather shoulder strap is sewn directly onto the bag. The Triomphe which can be worn cross-body or shoulder has 2 gold toned squares to attach the strap to the bag. (and it costs more money *sign*)

1. LEATHER

Celine Leather is insanely soft… no words for how soft this leather is. It’s as smooth as French butter. But it’s fine surface makes it not ideal for an everyday bag.

The Celine Triomphe is made up of two leathers. (Dupes use the same leather – so this is a big giveaway if you bag is a dupe)

The exterior leather is 100% calfskin. (incredibly smooth & silky to touch)

The interior lining is 100% lambskin. (soft, but grainier, and rougher under touch)

2. DATE CODE

-Remember: A date code is not unique and can appear on multiple bags produced in the same week, whereas a serial number is unique to a single item.

-Celine use date codes. The date code is located on a leather tab on the inside pocket (the pocket without a zip).

-The leather tab measures (H) 3.2cm x (w) 1.5cm. (These are rough it’s hard to measure the tab as its really tucked into the side of the inside pocket).

-The leather tab is perfectly rectangular. The edges are not sharp pointed leather – but are also not overly curved either.

-The date code is stamped.

-The code is as follows. One letter – Two Letters – Four Numbers

-The first three letters represent the location where the bag was made *factory code*

-The four numbers represent the date of manufacture. the first and third number represent the week and the second and fourth number represent the year.

EXAMPLE: x-xx-0199. My bag was made in Italy in the 9th week of 2019. [the bags condition absolutely represents its only 6 years old].

-Celine bags are handmade in Italy. They have 30 production sites.

4. BRAND LOGO

ACCENT OVER THE E

Bags made before September 2018 have a right pointing accent over the first "e" of Celine. This is the Phoebe Philo era. Post 2018 - Hedi Slimane arrives and makes serious changes.

Bags made after September 2018 DO NOT FEATURE THE ACCENT. This was a creative decision to make a nod to the 1960s Celine – which has no accent.

My bag has no accent. But all counterfeiters are aware of this. It would have to be a seriously bad, obvious fake for them to include an accent in 2025.

CHANGE TO THE LETTER N

This is what counterfeiters don’t pay attention to.

There was also a subtle change to the letter ‘N’ in 2018. In the old pre-2018 logo the N features a straight line at the points where the diagonal line meets the vertical lines. After 2018, the corners are sharp pointing upwards and downwards.

Image taken from 1000s Logo - Check it out! So informative.

The bag features four stamps

1st STAMP – ‘CELINE PARIS’

-CELINE PARIS. This is stamped on the exterior, on top of the front leather panel (under the flap of the bag)

-The PARIS sits directly in the centre under CELINE.

-The stamp is pristine. It is not smudged, it is not too thin or blurry. (I find counterfeiters actually make the lettering far too thin) It sits 1.1cm from the top edge.

-The CELINE measures 1.5cm in length.

-The PARIS measures 8mm in length.

-The letters are spaced 1mm apart.

-The ‘N’ is pointed.

-It is neutral. Not metallic.

2ND STAMP – ‘MADE IN ITALY’

This is capitalised.

-This is stamped on the interior. This is located internally inside the bag behind the 1st CELINE PARIS stamp.

-The stamp is quite deep.

-It is neutral. Not metallic.

3rd STAMP – ‘TRIOMPHE’

-This is embossed in gold and reflective. Depending on how the light hits - its easy or hard to read.

-This is located on the top back interior pocket.

4th STAMP – ‘CELINE’

-This is located on the SECOND SHOULDER STRAP LEATHER LOOP (to hold excess strap leather in place) The first leather loop closest to the buckle, does not feature CELINE stamping.

5. HARDWARE

The Gold Triomphe hardware is seriously chic. My oh My.

But, embarrassing omission time.

Truth. When I first got my bag. I thought mine was broken. I thought you had to squeeze both sides to get the bag open. I was livid when the right clasp wouldn’t push in, I then realised I was being silly. (If you look at the bag face on. The left clasp pushes in to open the bag. The right is fixed in position.

This is because Hedi Slimane overlooks no detail and wanted the bag to be perfectly symmetrical.

The gold tone coated Triomphe logo. [is the reason you buy the bag - let’s face it]

This measures 6cm across (from the widest part of the C/Horse shoe shape)

It is 4.2cm high.

The curved triangles in the middle of the logo are both 1.3cm high.

CELINE is engraved on the top. This measures 9mm across and is 2mm high.

The top clasp is detachable by 3 screws on the underside. These are flat headed screws.

Hardware engravings

CELINE PARIS is engraved on both square rings attaching the shoulder strap to the bag. (if you look at your bag face on - then turn it on its side – it will read CELINE PARIS on both sides & is the correct way around)

CELINE – this is engraved on the shoulder strap buckle.

6. ZIPS

If you’ve read any of my other posts you’ll know I love a zip. It tells you SO MUCH!

This bag features one zip located on the interior pocket.

The front facing side of the zip is engraved with CELINE PARIS.

The part of the zip which brings the teeth together has a tiny number 1 on it.

The back is blank

7. STITCHING

This is another big giveaway. Counterfeiters cut corners. So, pay attention! Dupes never do this.

The colour of the interior stitching is brown and matches the colour of the leather.

The colour of the exterior stitching is a soft cream designed to outline and frame the bag.

7 Stitches per inch / 3 stitches per cm.

The stitches you need to pay close attention to are the stitches which bring multiple pieces of the leather together. Due to the leather being such good quality it needs a hefty stitch in place to bring everything together. This single stitch overlaps 4 times. (give or take). The interior stitches are brown and the outer are cream.

Take your bag…turn it upside down… lift up the flaps at the bottom of bag which are the different compartments. There will be neat cream rows of stitching. Each row is 6 stitches.

8. THE OVERALL LOOK

I always find this method quite hard when people say look at the overall shape of the bag and you can tell. I’m like I don’t know???

My biggest advice would be - if you are looking to buy a second hand designer bag – go into the actual designers store first! Hold the bag, feel it, get to know it – then you know what a real bag should feel like and look like.

9. DUSTBAG

The dust bag is a bag in itself!

The bag is black and has a marble effect silver shimmer in different lights.

It has CELINE PARIS printed on it in white.

It has a drawstring closure which is made up of two loops of ribbon either side drawing it together.

The lining is white cotton.

10. CARE CARDS

It comes with a little white textured envelope. (10cm high x 6cm wide)

Inside it has care instructions.

Final Word from me.

I hope that was helpful!! I know it’s a lot of detail – but if you are prepared to spend close to £1850 - 2000 (rrp is £3300, used to be £3050) on a bag do your homework!! Imagine if you spent that on a bag worth £30. NOT GOOD. Worse still, imagine you buy it having a good work year… then due to unforeseen circumstances you need to sell it! – and it turns out to be a fake. Heart breaking!!

Also big thing to remember – yes, a lot of places do not accept returns but they will if you prove the item is not authentic. I always do authenticity checks on all my bags when I buy them to be 1000% satisfied. It’s too much money not to.

How to Spot a Fake Celine Triomphe Classique Bag

Prada Nylon Pochette Review: The Y2K Mistake I Won’t Be Making Twice

The Best Places to Buy Pre-loved Designer Luxury Handbags in London 2025.