Evening bag in dark brown silk with a gold clasp decorated with foliage and ribbon bows. The gold clasp looks like 2 small cones surrounded by leaves. There is a monogram set with 56 eight-cut diamonds, on a belcher link chain. The gold is engraved 1er Juin 1912 and stamped with French poincon and maker's mark RG. The base of the silk has slight wear.
Size 15cm x 15.5cm
£8,500
The logo on the bag looks like the Chanel logo.
My research indicates that the logo was first used in 1925, when Chanel placed it on a perfume bottle. This bag is dated 1912. Is this a logo she copied? Is it actually a Chanel bag as her business did actually start in 1910? Was the date on the bag a later addition?
The whereabouts of the logo creation are wrapped in mystery. The prevailing theory is that the logo was first conceived by the designer in 1925, some 15 years after first setting up her business. It is said that Chanel came up with the logo following a visit to the Château de Crémat—a castle in Nice, France—where she often attended parties hosted by her friend and socialite Irene Bretz. This symbol can be found in the Château in a set of vaulted arches decorated with beautiful stained glass windows. It is the intricate artwork in these windows that are said to have inspired the famous logo. Featuring a series of geometric patterns and intertwined circles. The window has even been cited by the fashion house itself as the most likely source of inspiration for its now iconic interlocking C logo. Images of the windows do show the 2 intertwined Cs.
Could this bag be by Chanel?