Authentication

Authentication and Quality Control Are Not the Same Thing

At CSD, authentication and quality control are treated as entirely separate processes, with separate teams, separate criteria and separate stages. This distinction matters because they answer different questions.

Authentication asks: is this item genuine? Quality control asks: is the item in the condition we say it is? Conflating the two is a common shortcut in the resale industry. At CSD, neither process substitutes for the other. A piece can be in excellent condition and still fail authentication. A piece can be genuinely authentic and still require careful condition-grading before it is listed accurately. Both must be completed before any item goes live on the site.

The quality control process at CSD runs to seven documented stages — covering initial logging, specialist assessment, photography, restoration where applicable, and a final check before dispatch. Authentication sits within that framework as its own dedicated stage, conducted by a separate team against its own stringent criteria. You can read about the full quality control process on our Quality Control page. This page focuses specifically on how we determine whether an item is genuine.

What Happens When an Item Arrives

Every item that enters our authentication centre — whether delivered by the consignor, shipped from elsewhere in the UK, or collected via our white-glove pickup service — begins the same way. Our team is trained to identify fakes on arrival. That initial check happens before the item is even formally logged into the system.

Once accepted, each item is assigned a unique inventory code. That code follows the piece through every subsequent stage of the process and remains its identifier for the duration of its time with us. Nothing moves anonymously through our warehouse.

At this stage, our luxury fashion specialists perform an initial quality check using a strict pass-fail system. Items deemed unfit to proceed — whether due to condition concerns or preliminary authenticity questions — are returned to their consignor at no extra charge. They are not held, they are not listed at a reduced price, and they are not offered as a borderline case. This filter happens before any formal authentication work begins, which means the authentication team only works on items that have already passed an initial assessment.

In-House Specialist Inspection

Every item sold through CSD goes through at least two members of our Head Office Team of Specialist Luxury Authenticators. This is not a single examiner with a second opinion sought informally — it is a structured multi-examiner process. No item is cleared on the assessment of one individual alone.

Our authenticators work to brand-specific protocols. The checks applied to a pre-owned Chanel bag differ from those applied to a pre-owned Hermès piece, which differ again from those applied to used Louis Vuitton. A Dior Lady Dior and a Bottega Veneta require entirely different assessment criteria. A pre-owned Balenciaga City is not authenticated the same way as a second-hand Céline. Each house has its own construction signatures, hardware specifications, date code systems and material standards — and those standards have changed across decades of production. Applying a generic checklist to a 1990s Chanel Classic Flap and a 2020 version of the same bag is not adequate. Our protocols are built around those differences.

What our team examines during in-house inspection:

• Construction quality — seam alignment, structural integrity, stitching consistency
• Hardware finish — weight, engraving depth, plating quality, closure mechanism
• Date codes and serial numbers — format, placement and consistency with the production year
• Lining quality — material, stitching, label placement and font
• Material weight and texture — leather grain, canvas weave, fabric composition
• Font consistency — across stamps, labels, dust bags and hardware engravings
• Brand-specific markers — varying by house, product line and production era

In addition to the physical item, our team reviews provenance. We examine ownership history and any supporting documentation — receipts, dust bags, authenticity cards, prior authentication certificates — as part of the assessment. Documentation alone does not clear an item. The item itself must pass on its own merits. Supporting papers corroborate but do not replace physical inspection. We have seen genuinely well-documented items that fail on hardware or stitching, and items with minimal paperwork that clear every physical check without issue.

When Third-Party Authentication Is Mandatory

Third-party authentication services are not an optional upgrade at CSD. They are a mandatory requirement for specific categories, written into our buyer’s terms and conditions.

Third-party verification is required for:

• All bags with a consignment value above £400
• All Chanel pieces, regardless of value
• All Hermès pieces, regardless of value

These thresholds reflect where counterfeit risk is highest and where buyer confidence requires the strongest corroboration. A £600 Chanel wallet and a £12,000 Hermès Birkin both clear the same mandatory third-party stage. The same applies to a pre-owned Fendi, a Saint Laurent or a Givenchy — houses where counterfeits have become increasingly sophisticated. There is no category of high-risk item that bypasses it on the basis of price.

For buyers who want official authentication documentation — a formal certificate issued by our third-party partners — this can be requested for any item in our edit. See our Buyer’s Terms and Conditions for full details.

Entrupy — AI Authentication for Bags and High-Value Items

For all bags and high-value pieces, CSD uses Entrupy. Entrupy is an AI-powered authentication technology that works by capturing microscopic images of an item’s materials and comparing them against a database of millions of verified luxury items. The technology identifies material authenticity at a level that human inspection alone cannot consistently achieve — not because specialist knowledge is insufficient, but because the microscopic differences between genuine and counterfeit materials are sometimes imperceptible to the naked eye regardless of the examiner’s experience.

Entrupy is used by specialist authentication services and luxury retailers globally. At CSD, it is a mandatory step for every bag that passes through our warehouse. It is not offered as an optional add-on. It runs on every qualifying piece as a matter of process.

Entrupy works alongside our in-house inspection, not instead of it. An item must clear both. A bag that passes our specialist team’s physical assessment still goes through Entrupy. A bag that clears Entrupy still requires in-house sign-off. The combination of human expertise and AI material verification is the point — each layer catches what the other might miss.

Real Authentication — Independent External Verification

Our third layer of verification is conducted in partnership with Real Authentication, one of the most established independent luxury authentication services operating today, headquartered in Los Angeles. Real Authentication works independently of CSD. Their assessment is not conducted by our team and is not influenced by our own findings.

Real Authentication uses their Smart Database Scan Technology to cross-reference each item against a verified database of authenticated luxury goods. This cross-referencing is designed to catch inconsistencies that in-house processes, however rigorous, might not surface independently. It is an external check on our own work, conducted by a separate organisation with no interest in the outcome of our listings.

If an item does not clear all three stages — in-house inspection by at least two specialists, Entrupy verification where applicable, and Real Authentication sign-off — it does not get listed. There is no exceptions process for items that clear two out of three stages. The standard is all three.

The CSD Authentication Centre

Authentication at CSD takes place at our dedicated London authentication centre. Every item in our edit passes through the same London-based process before listing, regardless of where the consignor is based. Consignors can send items directly or arrange collection via our white-glove pickup service, which covers Greater London. Our team handles the item from the point of collection through to authentication and listing.

There is no regional variation in the standard applied. An item consigned from Edinburgh goes through exactly the same process as one dropped off at our Marylebone Lane boutique.

What Happens to Items That Do Not Pass

Items that do not pass authentication are not listed. They are not offered at a reduced price, held pending a resubmission, or listed with a caveat. They are returned to the consignor at no extra charge.

This matters because it has a direct effect on what buyers see in the edit. Everything currently listed on CSD has cleared the full process. There are no borderline items visible in the catalogue because there are no borderline outcomes in the process. Pass or return — those are the only two options.

Authentication and Returns

When a return is received at CSD, it is checked by our sales team and an authentication supervisor before the return is accepted. The security tag must remain fully attached and the item must be in the same condition as at the point of sale. This check exists specifically to confirm that the item being returned is the same authenticated piece that left our warehouse.

For full details on our returns process, see our Returns Policy.