Ladies: Don't be Fooled by this First Date Trick! Guys, Pay Attention!

Today’s Masculine Monday is dedicated to a true visionary whose genius schemes unfortunately outpaced his actual execution of them. He shall, of course, remain nameless.

As one of Florida’s largest buyers of pre-owned and estate designer jewelry, we often hear interesting, colorful, and downright disturbing tales when our customers come to sell us their jewelry and watches. Our buyer experienced one such encounter on Friday, and we felt compelled to share the story.

A lovely young lady came to sell her unwanted Cartier Love Charity bracelet. She wisely brought both the original bag and box the bracelet came in, as both add value to the bracelet. As our buyer evaluated the bracelet, box, and bag, our customer explained that she had been gifted the bauble by a suitor on a first date.

While the notion of a Cartier bracelet to begin a courtship is indeed romantic, our customer was in for an unsavory surprise. Our buyer began to notice something was amiss – the Cartier bracelet was uncharacteristically large, the bag very lightweight, and the box was…pleather. He dutifully informed our customer that her paramour’s offering was faux Cartier.

Her light-hearted response? “Good thing I didn’t give him any!” Our customer left the fake in the showroom, wanting nothing to do with the second-rate gift; we imagine she felt much the same way about the guy who gave it to her.

While this “gentleman’s” idea was bright, his motives were questionable, and his execution was sloppy – ladies, don’t be fooled by this first date trick!

Exhibit A: In the Bag

The faux bag is on the left, with the real Cartier bag on the right.

Cartier bags are supple, textured paper that feels almost leathery and looks like luxurious reptile skin. A fake bag will be lightweight, prone to crinkling, and flimsy. This one is also the wrong shade of red.

The genuine Cartier bag, top, is a deeper red and looks almost like snakeskin.

Its handle should be looped through the side of the bag, constructed of a twisted cord in deep crimson. It should be woven through the bag’s sides and have a gold/brass colored fixture. The cord should not be reminiscent in any way of a primary red shoelace.

The genuine Cartier bag’s deep crimson color, cord, and brass/gold accent.

The fake Cartier bag’s shoestring handle for a shoestring budget bag.

You’ll also notice that a genuine Cartier bag has its name written in metallic gold foil, not a brassy metallic yellow. The bag’s bottom will be fortified again by a piece of cardboard in Cartier crimson.

Top: the fake’s white cardboard reinforcement. Bottom: the genuine bag’s seamless bottom.

Exhibit B: Out of the Box

This Cartier imposter’s box is slightly better than its bag. It mirrors Cartier’s cut corners and arched floral vine motif, and attempts to make the box look leathery (in fact, the pattern on the fake’s box is very similar to the pattern on a genuine Cartier bag). However, the fake gives itself away by stamping Cartier on the top of the presentation box. A genuine Cartier box won’t have Cartier emblazoned on top (rather, it would be on the other presentation box).

Fake to the left, real on the right.

The genuine Cartier box will have the Cartier logo stamped on its bottom, along with French & local translation of Cartier’s trademark. The number is the box number, and this particular box belongs to a Cartier Panthere.

Left: Fake, Right: Real

The box will also have an enclosure to keep it secure.

Note the small brass button on the genuine box (right)

Once you open the box to admire your new trinket, you should see pristine white satin with Cartier written in gold. The bottom of the box will be white leather.

Left: the Faux, Right: The genuine

As you can see, the faux box does a good impression, but its satin (-esque material) is stretched too taught. The genuine Cartier box is padded to envelope its contents.

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Exhibit C: The True Trinket

The most important case of spotting the real deal is, of course, the Love Charity Bracelet itself. Cartier launched the Love Charity bracelet in support of worldwide giving; the color of the cord is representative of a particular cause (i.e. red for AIDS awareness).

Celebrities also designated cord colors for their favorite charities. The Love Charity bracelet will either be two interlocked white gold and pink gold mini-Love bracelets on a colored silk cord, or a single 18kt white gold mini Love bracelet on a looped silk cord.

The genuine Love bracelet miniatures are smaller than these faux bracelets, the silk cord’s knots are symmetrical, and the tiny piece will be surprisingly heavy for its appearance, thanks to its gold content.

Notice the assymetrical loops, the mottled and tarnished fake gold, and the size of the mini-bracelets compared to the fixture.

While this faux Love Charity bracelet represents awareness about a particular cause, its actual support of the cause is false – much like the gifter of this faux bauble. While Cartier donates a portion of the Love Charity bracelet’s proceeds to its designated cause, we cannot say the same for the faux.

The bottom line here, is that spotting a fake Cartier piece is as easy as paying attention to red flags – much like you would on a first date. A fake bracelet given under false pretenses is one such red flag, in our book. And gents, we’re all for the gifting of Cartier at any point in a relationship, but it may be best to reserve such a thoughtful gift for a time when your intentions – and Cartier piece – are the real deal.