Chanel 2.55 (Original) entered the record in 1955: rectangular flap with turn-lock, chain-through-leather strap, in quilted lambskin, with gold-tone hardware and the mademoiselle rectangular turn-lock.
The bag that started the modern handbag - February 1955, named for its birth month and year, with the chain strap that freed a generation's hands and the rectangular Mademoiselle lock.
The full collector's file for this model, era details, and the authentication walk-through are on the writing schedule; the record above is permanent.
Chanel is the most counterfeited handbag maison on earth, and the superfake era means good fakes now carry good-looking serial stickers and matching authenticity cards. The doctrine: a date code is not authentication. Date the bag with the serial tool, then demand that everything else agree with that era - quilting alignment, stitch density, hardware engraving, sticker typography. For any serious purchase, route through a platform authentication program: eBay physically inspects qualifying handbags in transit.
Model histories and date-code systems compiled from documented maison history, resale-industry authentication references, and period documentation, cross-checked across independent sources.