Chanel Classic Flap (Medium) entered the record around 1983: double flap, interwoven chain strap, in quilted lambskin or caviar, with gold or silver-tone hardware and the interlocking cc turn-lock.
THE Chanel - the CC turn-lock refinement of the 2.55 that arrived with the Lagerfeld era, and the most counterfeited handbag design on earth.
The model has remained in the maison's catalog across eras; this file anchors on its documented history and makes no claims about current lineups or prices, which is why it reads the same in ten years.
The introduction is marked circa because the documentation is: fashion houses publish far less history than they manufacture, and the file records the range the evidence supports rather than inventing precision.
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.