Fur Label Authenticity

[silviafox]

Hi forum members

 

Just a general question. Many of us who have purchased furs have besides look and touch approach utilised the labeling systems of companies like saga, nafa, american legend and kopenhagen furs. So perhaps at times when purchasing fur outside our local area we might trust the quality of a coat's skins more of it for instance bore the saga royal or nafa gold labels.

 

But how valid are these labels? Is it common for the labels to be liberally applied?

 

Thank you

[FurLoverinFL]

Welcome to the Fur Den, silviafox!

 

Can I ask what you mean by "Is it common for the labels to be liberally applied?"? I am by no means an expert. However, in my experience it's not been uncommon for furs to have 2 labels sewn into their linings. One will almost always give the name of the furrier who made - or at least sold the coat.

 

Sometimes there may be a 'Saga' or 'Blackgama' or similar tag that does identify a particular um... 'type' of fur. I've found that the tags are generally valid. I'm sure there have been instances where tags have been placed on mink that wasn't 'Blackgama', but I'm also certain that Saga, Blackgama, etc. take action to protect their brand and their trademarks and do their best to eliminate others from using those tags on other products.

 

FLinFL

[samurman]

Saga Furs website has a dedicated page on how they give out labels:

http://www.sagafurs.com/labels.html

 

It sounds logical. If you buy enough pelts to make a fur coat, they will give you a label so that you can sew it to the finished garment.

 

That said, there may be an issue of cheating for pre-owned furs. I mean, if a seller had a fur coat that is destined for "arts and crafts" but that coat carried a reputable label, (s)he might be tempted to remove the label and attach it to another fur coat in better shape, to increase its sale value.

 

It's like playing with the mileage of a used car to make it appear more valuable than it really is. Once I checked out a nice-looking Toyota Camry. The seller claimed it had 80 thousand miles on it, but while inspecting the engine, I noticed an oil replacement notice sticker on the bottom surface of the hood, according to which it was at 100 thousand miles a year ago! I ran away as fast as I could, of course.

 

What can be done to check against such misleading representations? Looking at the condition of the lining beneath the label could help. Over the years, I would expect the lining's overall colour to fade a bit, which would render the area covered by the label in a different colour. The label might also have left an "impression" on the lining.

[Lil Dragonfly]

Welcome to the forum nature's light

[White Fox]

Yes indeed...

 

Hope you love our little site here and that we hear from you often...

 

W

[samurman]

Here is a blog post about fraudulent switching of the the labels of vintage clothing. I didn't know labels were bought and sold in lots on ebay. If such things happen for vintage clothes, then it is not hard to imagine that they also happen for furs.

 

http://coutureallure.blogspot.com/2010/01/beware-of-fraudulent-label-switching.html

[mailonfurs]

labels are only given with purchases of pelts from auctions at limited numbers, and are not "liberally applied" to anyone