A Hermès bag is defined as much by the details you don't immediately notice as the ones you do. Hidden within the leather is a discreet system of blind stamps that identifies information such as the year of production, the artisan responsible for the piece, and, for exotic leathers, the type of skin.

Far more than manufacturing marks, these stamps offer a window into the craftsmanship and history of each bag. Learning to read them is an essential part of understanding Hermès.

How to Decipher the Hermès Blind Stamp:

A complete stamp is never a single mark. It is composed of three elements.

1. The Year Letter — this is the first letter (reading from left to right) that indicates the year. This letter may or may not be enclosed with a shape depending on the era (please see below).

2. The Craftsman Identification — this is a sequence of numbers and letters stamped beside the Year Letter, naming the artisan and the atelier section responsible for the piece.

3. The Skin Symbol — this stamp is only present on exotic leathers, confirming the species.

Each component of the Hermès production stamp is significant and allows us to understand the full picture when read in total. For example, a piece described as alligator or crocodile should always carry the skin symbol in the Hermès stamp. 

Understanding the Eras:

Hermès has changed its stamping convention several times across the decades. Knowing which system governs which years is the first skill; knowing the exceptions within each system is what rounds out the picture.

The Vintage Era (1945–1970)

The earliest stamps, and the ones that demand the most specialist eye. Fewer surviving examples, less standardization, and correspondingly higher stakes for anyone authenticating a piece from this period. It's here that the system as we know it today began.

The Circle Era (1971–1996)

Here, the year letter is enclosed in a circle — a quarter-century of production carrying its own visual signature, distinct from both the vintage stamps that preceded it and the square era that followed.

The Square Era (1997–2014)

For nearly two decades, the year letter lived inside a square. This is the era most collectors encounter first, and it holds one exception worth committing to memory.

The JO Exception: Certain casual-line bags from this period — the Evelyne and Double Sens chief among them — left the ateliers stamped not with the expected year letter in a square, but with JO inside a rectangle. This is a documented, sanctioned production variant specific to those models, not a cause for concern. Context, as always, is everything: a JO-rectangle on an Evelyne is entirely expected, while the same mark on a Birkin or Kelly would warrant a closer look. The lesson holds across every era — a mark is best read alongside the model it appears on, never in isolation.

The 2014 Transition (2014)

Transitions are rarely clean, and this one is instructive. The standard mark for 2014 was R inside a square — but toward the close of that year, certain pieces began appearing with a plain R, no shape at all. This was not an error. It was the house quietly adopting its future system ahead of schedule, making late-2014 pieces a small, particular category of their own: technically square-era, stylistically already modern.

The Modern Era - No Shape (2015–Present)

In 2015, Hermès retired the enclosing shape altogether. The letter now stands alone — no square, no circle framing it — and is frequently found stamped on the interior left side panel of the Hermès bag rather than along the strap, where earlier generations kept their mark. Notably, the sequence is no longer strictly alphabetical; letters are assigned without the tidy A-to-Z logic of previous decades. This is a deliberate departure, and one worth knowing before you assume a letter "out of order" signals anything untoward.

Special and Exotic Symbols 

Beyond the year letter sits a second layer of information reserved for exotic skins — a discreet symbol confirming the species used, sitting alongside the craftsman ID. On a genuine exotic piece, this symbol is never optional, never absent, and never an afterthought. Its presence — or its telling absence — is often the fastest tell a specialist has.

For collectors, the horseshoe stamp carries particular significance. Found on Hermès Special Order (SO) bags, the horseshoe indicates that the piece was created to a client’s specific specifications, making each HSS bag a particularly distinctive expression of Hermès craftsmanship. Because these bags can feature unique combinations of color, leather, and hardware, the horseshoe stamp is an important detail for collectors to recognize and understand.

Why does fluency in Hermes stamps matter at Jewels Aficionado? 

At Jewels Aficionado, education is at the heart of our approach to Hermès. Our dedicated team of Hermès specialists takes the time to continually develop their knowledge of the house, from its craftsmanship and materials to its stamps, markings, and distinctive details. Stamps are just one of the many tools our experts use to understand each bag.

Every stamp tells part of a larger story. Read on its own, a single letter or symbol may reveal very little. But when considered alongside the bag’s model, craftsmanship, leather, hardware, and era, these details begin to form a complete picture.

This expertise allows our clients to shop Hermès with confidence, while also understanding what makes each bag unique. Whether you are looking for a specific reference or simply want to learn more about the bag you are considering, our Hermès team is here to guide you through the details and help you understand the story behind each piece.

This quiet literacy is something every serious collector eventually develops. Until then, let Jewels Aficionado be your trusted Hermès concierge. For questions or inquiries, email us at sales@jewelsaficionado.com, and a member of our Hermès team will be happy to assist you.