Authenticate Hermès Constance
A shoulder bag closed by an H-shaped clasp, where the clasp's action carries the read.
Introduced 1959Paris
The Constance is defined by its clasp: a large H that turns to lock. On a genuine bag the H is solid, plated to the same standard as the rest of the hardware, and turns with a firm and even action against a spring that does not rattle. It also sits perfectly centred, and the flap it closes should meet the body without a gap on either side.
The strap threads through the body and is adjustable to be worn long or doubled short. Where it passes through, the leather is reinforced and hand-stitched; a machine-stitched reinforcement is decisive here as everywhere else on Hermès.
Constances are made in small sizes and the leather choice matters disproportionately. Epsom holds the flap flat, which is the look the model was designed around; softer leathers on a Constance will bow slightly at the flap, which is normal for those leathers and not a fault.
What a Constance does on the secondary market
Strong and narrow. The 18 and 24 are the sizes that trade, and unusual leathers or hardware finishes carry a premium well beyond the size difference.
An orientation for honest, unrestored condition — never an appraisal, and never a quotation.
Questions we are asked
- How should a Constance clasp feel?
- The H turns with a firm, even action against a spring that does not rattle, and it sits perfectly centred with the flap meeting the body with no gap on either side.
- Should a Constance flap sit perfectly flat?
- In Epsom, yes: the model was designed around a leather that holds the flap flat. Softer leathers bow slightly at the flap, which is normal for those leathers and not a fault.
Lovenhall BagRead the handbag itself
The checks tell you how it was made. The instrument tells you what it appears to be, and roughly what its kind fetches.