Cracking the Chanel Date Code

Well, in the spirit of the earlier L'artisan Date Code inquiries (which bore some useful info from a number of very logical B-noters, I think), I thought I'd start another with Chanel's coding. What can we decipher that might help us tell good stock from bad as to the 4-digit codes printed on many of the bottles and boxes? I'll start:

On my bottles of the following is inscribed the following numbers:
1. Cuir de Russie EDT: 7401
2. Bois des Iles EDT: 7101
3. Antaeus: 7401
4. Egoiste: 6202
5. PM Eau de Concentree: I can't find one (but I don't have the box anymore, either)

Any thoughts or possibilities? All of my bottles of the above fragrances were bought after 2005, so I don't think that the second number is a year of make...

So, what do you think? Please post your other Chanel fragrance numbers and opinions on what they might mean.

That makes a LOT of sense, Dante. According to your model (and madscientists initial post), my Chanels would be... and please double check my math...

1. Cuir de Russie EDT: 7401: February 2006, France (or 54 months after code "20"= August 2001)
2. Bois des Iles EDT: 7101: November 2005, France
3. Antaeus: 7401: February 2006, France
4. Egoiste: 6202: February 2005, (Location?)

That would all work logically, seeing as how I got all of them after those times.

ThANKS for the hints. I think we just may be on to something here as well...

Just wanted to bump this up again, since I think it could be helpful to many members with Chanel stuff.

August 2001 is code "20"... , so that would mean that January 2000 is code 00 (right?) Therefore, the first two numbers of the code SHOULD be the number of months AFTER January 2000.

So, my CdR starts with "74", which is 74 months after January 2000 (or 54 months past August 2001, which we know is code "20") or February 2006. That fits with when I would have purchased mine.

Any other codes people want to submit to test this some more? For those of us who order discount online, it could really help us tell if we're getting a good deal or just getting stock "past its shelf life."

MS is correct; it is a four digit code stamped onto the bottom of the box. On the bottle, also, it seems to be lightly stamped/marked. It MAY wear off over time or with usage (after using my Antaeus for a while, it is now getting harder to see), so definitely check the box.

Scentemental, as usual, is very correct.

As the starter of this thread (and the L'artisan code one), it was more my point just to give us more info about our bottles for the sake of knowledge than to worry about the juice. I, too, go by smell and not by date, because I have lots of older bottles that are fine. Having once received an old bottle of Caron PuH smelling like something that crawled up my chimney last winter and died (but had bathed in lavender just before doing it), I can tell when a bottle turns regardless of what the date on the bottom says.

But, just for curiosity sake, I think it is interesting to know when a bottle was made because it makes one more knowledgable about a product for which they're paying lots of money. Same with knowing Vuitton's coding system when buying a bag, it just makes one a more informed citizen and lets you know if a deal might be too good to be true (for example, if a salesperson says about an item being charged at full-retail, "oh yes, you should buy this, it just came off the truck!" but is really seven years old).

Of course, I didn't really intend it to become a "OMG, can I return it? It's 5 years old!" hysteria. But, as far as I can see, it's only one member who is worried.

Gman, my post wasn't directed at you, but you were the one to whom I was referring, since you are the only one on thread overly concerned about your bottle. That's not bashing; it's just pointing something out. You are so quick to jump every time somebody might have a criticism... or how somebody rates your thread... instead of looking at whether or not it actually IS a criticism (and, as for the ratings, I don't know of more than a handful of members who even look at the rating when viewing a thread; until about two weeks ago I didn't even know there WAS a rating system, so really it doesn't matter if you get 1 or 5 stars... the content within it speaks for itself).

The best suggestion is just trust your nose; if it smells good to you, then it is good. You will know if it has gone bad, just because you'll ask yourself, "Is Chanel PE supposed to smell like rancid cheese?" Despite the fact that many companies say all of their juice from all batches smells the same, it just isn't the case (especially with smaller companies). I've had two different bottles of L'artisan Patchouli patch that smelled quite different, but were from two different batches. I tended to wear the one that smelled better to me, regardless of which one was technically "newer."

Also, Frederictoo, I don't think it is compulsive just to be curious about your own items. A date code isn't a serial number... it's a date code. Most of my experience with this comes from friends who work for some of the big Luxury goods makers (LV, Prada, etc.), where date codes are a big part of the game. With fragrances, this isn't as much the case, but it is still just fun to know something extra about a product on which you are spending lots of money. Does it really mean anything? No, not really, but quite frankly just the sort of discussion it GENERALLY provokes makes for a much more interesting thread than, "I think 4711 smells just like Chergui," "Please recommend me some Creed," or "Where do I buy authentic GIT?"

Lol; fred, I can always count on your posts to make me laugh and think at the same time. Although, I'm still waiting for one to top your retort to shiver's anger about getting a low thread rating. You said something like, "I've seen some five-star threads, and this isn't one of them." I'm still trying to find a time to use that one somewhere. It has something of a "I knew Jack Kennedy. Jack Kennedy was a friend of mine. You, Senator, are no Jack Kennedy" vibe to it.

Makes perfect sense, Scentemental. Thanks for the clarification and very informative post!

Regards,