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Louis Vuitton
Louis Vuitton Alma PM 1996
Grade B
Avis 71
★★★★★
4,9
•
Trustpilot
- Regular Price
- 695 €
- Sale Price
- 695 €
- Regular Price
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Features
| Brand | Louis Vuitton |
| Model | Alma PM · Monogram Canvas |
| Year | 1996 · date code BA**** |
| Carried | Hand · elbow · vachetta handles |
| Exterior | Coated Monogram canvas · trimmings and base with light and even vachetta patina · Toron vachetta handles · slight rubbing on corners (see photos) |
| Interior | Clean · no defects · one flat pocket · date code BA**** |
| Hardware | Gold-plated · good condition · functional double zip · gold-plated padlock included · key included |
| Dimensions | 32 × 24 × 16 cm |
| Capacity | Kindle · planner · wallet · cosmetic bag · phone |
| Accessories | Padlock and keys |
| Condition | Good overall condition · clean canvas · light and even vachetta patina · slight rubbing on corners · clean interior with no defects · no major defects |
| Grade | B |
Why we love it
| ✓ Light and even vachetta patina · rare and precious · impossible to buy new | ✓ Padlock + key included · full set · nothing missing | |
| ✓ 1996 · 25 years of history · an Alma with the right age for a beautiful, not-too-dark patina | ✓ 1934 Art Deco silhouette · Gaston Vuitton · one of the ten iconic LV bags |
Description & History
This 1996 Louis Vuitton Alma PM Monogram is the Alma in its golden age — the impeccable canvas, the light and golden vachetta patina that has taken time to form without darkening, the padlock and its key still present. A twenty-five-year-old bag that wears its age admirably.
The Alma is one of Louis Vuitton's most historically rich bags. Created in 1934 by Gaston-Louis Vuitton, it is directly inspired by the Art Deco movement then at its peak in Paris — its curved lines, its dome profile, its structured base. First named "Squire bag" then "Champs-Élysées" by its creator, it finally took the name "Alma" in homage to the Place de l'Alma and Pont de l'Alma, symbols of Parisian elegance on the banks of the Seine. Classified among the ten "LV Icons" by the house itself, the Alma has been carried for decades by women from Catherine Deneuve to Audrey Hepburn.
What gives this 1996 example its particular value is its light and even vachetta patina. Louis Vuitton's natural vachetta leather, untreated at creation, patinas upon contact with skin, light, and time — it transitions from creamy beige to golden honey, then gradually to darker amber. Here, at 25 years old, the patina is light and golden — the ideal moment, between the too-pale beige of new and the too-dark amber of very old. A patina that cannot be bought: it is earned. The double zip with two sliders opens wide for easy access to the clean interior, and the golden padlock with its key — often lost over the years — are still present.
The corners show slight signs of wear — visible in the photos, consistent with the item's age and without affecting the overall beauty. The Monogram canvas is clean. Sold with padlock, key, and Rarr Vintage dustbag — a 1998 Alma ready to begin its second quarter-century.
Certified authenticity
Authentic item · date code BA**** (1996) · padlock and key included · Rarr Vintage dustbag · Rarr Vintage certificate of authenticity
