Vintage Bottega Veneta Bag: How to Read the Condition of an Intrecciato Before Buying
Vintage Bottega Veneta Bag: How to Read the Condition of an Intrecciato Before Buying A...
Balenciaga
Balenciaga Navy City
Grade B
✓ Certificat d'authenticité Rarr Vintage inclus
Avis 71
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- Regular Price
- 1129 €
- Sale Price
- 1129 €
- Regular Price
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Features
| Brand | Balenciaga |
| Model | City · Antique Pewter Hardware |
| Collection | Spring-Summer 2012 · Ref. 300295·1012·E·528147 |
| Carried | Hand · Shoulder · Removable Crossbody Strap · Three Ways |
| Material | Soft navy lambskin · Antique Pewter hardware · Leather tassels · Braided handles |
| Colour | Deep navy blue · Aged Pewter hardware |
| Exterior | Soft lambskin · Natural aged patina · Rubbing on corners and handles · Zipped front pocket · Hardware in good condition · Intact tassels |
| Closure | Double zip with two sliders · Functional |
| Interior | Clean · Zipped pocket · Light signs of use · No major flaws |
| Dimensions | 23.5 × 17 × 7.5 cm |
| Capacity | Phone · Compact wallet · Passport · Keys · Lipstick |
| Origin | Made in Italy · Ref. 300295·1012·E·528*** |
| Condition | Good overall condition · Natural aged patina · Rubbing on corners and handles (see photos) · No major flaws · Clean interior |
| Packaging | Rarr Vintage dustbag |
| Grade | B− |
Why we love it
| ✓ Antique silver Pewter hardware · the most iconic finish of the original City · before gold | ✓ SS 2012 navy blue · deep and rare color · the City that adds character to any outfit | |
| ✓ Soft vintage lambskin · that lively and supple texture no longer found on recent Cities | ✓ Assumed natural patina · authentic vintage charm · "looks better with age" |
Description & history
This 2012 Balenciaga City in navy blue with antique Pewter hardware is the most authentically vintage version of the model — soft, worn lambskin, natural patina that tells 13 years of real life, and antique silver hardware, which was the original finish of the City before gold arrived. For those who love their bags with character and history.
The Balenciaga City was born in 2001 under the direction of Nicolas Ghesquière — 25 copies, rejected by executives, then offered to runway models including Kate Moss, before becoming the most photographed bag of the 2000s. The Pewter hardware version — antique silver, slightly blackened, never flashy — is the original finish of the classic City, perfectly matching Ghesquière's "moto-grunge" aesthetic: raw, punk, unadorned. This deep navy blue from the Spring-Summer 2012 collection is one of the richest and most versatile colors in the range — dark enough to go with anything, blue enough to add character where black wouldn't dare.
The lambskin of City bags from this era is the most sought-after by collectors — finer and softer than the pebbled grain of recent versions, it ages differently: it develops a natural patina, an acquired sheen, a vintage "luster" that no new version can imitate. Nicolas Ghesquière himself said it: "No logo, very light, very effective. Women thought it was something they'd always have. It was a new fresh thing, but it looking like an old, good, friendly thing." This 2012 blue City is precisely that — old, good, familiar.
Rubbing on corners and handles visible in the photos — acknowledged, not minimized. The natural patina of the lambskin is a characteristic, not a defect. Clean interior, no major flaws. Sold with Rarr Vintage dustbag — a 2012 navy blue Pewter City for those who prefer authenticity over perfection.
Certified authenticity
Authentic item · Made in Italy · Ref. 300295·1012·E·528147 · SS 2012 · Rarr Vintage dustbag · Rarr Vintage certificate of authenticity
