Vintage CHANEL perfumes and batch codes: a guide.

The ultimate guide to Chanel perfumes: vintage and modern fragrances explained, with details on historical periods, boxes, bottles, labels, and how to identify authentic Chanel fragrances.

** UPDATE March 2022 ** 

all Chanel batchcodes decrypted 

(including the "american", and rare letters-and-numbers codes)

READ HERE

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Decoding the batch codes

how to decode the main ("French") 

4-number batchcode only.

Chanel is one of the most difficult houses to decypher, when you try to "date a perfume".

This is due to the fact that the batch code is based on 4 numbers which apparently have no reference point.

Actually, Chanel adopts a method that is based on the passing of the months, without any reference to the year.

You start with 00, get to 99, and then start all over again, so in these 99 months, just over 8 years have passed.

Let's try to explain: Chanel bottles have a four-numbers batch code. The only important numbers are the first and second one.

Example: on the bottle you can read the following code:  "9510".

Well, you have to consider only the first two numbers, i.e "95" (don't consider other numbers) 

These two initial numbers (in this case "95") are indicating the month, and "scroll" one after the other.

For example, number "95" could mean "May".

So, 96 means June.

97 means July 

98 means August 

99 means September  

and so on.

When you arrive at 99, the cycle restarts:

00 means October, :

01 means November

02

03, and so on.

So -roughly said- every 8 years, a cycle is completed (00 to 99)

Where is the problem?

The problem is that there is absolutely NO reference for current or past years. Are we speaking about 1985 or 1997 or 2003 or 2011? It's impossible to know it. 

So, you MUST know clues on the box or bottle, to date (with a minimum of accuracy) your vintage perfume.
It's important to say that -since there are no correlations with years- you will never have 100% accuracy....unless you get official statements from Chanel.

Using this method and other clues, you can date back at least to year 1980 the most of Chanel perfumes.

Let's START!

The main Clues:

- the wording "EMB" plus 6 numbers on the box (example EMB 123456): created in 1978, and used since the following years. if you don't see the EMB clue (i.e "EMB" plus 6 numbers) your perfume is really old, dating  "before 1978".

- Alcohol : until 1980 the symbol is "°" , after 1980 the symbol is "%"   (Example: 80° and 80%)

- Barcode on the box appeared in 1990, so a generic date is : AFTER 1990.

- Greendot on the box appeared in 1992, so a generic date is: AFTER 1992.

- Wording "Eau de Toilette/Cologne" written above the word "Chanel": before 1995

- Wording "Eau de Toilette/Cologne" written under the word "Chanel": since 1995

- Short list of ingredients on the box appeared in 1998 (approximatively) until 2004, so generic date is  BETWEEN 1998 and 2004.

- Long list of ingredients (allergens) on the box appeared since 2004-5, so generic date is: AFTER 2004.

- The new lines "Chanel Paris,"and " Chanel New York", and "Neuilly sur Seine"  appeared both on the box and on the back of the bottle in 2005.

- ...and finally, the batch-code.

Anyway, if you are in a hurry, you can obtain generic dates simply looking at the box.

if you don't see the EMB code, it means "before 1978"

if you see the alcohol "°" symbol (instead of "%"),  it means "before 1980"

if you see the printed barcode it means "after 1990"

if you see the greendot, it means "after 1992"

if you see a short list of ingredients ("alcohol, water , parfum"), then it's 1998-2003

if you see a long list of ingredients, then it's after 2003

if you see the wording "Neuilly sur seine" somewhere, then it's after 2005.

The wording EMB plus 6 numbers: 

it was adopted in 1978

("1726" is the batch code)

this is the "Greendot", adopted since 1992.

remember not to confuse bar-code with batch-code: 

these are different things!

This is a Bar-code, it's printed on the box

this is a batch-code (2065), it's engraved on the box

(from checkfresh. net)

This is a Batch-code (3401),

engraved under the Bar-code on the box

Batch-code? Where?
Chanel batch codes  are usually on the bottom of the box, or engraved on the back side of the bottle near the base.
You have to twist the bottle under light to see it.

Batch number is engraved (5410)
on the back side or bottom of the bottle

the clues are alcohol as "°" (80°)  and the very tiny EMB code.

This could be dated around 1978-1980

The clues are: the EMB code and the alcohol percentage as "%". 

No barcode and no batchcode.

Actually it's a vintage box and it could be dated from 1980 to 1990. 

check for a batchcode!

Batch code engraved on the bottom of the box (0113),

without barcode.without greendot.

it could be dated from 1980 to 1990.

How to read the 4-digits Chanel batch codes

QUICK OPERATING METHOD: 

1-First, check for clues 

(Bar-code? Greendot? list of ingredients?)

2-Then, check for batch-code numbers: considering 

3-Finally, check this table below, and calculate the actual date.
(please, keep in mind that, in some cases, old boxes without symbols could have been "recycled" and used later)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

THE classic ("French") 4-numbers

CHANEL BATCH CODE

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

------------------------------------------------------------------------

If your perfume is WITHOUT any clue on the box (no barcode, no greendot, no ingredients),
then it dates between  YEAR 1980 and 1990,

and the dates are:

if----then

10xx ---- june 1975

20xx ---- april 1976

30xx ---- february 1977

40xx ---- december 1977

50xx ---- october 1978

60xx ---- august 1979

70xx ---- june 1980

80xx ---- april 1981

90xx ---- february 1982

00xx ---- december 1982

10xx ---- october 1983

20xx ---- august 1984

30xx ---- june 1985

40xx ---- april 1986

50xx ---- february 1987

60xx ---- december 1987

70xx ---- october 1988

80xx ---- august 1989

(...and now the Barcode appears...)

if your perfume has barcodes and/or greendot, but it's WITHOUT the long list of ingredient (allergens),
then this means YEARS 1990-2004 
and the dates are:

if------- then

90xx ---- june 1990

00xx ---- april 1991

10xx ---- february 1992

(in these months the Greendot appears...)

20xx ---- december 1992

30xx ---- october 1993

40xx ---- august 1994

50xx ---- june 1995

60xx ---- april 1996

70xx ---- february 1997

80xx ---- december 1997

90xx ---- october 1998 

(between 1998-2004: short ingredients list, on the box i.e "alcohol, water, perfume") 

00xx ---- august 1999

10xx ---- june 2000

20xx ---- april 2001

30xx ---- february 2002

40xx ---- december 2002

50xx ---- october 2003

if your perfume has:

barcode + greendot + the long ingredient list :
it dates after YEAR 2004

and the dates are: 

if  --------- it means:

60xx ----august 2004

70xx ----june 2005

80xx ----april 2006

90xx ----february 2007  

00xx ----december 2007

10xx ----october 2008

20xx ----august 2009

30xx ----june 2010

40xx ----april 2011

50xx ----february 2012

60xx ----december 2012

70xx ----october 2013

80xx ----august 2014

90xx ----june 2015

last number is 96xx= December 2015, then a reset occurred

-------------------------------------------------------

WARNING: 

Chanel reset the batchcode at the end of 2015, so this method should be used until 2015.

-------------------------------------------

(Let's make a detailed example, going backwards:

70xx: October 2013
69xx: September 2013
68xx: August 2013
67xx: July 2013
66xx: June 2013
65xx: May 2013
64xx: April 2013
63xx: March 2013
62xx: February 2013
61xx: January 2013
60xx: December 2012
59xx: November 2012
58xx: October 2012
57xx: September 2012
56xx: August 2012
55xx: July 2012
54xx: June 2012
53xx: May 2012
52xx: April 2012
51xx: March 2012
50xx: February 2012
and so on)

REFORMULATIONS.

Recognizing reformulations is possible only after year 2004: simply check the order of allergens on the box, one after the other. When they change, there has very likely been a reformulation

TUTORIAL PICTURES

Antaeus batch 5562, with long list of ingredients date : July, 2012

Antaeus batch 2262 with barcode,  without list of ingredients, date: February 1993

Allure Homme, batch 0109, it was launched in 1999 Date:  September1999.

Antaeus batch 3426 with greendot,  Date: beginning of 1994

Antaeus, batch 7335 without any symbol,  date: beginning of 1989

Antaeus, batch 5506, with longlist of ingredients Date: beginning of 2012 (from Ebay) Pour Monsieur, barcode plus short list of ingredients batch code 5207, actual date = end of 2003 (from ebay) Pour Monsieur, with long list of ingredients generic date = after 2004 Antaeus, batch 6727, without any symbol date : July,1988 Antaeus, batch 2262, with barcode,  without long list of ingredients Date: mid of 1993 Antaeus, batch 9146, with barcode, but without greendot  Date: mid of 1990.

Antaeus, batch 8501, with all symbols plus long list of ingredients  plus wording Chanel Paris Chanel NewYork, date: end of 2006

Pour Monsieur, batch 5410, without any symbol on the box date: mid of 1987

Egoiste, batch 9408, with barcode, without greendot Date: end of 1990 Egoiste, with barcode and greendot, without ingredients, batch 4116, date: mid of 1994 (from basenotes) Egoiste, without greendot. batch code 0907 date: beginning of 1991

Chanel Nr.5, batch 6081, long list of ingredients 
wording Chanel Paris, Chanel NewYork
Date: end of 2012

Nr.5, batch 0608, with barcode, without list of ingredients
Date:  end of 1991 

extra clues : Nr. 5 Bottles, through decades

Antaeus, batch 1726, no symbols.
Date:  mid 1984

Antaeus, batch 4514, no symbols
actually = mid of 1986
(thanks to Andrea Bissoli)

From Ebay, Antaeus, short list of ingredients,
batch 4403
Date:  beginning of 2003

(thanks to Noggs from Basenotes)
Antaeus, short list of ingredients,
batch nr. 1702
date = beginning of 2002 

Nr.5, batch 6106, with barcode and greendot,
without long list of ingredients
actually = mid of 1996

Platinum Egoiste, batch 8715, with barcode
without long list of ingredients
Date: mid of 1998.

Allure, batch 1402,  with longlist of ingredients
Date: beginning of 2009

(From Ebay) Allure, with long list of ingredients
batch code 5301, date : mid of 2012.

from Ebay, Coco, long list of ingredients
batch code 4527
date:  end of 2011

UNUSUAL BOTTLES with 3 digits batchcodes

batch number 09K
(thanks to hedonist222, Basenotes)

batch number FJ1
(thanks to Caoleus, Basenotes)

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....and... 

Batch-codes

Year-of-production, 

all-you-need-to-know

about vintage perfumes in the following pages:

-GUERLAIN perfumes ( here )

-YVES SAINT LAURENT perfumes ( here )

-CHRISTIAN DIOR  perfumes  ( here )

-GIORGIO ARMANI Perfumes ( here )

-VAN CLEEF et ARPELS perfumes ( here )

-BVLGARI perfumes ( here )

-HERMES perfumes ( here )

-VERSACE perfumes ( here )

-GIVENCHY perfumes ( here )

-GUY LAROCHE perfumes (here) 

-CACHAREL perfumes ( here )

-ROCHAS perfumes (here) 

-JEAN PATOU perfumes (here)

-LANCOME perfumes (here)

-CARON perfumes (here)

-CALVIN KLEIN perfumes (here)

-RALPH LAUREN perfumes (here)

-JEAN PAUL GAULTIER perfumes (here)

-SERGE LUTENS perfumes (here)

-GUCCI perfumes (here)

Plus:

Kouros by Yves Saint Laurent, visual guide (here)

Fahrenheit by Christian Dior, visual guide  (here)

Azzaro pour Homme by Azzaro, visual guide (here)

Drakkar Noir by Guy Laroche, visual guide (here)

Opium by Yves Saint Laurent, visual guide (here)

Samsara by Guerlain, visual guide (here) 

and others..