What Capucine Is
Capucine is a Hermes leather color. The name is French for nasturtium, a flower with orange-red petals. The color sits between orange and red. It reads orange in daylight and red under warm indoor light. Hermes uses it on the Birkin, Kelly, Constance, and small leather goods.
Hermes does not publish a Pantone value or a first year for Capucine. The house releases colors by season and retires them without notice. Capucine appears on Togo, Epsom, Swift, and Clemence. Hardware on authentic pieces is gold or palladium plated.
How Capucine Appears in the Replica Market
Capucine is one of the most copied Hermes colors. Sellers list it as "replica Hermes Capucine" or "1:1 Capucine Birkin." Three parts vary between suppliers:
- Leather. Some use full-grain calf or goat. Others use split-grain with a plastic top coat. Split-grain takes dye in a different way and reads flat.
- Hardware. Brass with gold plating is the common build. Solid brass costs more. Plating thickness runs from 0.5 to 3 microns.
- Stitching. Saddle stitch uses two needles and one thread. Machine lock stitch uses two threads. Count stitches per centimeter: hand work runs 8 to 10, machine work runs 5 to 7.
"1:1" and "mirror quality" have no standard definition. Any supplier can print the words on a listing.
Color Match
A true Capucine match is hard to hold. Orange-red dyes shift with the light source. Ask for photos under daylight and under 4000K indoor light. Same-batch orders hold color better than split orders. Dye lots change between production runs, so a second order can arrive a shade off.
Legal Status in the United States
Hermes holds US trademark registrations for BIRKIN, KELLY, and the H logo. A bag that carries those marks without authorization is a counterfeit under the Lanham Act.
Trafficking carries criminal penalties under 18 U.S.C. 2320: up to 10 years in prison and a $2 million fine for a first offense by an individual. US Customs and Border Protection can seize a shipment and destroy it. A trademark owner can also file a civil suit against a seller or a buyer.
What to Ask a Supplier
- Leather type and tannery name.
- Plating thickness in microns.
- Stitch count per centimeter.
- Photo of the heat stamp and the date code.
Answers to these four items separate a documented product from a claim. A supplier who skips them is selling on the color name alone.