Hermès listings and reseller group chats run on a dense shorthand that takes most buyers months to fully absorb: construction terms (Sellier vs Retourne), leather names (Togo, Epsom, Clemence and a dozen more), hardware codes (GHW, PHW, RGHW), condition shorthand (BNIB, store fresh, pristine) and sourcing jargon (quota bag, HSS, grey market) all get used as if everyone already knows them. This glossary decodes 64+ of the terms you will actually encounter, organised alphabetically, with a link out to the full article wherever a term deserves more than a sentence.
Treat this page as the index to the rest of our Hermès deep-dive series: whenever a definition below feels too short, the linked article is where we go deep.
A – C
- Authentication card
- Hermès has never issued authenticity cards with its bags. A listing that includes one is a red flag, not reassurance. Full breakdown →
- Barenia
- A smooth, minimally finished heritage calfskin that darkens and develops patina with handling. Leather rarity guide →
- Blind stamp
- The stamped code inside a bag recording its production year and factory. Also called the interior or date stamp. Blind stamp decoder →
- BNIB
- Brand New In Box — unworn, with all original packaging intact.
- Box calf
- A smooth, glossy, unembossed vintage calfskin, largely superseded by Togo and Epsom in current production. Leather rarity guide →
- Chèvre
- Goatskin leather, finer-grained and lighter than calfskin, most often seen as Chèvre Mysore. Leather rarity guide →
- CITES
- The international treaty regulating trade in endangered species. Crocodile, alligator and lizard pieces may require CITES documentation to sell or ship legally. Receipts & papers guide →
- Clemence
- A soft, grained calfskin used across the Birkin, Kelly and Picotin lines. Togo vs Epsom vs Clemence →
- Clochette
- The small bell-shaped leather tab that holds the bag's lock (cadena) when not in use, threaded onto the handle.
- Condition grade (Western)
- The Excellent / Very Good / Good / Fair scale used to describe a used bag's wear. Condition grading guide →
- Craie
- A soft off-white, one of the permanent neutral colours. Colour lexicon →
D – G
- Danse
- A Hermès crossbody model built around a distinctive twisted, adjustable strap.
- Dust bag
- The soft felt or cotton protective bag a Hermès item ships in. Its presence and condition are part of a 'full set'. Storage guide →
- Epsom
- A crisp, embossed leather with a fine cross-hatch texture that holds its structure well. Togo vs Epsom vs Clemence →
- Étoupe
- A warm taupe-grey, one of the most requested permanent neutrals. Colour lexicon →
- Evelyne
- An accessible crossbody model with a perforated 'H' front panel — the entry point of the Hermès bag range. Entry price guide →
- Evercolor
- A smooth, lightly coated calfskin, more scratch-resistant than Swift. Leather rarity guide →
- Exotic
- Umbrella term for skins beyond calf and goat — crocodile, alligator, lizard, ostrich — priced at a separate tier. Leather rarity guide →
- Feet (pieds)
- The small metal studs or leather pads on a bag's base that keep it off surfaces. Wear here is a normal, minor condition point.
- Full set
- A listing with box, dust bag, receipt, clochette and rain jacket all present — commands a premium over the bag alone.
- GHW
- Gold Hardware. Gold vs palladium guide →
- Gold (colour)
- A golden-tan neutral — not to be confused with gold hardware (GHW), an easy mix-up in listings. Colour lexicon →
- Grey market
- Resale outside Hermès' own boutiques and authorized channels — legal and legitimate when the goods are genuine, distinct from counterfeit. Platform-vetting guide →
H – M
- Hardware
- The metal fittings — clasps, buckles, feet, locks — whose finish and condition materially affect value. Hardware finishes guide →
- Heat stamp
- The 'Hermès, Paris, Made in France' stamp burned into the leather, positioned near the blind stamp on most bags.
- HSS
- Horseshoe Stamp — marks a special-order bag with a non-standard colour or leather combination, named for the horseshoe-shaped stamp on the order form.
- Interior stamp
- Another name for the blind stamp — the year/factory code inside the bag. Blind stamp decoder →
- Japanese condition grades
- Japan's N / S / A / AB / B scale, more granular than Western grading. Japanese grades guide →
- Kelly
- The structured, single-handle flagship alongside the Birkin, offered in Sellier and Retourne construction. Kelly 25 price guide →
- Lindy
- A soft, double-zip tote with a removable strap — one of the more accessible Hermès bags. Entry price guide →
- Lock / cadena
- The brass or plated padlock closure, engraved 'Hermès Paris', that comes with its own small key.
- Made in France stamp
- See Heat stamp — the manufacturing-origin mark present on genuine pieces.
N – R
- Noir
- Black — the most requested of the permanent neutral colours.
- Ostrich
- An exotic leather with a distinctive raised quill-follicle grain. Leather rarity guide →
- Permabrass
- A matte, brushed brass-toned hardware finish — one of several beyond standard gold and palladium. Hardware finishes guide →
- PHW
- Palladium Hardware, a cooler silver-toned finish. Gold vs palladium guide →
- Picotin
- An open-top bucket bag with a simple leather-lace closure. Entry price guide →
- Plaque
- The nameplate on a bag's lock mechanism, engraved 'Hermès Paris' — its wear and font are among the details authenticators check.
- Pre-loved
- A softer synonym for used or pre-owned, common in resale listings.
- Pristine
- Condition shorthand for a bag showing no visible wear, effectively indistinguishable from new.
- Quill pattern
- The raised follicle texture that identifies ostrich leather. Leather rarity guide →
- Quota bag
- A Birkin or Kelly whose in-boutique purchase is limited by an informal allocation system tied to a client's purchase history.
- Resell premium
- The amount a bag's resale price exceeds (or falls short of) its original retail price — the core metric across our price guides. Birkin price guide →
- Retourne
- Construction stitched inside-out for a softer silhouette, as opposed to Sellier. Kelly price guide →
- RGHW
- Rose Gold Hardware, a warm pink-toned plating. Hardware finishes guide →
- Rodeo
- A horse-shaped leather bag charm, sold separately and clipped to a handle — a popular, comparatively affordable way to personalise a bag.
- Ruthenium
- A dark grey-to-black hardware finish. Hardware finishes guide →
S – T
- Sac
- French for 'bag' — appears often in listings and group chats, especially from European sellers.
- Sangles
- The external straps running over a Birkin's top, part of its signature silhouette.
- Sellier
- Structured construction with visible external saddle stitching, as opposed to Retourne. Kelly price guide →
- Special order
- A bag ordered through a personal shopper in a non-standard colour, leather or hardware combination. See HSS.
- Spa (Hermès Spa)
- The brand's official repair and refurbishment service. Acceptance for a spa service is not the same as authentication. Spa guide →
- Store fresh
- Recently purchased from a boutique, unworn or worn only briefly — a step below BNIB if tags or packaging aren't fully intact.
- Superfake
- A high-quality counterfeit built to fool a casual inspection. Ten red flags →
- Swift
- An ultra-smooth, vividly colour-saturated calfskin that scratches more easily than grained leathers. Leather rarity guide →
- Togo
- The most common grained calfskin on modern Birkins and Kellys. Togo vs Epsom vs Clemence →
- Toile
- A woven canvas body paired with leather trim, rotated in and out of production seasonally. Leather rarity guide →
- Touret
- The D-ring or turn-lock hardware piece that anchors a shoulder strap to the bag body.
- TPM / PM / GM
- Très Petit Modèle, Petit Modèle, Grand Modèle — French size abbreviations meaning extra-small, small and large. Entry price guide →
- Twilly
- A narrow silk scarf, sold separately, commonly wrapped around a handle or strap as an accessory.
V – W
- Vache Naturelle
- Raw, undyed, vegetable-tanned cowhide that develops strong patina and reacts visibly to water and oil. Leather rarity guide →
- VIP / client profile
- A boutique's internal record of a client's purchase history, used informally to inform quota-bag allocation.
- Vintage
- Generally, pieces made before 2000, which differ in construction and stamping from modern production. Vintage authentication guide →
- Waitlist
- An informal boutique interest list for a specific bag; Hermès does not operate a formal, guaranteed waitlist system despite the term's common use.
Buy With the Terminology Sorted
Every listing in our collection states construction, leather, hardware and condition in plain terms — or have our team authenticate a piece you're already considering.