Appraisers sift China’s second-hand luxury market for fake goods

Zhang Chen, founder of the Extraordinary Luxuries Business School, verifying the authenticity of a watch at the Beijing Extraordinary Luxuries Technology company in Beijing. — AFP

It's the world’s biggest market for luxury goods – and their counterfeits – so an expert eye for telling a bona fide Chanel handbag from a bogus one is a skill set in hot demand across China.

Enter the “luxury appraiser”, an eagle-eyed differentiator of real from fake, trained to triage handbags, belts and garments for dodgy serial numbers, stitching and logos.