In Fight Against Fake Luxuries, Real Authentication Champions Human Expertise Over AI Technology 

Real Authentication explains how and why trained experts are essential in helping shoppers ensure the value of their purchases and helping retailers and brands protect their reputations. 

As counterfeit Chanel, Burberry, Gucci and other luxury items flood online retailers and even slip into stores, shoppers are turning to professional authenticators to make sure their purchases are real – and many authenticators are turning to AI to handle the demand. But Real Authentication, the leading luxury goods authentication service, cautions that AI is no match for human expertise in detecting counterfeits. 

Anastacia Black and Jenna Padilla founded Real Authentication in 2016, making it one of the first independent luxury goods authentication companies. With experience in both fashion merchandising and luxury flipping, they identified a gap in the market and now serve shoppers, online retailers and brands in more than 90% of countries worldwide. Real Authentication authenticates over 170 premium brands, including Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, Prada, and so many more.  

The counterfeit market for these and other premium brands is immense and growing. In 2023, officials in New York City seized more than $1 billion of counterfeit handbags, shoes and other luxury items in a single raid. In 2024, officials in the European Union confiscated 152 million counterfeit items valued at about $3.7 billion, 77 percent more items, with an increase of 68 percent in value compared to the year before.  

Shoppers, retail platforms and brands are responding to counterfeiting by utilizing authentication companies to verify the provenance of luxury items either before or after purchase. To deal with the volume of requests, many prominent authenticators now rely on AI-powered scans of photographs, with one company offering results in 60 seconds.  

The founders of Real Authentication say using AI alone is unrealistic, but more so, unreliable. Luxury brands release new or updated items and styles each season, including new textiles, hardware and typography. With that, AI simply lacks the knowledge needed for verification – especially as the quality of counterfeit items improves. 

“In a world where counterfeiting is becoming increasingly sophisticated, our human experts deliver the nuanced judgment and experience that AI simply cannot match,” says Co-founder Anastacia Black. 

Luxury goods submitted to Real Authentication are typically reviewed by two highly trained experts who apply their extensive hands-on experience in conjunction with the company’s proprietary archive of over 7 million reference images to analyze the fine details of every submission. The Real Authentication experts analyze every aspect of submitted items, from general product information all the way down to the denier, or thickness of threads, in a stitch.  

The company also reinforces its human authenticators’ work through leveraging its proprietary Smart Database Scan™ technology, which cross-checks numerous data points within its system and identifies potential red flags. The Real Authentication expert fraud detection team provides an additional layer of quality assurance.  

“Our dedication to authenticating luxury goods with precision is what sets us apart,” says Co-founder Jenna Padilla. “We believe in the power of human insight to protect consumers and the integrity of iconic brands.” 

Real Authentication now offers expert luxury designer authentication services for handbags, watches, streetwear, eyewear, clothing, jewelry, shoes, scarves, hats, and home goods such as pillows, glassware, and blankets, from more than 170 brands. The quality of the company’s services is documented in thousands of reviews and testimonials from luxury shoppers like entrepreneur and television star Bethenny Frankel. 

Real Authentication offers individual verifications, express service, a self-serve discount program, enterprise and pawn solutions, self-verifying certificates of authenticity, as well as white-label authentication services for brands and high-volume businesses. The company encourages shoppers and platforms to protect their investments and reputations through the use of authentication services.

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