Section 01: About this tool

Understand what your hardware is telling you

A professional-grade diagnostic for collectors who refuse to leave anything to chance.

Your Hermès, Chanel, or Louis Vuitton is not merely a bag. It is an investment and the hardware is the first thing to quietly signal when something is going wrong.

Hardware damage is cumulative and deceptive. What looks like light tarnish today may already be early plating failure.

A scratch that seems superficial may have already broken through to the base metal beneath triggering oxidation that no polishing can undo. In fact, uninformed polishing is one of the leading ways collectors unknowingly accelerate damage that was still recoverable.

This estimator analyses the same six indicators our restoration specialists examine in every consultation and returns a precise Damage Level score in under three minutes.

You will know exactly where your hardware stands, what it means, and what to do next. No guesswork. No costly mistakes.

• Surface appearance and overall finish condition
• Plating integrity, whether the top layer is holding or lifting
• Scratch depth and how far it has penetrated
• Leather contact staining from hardware transfer
• Storage history and environmental exposure
• Structural integrity of clasps, hinges, and closures.

Your score places the hardware into one of three care tiers:

Safe for home care 0 to 3 points. Early tarnish or micro-scratches only. Preventive home maintenance is appropriate.

Monitor closely 4 to 9 points. Moderate damage. Some home care may still apply but technique and product choice matter greatly here.

Professional care needed 10 or more points. Severe damage. All DIY activity must stop immediately to prevent further irreversible loss.

Section 02: How to use it

Four steps to your hardware assessment

Set aside five quiet minutes. Your hardware deserves your full attention.

Prepare your bag for inspection

Place the bag under natural daylight or a bright neutral lamp, warm or dim lighting conceals damage.

Run your fingertips along all clasps, chains, and zipper pulls. Feel for texture changes, raised edges, or flaking that your eyes may miss.

A magnifying glass at this stage is not excessive. You are looking for the truth of the piece, not its best angle.

Answer the six diagnostic questions

The questions cover surface appearance, plating condition, scratch depth, leather contact staining, storage history, and structural integrity.

Select the answer that reflects your bag’s current, true condition not how it looked when you first acquired it.

An honest answer at this stage protects your piece. A generous one does not.

Receive your damage score

Your Damage Level percentage is calculated instantly and placed into the appropriate care tier.

Each result includes a clear explanation of what the score means and what risks are present if left unaddressed.

Follow your tailored action plan

Lower-tier results guide you through safe home maintenance steps and what to watch for going forward.

Higher-tier results tell you which actions to avoid entirely and outline the appropriate next step for your piece based on the specific damage present.

For a deeper understanding of what to do at home between assessments, read our guide on luxury handbag hardware care.

Section 03: FAQs

Frequently asked questions

Expert answers to what our clients ask most about their hardware results.

What does my Damage Level percentage actually mean?

It reflects the combined severity of all six hardware indicators, not any single flaw alone.

A low score means home maintenance is appropriate and safe. A mid-range score means proceed with caution, the wrong product or technique at this stage can worsen things. A score of 10 or above means the hardware has sustained structural or chemical damage and all home intervention must stop.

Think of it not as a verdict, but as a compass, telling you exactly where your piece stands today.

The tool flagged green crust on my hardware. What is verdigris?

Verdigris is a blue-green crystalline crust that forms when copper, the base metal beneath most luxury hardware plating, is exposed to moisture and air over time.

It is chemically active and continues to spread. It is structurally destructive and can fracture clasps and chain links from within. It often begins beneath the plating, invisible until it breaks through, meaning by the time you see it, it has typically been active for some time.

Do not scrub, polish, or treat it at home. Abrasion spreads it further. Store the bag away from moisture, handle it minimally, and read more about what causes tarnish and corrosion on designer chains before taking any further steps.

Why does the tool tell me to stop polishing if base metal is exposed?

Luxury hardware is not solid gold or silver. It is a base metal, usually brass or a copper alloy, finished with a thin plating layer measured in microns.

When scratches wear through that layer, you see a colour shift: a brassy or reddish-copper tone within the worn area.

Polishing at this point does not restore the plating, it removes what remains of it. The compounds work by abrasion, and on already-exposed areas, they strip away the surrounding intact plating with every application.

The only path forward is professional re-plating. Until then, set the cloth aside entirely. Our guide on fixing tarnish and scratches on luxury hardware explains the safe limits of home care in detail.

When should I skip home care kits entirely?

Home care kits are built for maintenance, for keeping healthy hardware clean and protected. They are not equipped for plating failure, active corrosion, or structural damage.

Applying them to those conditions does not help. It often makes a recoverable piece significantly harder to restore.

Stop home care and seek professional guidance if any of the following are true:

Score 10 or aboveStop all DIY immediately

Verdigris presentDo not polish or scrub

Base metal visibleNo further abrasion

Leather stainingActive transfer occurring

The earlier a damaged piece is seen by a specialist, the more options remain available. The PurseRevive restoration team is available to assess pieces at any stage, reach out through the contact page.