On a research trip in China, I found my way into a market selling replica luxury goods and picked up a counterfeit Hermès Constance belt for about $100. Then I ordered the real one from Hermès directly and put both under the microscope — leather, stitching, hardware, edge finishing, even weight.

The differences were bigger than expected in some places, and barely there in others. Here's what actually separates a $100 counterfeit from the real thing — materials, construction, and where the corners get cut.

Stay leathertained.