FLOAT 100 · Handbags · No. 48
Louis Vuitton Pochette Metis
A small satchel that nobody wanted at first became the Louis Vuitton bag people queued for, and its black embossed-leather version is the quiet one: no printed logo, just the Monogram pressed into the hide.
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- current
- Maker
- Louis Vuitton
- By price in handbags
- 79 of 100
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Create a free account- Maker
- Louis Vuitton
- Model
- Pochette Metis, a scaled-down satchel with an S-lock flap
- First released
- In Monogram canvas; sources give 2012 or 2013
- This entry
- Monogram Empreinte leather in Black (Noir), reference M41487
- Empreinte version
- Released in 2017 in Rose Ballerine, Marine Rouge, Noir and Scarlet, per a reference guide
- Size
- 9.8 x 7.5 x 2.8 inches (length x height x width), per Louis Vuitton
- Closure
- S-lock, which the house says was inspired by its historic trunks
- US retail
- $3,100 on Louis Vuitton's US site, October 1, 2026 (shown out of stock)
- Recent ask
- $1,850 for a pre-owned black Empreinte example made 2021-2023
A slow start
The Pochette Metis is young by Louis Vuitton standards, and sources do not agree on its birth year. A detailed reference guide says it was introduced in 2012 in Monogram canvas; a 2020 review on a major handbag site says it was first released in 2013. Both agree on what happened next: it was not an instant hit.
The reference guide says the bag took off around 2014, when it became nearly impossible to order online and boutique visitors left empty-handed. The 2020 review places its must-have moment in 2018. A UK owner writing in February 2017 described it as sold out everywhere in the UK and said she had joined a boutique waiting list and refreshed the website at all hours to get one.
The same owner described the design as a remake of an older Louis Vuitton tote whose small front pocket matched the front of the Metis. Louis Vuitton itself calls it a chic, scaled-down version of the classic satchel silhouette.
Empreinte: the Monogram, pressed in
Most Pochette Metis bags wear the printed Monogram canvas that Georges Vuitton designed in 1896 in tribute to his father. This entry is different. Monogram Empreinte is leather with the pattern embossed into it: Louis Vuitton describes the material on this bag as Monogram Empreinte embossed supple grained cowhide, with supple grained cowhide trim.
The house presents Empreinte as a showcase for its work in soft, embossed leather, offered in a range of colors and meant to age with use. On the black version the pattern is visible only as relief, and a reader commenting on a 2020 review called the Empreinte Metis 'such an understated bag'.
According to the reference guide, Louis Vuitton released the Metis in more materials in 2017 after its success in canvas, including Empreinte in four colors: Rose Ballerine, Marine Rouge, Noir and Scarlet. In 2019 the Empreinte range grew to include Cherry Berry and Beige Rose Cream.
How to identify a black Empreinte Pochette Metis
Louis Vuitton's US product page for reference M41487 lists the details: black Monogram Empreinte leather, a textile lining, gold-color hardware, an S-lock closure, an outside zipped pocket on the back, three inside compartments, a single top handle and a removable, adjustable strap with a drop of 18.9 to 21.7 inches. The bag measures 9.8 x 7.5 x 2.8 inches and weighs about 0.8 kg.
The flap's S-lock is the bag's signature. A 2020 review describes the closure as two release tabs that latch the flap, and early owners singled out its hardware: one 2017 owner relayed reviews saying the gold-plated layer could scratch off within weeks, exposing a silver-colored metal underneath, and advised closing the lock carefully.
Resale measurements differ slightly from the maker's. One dealer listing for a black Empreinte example made 2021-2023 measures 9.5 x 7.5 x 4 inches with a 19 to 22 inch strap, and describes its hardware as bronze-tone where Louis Vuitton says gold-color. The listing also gives the original retail price as $2,940.
Fixes, versions and spin-offs
The Metis has been revised more than once. A 2017 owner counted three versions of the canvas model, differing in a leather pull on the back zipper and an inside slip pocket. A 2020 review recalled early complaints of cracking under the flap, peeling edge glazing, crooked front hardware and misaligned print, and said they pushed Louis Vuitton to change the bag. The reference guide says a 2019 canvas version used a thicker canvas because of problems with the earlier one.
Variants followed. The reference guide lists a Monogram Reverse version, a black-and-red Infrarouge edition, a limited Epi leather run that it says sold poorly, a 2017 Masters collection version, a braided-handle model in 2018, a 'Love Lock' print in 2018, the Micro Metis of 2022 at 5.5 x 4.3 x 1.4 inches, and a Pochette Metis East West in 2023. Its dates for the Reverse and Infrarouge versions are not consistent within the guide itself.
Price and the market
Retail prices for the Empreinte version have climbed steadily. The reference guide gives US prices of $2,300 in 2020 and $2,840 in 2022; Louis Vuitton's US site listed the black Empreinte Pochette Metis at $3,100 on October 1, 2026, marked out of stock. The canvas version was $1,830 a few years before 2020 and $1,980 in mid-2020, per the 2020 review.
On the resale side, a dealer asked $1,850 on October 1, 2026, for a pre-owned black Empreinte example made 2021-2023 in excellent condition, with box, dust bag and strap. The reference guide's view is that Empreinte is the easier version to buy at retail, with new colors added almost every season, while the canvas model is the one people wait for.
The numbers
- Dimensions
- 9.8 x 7.5 x 2.8 in (length x height x width), per Louis Vuitton
- Material
- Monogram Empreinte embossed supple grained cowhide; supple grained cowhide trim; textile lining
- Hardware
- Gold-color, S-lock closure
- Weight
- About 0.8 kg
- Strap drop
- 18.9 in, up to 21.7 in
- Reference
- M41487 (Black)
- Production quantity
- Not published
Timeline
Georges Vuitton designs the Monogram canvas, the pattern later embossed into Empreinte leather.
Pochette Metis introduced in Monogram canvas, according to a reference guide; a 2020 review says 2013.
Demand surges and the bag becomes hard to buy online or in boutiques, per the reference guide.
A black-and-red Infrarouge edition is released, per the reference guide.
The Metis is released in Monogram Empreinte leather in Rose Ballerine, Marine Rouge, Noir and Scarlet.
A UK owner reports the bag sold out across the UK, with UK retail rising from 1,200 to 1,260 pounds.
A braided-handle version appears; a 2020 review dates the bag's must-have peak to this year.
A thicker-canvas Monogram version is released and Empreinte adds Cherry Berry and Beige Rose Cream.
US retail for the Empreinte Pochette Metis is $2,300.
US retail for the Empreinte version is $2,840; the Micro Metis debuts.
The Pochette Metis East West is added to the line.
Black Empreinte Pochette Metis (M41487) listed at $3,100 in the US, out of stock; a pre-owned example is offered at $1,850.
The world in 2017
President Donald Trump issues an executive order restricting travel from seven Muslim-majority nations.
Nintendo releases the Switch worldwide.
The United Kingdom triggers Article 50, starting Brexit negotiations.
Emmanuel Macron wins the French presidential election.
The WannaCry ransomware attack hits computers in at least 150 countries.
A total solar eclipse crosses the entire contiguous United States.
Hurricane Harvey strikes Texas as a Category 4 storm.
Price record
| Date | Price | Kind |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $2,300 | Asking price, not a saleUS boutique retail price of the Monogram Empreinte Pochette Metis, per a reference guide. |
| 2022 | $2,840 | Asking price, not a saleUS boutique retail price of the Monogram Empreinte Pochette Metis, per the same guide. |
| Oct 1, 2026 | $3,100 | Asking price, not a saleLouis Vuitton US price for the black Empreinte Pochette Metis, M41487; shown out of stock. |
| Oct 1, 2026 | $1,850 | Asking price, not a salePre-owned black Empreinte example made 2021-2023, excellent condition, with box, dust bag and strap; dealer list price. |
This is an asking price, not a sale. It is what a seller wanted on the date shown. Asking prices often sit above what buyers pay, but an ask is not a ceiling: a sale can land on either side of it. It is not a value.
By reference price, Louis Vuitton Pochette Metis is number 79 of 100 in the handbags entries of the FLOAT 100. 19 of those 100 rest on a realized sale; the rest carry an asking price or a guide value, and each page says which. Rank within the FLOAT 100 itself (48 here) is editorial: how much an object defines its field, not price alone.
Did you know
- Sources disagree on when the Pochette Metis launched: one reference guide says 2012, a 2020 review says 2013.
- The bag's S-lock closure is modeled, Louis Vuitton says, on locks from its historic trunks.
- A limited Epi leather Pochette Metis released in 2017 sold poorly, according to one reference guide.
- Louis Vuitton released a thicker-canvas Monogram Metis in 2019 after complaints about the earlier version.
- The Micro Metis of 2022 measures only 5.5 by 4.3 by 1.4 inches.
How this page is made
- The figure
- One reference price, shown with its own kind. FLOAT does not average it with anything or adjust it for time.
- Realized or not
- A realized price is a completed sale. An asking price, an estimate and a price-guide value are not sales, and are labeled as such wherever they appear.
- The story
- Researched from published records and checked fact by fact. Updated Oct 1, 2026.
- Archive
- Oct 5, 2026