SAKURA

Sakura was introduced in March 2000 and retired only two months later on 24 May 2000. This beautiful pink bear has been a real target for counterfeiters, and although the early counterfeits are almost laughable there are now very sophisticated versions which are difficult to easily tell from the original. I should know, my first Sakura turned out to be a fake!

The nose on a fake Sakura is not as oval as it should be, and the eyes are a little too close together. If you squeeze the back of the head you will be able to feel that the eye backings are not the same shape as on a genuine Beanie. If you feel the pellets through the tummy they are larger and not the same shape as on a genuine beanie. The stitching on a real Sakura is a pearly pink colour. The fakes use darker thread.