The ravishing Hermès Himalaya Birkin Bag is considered the Holy Grail in a Handbag collection, while the Himalaya Kelly is fabled as ‘The Rarest Handbag in the World’. How did this handbag achieve such cachet? The answer lies in the construction of this wearable work of art, a striking blend of superlative design with fabulous materials.
The Hermes Birkin Crocodile Himalaya Birkin is crafted from Nile crocodile hide. The designation ‘Himalaya’ does not apply to the origin of the bag, but rather to the delicate gradation of the colour. The smoky grey fades into a pearly white, resembling the majestic, snow-capped Himalayas. The process of dyeing a crocodile hide is time-consuming and exponentially more difficult as the shades lighten — to create the immaculate white of the snow and the gradation to rocky grey requires great skill and a fine eye.
Precious materials and craftsmanship with the Hermès equestrian heritage, the Himalaya Birkin is the ultimate expression of the artistry and tradition of the storied Hermès House.
Himalaya Kelly
Hermes Birkin Crocodile
Produced in the most limited of numbers, the Himalaya Kelly is a perfect marriage of the subtle gradation of the Himalaya and the elegance of the Kelly. The Himalaya Kelly is both an heirloom and a work of art.
Hermès Birkin Himalaya
Himalaya Birkins spawned a collecting phenomenon. Handbag collectors around the world recognised the rarity and exquisite craftsmanship behind the Himalaya. Consequently, in a resounding response to the appetite of collectors, Hermès began to craft a limited number Himalaya Kelly bags for top clients. “It has also been very rarely declined into other models such as this impressive Plume 28.”
Very rarely used into other models such as the impressive Plume 28.
In 2016 a Hermes Birkin Crocodile Himalaya Birkin bag with white gold and diamond hardware for an auction world record price of $300,168.
In May 2017, Christie’s in Hong Kong again broke the world record for the most expensive bag ever sold at auction when a white crocodile Hermès Himalaya encrusted with 10.23 carats of diamonds realised £293,000.
Himalaya Birkin is now officially the most expensive handbag ever sold at a European auction and the second-most expensive handbag ever. The top bag goes to another Birkin bag in a similar style which went for £253,700 in Hong Kong last year.
Himalaya Niloticus Birkin 30 was the ‘undisputed most valuable bag in the world’, due to the fact that they’re incredible difficult to craft. Named the Himalaya after the snowy white shade of the bag, albino crocodiles are very difficult to come by and the skill required to dye crocodile hide to such a degree is astronomical.
Hermes Birkin Crocodile bags are objects of intense desire and fascination. Starting prices for the smallest and most simple versions cost upwards of $10,000, and rare, limited-edition iterations, like the Himalaya, can push prices into new stratospheres. Even if you have the money to buy one, there’s often a months- or even years-long waiting list to purchase.
The bag sold Wednesday evening is no ordinary Birkin. The “rare and exceptional” purse, made in 2010, is fashioned with 18 carat white gold and an estimated 10 carats of brilliant, colorless diamonds and crafted with Nile River-sourced crocodile, according to the auction house. The Himalaya reference in the name is not a nod to its origin, but rather the coloring.
A Hermes Birkin bag is worth its weight in gold. The empty Birkin weighs in at around two pounds; the same weight in gold today amounts to some $37,500. The most expensive handbag ever sold at auction—fetching over $370,000 at the June 2017 Christie’s auction in Hong Kong—was, unsurprisingly, an Hermes Birkin, called the “Himalayan” due to its albino-white crocodile material and diamond-encrusted palladium hardware resembling the famous mountain region.
Hermes Birkin bags you might come across will vary with their construction materials. The choice of leather is the most influential factor in determining a Birkin’s value. Here are the commonly used leather types Hermes uses in Birkin construction:
Highly sought after Birkin bags are those made with the leather of apex predators: alligator and crocodile. This is also where the most confusion around Birkin bags arises, as people commonly mistake alligator for crocodile and vice versa; however, there are some significant differences and identification features that differentiate alligator Birkins from their crocodile counterparts. Firstly, alligators dwell in freshwater while crocodiles live in saltwater. Crocodile skins also have small pores near the bottom of the scales; alligators do not have these pores. As crocodiles are typically larger than alligators, their individual scales are larger, as well as make for better options for bigger bags, like 35cm and 40cm Birkins. Alligator leather has smaller and more symmetrical scales, and is commonly used in Kelly bags and smaller 30cm Birkins.
Hermes Birkin Crocodile leather used in Hermes Birkin bag construction: Niloticus crocodile (sourced from the Nile river valley) and Porosus crocodile (sourced from Asia and Australia). The alligator used by Hermes comes from the Mississippi river valley. Crocodile Birkins are extremely hard to come by in the primary market, and are typically not available to customers who do not spend six figures or more at the Hermes store. The price and desirability of Alligator and Crocodile Birkins is also affected by the symmetry and aesthetics of the skin and scales themselves. Every Hermes Birkin bag, therefore, is unique compared to other bags of the same leather type. Of these three leather types, Porosus crocodile is the most rare and desirable, therefor the most expensive.
Some Hermes Birkin bags fetch a price that would get you a three or four bedroom house in most of the country and it’s not the most expensive bag ever sold. The 1001 Nights Diamond Purse, originally sold for $3.8 million in 2011 holds the top spot, featuring 4,517 diamonds with a total weight of 381.92 carats, according to the designer.
Birkin 30 was the ‘undisputed most valuable bag in the world’, due to the fact that they’re incredible difficult to craft. Named the Himalaya after the snowy white shade of the bag, albino crocodiles are very difficult to come by and the skill required to dye crocodile hide to such a degree is astronomical.
David Beckham bought a similar Himalaya Hermes Birkin bags for a reported £80,000, a gift for his wife Victoria Beckham.