A Hermès diamond Birkin bag with diamond and white gold hardware sold for $203,150 on December 6 at Heritage Auctions, setting a world record price for a handbag sold at public auction, according to the auction house.
The collector who purchased the bag at Heritage’s luxury accessories auction wished to remain anonymous.
The handbag’s official name is the Hermès exceptional collection shiny rouge H porosus-crocodile 30cm Birkin bag with solid 18K white gold and diamond hardware. Birkins have a proven track record of bringing significant prices at auction, according to Heritage’s director of luxury accessories Matt Rubinger. “Just a year ago another Birkin, without the jewels and in lesser condition than this one, sold for the equivalent of $77,000 at auction in England.
“Everything about this bag measures up much better than that one, which was the auction record until now: the color, the diamonds, the condition †all combine to make this a singular bag,” he said.
This diamond Birkin is just one of four Hermès handbags that broke existing price records at the evening auction. The other three bags were: an Hermès 35cm matte Brighton blue porosus-crocodile Birkin bag with palladium hardware, $113,525; an Hermès 35cm shiny braise red porosus-crocodile Birkin bag with palladium hardware, $95,600 and an Hermès 30cm Himalayan crocodile Birkin bag with palladium hardware, $80,663.
All prices given include the 19½ percent buyer’s premium. A complete report on the auction will appear in a future issue. ⁁K
