A Hermès handbag hit a record high at Sotheby’s auction.
The Himalaya Retun Kelly 25 bag sold for €352,800 ($346,802) at an auction in Paris that ended Thursday, according to Sotheby’s. A mother-of-pearl white crocodile skin handbag, reminiscent of a snow-capped mountain landscape, sold for nearly three times the Sotheby’s pre-sale estimate.
Morgan Halimi, global head of handbags and accessories at Sotheby’s, said the model was seen as “a real investment in the long run.” It’s also “one of the hardest-to-find bags” in Hermès boutiques, which helps explain the resale price.
She said retail prices for bags made this year are in the “tens of thousands of euros.”
Kelly began as Hermès’ sac à dépêches in the 1930s, but was given that nickname (and later the official moniker) after Princess Grace Kelly was photographed holding it in 1956.
The record price for a luxury bag at auction is held by Christie’s, the auction house owned by François Pinault, where a Himalayan Letourne Kelly bag sold for HK$4 million ($510,000) last November. rice field. It featured diamond hardware and was slightly larger.
Christie’s will launch a sale on Nov. 3 that includes the Himalaya Serie Kelly 25 bag, also made this year, a representative said.
Halimi said smaller handbags tend to be preferred by buyers, many of whom are women and are very rare at auctions, often in their 30s and 40s.
With demand outstripping supply, Hermès International is looking to increase its production capacity for leather goods.
