Know Your Hermès: A Collector's Guide

Handmade and finely crafted in France, all Hermès bags are special but some occupy a higher plane On 12 June, Christie’s London is holding a handbag sale featuring the bag world’s most elite specimens. As well as Chanel runway totes and Louis Vuitton trunks, over 300 Hermès bags are offered for sale with estimates ranging from £1000 for a clutch to £150,000 for a diamond-encrusted Birkin “It’s the only female-centric collecting category at Christie’s,” explains Rachael Koffsky, Christie’s specialist in handbags and accessories.

Handbags are the fastest growing area for the auction house, which puts together six international sales every year, and most of the buyers and sellers in this area are women These serious collectors know every nuance of the Hermès catalogue Rare colour ways, unique hardware, a discontinued size or one-of-a-kind detailing can be the difference between a bag achieving a good price or a world-record-breaking sum.

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