Rare bags offered by Christie’s Hong Kong
An upcoming auction of handbags and accessories at Christie’s in Hong Kong on May 21 features rare iterations of classic Hermès Kelly and Birkin handbags.
Several bags included in the auction are expected to reach upwards of $100,000, including an “exceptional” shiny black porosus crocodile Diamond Birkin 25 with 18-karat white gold and diamond hardware from 2018, which is expected to sell for between $160,000-210,000.
Meanwhile, a shiny Rose Schéhérazade porosus crocodile Diamond Birkin 30 with 18-karat white gold and diamond hardware from 2014 (pictured right) has an estimated sale price of $130,000-190,000.
Two rare matte white Himalaya niloticus crocodile retourné Kelly handbags with palladium hardware (one in size 25, the other in size 30 and each from the year 2020) are expected to fetch between $91,000-120,000 apiece.
Christie’s has previously described the Himalaya Kelly as “the rarest handbag in the world”. On November 27, 2020, the auction house achieved a new world record for the most expensive handbag sold at auction with a Himalaya Kelly 25 realising a price of $437,330. At the same auction, a Himalaya Birkin 25 realised $388,738.
Other rare Hermès pieces on offer include a Kellywood 22 bag from 2020 in fauve barénia leather and bog oak (with palladium hardware), expected to reach between $78,000-100,000, as well as a limited-edition Birkin Faubourg (which visually depicts the brand’s flagship store on 24 Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré in Paris) from the same year, which is also hoped to bring in a figure somewhere between $78,000-$100,000 for the auction house.
While the auction looks to be dominated by Hermès handbags, limited leathergoods articles from Chanel and Louis Vuitton also feature in the sale.
Image: Christie’s.
