Auction houses see ‘bags’ of luxury opportunity
The London divisions of Christie’s and Sotheby’s auction houses both have luxury handbag and accessories auctions scheduled to end in late November.
Christie’s auction, ‘Handbags online: the London edit’, will conclude on November 23, with Sotheby’s ‘Handbags and accessories’ online auction set to end a little later in the week on November 26.
Both auctions feature an Hermès-heavy curation, with highlights also from Chanel, Louis Vuitton and, in Christie’s case, a single offering each from Gucci and Paco Rabanne.
Not atypically, the star lots from both houses are largely dominated by luxury leathergoods brand Hermès.
At Christie’s, the auction is led by what the business described as a rare matte béton alligator, white togo and swift leather Faubourg sellier Birkin 20 (the number 20 refers to the bag’s width in centimetres) by Hermès from 2021.
The handbag, estimated to reach between £80,000 (roughly $107,000) and £100,000 (around $134,000), is modelled after the façade of the brand’s Parisian flagship. Its offering under the hammer marks the first time a white Faubourg sellier has ever been included in a Christie’s auction, the company said.
Several Himalaya Birkin and Kelly bags are also offered by the house on this occasion, each with a minimum estimate of at least £60,000 ($80,000), depending on model and size.
Sotheby’s, meanwhile, is leading its Hermès selection with a burgundy and rouge H porosus crocodile and swift ghillies Birkin 35 with gold hardware from 2015, with a final estimate of between £40,000 (almost $54,000) and £45,000 (approximately $60,000).
Unusually, this auction actually leads with a Louis Vuitton clutch bag, which just exceeds the latter article’s sale estimate by £5,000 ($6,700). Sotheby’s top auction highlight, on this occasion, is a white gold minaudiere box clutch from 2011, estimated to reach between £40,000 and £50,000 ($67,000).
Image: Christie’s London galleries via Instagram.
