A rare diamond-encrusted crocodile skin handbag adorned with 18k white gold from French luxury purveyor Hermes has once again broke the record for the world’s priciest purse ever sold at auction.
An unidentified Hong Kong buyer paid $392,109 (US$300,168) at Christie’s in Hong Kong for the matte white Himalaya Niloticus crocodile diamond Birkin 30 -- smashing the previous record for a similar Himalaya Birkin by more than $100,000.
To put that in perspective, the price tag is just a few hundred dollars shy of the current average selling price for a Greater Toronto Area condo, according to the Toronto Real Estate Board.
Himalayan Birkins are considered the rarest, most desirable handbags in the world. Kim Kardashian and Victoria Beckham are known to covet them. Hermes does not disclose how many are made each year.
"It is believed that only one or two of the Diamond Himalayas are produced each year, globally, making it one of the lowest production runs for handbags," Christie's said in a statement issued before the sale.
While the “Himalaya” moniker sounds like a reference to the sky-high price, it actually relates to the bag’s colour. The light ash-gray is meant to resemble the snow-capped peaks of the mountain range on the Indian subcontinent. Lightening the crocodile skin is said to take many hours, thus increasing the value of the already exorbitant fashion accessory.
“It holds its value. It’s a piece you can buy and know that if you sell it again you will get the same value or more,” said style, beauty, and lifestyle expert Liv Judd Soye in an interview with CTV News Channel.
Clearly the bidder agreed. Christie’s expected the bag to sell between US$194,000 and US$259,000.