Hermes: not just a bag, an investment

IT MAY be the Age of Austerity but there are still waiting lists for Hermès handbags at Dublin’s most luxurious department store, Brown Thomas. Women – or their partners – willing to pay from €4,000 for one of the distinctive French leather bags could be making a shrewd investment. B Because demand outstrips supply, the bags not only retain their value but some offer the potential for significant capital appreciation. They are eagerly sought by collectors worldwide. A secondary market has arisen and the handbags are appearing at fine art auctions. Earlier this month, Christie’s in London featured a selection of Hermès handbags in its Elegance sale and nine sold for in excess of £30,000 (€35,300) each. Pat Frost, a Christie’s director and head of fashion and textiles, said that in order “to make mega-money, the handbags must tick all the boxes”. She explained that they should be from either of two ranges: the Kelly, made popular by movie star-to-princess Grace Kelly, or the Birkin, designed for the English-born French actress and singer Jane Birkin; be in immaculate condition; be made from exotic skin such as crocodile, alligator, or ostrich; and have an unusual colour which is achieved by dyeing the skins to create jewel-like tones. The highest prices paid at the Christie’s sale were for handbags in the Birkin style and alligator pipped crocodile as the most desirable leather. An Asian private buyer paid £49,250 (€58,460) for “a rouge moyen alligator skin Birkin Hermès bag” made in 1998. Unusually for the world of collectibles, the bags don’t have to be “vintage”. An almost new, 2010 model of the Birkin in crocodile skin, dyed a pale green “vert anis” made £44,450 (€52,762). An orange-coloured 2009 Birkin sold for £39,650 (€47,065). Ms Frost said most of the exotic skin handbags manufactured every year are destined for the VIP waiting list with only a handful available for general sale at any Hermès shop. She explained that some of the re-sales were made by women who were unhappy with a bag they had received as a gift. Ms Frost had some appropriately seasonal advice for any rich man thinking of a last-minute Christmas surprise. She said some of the handbags were “bought by wealthy husbands and the wives just didn’t like the colour” and she cautioned men about the perils of buying handbags as gifts: “It’s a tricky business buying for a wife.” Apparently Victoria Beckham, is one of the most high-profile collectors of Hermès handbags and reputedly owns 180. Ms Frost said “the quality of Hermès handbags is superb” and they tend to be passed from mother to daughter and then granddaughter.