Hermès Birkin Bags

The Hermès Birkin is the most coveted and hardest to secure handbag in the world. Immediately recognizable by its shape — its thin straps with metal plates on the end of each strap (one engraved) that meet on a center toggle, its double-rolled handles and its bell shaped key fob (clochette) and matching lock — it is an outstanding piece of workmanship. Each bag takes at least 48 hours to produce and is hand sewn, buffed, and polished by Hermès skilled craft people in Hermès' factories. Every Birkin has a date stamp which is a letter that signifies the year of production and a craftsman's stamp, which are a series of letters, numbers and/or symbols designating the specific person(s) who hand-produced the bag. In addition to wide range of leathers, Hermès Birkins are produced in exotic skins such as ostrich, lizard and crocodile. The bag is typically accented by palladium-plated or gold-plated hardware. The classic Birkin comes in 25cm, 30cm, 35cm, and 40cm. A variation of the Birkin, the Haut A Courroies (HAC), comes in 40cm and 50cm sizes and are typically used as travel bags.

It is nearly impossible to walk into a Hermès boutique and be handed a Birkin on request without first establishing a “profile”, which is a history of purchasing.  Even then, the most coveted bags are held for Hermès’ VIP clientele.