Hermes Birkin Prices

Watching Victoria Beckham’s arrival in London last week it was quite clear that she enjoys carrying the very best designer handbags. The Hermès Birkin is just about the most covetable handbag around, and it has been for a very long time. You cannot simply walk into an Hermès boutique and buy a Birkin Bag – oh, no! That would not make it desirable, would it? There is usually a waiting list of at least a year to buy an authentic Hermès Birkin direct from the company. If you are lucky enough to reach the top of the list your bag will cost around $8000. If you do not want to wait, then you will have to buy your Hermes bag from a reseller. The price here ranges from $12000 on the auction sites, up to $17500 from a reseller like Createurs Deluxe. The Hermes Birkin Handbag is available in sizes ranging from 25cm through to 40cm, which is the size Posh was carrying. That is an ideal size for carrying on to a plane with the essentials that you will need during the flight.

The Hermès bag illustrated here is the 35cm Fjord Birkin in black Veau Fjord leather, with 18 carat gold plated hardware. This goes some way to explaining the cost of these handbags, which are hand made in France. Another element in the price is the time taken to craft a Birkin leather bag – at least 48 hours highly skilled work. The interior is lined with fine goatskin to match the exterior colour of the bag.

The key to the Birkin lock is enclosed in a type of leather lanyard called a “clochette”. This is looped through one of the handles and the Birkin locks by closing the bag’s top flaps over all buckle loops, wrapping the buckle straps, and closing the lock on the front hardware. Not exactly something that can be done in a hurry!

On the base of the Hermès Birkin are four metal feet at each corner to protect the leather when the bag is rested on tables or other surfaces. As long as you buy from an established retailer you should get an authentic certificated Birkin, but here are some pointers to help you confirm the bag’s pedigree.

* Even stitching

* Gilt or blind stamped in the front face under the tap: “Hermès Paris, Made in France” – shown in the photo,
* Craftsman’s marks and letter year of manufacture stamped in a square on the reverse of the right belt.
* Interior leather zipper tag parallel with zipper hardware, not perpendicular.

Apart from Victoria Beckham, here are some of the other famous fans of the iconic Birkin tote.
Actresses Sandra Bullock, Jodie Foster, Katie Holmes, Lindsay Lohan, Demi Moore, Sarah Jessica Parker, Nicole Richie and Julia Roberts. Singer Mariah Carey and Janet Jackson, models Kate Moss and Elle Macpherson.

The Hermès Birkin was named

after Jane Birkin, the British singer. It was designed especially for her after she told Jean-Louis Dumas, boss of Hermès, of her problems in finding a good leather weekend bag. A week later she received a parcel from Dumas containing the original Hermès Birkin handbag. The rest is fashion history.