We are all aware of stocks, golds, land and other assets that yields a lucrative return over time and is considered as a wise investment. I remember a wise lady who used to own a book stationary business gave me an advice that I should be investing my pocket money on books rather than clothes. In her actual words she said, ” Buy an old coat instead of buying a brand new one and the money you save from buying an old coat can be used to buy new books.” That advice was given to me in year 2000 something but now the time has changed. Ask a Gen-Z about books and I won’t be surprised if they roll their eyes and say something along the lines of OMG! what is that? I got Tik Tok on my phone or Instagram whatever… well they are not wrong. The time has changed and as the saying goes, ‘ Time and Tide waits for none’ and it’s on your best interest if you adapt yourself with time. So, with time the rise of something so valuable other than stocks and gems has made its way through the mankind leaving them wanting to own a piece of it and it’s so pricey that only the elites can afford it. But even among those elites there is the competition because it is so rare and are only in limited supply. And what is it? stop the riddle and get to the point. Okay, will do- It’s none other than the most precious bag in the world also known as ‘Hermes Birkin Bag’
The Birkin Bag is a Tote by Hermes which is handmade in Leather and named after the actress and singer Jane Birkin. The bag was introduced first in 1984. There is also an interesting story behind the coming up with the idea of a Birkin bag. Jane Birkin the fashion icon after whom the Birkin Bag has been named was travelling from Paris to London and was in the first-class seat next to Jean-Louis Dumas, the then CEO of Hermes. Jane was carrying her signature wicker basket to hold her personal items and by accident some of her items spilled in front of Dumas. Seeing that situation, the entrepreneur as dumas is he jokingly gave an idea of carrying handbags with pockets in it and to which Jane replied, that the day Hermes will make a large everyday bag that could hold all the items a woman carries, she would not carry her oversized basket. She also went on to let him know that it is a real challenge to find a spacious, secure and stylish bag that she liked. Dumas, then took the feedback and decided to help the poor lady to get her the bag that she wanted. He then drew the very first sketches of the Birkin bag and to be honest it’s just not a bag but the status symbol of wealth and power. The humble starting price of a used Birkin bag starts from $30000 and the most expensive one is believed to cost around half a million dollars. And that too if you are lucky enough to be selected by Hermes to own their pricy handbags as they only make few of these bags every year.
The Hermes Birkin since being the expensive bag as it is one would expect it to be bejeweled with precious stones but in reality, it’s a pretty plain looking bag. It’s simple yet beautiful. Celebrities like Kim Kardashian, Cardi B, Kylie Jenner and Jennifer Lopez are the proud owners of the Birkin Bag. Victoria Beckham reportedly has a collection of over 100 Birkin bags to her name. And even though it’s a trivia I feel compelled to mention that with over 200 Birkin bags the Singaporean socialite and entrepreneur Jamie Chua is considered to have world’s largest Birkin collection. To be able to buy a Birkin bag directly from the source, Hermes, one must be invited to purchase one. Unlike the other luxury brand handbags such as Chanel or a Louis Vuitton bag, where anyone can just walk into the store and purchase the bag. The invitation to purchase a Birkin bag is usually sent by sales associates from the Hermes itself. A positive relationship with the Hermes sales associate with a good purchasing history plays a very important key to be able to get a hold of one of these handbags. There is also an option to buy a used Birkin bag from a secondary market which are slightly used.
The kind of Birkin bag and its price tag is determined on basis of size and what type of leather it is made of and ranges in sizes from 25 to 40 centimeters, while travelling bags of 50 to 55 centimeters. Some of the Birkin bag is made out of an exotic skin which gives a smooth finish to the texture of the bag. Hermes uses varieties of leather like calf box leather also known as the heritage leather used by Hermes. Leathers like calf box leather are the calfskin leather used by Hermes to give a nice matt finish to the bag. Some of the Birkin bag that has the higher price tags are made of exotic material are made out of reptile skin. For example: The Himalayan Birkin also the most expensive Hermes Birkin bag is made out of crocodile skin which is dyed in white and grey gradient and is sold in market for hundreds of thousands of dollars and the price is set to only increase overtime making the investment profitable.
Birkin bags are undisputedly the most priced accessory out there and even from the investment point of a view it is nice to own one. There are companies that make replica of these bags and even the duplicate Berkins are in the demand. If you have money and want to own it, I don’t see why not, but honestly even if I were to have money, I will not want to own one of these bags as the material used to make these bags are leathers and rare skinned reptiles are used to make these bags and personally, I don’t feel any sort of bliss in owning a product made out of leathers. But again, it is one’s personal preference and depends to each their own.
