03 June, 2017
The tote is made from "almost albino" crocodiles bred on the fashion house's own farm and auctioneers Christie's describe it as "the most desirable handbag in existence". It has 18-karat gold buckles with strap loops encrusted with 205 diamonds, according to Hollywood Reporter.
The "extraordinarily rare" Himalaya Niloticus Crocodile Diamond Birkin 30 was bought by an anonymous phone bidder in Hong Kong. Yep, a price that's probably more than your parents' first home.
The bags look almost identical, but they have subtle differences: The bag sold Wednesday is encrusted with higher grade diamonds and features more gold.
The bag sold for HK$2.94 million (£294,000) after 15 minutes of frenzied bidding and comes after a similar Hermès was sold in Hong Kong previous year for £232,000 ($300,168). "This is a new market for Christie's so milestones such as this one are truly meaningful", Matt Rubinger, International Director of Handbags and Accessories, had then said in a statement. This example, with white gold detailing and 245 diamonds, combines the two.
The bag is a specialty, dyed white "Himalaya" crocodile style encrusted with hundreds of diamonds, reported the AP.
He added that there have been rumors that Hermès might stop the production of Himalaya Birkins and this could have contributed to its record-making price.
Still, there is now a six-year waiting list to acquire a new one, and it takes at least 48 hours to create a Birkin by hand, according to South China Morning Post. This also inflates the price of second hand items at auction which have no waitlist at all.
