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On Sunday, Khloe Kardashian attracted everyone’s attention with her new post on Instagram. Captioned “Material Girl,“ she posed with a bag in the picture, while sitting atop a trunk.
With 216 million followers, the 37-year-old reality TV star looked gorgeous in a baby blue dress with long sleeves, while sitting on top of a giant Louis Vuitton trunk. The image was luxury personified, as her Gray Birkin handbag reportedly costs $29,850.
Why are Hermes bags so expensive?
Hermes Birkin bags are among the most expensive in the world, ranging anywhere from $9,000 to half a million dollars. These bags absolutely personify luxury.
The world's most expensive bag is the Himalayan Birkin bag. In 2019, it was sold for over half a million dollars. David Oancea, a sport betting consultant, also famous as Vegas Dave, made this record-breaking purchase of $5,00,000.
Let’s dive into the reasons why the brand's bags are just for the elite:
High quality natural material
According to Alux.com, only the finest materials are used to make Hermes handbags, whether it be high-grade chaff leather or exotic skins, such as ostrich, alligator or crocodile.
Hermes' team of leather hunters source the material for all the luxury bags. Their job is to track down the very best skins from around the world.
The most expensive of all the Birkin bags is the Himalaya White Birkin, nicknamed 'The Holy Grail'. The bag gets its eye-catching scaled look from the skin of an albino crocodile.
Unrivaled craftsmanship
Hermes has a history of 180 years, and is famous for its handcrafting and craftsmanship. All the bags are made at their workshop in France.
Each apprentice at the fashion house has to go through 10 years of training before achieving the prestigious title of artisan.
Each bag is unique
Each label's bag is a unique piece, as every item is designed by a single artisan from start to finish. From the smoothening of the leather to stitching and nailing, a single worker does everything, and it takes about 18 hours to design a bag.
Precious metals and gemstones
Gold is the default material used for the bag. If it is not gold, then it is palladium. Besides gold and palladium, diamonds are also used for decoration.
The Himalaya Birkin bag is embellished with 18-karat gold hardware and over 200 diamonds.
With precious metals and gemstones, Hermès bags are no less than investment.
Durability for longevity
Remember that these bags are not just a decorative piece. It is also durable, as it is seamed and put together with special stitching techniques.
Alux.com reported that all the precious metals used in the bags are tarnish resistant, which guarantees their shine.
Exclusivity
The brand places limits on how many Birkin bags a client can purchase per year. It is done to preserve the exclusivity of the products.
Limited availability makes Hermes’ products even more exclusive and expensive. Many other opulent brands follow the same thing today. Earlier, the label would maintain a waiting list of all those wishing to buy the bag.
A 2017 study divulged that the value of Birkin bags has exponentially increased by 500% in the last 35 years.
Thierry Hermes is the founder of the luxury fashion brand. Headquartered in Paris, France, the company started in 1837. Alongside purses, the brand also specializes in jewelry, fragrances, home-furnishings and watches.
