Last year, news broke that Hermès' storied (and notoriously difficult to obtain) Birkin bags were a better investment that gold. And the latest from the Associated Press is out to support those findings. On Wednesday, Christie's in Hong Kong auctioned off a rare Birkin that set a world record with a price of £305,000.
The purse on the auction block wasn't just a regular Birkin. The AP reports that it was a super-rare Himalaya Birkin, made of matte crocodile skin and hand-dyed to replicate the greys and whites of the Tibetan mountain range that give it its name. Because of how difficult it is to get the crocodile skin to take the colour, only two of the bags are made each year. Add to that the fact that this particular 2014 specimen has 18-karat gold buckles covered in 205 diamonds and it's not just something you can pick up at your local Hermès boutique, even after enduring the bag's legendary waitlist.
According to Christie's, 2.94 million Hong Kong dollars is a new record for any handbag sold at auction. When news of the bag came up, Christie's spokesperson Gigi Ho estimated that it would sell for between 1.5 and 2 million Hong Kong dollars (which is about £154,000-£206,000). But after a gruelling 15 minutes of intense bidding (done both in-person and via telephone proxy), the price tag rose way past expectations. And just who got their hands on this exceptionally expensive buy? The AP notes that the winner's identity hasn't been revealed — and will probably stay that way. Interested parties should probably keep an eye out, since they're so rare, seeing one on the arm of a celeb or socialite could potentially connect them with this high-profile purchase.
This is the second time that Christie's set a world record with a Birkin sale. Last year, a similar Himalaya Birkin produced in 2008 sold for £240,000.
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