A Hermes handbag fetched a record price at a Sotheby's auction. This is the latest evidence that rare luxury items are increasingly seen as value investments by wealthy investors and buyers.
The Himalaya Retourne Kelly 25 bag sold for 352,800 euros ($538,755) at a Paris auction that ended Thursday, Sotheby's said.
The crocodile skin handbag in pearl white, reminiscent of a snowy mountain landscape, sold for almost three times Sotheby's pre-sale estimate.
"This model is seen as a real long-term investment," said Morgane Halimi, global head of bags and accessories at Sotheby's. "It is also one of the most difficult bags to obtain in an Hermes boutique, helping to explain the resale price."
The Kelly began as Hermes' "sac a depeches" in the 1930s, but got its nickname (and, later, its official name) after Princess Grace Kelly was photographed carrying one in 1956.
The record price for a luxury bag at auction is still held by Christie's, the auction house owned by Francois Pinault, which sold a Himalaya Retourne Kelly bag for $793,668 last November. It had diamond pieces and was slightly larger.
Christie's is holding a sale starting Nov. 3 that will include a Himalaya Sellier Kelly 25 bag, also made this year, a representative said.
Smaller bags tend to be preferred by female shoppers, who are often women generally in their 30s and 40s, Halimi said.
Hermes International is trying to increase its production capacity for leather goods because demand exceeds supply.
Source: Bloomberg
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