Birkin bag - Hermès

Jane Birkin

The "Birkin" bag is a hand-built purse from Hermès. It is named after actress and singer Jane Birkin. Bags are currently around $9,000, particularly when using exotic skin. A bag may take 48 manhours to make. They are distributed to Hermès boutiques on unpredictable schedules and limited quantities, creating scarcity and exclusivity.

The outside bag is of various leathers. One of the most expensive is saltwater crocodile skin. Bags with smaller scales cost more than those with larger scales. Typically, a bag lining is goat skin. The color matches the exterior. Hermès discontinues products without notice.

The metallic hardware (the lock, keys, buckle hardware and feet studs) is plated with gold or other non-tarnishing precious metals, such as palladium. The metal lock may be covered with leather as a custom option. Diamonds are another custom addition.

Lock keys are enclosed in a leather lanyard known as a "clochette", carried by looping through a handle. The bag is locked by closing the top flaps over buckle loops, wrapping the buckle straps, or closing the lock on the front hardware. Locks and keys are number-coded.

• Hermès bags can be sent for a "spa treatment". For several hundred dollars the condition is restored.
• "Shooting Star" Birkins have a stamp in the shape of a shooting star adjacent to the "Hermès, Paris Made in France" stamp; this is in gold or silver to match the hardware and embossing. Rarely, the stamp is blind or colorless, if the bag is made out of one or two of the leathers on which Hermes does not use metallic stamping. Birkins or other Hermès bags can sometimes be made by independent craftsmen for "personal use" once a year. 

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