Crocodile-skin handbag sells for a record US$222,912
[HONG KONG] A fuchsia-coloured crocodile-skin Hermes bag has broken the record for the most expensive handbag sold at auction, selling for US$222,912 at a Christie's auction in Hong Kong.
The shiny pink bag was sold to an Asian phone bidder in an auction that saw "fast-paced bidding from start to finish", Christie's said in a statement late Monday.
The final price realised at the Monday auction was around 15 per cent more than the auction house's estimate.
"With its 18k white gold and diamond hardware, Hermès Shiny Fuchsia Porosus Crocodile Diamond Birkin 35 dazzled the crowds, achieving a HK$1.72 million record," Christie's said in the statement.
The bag, part of the "Birkin" series named after British-born French actress and singer Jane Birkin, features a gold and diamond-encrusted clasp and padlock and is 35 centimetres in width and 25 centimetres in height.
At the same auction that saw some 300 designer handbags going under the hammer, a shiny black crocodile "Kelly" bag was sold for US$145,000, breaking the record for the most expensive "Kelly" bag sold at auction.
The "Kelly" product line is named after the late Princess Grace of Monaco.
The auction house's Handbags and Accessories sale achieved US$5.99 million in sales.
Designer handbags are the latest craze for collectors, taking global auction houses by storm and fetching record prices.
The previous record was set at the sale of another Hermes Birkin by an American auction house valued at around US$203,000 in 2011.
AFP
BT is now on Telegram!
For daily updates on weekdays and specially selected content for the weekend. Subscribe to t.me/BizTimes
Lifestyle
Former Zouk morphs into mod-Asian Jiak Kim House, serving laksa pasta and mushroom bak kut teh
Massimo Bottura lends star power to pizza and pasta at Torno Subito
Victor Liong pairs Aussie and Asian food with mixed results at Artyzen’s Quenino restaurant
If Jay Chou likes Ju Xing’s zi char, you might too
Mod-Sin cooking izakaya style at Focal
What the fish? Diving for flavour at Fysh – Aussie chef Josh Niland’s Singapore debut