Rare ostrich Birkin fails to find a new owner
The pre-loved azure coloured Hermès Birkin was valued between $28,000 and $32,000, but no one wanted to pay that much when it went under the hammer in Auckland.
An Hermès Birkin handbag made of ostrich leather and inspired by the azure shimmer of the Aegean Sea failed to sell at an Auckland auction on Sunday night.
The statement Birkin, named the Bleu Izmir Ostrich Birkin, size 30, was inspired by the coastal city of Izmir in Türkiye. Webb's auction house expected it to fetch between $28,000 and $32,000.
The bag was displayed like an artwork in a glass case at Webb's gallery in Mount Eden for 13 days and prior to the sale, could only be touched through cotton gloves to prevent oil and sweat from blemishing the leather.
The pre-loved bag, which dates from 2014, features the Hermès double straps, with a gold-plated padlock. It's lined with premium goatskin leather.
The statement bag sat alongside eight other Hermès items at Sunday evening's auction, most notably two other pre-loved Birkins - a Hermès Natural Sable Vache Naturelle Grainée Birkin Sellier, which has a rare contrast stitching on the exterior of the bag (expected to fetch between $26,000 and $28,000), and a Hermès Toile H & Taurillon Clemence Birkin (valued between $13,000 and $15,000).
Interested buyers are in negotiations with Webb's over other items in the sale.
A collection of Hermès leather goods up for auction at Webbs in Auckland.
Marika Khabazi
Christine Power, Webb’s Head of Fine Jewels, Watches & Luxury Accessories, told RNZ the value of the Birkin had grown by 500 percent over the past three decades.
Power said all three bags came from independent owners in Auckland.
She expected the recent sale of Jane Birkin’s original for nearly NZ$17 million at an auction in Paris would increase interest and awareness of the Birkin.
While some clients would wear them, or use them as a pet carrier, Power said there would always be the ones who’d want to preserve the bags for their investment value.
Power said bags like the Bleu Izmir could take up to 45 hours to be handcrafted by a single artisan - who would require at least five years’ training.
She said it is also considered an “exotic” piece due to the special type of leather it’s made from.
“You have to be a VIP client to be offered a exotic, and you have to go on a waitlist, it generally takes two years before you’re offered a [exotic] Birkin bag,” she said.
While she didn’t expect celebrity Birkin fans like Kim Kardashian or Victoria Beckam to be bidding - given their already extensive collection of Birkins - she did expect international interest based on past experience.
The Hermes Natural Sable Vache Naturelle Grainee Birkin Sellier, size 30.
Marika Khabazi
“We've had clients purchase from the likes of Europe because of the conversion rate, and then obviously too with the exchange rate with the Pound and the New Zealand dollar, it’s very strong for them to purchase here,” she said.
Power also has interest from local buyers and collectors. She says there's a growing trend towards pre-loved luxury goods at home and abroad.
“There’s definitely a reach for that conscious consumerism, so hence the pre-loved comes into play here, because people appreciate the fact they can actually get a bag they've desired and coveted for so many years, but they’re actually doing their part in providing something that is actually being a conscious decision in helping the environment."
The Birkin was named after the late actor, singer and fashion icon - Jane Birkin - and came out of an encounter on a flight in the early 1980s, where the actor met the then Hermès CEO and complained about the impracticality of small bags when the contents of her bag fell onto the floor.
