By Sewe Ishola

A 2014 Hermès Birkin handbag has just become the most expensive bag in the world, selling for 2,940,000 HKD ( $377,317) at a Hong Kong auction.

Called “exceptional” by Christie’s auction house, the matte white handbag made of “Himalaya Niloticus” crocodile skin has 18 karat white gold and VVS clarity diamond hardware on the fastener.

It was estimated to sell for between $193,000 and $258,000, but was sold for above its asking price at $377,317 to an anonymous buyer.

The handbag comes with a clochette, lock and keys, two dustbags, a leather pouch, a ribbon, and two boxes.

This isn’t the first time a Birkin has drawn attention at an auction house.

In June 2015, a similar fuscia crocodile model of the bag sold for $221,763 at Christie’s Hong Kong.

The now classic Birkin shape was first introduced in 1984 after a chance meeting between British singer and actress Jane Birkin and the then president of Hermès, Jean-Louis Dumas.

Birkin had complained she “could not find a bag that was both elegant and practical.” However, now 70, she recently told the BBC “she rarely uses the bag” and “often overfills the bag, making it ‘very heavy.'”

In 2015, she even asked Hermes to remove her name from the bags, because she was troubled by the “cruel practices” used to kill the crocodiles for the bags, according to CNN Money.

Still, there is currently a six-year waiting list to acquire a new one, and it takes at least 48 hours to create a Birkin by hand,

If the price is giving you a headache, keep in mind that the luxury handbags are rumoured to be a better long-term investment than gold.

 

Photo credit: Pulseng