Hermès · Tier 1
By Arielle · Catalogued July 2026
Designed in 1984 after Hermès then-CEO Jean-Louis Dumas sketched a spacious rectangular holdall for actress and singer Jane Birkin during a commercial flight (commonly cited as 1983/1984; exact year has some variance across sources, with Hermès and most retrospectives settling on 1984). Rectangular, structured silhouette with double rolled top handles, a single wide flap, and a signature front swing lock and clochette (key fob). Sourced as one of the most recognized status symbols in luxury fashion, with multi-year waitlists historically required at retail.
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What the house has produced this bag in, from our sourced records.
Material
Construction
The Hermès Birkin 40 is a Clemence Leather structured bag.
Best listed right now: $8,575 on The RealReal, around the typical price (median $10,050).
Demand is light and prices are soft, so there's little pressure to move fast.
Discontinued: no longer in production, so resale is the only way to buy it.
By production era · decade
Resale by production era: 7 listings, estimated from recorded prices.
Estimated from recorded resale prices · not an appraisal. As of 2026-06-24.
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It began as a doodle on an airplane sick bag, and became the most expensive handbag ever sold.
Origin
In 1981 Jane Birkin was seated next to Hermès chairman Jean-Louis Dumas on an Air France flight and spilled her bag across the floor. He told her she should carry one with pockets. She sketched the roomy bag she actually wanted on an airplane sickness bag, and he agreed to make it if he could name it after her.
Design
The brief was practical: a bag big enough to hold a young mother's whole day. Jane treated her own that way too, covering it in stickers and charms and carrying it until it wore out. The polished status object came later; the design started as a tool.
Articles on the Birkin and Hermès from our verified experts.
Hermès uses no serial number, so the blind stamp, the craftsman's mark, and the hand saddle-stitch carry the read. The era cutoffs and hardware tells that matter on a Birkin or Kelly, and why no marker is proof.
By Arielle · Birkin
The French names and official codes behind Hermès shades, cross-checked and honestly flagged where a code is missing. Durable vocabulary, not a live availability feed.
By Arielle · July 8, 2026 · Birkin
On resale the two cost almost the same size-for-size, so the real choice is shape and how you carry it. What each lists for now, and the steep small-size premium on both.
By Arielle · June 27, 2026
This bag is a rare find.
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-27%
$13,500 → $9,900 across 8 recorded sales
2026-06 – 2026-06
Estimated from recorded resale prices · not an appraisal or investment forecast. Values can go down as well as up.
Pre-filled searches on the major resale platforms. Listings and prices are set by each reseller. What protects you at each venue
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Selling is a trade: top dollar takes patience, fast cash costs you margin, keeping it all costs you the safety net.
See what you'd keep at each venueThe Hermès Birkin run through every venue's real published fees, ranked by what lands in your pocket.Or start a sale now
Sell fast for cash
An instant buyout quote. Less than top dollar, but paid on receipt.
Consign for more
Listed for you and paid when it sells, after commission. Usually nets more than a buyout.
Hardware
Permanent finishes are offered year-round; seasonal ones rotate and retire. A finish being listed here doesn’t mean we have one for sale right now.
SourcesSotheby's
By the numbers
Across 8 recorded resale listings, the Birkin sits around $10,050. This is our estimate from current data, not an appraisal, as of 2026-06-24.
Designers and muses.
Jane Birkin
Namesake and co-designer
The British-French actress and singer who sketched the original and lent it her name.
Jean-Louis Dumas
Hermès chairman who designed it
Turned Jane's in-flight sketch into the bag, on the condition he could use her name.
Hermès and the success of the coveted Birkin bag
60 Minutes
The History of the Hermès Birkin Bag
Harper's BAZAAR
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From owners, not the spec sheet. How it actually rides, and how heavy it feels in hand.
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