30cm Hermès Cocoan Crocodile Birkin with Palladium Hardware (New in Box)

I have never used this platform to shill for Jacob’s business, but then again, he’s never had a pair of handmade French crocodile handbags that retail for more than $40,000 each…  That is, until now.  Meet the Birkins!  (The very Hermès Birkins, mind you.)

Jane Birkin circa 1981

Now, the accepted mythology behind the origins of the fabled bag involves English actress/singer Jane Birkin on an Air France flight from Paris to London in 1981, during which she jokingly complained to the passenger next to her about how she could never find the right weekend bag; after the straw bag she’d placed in the overhead compartment loosed its contents on the ground.  The passenger happened to be then chairman of Hermès, Jean-Louis Dumas; who created the bag for her in 1984, based on a design from 1892.  In some of the oft-told stories, the weekend bag takes the form of a datebook that Birkin says should have pockets (after all of her papers had fallen on the floor).

Camilla Al Fayed with her 30cm Matte Black Crocodile Birkin in one hand, and David Furnish on her other

And have the good taste not to confuse the Birkin with a merkin (which is a pubic wig).

Victoria Beckham looking "posh" with her 30cm Crocodile Birkin

These two gorgeous handbags were both acquis à Paris (because if you’re gonna go Birkin, you might as well go the whole hog...), are both constructed of crocodile, are of the 30cm variety, have two rolled handles, and feature non-tarnishing Palladium hardware (still covered in plastic).  They measure 8¾” high, 11” wide, 5½” deep, and have 4½” straps.

The first handbag is in a very smart matte black (which you know don’t crack); while the other is in a chic high-gloss cocoan (cocoan is how one says “chocolate with a slight raisin undertone” en Hermès).  In short – these are must-haves for the Birkin aficionado, while either is perfection for the lady who needs one bag to take her from day to evening.

Check-out that even saddle-stitching!

It should go without saying that both of these are 100% authentic Hermès, were made in France, and come with the original boxes, dust bags, receipts, etc.  They feature a quartet of Palladium studs on the bottom, allowing the bags to stand upright, and are lined in chevre de coromandel (another fancy Hermèsism, chevre de coromandel is goat leather with a shiny finish that is soft, durable and resistant to scratches and stains).  They both come with all the accoutrements, including a pair of silver keys inside a crocodile clochette hanging from the front strap, as well as a silver lock covered in crocodile that hangs adjacent to the clochette.

30cm Hermès Matte Black Crocodile Birkin with Palladium Hardware (New in Box)

Since both of these bags are what’s known in the biz as NIB (that’s “new, in box” to you and me), it won’t be necessary for many years to come; but one of the fun things shared by all Hermes bags is the ability of the owner to bring it into any of the company’s boutiques, to be expédié à Paris for a “spa” treatment; wherein (at a cost of many hundreds of dollars) any authentic Hermès bag – no matter the age or condition – will be returned to its peak form.

Click HERE to contact Jacob for more detailed information about these and other items he currently has for sale.

Get into it!