Jane Birkin with her bag
The story goes that she accidentally spilled the contents of her straw bag and complained that her normal leather bags were too small to hold everything she needed to carry around. As a mother, she had lots of things she needed with her every day.
Jean-Louis sketched out a design for her there and then on the back of a plane sickness bag and the idea was born.
Hermès finished this first-ever bag in 1985 and named it after Jane.
Since then, it’s become a staple in the wardrobes of the rich and famous.
The original bag is the only official Birkin made with a fixed shoulder strap and the front flap is embossed with “J.B.” – Jane’s initials.
There’s also a small nail clipper hanging on a chain inside the bag as Jane liked to keep her nails trimmed and it’s also a unique size, blending the height of one of their size 35 bags with the depth of a 40.
The hardware is also unique – a gilded brass with closed metal rings.
Today, the bag retains its texture and engraving but, of course, does have some marks from years of use.
GWR’s Austin Johnson presents the certificate
The most expensive handbag sold at auction record has belonged to Birkins for many years.
We first recognized it in 2011 when a Hermès Diamond Birkin handbag sold for $203,150 (£129,477) to an anonymous bidder at the Handbags & Luxury Accessories signature auction, organized by Heritage Auctions, in Dallas, Texas, USA.
It featured diamond and white-gold hardware and had an estimated price of $90,000 (£57,556) before the auction.
In 2016, the record was broken by a rare matte white Himalaya Niloticus crocodile diamond Birkin bag, sold to an anonymous bidder at Christie’s in Hong Kong for HKD 2,320,000 ($300,168; £204,208).