Overview

• The one-of-a-kind Birkin, conceived on a 1981 Air France flight and delivered in 1985, fetched €8.58 million ($10 million) at Sotheby’s Paris on July 10.
• The final price more than doubled the previous auction high of about $513,000 for a diamond-studded Hermès Kelly bag sold in 2021.
• Distinctive features—including a fixed shoulder strap, gilded brass hardware, Éclair zips, Birkin’s “J.B.” initials and an interior nail clipper—set the prototype apart from later models.
• Collector Catherine Benier, who acquired the bag in 2000, consigned it for sale after announcing its auction in early June 2025.
• A private Japanese bidder won the fiercely contested telephone auction, underscoring the Birkin’s cultural cachet and the strength of the high-end collectibles market.