Bonhams just held their first sale of sixty four of the most expensive and iconic luxury Hermes handbags. The auction took place on May 16th 2012 in Knightsbridge. Hermes is well known around the world for their handbags and luggage of the very best with a single craftsman making the handbags and hand stitching the individual pieces.

The sale included some of the most expensive handbags such as the Kelly and Birkin bags along with a selection which dated from the 1950s up to 2008. The Kelly bag began life as the Sac a depeches and was later renamed when Grace Kelly was pictured with the bag on the cover of Life magazine. Ever since this it has been one of the very best and most popular models.

At the auction of some of the most expensive luxury handbags was a 2008 dark brown matt crocodile Birkin bag that sold for 37 250 British Pounds. A second one from 2003 sold for 30'000 Pounds. Dark Brown matt crocodiles were in demand.

Also in the luxury collection of some of the most expensive Hermes handbags was a black patent crocodile Birkin bag from 2003 that sold for 26 250 British Pounds. The Birkin handbag became known as being among the most expensive and fashionable when actress Jane Birkin met the chairman of Hermes and told him she could not find a weekend bag that she liked. He created a black leather bag especially for her and today the weekend bag can be made to order and is one of the most recognized in the world. There were of course other Birkin bags in the sale including pale blue Togo leather with white stitching from 2006, a red leather from 2008 and a black from 2005.

In the sale there were also be a number of some of the very best Constance handbags and these included two crocodile Constance bags along with three Hermes togo leather Constance handbags and a deep cherry red leather Constance bag.

Hermes was established in 1837 and today is known world-wide for their luxury handbags and luggage of the very best. The brands name logo is as coveted as the company themselves, a Duc carriage pulled by a horse. The brand name has never used production line methods and still today relies on a single craftsman to make a single handbag from beginning to end. A single bag takes many hours of work and each Kelly handbag takes 18 hours to complete from start to finish.

Editorial | Image Courtesy Of Bonhams