Hermès

Hermès was founded in Paris in 1837 by Thierry Hermès, who opened a harness workshop serving the city's carriage trade. For most of the nineteenth century the house made saddles and tack for European nobility, and the stitching methods it developed for that work, most notably the two-needle saddle stitch, are still used on its bags today.

As motorized transport replaced horses, the house moved into luggage, bags and accessories in the early twentieth century. Under Émile-Maurice Hermès it also became one of the first French makers to use zippers on leather goods. The Kelly, first produced in the late 1930s and widely known by its current name after Grace Kelly was photographed with it in the mid-1950s, became the house's first globally recognized handbag.

The Birkin followed in 1984. According to the house's own account, chairman Jean-Louis Dumas was seated next to the actress and singer Jane Birkin on a flight, saw the contents of her bag spill into the aisle, and set about designing a larger, more practical bag with her input. It became the defining luxury handbag of the following four decades.

Hermès remains independent and family-influenced, listed in Paris but not part of a conglomerate, and it manufactures its leather goods in workshops in France. Each bag is traditionally assembled by a single artisan. Production is deliberately limited, and the most sought-after styles are not offered to the public on a first-come basis. Customers are typically offered them by their local store at its discretion, which is the structural reason the secondary market exists at the scale it does.

Hermès is the one major handbag house where pre-owned pieces frequently sell for more than new. Core Birkin and Kelly bags in classic leathers such as Togo, Epsom and Clemence, in neutral colors like black, gold and etoupe, commonly resell at a premium to boutique retail because access at retail is limited. Exotic leathers, limited colorways and precious hardware sit far above that range.

The premium is not uniform. Sizes matter: smaller sizes such as the Birkin 25 and Kelly 25 generally command more than larger ones. Condition, hardware, leather, color and the stamp year all move price, and bags that arrive with the original box, dust bag, receipt and accessories are easier to sell at the top of their range. Authentication is essential, since counterfeits of these bags are among the most sophisticated in the market.

Outside the Birkin and Kelly, the picture is more conventional. The Constance has held value well, while the Evelyne and Lindy typically resell below retail but recover a strong share of it. Figures on this site are estimates for standard leathers and should be checked against recent sold listings before you buy or sell.