The Hermès Birkin: Sizes, Leathers and How to Buy One Safely

Updated 14 September 2026

The Hermès Birkin began on a flight from Paris to London in 1984, when Jean-Louis Dumas, then executive chairman of Hermès, sketched a roomy bag for the British actress Jane Birkin, as Hermès tells it. The prototype made for her, which Sotheby's dates to 1985, sold at Sotheby's Paris on 10 July 2025 for €8,582,500, which the auction house calls a world record for any handbag. New Birkins are sold through Hermès stores; any other purchase needs checks on authenticity, condition and, for exotic skins, CITES papers.

Where does the Birkin come from?

According to Hermès, Jane Birkin, then a young mother, told Jean-Louis Dumas, its executive chairman from 1978 to 2006, that she could not find a bag that suited her, and he sketched a supple, spacious holdall on the spot. Some Sotheby's texts date the flight to 1981. In 1985, Sotheby's writes, Hermès presented her with the prototype and asked her permission to give the model her name.

Sotheby's catalogued that prototype as black Box leather with brass hardware, 36 cm wide, 27 cm high and 21 cm deep, with a fixed shoulder strap, her initials and, its specialists add, a nail clipper on a chain. She gave the bag to a charity auction in 1994 in aid of Association Solidarité Sida, and it was sold again at Poulain Le Fur in May 2000. A later bag of hers, Le Birkin Voyageur, a black Box Birkin 40 made in 2003, was sold by Sotheby's in Abu Dhabi in December 2025.

Which sizes are there, and which are hardest to find?

Birkin sizes are named after the approximate length of the base in centimetres, and the core sizes are the 25, 30, 35 and 40, according to Sotheby's; Hermès shows the same four on its Birkin page. The dimensions below are from a Sotheby's size guide, in the order width, height and depth.

The Birkin 25 attracts the greatest collector demand, Sotheby's reports, and its buying guide names the Faubourg Birkin 20 and the Micro Birkin 15, made only in 2011 and 2012, as limited versions in exceptional demand. The 35 and 40, by contrast, are almost always less expensive because of lower demand and longer production, Sotheby's notes.

Which leathers and hardware are used?

Most Birkins are leather rather than exotic skin. In Sotheby's guide to the bag, Togo is one of the most popular choices; Epsom has an embossed grain that helps the bag keep its shape; Clemence, from bull calf, is softer and heavier; and Box calf, a heritage leather of the house, was used for some of the earliest Birkins. In 2018 this article named black and earthy tones such as gold, étain and étoupe as the classics; Sotheby's specialists still find neutrals and pastels the most desirable.

Exotic Birkins are much rarer. According to Sotheby's, Hermès makes them mainly in crocodile, alligator, ostrich and lizard, marking Niloticus and Porosus crocodile with two dots and a caret and alligator with a square. Sotheby's describes the Himalaya, in Niloticus crocodile shaded from white to grey, as the aspiration of many Hermès collectors, and counts the Ombré Lizard Birkin, made from Varanus salvator, among the rarest production Birkins.

Hardware is most often gold-plated or palladium-plated. Less common finishes include rose gold, permabrass, brushed gold or palladium, ruthenium and matt black, and Diamond Birkins pair exotic skins with diamond-set precious-metal hardware, Sotheby's lists. On the secondary market, Sotheby's finds, hardware tends to have less influence on price than any other attribute.

How does Hermès sell a Birkin today?

In its report for 2025, Hermès describes an exclusive distribution network of 294 stores in 45 countries, mostly branches run by the group, whose store managers have the freedom to buy for their own customers. Its page on the Birkin says nothing about waiting lists or allocation, and its half-year report of 29 July 2026 gives no production figures, only capacity: a twenty-fifth leather goods workshop opened in Loupes, in the Gironde, in early April 2026, and three more are planned by 2030. Each Birkin is assembled by a single artisan and takes at least 18 hours, according to Sotheby's.

Sotheby's writes in its buying guide that only select boutiques receive small allocations twice a year, and that clients usually need a purchase history with the brand and rarely know which colours or styles will arrive.

Auction, reseller or private seller: how are authenticity and condition checked?

Outside Hermès stores, a Birkin is only as reliable as the checks behind the sale. A reseller, auction house or private seller should be asked in writing who authenticated the bag, with photographs of every mark and a list of the accessories and papers.

Each Birkin carries a craftsman's stamp that can show when and where it was produced, crocodile and alligator skins carry their own symbol and Special Orders a horseshoe stamp beside the Hermès logo, Sotheby's explains. Store-fresh bags, never carried and with the plastic still on the hardware, command the highest prices, while scratched hardware and marked corners bring the price down.

A fake is also a legal problem. Importing counterfeits into Switzerland is forbidden even for private individuals, and customs can seize and destroy them, according to the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property; the Dubai Customs passenger guide lists counterfeit goods of all kinds among the items passengers may not bring in.

What papers does an exotic Birkin need at the border?

Crocodile, alligator and lizard Birkins are made from species listed under CITES, the convention on international trade in endangered species. In Commission Regulation (EU) 2026/1383, which reflects the CITES lists as amended in 2025, all crocodilians are in Appendix II unless placed in Appendix I. Nile and saltwater crocodiles, the Niloticus and Porosus of Hermès, are in Appendix I except named national populations, such as those of South Africa and Australia, which are in Appendix II. Monitor lizards are mostly in Appendix II. Ostrich is listed only for the populations of twelve African countries. The papers needed then depend on the country.

• Switzerland. According to the FSVO, a legally acquired bag for the owner's own everyday use, worn, carried or in personal luggage and not meant for anyone else, can be brought into Switzerland without a permit. For an Appendix II skin, documents are needed only if the bag was bought outside the owner's country of residence, is being brought into it, comes from an animal taken from the wild and the country of origin requires an export permit; an Appendix I skin qualifies only if bought in the country of residence and brought back there. Bags sent by post or moved commercially are not covered, and as the exemption is not enforced consistently in all countries, the FSVO advises checking with the destination country's authority before travelling if in doubt.
• European Union. The European Commission says many listed species need a permit or certificate even as personal souvenirs, that customs may seize items without them, and that EU rules are stricter than CITES itself.
• United Arab Emirates. Under a federal law issued on 26 December 2025 (Arabic text), exporting or re-exporting a listed specimen requires a certificate from the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment; personal effects from Appendix II species are exempt only within rules the ministry sets, so a particular bag should be checked with the ministry before travelling.

On a Niloticus crocodile Birkin 25 offered in Hong Kong, Sotheby's required delivery or collection there, stated that failing to obtain permits is no ground for cancelling the sale, and warned that an export permit does not ensure an import permit elsewhere.

What should you know before selling a Birkin?

Condition comes first. Sotheby's calls it the single most important factor, and store-fresh bags with intact plastic, complete accessories and original boxes achieve the highest premiums. How Birkin and Kelly prices moved in 2025 is set out in our article on investing in luxury goods.

Obtaining a Birkin or Kelly bag from Hermès is part of our luxury service, which covers watches, jewellery, fashion and rare objects, including pieces with waiting lists. Each request gets an honest assessment of whether it can be done, and if it cannot, we say so.

First published on 24 December 2018.