Christie's Milan is auctioning off the Hermès collection of a lifetime, a range of over 257 bags, homeware, and jewelry owned by a single collector.
Dubbed "Inside the Orange Box," the online-only auction includes rare finds as well as custom creations, offerings reserved only for top Hermès clients.
Lot 72, the most expensive, is a limited edition "Picnic Kelly," a Kelly 35 handbag made of wicker estimated between €16,000 and €18,000. First introduced in Jean Paul Gaultier's Spring/Summer 2011 collection, the purse is "exceptionally rare," per Christie's, owing to the fact that wicker is a difficult material to work with.
The auction also boasts a slew of hard-to-find Birkins, rendered in a rainbow of ostrich hides: orange, purple, and blue are among the colorways.
There are also completely customized Birkins, the most expensive made of rose and mauve leather accented with gold hardware. Valued between €10,000 and €12,000, the bag is stamped with Hermès horseshoe insignia, denoting that the bag is a bespoke job.
As Christie's explains, the presence of the coveted horseshoe stamp greatly increases the value of an Hermès bag. Most custom bags take six months to design, produce, and eventually land in a customer's hands — but some can take as long as three years.
Birkins and Kellys aside, the auction also includes some deep cuts. There's a set of 36 "Grigri" rodeo charms, accoutrements that collectors lust over; a set of 14 equestrian-themed ashtrays; and a selection of Hermès' playful "sac à malice" — "bag of tricks" — including one adorned with an ice cream cone and an opera singer.
The auction ends on June 23 at 12 p.m. CEST, so wallets at the ready!
