The Christie’s 30th Anniversary Diamond Himalaya Birkin 30 

Handbags & Accessories

In December 1978, Christie’s held its first auction of a handbag.  The star of the show was a navy blue Chanel, property of the great Coco herself, sold to the Smithsonian Institute for US$800.

This milestone event jumpstarted the auction market for handbags as well as Christie’s then Costume & Textile department, which eventually evolved into our present Handbags and Accessories department. Both market and department continued to develop and flourish through the 80’s and 90’s, all the way to the Millennium.  

In 2010, Christie’s presented handbags at Elegance Sale, along with watches and jewels, elevating the category to the status of important collectors’ items. The auction of the property of Elizabeth Taylor in 2011 pushed the category to a new height; her 2 sets of Louis Vuitton luggage achieved a marvelous US$110,500 each, while her Kelly fetched another spectacular US$74,500.

Asians are known for their tastes and sophistication, prompting Christie’s to introduce its Handbags and Accessories auctions to Hong Kong in 2014, with a highly triumphant first auction on November 24… followed by even greater success.  

On June 1, 2015, Christie’s made history with the “Fuchsia Diamond Birkin 35”, the most expensive handbag ever sold at auction at US$223,000.  Earlier in Paris, the “Himalaya Birkin 35” realized a momentous US$174,000 on March 9, 2015, breaking the world auction record for a Himalaya.

30 Years: the Sale

And the best is yet to come…with the Diamond Himalaya Birkin 30, a true gem to honor Christie’s 30th anniversary in Asia. 

Produced in 2008, this extraordinary work of art has been handcrafted by a single maestro. The crocodile skins were arduously matched, then expertly dyed to create a unique gradient of snow white centre to ash grey edges, emulating the white peaks of the Himalayas.  The hardware features 174g of solid gold and almost 10 cts of fine quality diamonds.

This masterpiece, one of very few in the world, has a reported private sale record of US$432,000. The finest and rarest, the epitome of elegance… the Diamond Himalaya Birkin is set to dazzle the world at its Asia auction debut at Christie’s 30th Anniversary sale.

Christie's. 30 YEARS: THE SALE, 30 May 2016, Convention Hall