Original Hermès Birkin owned by actress it’s named after sells for record $10 MILLION

The original 1985 Hermès Birkin bag – once owned by late actress Jane Birkin, which gave it its name – has gone on display after selling for a record €8,582,500.00 ($10,052,940; £7,397,900).

It became the most expensive handbag sold at auction when it was picked up at Sotheby’s in Paris, France, on 10 July 2025.

The lucky buyer of this piece of fashion history was Valuence Japan Inc. (Japan), who put it on display for the public in a special three-day exhibition in Shinsaibashi, Osaka.

The company buys and resells luxury goods, but has said they won’t be selling the Birkin for profit and instead are treating it as a piece of cultural heritage to share with the public.

Guinness World Records Adjudicator Austin Johnson presented the official certificate at the opening at the exhibition in August in front of a crowd of VIP guests and media.

A representative from the company said: “I never thought I would be a Guinness World Records title holder! This is so cool!”

And Austin added: “It was a joy seeing so many happy faces in the crowds during the certificate presentation ceremony.”

As for how the bag even came to exist in the first place, British singer and actress Jane was sitting next to Jean-Louis Dumas, the head of French luxury goods company Hermès, on a flight in 1981.

Jane Birkin with her bag

The story goes that she accidentally spilled the contents of her straw bag and complained that her normal leather bags were too small to hold everything she needed to carry around. As a mother, she had lots of things she needed with her every day.

Jean-Louis sketched out a design for her there and then on the back of a plane sickness bag and the idea was born.

Hermès finished this first-ever bag in 1985 and named it after Jane.

Since then, it’s become a staple in the wardrobes of the rich and famous.

The original bag is the only official Birkin made with a fixed shoulder strap and the front flap is embossed with “J.B.” – Jane’s initials.

There’s also a small nail clipper hanging on a chain inside the bag as Jane liked to keep her nails trimmed and it’s also a unique size, blending the height of one of their size 35 bags with the depth of a 40.

The hardware is also unique - a gilded brass with closed metal rings.

Today, the bag retains its texture and engraving but, of course, does have some marks from years of use.

GWR's Austin Johnson presents the certificate

The most expensive handbag sold at auction record has belonged to Birkins for many years.

We first recognized it in 2011 when a Hermès Diamond Birkin handbag sold for $203,150 (£129,477) to an anonymous bidder at the Handbags & Luxury Accessories signature auction, organized by Heritage Auctions, in Dallas, Texas, USA.

It featured diamond and white-gold hardware and had an estimated price of $90,000 (£57,556) before the auction.

In 2016, the record was broken by a rare matte white Himalaya Niloticus crocodile diamond Birkin bag, sold to an anonymous bidder at Christie's in Hong Kong for HKD 2,320,000 ($300,168; £204,208).

Jane Birkin carrying her straw bag

Then in 2017, another matte white Himalaya crocodile skin Hermès Birkin 30 handbag sold for HKD 2,940,000 (US$ 377,238; £293,767) to an anonymous bidder at the Handbags & Accessories auction organized by Christie's in Hong Kong.

The bag, which was produced in 2014, featured 176.3 g of 18-karat white gold and 10.23 carats of diamonds.

A brand-new Birkin would set you back between $11,000 (£8,152) and $13,500 (£10,005), but as Hermès severely limits production and strictly controls who can buy a Birkin in-store, the secondary market drives prices up.

At resale, the bags go for from $22,000 (£16,304) to over $35,000 (£25,939).

Pictures courtesy of Valuence Japan Inc.