Abu Dhabi: Jane Birkin's million-dirham Hermès on auction; UAE all set for bidding war

Mark your calendars: A little over a month from now, on December 5, hunters of rare luxury bags will gather in Abu Dhabi, where a Hermès handbag that once belonged to Jane Birkin will be auctioned.

If you missed the first auction back in July this year in Paris, where the first-ever Birkin was sold for a record-breaking Dh36.7 million ($10 million), now is your chance to own a Hermès handbag named after and used by the late British-French actress and singer. 

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Gifted by the French company Hermès in 2003 to Birkin, the estimated value of the late actor's black leather bag, nicknamed 'Le Birkin Voyageur' (traveller), is between Dh844,100 ($230,000) and Dh1.58 million ($430,000). But it can easily reach more than Dh2 million at the start of the bidding war – similar to how the bidding for the original Birkin bag opened at Dh4.2 million.

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The ‘Birkin Voyageur’ will be displayed in Abu Dhabi from December 2 to December 5. Owning it is more than luxury; it’s a piece of history and a semblance of affinity to the late owner, who herself inscribed on the inside of the bag the dedication, “Mon Birkin bag qui m'a accompagné dans le monde entier” (My Birkin bag, my globetrotting companion”). She wrote this phrase in 2007, when the black Birkin was first auctioned to raise funds in support of the International Federation for Human Rights.

Selling her Birkin bags to raise funds for charities was a tradition for Birkin. The original and most expensive Hermès Birkin was first sold by her in 1994 to raise funds for a leading French AIDS charity. Hermès replaced it, and in the course of her life, Birkin got a total of four handbags. This makes Birkin bags not only heritage pieces but also assets used to raise funds for charity.

Dh83.67 million in one night

The UAE is no stranger to high-stakes auctions and charity. In fact, on March 16 this year, a charitable auction of special number plates and mobile numbers raised a total of Dh83,677,000 ($22.8 million) towards supporting the Fathers' Endowment campaign, launched by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to establish a sustainable endowment fund to provide treatment and healthcare for the poor and needy.

Starting at a base price of Dh15 million, the special number plate DD5 alone was eventually sold that night for a whopping Dh35 million to a Dubai-based businessman. There were other unique vehicle plate numbers sold for 8 digits at the auction, including DD12 that went for Dh12.8 million; DD77 was acquired for Dh12.6 million; and DD15 fetched Dh9.2 million.

Even the youngest bidder who took part in the auction that night at Armani Dubai hotel in Burj Khalifa – a 13-year-old boy who raised bids on behalf of his father – went home with plate number DD24, which he got for a whopping Dh6.3 million.

Dh55 million for P7

Currently, the most expensive vehicle plate in the world is P7, which was acquired by an anonymous businessman for a staggering Dh55 million on April 8, 2023.

Bidding that day was so fierce, triggered by the auctioneer who challenged the bidders to erase the 15-year record held by plate number 1 that was bought by Emirati businessman Saeed Al Khouri during an auction in Abu Dhabi for Dh52.2 million on February 16, 2008.

The three other very expensive number plates in Dubai are AA9 worth Dh38 million (sold in 2021); AA8 priced at Dh35 million (sold in 2022); and D5 auctioned for Dh33 million in 2016. Collectively, the five special plates alone are valued at Dh213.2 million. 

Personal milestone

Winning bidding wars is definitely a personal and monumental milestone for the winners. In a previous interview with KT Luxe, Shinsuke Sakimoto, CEO of Valuence Holdings Inc, the man who spent $10 million on the original Birkin bag, said: “Winning the bid for the original Birkin was a personal milestone — and a defining moment for Valuence… (It was) about honouring the legacy of one of fashion’s most iconic pieces… (and) ensuring this masterpiece would be in the hands of a company that truly values its story, and will share that story with the world. We’re proud, humbled, and deeply excited about what’s ahead.”

Now, what’s ahead for the next Birkin bag will be revealed in over a month, as the iconic luxury piece will be placed under the hammer on December 5.

• Abu Dhabi

Angel Tesorero

angel@khaleejtimes.com

Angel Tesorero is Assistant Editor and designated funny guy in the newsroom, but dead serious about writing on transport, labour migration, and environmental issues. He is a food lover too.