LONDON – Christie’s Handbags Online: The London Edit (9 to 23 November) realised a total of £2,999,750 / $4,067,661 / €3,503,708, achieving sell-through rates of 100% by value, and 99% by lot. The sale set a record total for an online Handbags auction at Christie’s, demonstrating the strength of the market and demand for the most collectable handbags. The auction welcomed bidders from 30 countries, across 5 continents, and 28% of registrants were new to Christie’s.
The top lot of the sale was a rare Matte Béton Alligator, White Togo & Swift Leather Faubourg Sellier Hermès Birkin 20 (estimate: £80,000 – 100,000), which realised £225,000 / $305,100 / €262,800. A new colourway for 2021 and released in very limited numbers, this was the first time a white Faubourg Sellier had been offered at auction at Christie’s. A rare Matte Bleu Marine Alligator, Orange Swift & White Epsom Leather Faubourg Sellier Birkin 20 (estimate: £60,000 – 80,000) achieved £137,500 / $186,450 / €160,600. The style is modelled after the façade of the Hermès flagship at 24 Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, complete with orange awnings and a clochette designed after the house's iconic orange shopping bag.
Further highlights of the auction included a Himalaya Kelly 25 (estimate: £60,000 – 80,000), which sold for £112,500 / $152,550 / €131,400 and a Fauve Barénia & Bog Oak Kellywood 22 (estimate: £60,000 - 80,000), which achieved £112,500 / $152,550 / €131,400.
The auction season continues with Handbags & Accessories in Hong Kong on 26 November and Handbags x HYPE: The Luxury Remix, a New York online auction open for bidding from 24 November to 9 December.
Please find the full results of the sale here.
About Christie’s
Founded in 1766, Christie’s is a world-leading art and luxury business. Renowned and trusted for its expert live and online auctions, as well as its bespoke private sales, Christie’s offers a full portfolio of global services to its clients, including art appraisal, art financing, international real estate and education. Christie’s has a physical presence in 46 countries, throughout the Americas, Europe, Middle East, and Asia Pacific, with flagship international sales hubs in New York, London, Hong Kong, Paris and Geneva. It also is the only international auction house authorized to hold sales in mainland China (Shanghai).
Christie’s auctions span more than 80 art and luxury categories, at price points ranging from $200 to over $100 million. Christie’s has sold 8 of the 10 most important single-owner collections in history, including the Paul G. Allen Collection—the most valuable collection ever offered at auction (November 2022). In recent years, Christie’s has achieved the world record price for an artwork at auction (Leonardo da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi, 2017), for a 20th century artwork (Andy Warhol’s Shot Sage Blue Marilyn, 2022) and for a work by a living artist (Jeff Koons’ Rabbit, 2019).
Christie’s Private Sales offers a seamless service for buying and selling art, jewellery and watches outside of the auction calendar, working exclusively with Christie’s specialists at a client’s individual pace.
Recent innovations at Christie’s include the groundbreaking sale of the first NFT for a digital work of art ever offered at a major auction house (Beeple’s Everydays, March 2021), with the unprecedented acceptance of cryptocurrency as a means of payment. As an industry leader in digital innovation, Christie’s also continues to pioneer new technologies that are redefining the business of art, including use of hologram technology to tour life-size 3D objects around the world, and the creation of viewing and bidding experiences that integrate augmented reality, global livestreaming, buy-now channels, and hybrid sales formats.
Christie’s is dedicated to advancing responsible culture throughout its business and communities worldwide, including achieving sustainability by reducing our carbon emissions by 50% and pledging to be net zero by 2030, and actively using its platform in the art world to amplify under-represented voices and support positive change.
Browse, bid, discover, and join us for the best of art and luxury at: www.christies.com or by downloading Christie’s apps. The COVID-related re-opening status of our global locations is available here.