crafftygrrl
Shiny_Rock
- Joined
- Feb 14, 2005
- Messages
- 463
As many of you know on this forum, I love Hermes.
I have been looking for a Birkin for a very long time. I even put myself on the years long wait list at Hermes for a Rouge H or green bag. (More on that later.) I have also been extremely cautious on ebay because there is so much fraud for this handbag.
So here''s my Birkin and its story. I saw the listing in January on ebay. Even though the pictures were not great, I could see that the leather and the stitching were correct. I started emailing the seller (who ends up being a jewelry designer!) to discuss details of the bag, and I realized the seller was real. I also googled her. I put in an offer on the bag. We negotiated and agreed upon a price. I got a very good deal. She even allowed me to pay via Paypal (an important safeguard for me).
She lives in Virginia too, so we decided to meet at Ikea in Potomac Mills for the bag transfer. She drives up in a brand new Range Rover. She gets out of the car and I immediate spot her e-ring. It''s ginormous. It''s has to be at least a 10 carat Ceylon sapphire with two 1.5 carat heart shaped diamond sides set in platinum. The prongs on the sapphire are heart shaped. It was a KILLER ring. It dwarfed my 7.65 Ceylon Sapphire 1.87 diamond ring. We compared rings. She admired mine--I admired hers.
Back to the Birkin. I examined the it. It needed cleaning and a little TLC. But I am confident that it''s real. It''s a 35 cm black Clemence (slouchy) leather bag. It''s also a craftsman bag. Each year, Hermes allows their craftsmen to make one bag for themselves. It''s a perk of the job. My seller purchased this bag in 2001 from a salesperson in the NY store for $7,000. The only thing about craftsmans bag is you have to refurbish them yourself. When I was a teen, I cleaned more saddles than I care to remember, so I know how to clean and refurbish leather. I brought it home; got out the Murphy''s oil soap, matte black shoe polish, leather and metal cleaner. After an hour or so of elbow grease and finesse. Here are the results. You really have to look hard for any sign of use. It is perfect, classy and ever so cool.
I picked up the bag on a Monday. The following Friday I got a call from my salesperson at Hermes. They have a Birkin for me--a 35 cm Rouge H Fjord leather bag. It''s faster to get a Birkin in an unusual color. Fewer people sign up for them, I went to see it. It was gorgeous, but at slightly over $7K after taxes, I can''t do both bags. I also brought my Birkin in. They were fascinated by it. They had not seen a craftsman''s bag in person before. They both thought the bag was real. They offered to send it up to Claude in the NY store for official verification and get the history of the bag. I just want to be sure that the craftsperson won''t get in trouble. I would also like to get an official verification letter in the event I need to sell the bag at some point in time in the future.
I have been looking for a Birkin for a very long time. I even put myself on the years long wait list at Hermes for a Rouge H or green bag. (More on that later.) I have also been extremely cautious on ebay because there is so much fraud for this handbag.
So here''s my Birkin and its story. I saw the listing in January on ebay. Even though the pictures were not great, I could see that the leather and the stitching were correct. I started emailing the seller (who ends up being a jewelry designer!) to discuss details of the bag, and I realized the seller was real. I also googled her. I put in an offer on the bag. We negotiated and agreed upon a price. I got a very good deal. She even allowed me to pay via Paypal (an important safeguard for me).
She lives in Virginia too, so we decided to meet at Ikea in Potomac Mills for the bag transfer. She drives up in a brand new Range Rover. She gets out of the car and I immediate spot her e-ring. It''s ginormous. It''s has to be at least a 10 carat Ceylon sapphire with two 1.5 carat heart shaped diamond sides set in platinum. The prongs on the sapphire are heart shaped. It was a KILLER ring. It dwarfed my 7.65 Ceylon Sapphire 1.87 diamond ring. We compared rings. She admired mine--I admired hers.
Back to the Birkin. I examined the it. It needed cleaning and a little TLC. But I am confident that it''s real. It''s a 35 cm black Clemence (slouchy) leather bag. It''s also a craftsman bag. Each year, Hermes allows their craftsmen to make one bag for themselves. It''s a perk of the job. My seller purchased this bag in 2001 from a salesperson in the NY store for $7,000. The only thing about craftsmans bag is you have to refurbish them yourself. When I was a teen, I cleaned more saddles than I care to remember, so I know how to clean and refurbish leather. I brought it home; got out the Murphy''s oil soap, matte black shoe polish, leather and metal cleaner. After an hour or so of elbow grease and finesse. Here are the results. You really have to look hard for any sign of use. It is perfect, classy and ever so cool.
I picked up the bag on a Monday. The following Friday I got a call from my salesperson at Hermes. They have a Birkin for me--a 35 cm Rouge H Fjord leather bag. It''s faster to get a Birkin in an unusual color. Fewer people sign up for them, I went to see it. It was gorgeous, but at slightly over $7K after taxes, I can''t do both bags. I also brought my Birkin in. They were fascinated by it. They had not seen a craftsman''s bag in person before. They both thought the bag was real. They offered to send it up to Claude in the NY store for official verification and get the history of the bag. I just want to be sure that the craftsperson won''t get in trouble. I would also like to get an official verification letter in the event I need to sell the bag at some point in time in the future.
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