Hermès Kelly bags

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Hermès Kelly bags

Thanks to the star of the films of Alfred Hitchcock, who became the young princess of Monaco in 1956, the Kelly remains the most emblematic of all Hermès bags.

Its distinctive shape was inspired by the ‘Haut à Courroies’, a large bag designed in 1892 for horsemen. In the thirties, with the rise of the motor car, Hermès extended its offering to leather goods and designed a travel bag with a more feminine appeal reinterpreting the ‘Haut à Courroies’ on a smaller scale.

In a famous photograph taken in 1956, Grace Kelly is shown carrying this Hermès bag. Clients started ordering this bag, asking for the “Kelly bag”, referring to the beautiful princess of Monaco. The high demand for this bag has been unfailing and in 1977 Hermès officially renamed the bag.

Today, the Hermès Kelly bag comes in eight sizes: 15 cm, 20 cm, 25 cm, 28 cm, 32 cm, 35 cm, 40 cm and 50 cm. Hermès makes it in a wide variety of types of leathers (Epsom, Togo, Clémence, Box, Swift...) and colours plus bespoke bags of great luxury and originality.

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      THE SECOND-HAND HERMÈS KELLY BAG: A 150% INCREASE IN AVERAGE PRICE OVER 10 YEARS


      Kelly bag models

      The Kelly bag is now available in a dozen sizes, ranging from Mini to Maxi. While the 32 cm Kelly long dominated the market (still accounting for 50% of sales in 2014), it now accounts for only 25% of current sales, with more compact sizes such as the 25 cm and 28 cm Kelly bags gaining popularity. The success of the Mini Kelly has been particularly spectacular: its sales volumes have increased fivefold since 2014, reaching an average price of €37,145 on the second-hand market in 2024.
      The bag is available in around twenty different materials. In terms of colors, the evolution is just as striking: while it was only available in five classic shades thirty years ago (brown, black, red H, green, and navy blue), it now comes in more than 50 colors.

      The distinctive features of the Kelly bag

      The Kelly bag is recognizable by its architectural, trapezoidal shape and single handle. In the 1960s, a removable shoulder strap was added to make it more functional. Its iconic closure system, consisting of a metal turnlock and a thin strap, is often complemented by gold, palladium, or ruthenium finishes. Entirely handmade in the Hermès workshops by a saddler, each bag requires between 15 and 20 hours of meticulous work.


      THE VALUE OF SECOND-HAND HERMÈS KELLY BAGS

      Calfskin and crocodile leather remain the materials of choice: calfskin accounts for 70% of Kelly bags sold at auction, while crocodile leather accounts for 16% in 2024. The value of exotic leather models has risen sharply: a crocodile Kelly bag sold for an average of €26,000 in 2019, compared to €38,000 in 2024, an increase of 45% in five years.
      In general, investing in a Kelly bag has proven to be extremely profitable, with the average price increasing by 150% over the last 10 years and 600% over the last 20 years.
      The rarity of certain models has a direct impact on prices. While black remains the best-selling color in terms of volume, average prices vary greatly depending on the color. For example, taupe gray (known as "étoupe") remains a safe bet, while pink models reach record highs, often exceeding €21,000 on average at auction. Some exceptional pieces, such as the 25 cm Kelly Himalaya in Nile crocodile, have even achieved record sales of €365,545. More recently, in 2025, Collector Square set a world record on the second-hand market for a 15 cm silver Kelly from 1992, which sold for €210,000.

      Figures from the LuxPrice-index© database, which lists more than 600,000 auction results from the world's leading auction houses since 2002.