Known as the 'Holy Grail' of handbags, a Hermès Kelly handbag has been sold at Sotheby's Paris for €352,800.
To give the handbag it's full name; the Hermès Blanc Matte Niloticus Crocodile Himalaya Kelly 25 Retourné Palladium Hardware handbag, sold for three times it's €100,000 - €120,000 estimate.
The bag, made of crocodile skin, was in a mother-of-pearl white colour, and measured 25cm x 18cm x 10cm.
The interior is lined with chèvre leather, with the bag having a strap, clochette, a lock with two keys, and was sold with it's original box and a rain protection dustbag,
The bag, which was originally called the 'sac a depeches', became known as the 'Kelly' after Princess Grace of Monaco, nee Kelly, was photographed with one in the streets of Monaco.
Morgane Halimi, Sotheby's global head of handbags and accessories described the bag as "a real investment for the long term".
The 2022 handbag would have originally cost around €30,000 at a Hermès store, so has already proven to be a great investment for the original owner, who has seen a ten-fold return in just a few months.
However the bag did not beat the auction record for a Hermès Kelly handbag as Christie's in Hong Kong sold a similar Kelly, which featured diamond hardware, for HK4,000,000 in November 2021, approximately $794,000 at the time.
The resale of luxury goods at auction is a boom market with Heritage Auctions, the world's largest auctioneer of rare collectibles, also entering the market with a dedicated designer handbags and luxury accessories department.