Hermès

Hermès Birkin 25 Himalayan Niloticus Crocodile PHW

Niloticus Crocodile · Palladium (PHW)

There are perhaps a few hundred Himalayan Birkins in circulation, and each one is a separate act of dyeing rather than a colourway that can be repeated to order. The gradation runs from smoky pearl-grey at the base to near-white at the flap, worked by hand across a single Niloticus crocodile hide. No pigment is applied to the pale end at all — that white is the natural skin, bleached of colour, and the grey is airbrushed in by a craftsman who cannot correct a mistake. This is the 25, the size that made the reference legendary. Stamped Y, it belongs to the small group issued in that year, and it arrives with original CITES documentation — mandatory for any movement of the bag across a border and, in practice, part of what makes a Himalayan resellable at all. The hardware is palladium in the standard finish rather than diamond-set; pale metal is the only choice that does not disturb the gradient. Turn-lock, sangles, clochette and cadenas are all present and unmarked, and the plate shows none of the fine scratching that betrays regular use. A Himalayan is not carried the way other Birkins are. It appears at a wedding on Como, at a table at Le Gavroche, in a photograph, and then returns to the wardrobe. Clients buy it as an object with a resale floor rather than as a handbag, and the market has treated it that way for fifteen years. Store fresh, with original box, dust bag, raincoat, clochette, cadenas, two keys and CITES paperwork. Inspected at JULL London and shown by appointment only at our Knightsbridge showroom. Price on application. Enquire for provenance detail, condition report and CITES export notes.

Inspected by hand in our London workroom. Private viewings by appointment.
JULL is not affiliated with Hermès International S.A.