A most interesting find

Stumbled upon a most meaningful and interesting find recently. There was a jewellery show at the Marina Bay Sands exhibition halls at a weekend that had just passed. Most exhibitors there are international fine jewellery exhibitors. There was a stall that sold pre-owned vintage items from fine jewellery houses such as Van Cleef, Cartier etc. And also Hermes.

Just as a side note, I'm somewhat of a Hermes fan, both in their leather goods and their accessories. So at the corner of this stall's window display, was peeping what I recognised as a Black Box Calf leather Kelly 28 in the Sellier style. Hmm.. interesting... I thought to myself, as I'm of the opinion that true classic Hermes is the Kelly in Sellier style. So I went to enquire with the stall. Frankly, I was only somewhat interested in it as it was obviously pre-owned. Nonetheless, I approached to enquire about the Kelly. At first glance, the bag seemed in relatively decent condition, though it is obvious that there has been some years of wear on it. I noted some blisters on the leather as is normal with box calf leather if it has been in contact with water and not promptly wiped off.

Then I started to open the bag for closer inspection. The smell of the leather was still there - no, I was not hallucinating.

So I asked the year stamp of this Kelly. It is an M stamp in a circle. Then I immediately stretched out my fingers and both me and the sales assistant started counting backwards to figure out the year of production of this black beauty. Turns out the year of production was 1983. This had to be a sign! I thought to myself. This bag is as old as me! Yes, it was made the year I was born. Immediately, I knew I had to have it.

While I could not be 100% sure if it was authentic, I figured that this looks about as authentic as a 30year old bag would get. Some points I noted on the bag that was not consistent with current Hermes bags - such as: no accent on the 2nd E of Hermes and no H at the end of the zipper line on the inside of the bag.

There were other points of the bag that seemed relatively authentic - such as:

• very even and consistent stitching.
• Both the lock and keys were old and definitely looked old, but the keys still turn beautifully and smoothly in the lock - something you would not expect out of a 30y/o set of lock and keys. They felt very well-oiled. I suppose it should be as it is, since Hermes supposedly uses only the finest materials - their lock and keys should be no exception right? :)
• Also, the zipper pull on the inside panel does not say Hermes as the current ones do, it says Eclair. Eclair zippers were frequently used during the 70s and 80s in both Hermes and Chanel bags. So, it should not come as a surprise to find Eclair zippers in vintage H & C bags.

I studied the leather closely, there were signs of wear where it appropriately should be, eg: corners of the base, the inside leather  of the 2 flaps had creases, which rightfully should be there since it is pre-owned for years. I figured nobody in their right mind would produce a fake and purposefully subject it to wear and tear just so it could appear worn and older and obviously sell it at a discounted price, right? If someone was to fake a Kelly, might as well fake a new/current model and maximise the price.

So there it was, black box leather in my favourite gold hardware just staring at me. I had to have this I thought. The opening price was USD5,500. After some discussion, brought it down to USD4,600 and it was a done deal.

In hindsight, the only thing lacking in this bag is the lack of strap, which at that time of production, straps were an optional item.

I found a coral coloured strap from another older, brandless bag and it fits onto the loops of the Kelly. Wonder if this is a fashion faux pas for ardent Hermes fans.. :) Frankly, the wait list just to simply order a leather strap at the H store is too long - I'd use this as a temporary stand-in.