The So Black collection, which came at the end of Jean-Paul Gaultier’s tenure at the brand’s creative helm, was initially met with less than enthusiastic reactions. The glossy black PVD coated hardware scratched easily, and could not be repaired, the Kelly did not come with a strap, and the iconic orange box and dustbag were replaced with black-on-black packaging. Everything down to the ribbon was black, even the care booklet featured glossy black text on matte black paper. The initially tepid response resulted in a number of these bags finding their way to Hermes’ infamous secret sales, stamped forever with a tell-tale S next to the Hermes brand stamp. Many of these bags went straight away into the back of closets around the world, never to be used. The smartest of these initial purchasers kept every black accessory with the bag, as a full set is what puts a So Black bag above the rest on today’s market. About five years after their release, the public opinion on these bags began to turn, and the few examples that showed up for auction started fetching record breaking sums. The average price for leather So Black bags remained stable around $26,000 from 2014 to 2018 despite multiple examples topping $40,000 each year. In 2019 that all changed, with the previous record of $52,500 being smashed multiple times by Christies that year. In May of 2019 a Birkin 30 sold for $87,500, followed the same day by a 32cm Kelly for $103,500 (the current record for a leather So Black bag). Less than a month later a Birkin 35 brought $79,500, followed by another Birkin 35 in November of that year for $72,750. All of this along with the other leather So Black bags sold that year brought the average for 2019 to nearly $51,500, a 90% increase over the previous year. Unfortunately, this wild run did not last, and the following year the average price dropped to just under $30,000. So far in 2021, the average price for these bags is slightly on the rise, with the three examples sold averaging $31,700. Exotic So Black bags have overall barely gone up in value over the last five years, with average prices vacillating between $85,000 and $110,000, showing an average annual increase of just 3%. The record for an Exotic So Black was set by Christies at just over $207,000 for a 30cm Birkin in May of 2019, though Christies also holds the title for cheapest exotic So Black with a 35cm Birkin that bringing only $38,290 in October of 2018.
