FLOAT 100 · Handbags · No. 93
Hermes Birkin 25 Niloticus Crocodile (colored)
Take the smallest standard Birkin, build it from polished Nile crocodile and dye it orange, emerald or cactus green, and a bag that lists for about $13,500 in leather becomes a near-$100,000 object.
- Year
- current
- Maker
- Hermes
- By price in handbags
- 11 of 100
Create a free account to see every recorded price and every grade.
Create a free account- Maker
- Hermes, Paris
- Model
- Birkin 25, the smallest standard Birkin, introduced in 2004
- Skin
- Crocodylus niloticus (Nile crocodile), in the shiny (lisse) finish
- Finish
- Hand-buffed with agate stones to a mirror-like gloss
- Colors in this entry
- Any non-black shade, such as Orange H, Braise, Vert Rousseau, Cactus, Aubergine or Etrusque
- Hardware (this entry)
- Gold-plated
- Size
- 25 x 20 x 13 cm, with a handle drop of about 6.35 cm
- Skin mark
- A double-dot mark beside the Hermes stamp identifies Niloticus crocodile
- Highest U.S. result found
- $43,750 for a 2018 Aubergine example in June 2021
- Current ask found
- $98,000 for a Cactus example with gold hardware, October 2026
The Birkin, shrunk and then dressed in crocodile
The Birkin was created in 1984 after a chance meeting between Jean-Louis Dumas, then head of Hermes, and the actress Jane Birkin. The first bags were large working holdalls. Two decades later, in 2004, Hermes introduced the Birkin 25, the smallest of the standard sizes. It kept every element of the original: rolled handles, a flap top, clou feet and a lock closure.
The 25 measures 25 centimeters wide, 20 high and 13 deep, with a handle drop of about 6.35 centimeters (2.5 inches). It holds daily essentials but not a standard laptop. It has since become the most sought-after Birkin size; one market study counted twice as many monthly searches for the Birkin 25 as for the Birkin 30.
Exotic skins sit above leather in the Hermes hierarchy, and crocodile sits at the top of the exotics. A Birkin 25 in Togo calfskin was about $13,500 at retail in 2026. Crocodile versions belong to a different market entirely.
Why Nile crocodile, and why shiny
Hermes works with three main reptile skins. Porosus crocodile, sourced primarily from Australia, has fine, tight scales with visible central pores. Alligator mississippiensis, from the southern United States, has a smooth, poreless surface. Niloticus crocodile, from the Nile region of Africa, has broader, more rectangular scales and a slightly softer sheen. One merchant notes that Niloticus scales are rounder and larger than Porosus and vary naturally in size across a panel.
Each skin can be finished two main ways. The shiny, or lisse, finish is buffed by hand with agate stones to a mirror-like gloss. The matte finish is made by rubbing with wool felt and has drawn a surge in collector demand. A rarer satin finish appears only on limited pieces.
On a shiny skin, color does something leather cannot. Describing an Etrusque example, one merchant writes that the pigment darkens in the channels between scales and turns amber on the raised centers. Of an emerald green Vert Emeraude example, another description notes darker tones settling between scales and brighter green catching on the tile centers. That depth is why colored shiny crocodile is collected as its own category, a step below the white-and-gray Himalaya.
Crocodile, ethics and Jane Birkin's objection
Crocodile Birkins have drawn scrutiny. In July 2015 an animal-rights group denounced the slaughter conditions at reptile farms supplying skins for crocodile Birkins, and Jane Birkin asked Hermes to remove her name from the bag until practices meeting international standards were in place. By September 2015 she said she was satisfied, after the company announced it had corrected the slaughter system on the farms.
The Nile crocodile itself is a large reptile found in 26 countries across sub-Saharan Africa; adult males typically reach 3.5 to 5 meters. Its trade is regulated. Auction catalogs for these bags warn that the lot includes endangered species and must be delivered within, or picked up in, the city of sale, with the buyer responsible for any export permits.
Sales and asking prices
Public results for colored shiny Niloticus Birkin 25s are scattered across cities and currencies. In June 2021 a 2018 Aubergine example with gold hardware sold online in New York for $43,750 against an estimate of $24,000 to $30,000. In Hong Kong, a 2017 Braise example with gold hardware brought HKD 378,000 in March 2024, against an estimate of HKD 180,000 to 260,000. A 2021 Vert Rousseau example with gold hardware sold online in Shanghai for CNY 529,200 in November 2022.
Other examples have been offered without public results. A 2013 Orange H example with gold hardware was estimated at HKD 240,000 to 300,000 in Hong Kong in 2026, and a 2019 Jaune Ambre example at HKD 350,000 to 450,000 in a Hong Kong sale that closed July 14, 2026. A 2011 Havane example with gold hardware was estimated at $40,000 to $60,000 in the United States.
Merchant asking prices run higher than past auction results. In October 2026 a U.S. merchant offered a Cactus green shiny Niloticus Birkin 25 with gold hardware at $98,000. Another U.S. merchant's 2014 Etrusque example was marked sold out at $69,500. A recent buying guide put Birkin 25s in crocodile at $45,000 to $75,000 for recent date stamps in top condition.
How to identify one
The skin mark is the first check. Beside the Hermes stamp, a symbol identifies the reptile: a caret for Porosus crocodile, a square for alligator, and a double-dot mark for Niloticus crocodile. A Niloticus Birkin 25 should therefore show the two dots alongside its date stamp, which records the year, and the craftsman's mark.
The bag should match the Birkin 25's standard proportions, 25 by 20 by 13 centimeters, though catalogs measure the same model as 25 by 19 by 14 centimeters. Shiny Niloticus shows larger, somewhat irregular scales with a high gloss; a matte surface or tight, pored scales point to a different finish or species.
Each Birkin is made by a single craftsman. Sources give 15 to 20 hours, or 18 hours or more, for a leather Birkin; exotic skins add the work of matching scales across the panels.
The numbers
- Dimensions
- 25 x 20 x 13 cm (some catalogs: 25 x 19 x 14 cm); handle drop about 6.35 cm
- Material
- Shiny (lisse) Crocodylus niloticus, buffed with agate stones
- Hardware
- Gold-plated in this entry; palladium also made
- Skin mark
- Double dot beside the Hermes stamp
- Construction
- Rolled handles, flap top, clou feet, lock closure; made by one craftsman
- Production quantity
- Not published
Timeline
The Birkin is created after Jean-Louis Dumas meets Jane Birkin.
Hermes introduces the Birkin 25, the smallest standard Birkin.
Date of an Amethyst shiny Niloticus Birkin 25, with palladium hardware, later offered at auction.
Date of a Havane shiny Niloticus Birkin 25 with gold hardware, later estimated at $40,000 to $60,000.
Date of an Orange H shiny Niloticus Birkin 25 with gold hardware, later offered in Hong Kong.
Date of an Etrusque shiny Niloticus Birkin 25 with gold hardware, stamped R.
Jane Birkin asks Hermes to stop using her name on crocodile Birkins.
Birkin says she is satisfied with Hermes's changes at its farms.
A 2018 Aubergine example with gold hardware sells online in New York for $43,750.
A 2021 Vert Rousseau example with gold hardware sells online in Shanghai for CNY 529,200.
A 2017 Braise example with gold hardware sells online in Hong Kong for HKD 378,000.
A 2019 Jaune Ambre example is offered in Hong Kong with an estimate of HKD 350,000 to 450,000.
A Cactus example with gold hardware is offered by a U.S. merchant at $98,000.
The world in 2004
NASA lands the Spirit and Opportunity rovers on Mars.
Facebook, originally called TheFacebook, is launched by Mark Zuckerberg.
The European Union adds 10 new member states.
The Summer Olympics are held in Athens.
A magnitude 9.1 earthquake off Indonesia triggers the Indian Ocean tsunami.
Price record
| Date | Price | Kind |
|---|---|---|
| Jun 9, 2021 | $43,750 | Sold at auction2018 Aubergine shiny Niloticus Birkin 25, gold hardware, sold online in New York; estimate $24,000-$30,000. |
| Mar 20, 2024 | $48,314 | Sold at auctionAt an online auction in Hong Kong: HKD 378,000 (including buyer's premium), shown in USD at the Federal Reserve rate on the sale date (1 HKD = 0.1278 USD). |
| Oct 3, 2026 | $98,000 | Asking price, not a saleCactus shiny Niloticus Birkin 25, gold hardware, offered by a U.S. merchant; year not stated. |
This is an asking price, not a sale. It is what a seller wanted on the date shown. Asking prices often sit above what buyers pay, but an ask is not a ceiling: a sale can land on either side of it. It is not a value.
By reference price, Hermes Birkin 25 Niloticus Crocodile (colored) is number 11 of 100 in the handbags entries of the FLOAT 100. 19 of those 100 rest on a realized sale; the rest carry an asking price or a guide value, and each page says which. Rank within the FLOAT 100 itself (93 here) is editorial: how much an object defines its field, not price alone.
Did you know
- The Birkin 25 did not exist until 2004, 20 years after the first Birkin.
- Hermes marks each reptile skin with its own symbol: a caret, a square or two dots.
- Shiny crocodile is polished by hand with agate stones; matte crocodile is rubbed with wool felt.
- Jane Birkin asked Hermes to drop her name from crocodile Birkins in 2015, then relented two months later.
- Auction catalogs for these bags require delivery within the city of sale because the skin comes from a protected species.
- A Birkin 25 cannot hold a standard laptop.
How this page is made
- The figure
- One reference price, shown with its own kind. FLOAT does not average it with anything or adjust it for time.
- Realized or not
- A realized price is a completed sale. An asking price, an estimate and a price-guide value are not sales, and are labeled as such wherever they appear.
- The story
- Researched from published records and checked fact by fact. Updated Oct 3, 2026.
- Archive
- Oct 5, 2026