Hermes Birkin 25 Ostrich

A bag drawn on the spot

The Birkin began with a complaint. In 1984 the actress Jane Birkin, then known for carrying baskets instead of handbags, met Hermès chief executive Jean-Louis Dumas by chance; one account places the meeting on an airplane. She spilled the contents of her bag and complained that handbags were impractical, especially for a young mother. Her youngest daughter, Lou Doillon, was two, and Birkin wanted something big enough for scripts and diapers.

Dumas suggested a bag with pockets. Birkin replied that Hermès didn't make pockets. 'But I am Hermès!' he said, and asked what she would want. She asked why the house didn't make a bag four times bigger than the Kelly. Dumas sketched a supple, roomy bag on the spot and promised to produce it and name it after her if she agreed. The first Birkin, in soft black leather, was made that year.

Birkin, born in London on December 14, 1946, had become a star of French film and music. She used the bag for some time, though she later joked that it was so heavy she needed an operation for tendinitis in her shoulder. She died on July 16, 2023. Two years later, on July 10, 2025, her original Birkin sold at auction in Paris for $10.1 million, which the auction house called the most valuable handbag ever sold at auction.

One artisan, one bag

Hermès was founded in 1837 as a maker of saddles and harnesses, and its first bag, the Haut à Courroies, was made for riders to carry their boots and saddle. The Birkin still uses the saddle stitch the company developed in the 1800s.

Each Birkin is made in France, at workshops such as Seloncourt in Franche-Comté and Montbron in Charente, by a single craftsman who signs the bags he or she is responsible for. Estimates of the work differ by source: one puts it at 15 to 20 hours per bag, another at 18 hours or more. Hermès employs around 250 craftsmen on Birkin bags across more than twenty workshops, and trains some of them in-house with a year and a half of instruction followed by years of practice.

Birkins are typically lined with goatskin in the same color as the outside, and are recognizable by its two rolled handles, flap, and padlock with a key bell, or clochette. One estimate put Hermès's 2014 production at 70,000 Birkin bags across all sizes and materials. In 2020 a Birkin 25 started at $11,400 at retail, in leather.

Why ostrich

Ostrich leather is made by tanning the skins of ostriches raised for skin, meat and feathers. Its signature is a pattern of raised quill follicles; in industry grading, the area of the hide carrying these bumps is called the crown, running from the base of the neck between the wing folds.

Commercial ostrich farming developed in South Africa in the 19th century, centered on Oudtshoorn and the Klein Karoo, first for feathers. The trade collapsed when feather demand fell around the First World War, recovered after a farmers' cooperative was founded in 1945, and turned toward leather after a dedicated ostrich tannery opened in 1970. In 2002 South Africa produced about 350,000 of the world's roughly 500,000 slaughter ostriches.

Hermès began experimenting with exotic skins in the 1920s, and its ostrich is farmed primarily in South Africa. The skin takes dye evenly and richly, and some Hermès colors have been reserved for ostrich. It is among the more durable exotics, but it can darken on the handles and other high-contact areas over time as it absorbs natural oils. As demand for exotic skins grew and rules tightened, Hermès gradually limited its ostrich production.

Exotic status carries paperwork. Auction listings for ostrich Birkins are flagged as restricted species, and a recent New York listing for a Gris Perle ostrich Birkin 25 required the buyer to ship it within the United States or collect it in person.

The 25, the Sellier build and the color

The Birkin 25 was introduced in 2004 as the smallest standard Birkin, with the original's rolled handles, flap top, metal feet and lock. It measures 25 cm wide, 20 cm high and 13 cm deep, with a handle drop of about 6.35 cm (2.5 inches): big enough for daily essentials, not for a laptop. It is now the most sought-after Birkin size, and commands a higher secondary-market premium than larger Birkins because of the gap between supply and demand.

The 25 comes in two constructions. Retourne, the traditional build, hides the stitching inside for a softer bag. Sellier stitches the panels on the outside, producing crisp edges and a more structured silhouette. The example tracked on this page is a Sellier.

Gris Perle is a delicate pearl gray, Hermès color 80, which one color guide places next to the house's chalk white, Craie. The tracked example, dated 2022, has gold-plated hardware and was offered with its box, dust bag, rain cover, clochette, lock and two keys; its listing gives a base length of 9.75 inches, a height of 8 inches and a width (depth) of 5.25 inches.

What ostrich 25s bring

Among Birkin 25 exotics, ostrich is generally the least expensive. One market guide puts ostrich Birkin 25s at $20,000 to $40,000 on the secondary market, below lizard and well below crocodile and alligator, which run about $30,000 to $75,000. Another guide from the same source says ostrich Birkin 25s have averaged over $35,000 since 2020, while the more common ostrich Birkin 30 has held around $23,000 to $26,000.

Gris Perle examples come up regularly. On June 13, 2024, a custom Gris Perle and Béton ostrich Birkin 25 with brushed palladium hardware sold at an online auction in New York for $40,320, above its estimate of $26,000 to $35,000. In December 2023, a 2023 Gris Perle ostrich Birkin 25 with gold hardware was offered at auction in New York with an estimate of $22,000 to $32,000; its result was not published.

Dealers have also handled special versions. One sold a 2023 Gris Perle ostrich 'Verso' Birkin 25 with a horseshoe stamp, the mark of a special order, and a small embossed shooting star, which the dealer said typically indicates a bag made for the personal use of an Hermès craftsman, though it could not confirm that provenance for this bag.

The numbers

Dimensions

25 x 20 x 13 cm; handle drop about 6.35 cm (2.5 in)

Tracked example, as listed

Base 9.75 in, height 8 in, width (depth) 5.25 in, drop 2.5 in

Material

Ostrich leather, lined in goatskin (chèvre) of the same color

Construction

Sellier: exterior stitching, structured edges

Hardware

Gold-plated turn-lock, padlock, two keys and clochette

Color

Gris Perle (Hermès code 80), pale pearl gray

Production

Hermès does not publish ostrich Birkin 25 numbers; one estimate put 2014 Birkin production at about 70,000 bags across all sizes and materials

Timeline

1. 1837

   Hermès is founded in Paris as a saddle and harness maker.

2. 1945

   A farmers' cooperative is founded in Oudtshoorn, helping revive South Africa's ostrich industry.

3. Dec 14, 1946

   Jane Birkin is born in London.

4. 1970

   A dedicated ostrich-leather tannery opens in South Africa's Klein Karoo.

5. 1984

   Jean-Louis Dumas designs the first Birkin for Jane Birkin.

6. 2004

   Hermès introduces the Birkin 25, the smallest standard Birkin.

7. 2014

   Hermès produces an estimated 70,000 Birkin bags that year.

8. Jul 2015

   Jane Birkin asks Hermès to stop using her name on crocodile Birkins over farming practices; she is satisfied with the company's changes by September.

9. 2020

   Retail prices for a leather Birkin 25 start at $11,400.

10. 2022

    The Gris Perle ostrich Birkin 25 tracked on this page is made.

11. Jul 16, 2023

    Jane Birkin dies.

12. Dec 11, 2023

    A 2023 Gris Perle ostrich Birkin 25 with gold hardware is offered at auction in New York, estimated at $22,000 to $32,000.

13. Jun 13, 2024

    A custom Gris Perle and Béton ostrich Birkin 25 sells at an online auction in New York for $40,320.

14. Jul 10, 2025

    Jane Birkin's original Birkin sells at auction in Paris for $10.1 million.

The world in 1984

• Jan 24, 1984

  Steve Jobs launches the Macintosh personal computer in the United States.

• Feb 8, 1984

  The Winter Olympics open in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia.

• Feb 23, 1984

  The TED conference is founded.

• Mar 12, 1984

  The year-long UK miners' strike begins.

• Jul 28, 1984

  The Summer Olympics open in Los Angeles.

• Nov 6, 1984

  Ronald Reagan is reelected, carrying 49 states.

Price record

A realized auction price is what a buyer actually paid on the date shown, including the buyer's premium where the sale reported it. It is the strongest kind of reference price, and it is a record of one sale of one object on one day, not a promise of what the next example will bring.

By reference price, Hermes Birkin 25 Ostrich is number 15 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 (12 here) is editorial: how much an object defines its field, not price alone.

Did you know

• Jane Birkin once joked that the bag named for her was so heavy she needed an operation for tendinitis in her shoulder.
• The bumps on ostrich leather are empty quill follicles, concentrated in a part of the hide graders call the crown.
• South Africa produced about 350,000 of the world's roughly 500,000 slaughter ostriches in 2002.
• Ostrich can darken on a Birkin's handles over time as the skin absorbs natural oils from the hands.
• Auction listings flag ostrich Birkins as restricted species, which can limit where a buyer can take them.
• The Birkin 25 did not exist until 2004, twenty years after the first Birkin was made.
• A small embossed shooting star on an Hermès bag is said to mark a piece made for an Hermès craftsman's personal use.