Hermes Kelly 25 Sellier, Epsom, Black

A saddler's bag

Hermès opened in Paris in 1837 as a saddlery and harness workshop, and the Kelly still carries that trade in its name and its seams. Its ancestor, the Haut à courroies, was a tall bag for a rider's boots and saddle; the encyclopedia account dates it to 1892, while one collector guide gives 1852.

In the 1930s Robert Dumas designed a smaller version for women, launched in 1935 as the Sac à main de voyage. It kept a trapezoid body, a flap cut out around the handle, saddle stitching in linen thread, a small padlock and a base made of three layers of leather on four metal studs.

Grace Kelly made it famous. In 1956, newly Princess of Monaco and expecting her first child, she was photographed with the bag repeatedly, and a picture of her with it ran in Life magazine. The name followed; the encyclopedia entry dates the official renaming to the late 1950s, and a collector guide to 1977.

Sellier: the original, rigid Kelly

Sellier is French for saddler. A Sellier Kelly is stitched on the outside, with visible, precise seams sealed with resin, which gives it crisp edges and a box-like trapezoid that does not slump. One guide describes it as the original, architectural vision of the Kelly.

Its counterpart, the Retourne, is sewn and then turned inside out so the seams sit inside, giving a softer, rounder bag. Guides pair the Sellier with firm leathers such as Epsom, Box and Chèvre, and describe it as the formal Kelly, the one for dressier occasions.

The trade-off is access. One leather guide notes that Epsom's rigidity can make smaller bags harder to open, and on a 25 cm Sellier that is part of the deal.

Why Epsom

Epsom arrived in 2004, replacing an earlier embossed leather called Courchevel that was discontinued the same year. It is calfskin that has been heat-pressed to give it a fine, cross-hatched grain.

The pressing makes it stiff, light and resistant to scratches, and it holds color well with a slight sheen. Those qualities suit a construction meant to keep its corners, and one collector guide says Epsom dominates among the leathers in the Kelly market.

In black with gold hardware the bag reads as plainly as a Kelly can: a dark, fine-grained body, outside seams and a single bright note at the turn-lock.

Boutique price and resale price

In U.S. boutiques a Kelly 25 in Epsom cost $10,600 in 2022, $10,300 in 2023, $11,800 in 2024 and $13,200 in 2025, according to one published price table, which shows the 2023 price below 2022 without explanation. In January 2026 it rose 3.8 percent to $13,700, the same price as a Kelly 25 in Togo.

At auction a 2020 Black Epsom Sellier Kelly 25 with gold hardware sold online on June 17, 2025, for $22,680 against an estimate of $14,000 to $18,000. A collector guide says pristine leather Kelly 25s and 28s were trading at about $28,000 to $33,000 in early 2026, roughly 2.5 times the boutique price.

Dealer asking prices for the exact combination run higher still: one reseller listed a Black Epsom Kelly 25 Sellier with gold hardware at $36,000 on October 1, 2026. The resale listing tracked for this page, a 2021 example in excellent condition, had sold by that date and showed no price.

How one is made and how to read it

A collector guide counts 36 pieces of leather, 680 stitches and 18 to 24 hours of work by a single artisan for each Kelly; the encyclopedia entry says 18 to 20 hours. Artisans train for about 18 months on average.

A Black Epsom Sellier Kelly 25 has one leather top handle, a detachable shoulder strap, a crossover flap with strap closure and a gold-plated turn-lock, with a padlock and two keys in a clochette. Inside are a zip pocket and patch pockets. A resale listing of a 2021 example measured 9.75 inches at the base, 7.25 inches high and 3.5 inches deep, with a 3.25-inch handle drop and a 17.5-inch strap drop.

Auction catalogs list the year of manufacture for every bag; examples of this exact specification dated 2017, 2020 and 2022 have sold at auction. Complete sets include the shoulder strap, clochette, lock, two keys and dust bag.

The numbers

Dimensions

25 x 18 x 9 cm (auction catalog); about 9.75 x 7.25 x 3.5 in

Drops

Handle about 3.25 in; shoulder strap about 17.5 in

Material

Epsom (heat-pressed calfskin), black

Construction

Sellier (external, resin-sealed seams)

Hardware

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

Production quantity

Not published

Timeline

1. 1837

   Thierry Hermès founds a saddlery and harness workshop in Paris.

2. 1892

   Hermès introduces the Haut à courroies riding bag (one guide dates it to 1852).

3. 1935

   Robert Dumas's women's version launches as the Sac à main de voyage.

4. 1956

   Grace Kelly, newly Princess of Monaco, is photographed with the bag; Life magazine publishes the image.

5. 1977

   One guide dates the official renaming to the Kelly to this year; another account places it in the late 1950s.

6. 2004

   Hermès introduces Epsom leather and discontinues Courchevel.

7. 2010

   The Kelly is the best-selling of Hermès's 32 handbag styles.

8. 2022

   U.S. boutique price of a Kelly 25 in Epsom: $10,600.

9. 2024

   U.S. boutique price rises to $11,800.

10. 2025

    U.S. boutique price rises to $13,200.

11. Jun 17, 2025

    A 2020 Black Epsom Sellier Kelly 25 with gold hardware sells at online auction for $22,680.

12. Jan 2026

    U.S. boutique price rises 3.8 percent to $13,700.

13. Oct 1, 2026

    A dealer lists a Black Epsom Kelly 25 Sellier with gold hardware at $36,000.

The world in 1935

• Feb 6, 1935

  Parker Brothers introduces Monopoly to the American market.

• May 15, 1935

  The Moscow Metro opens to the public.

• May 29, 1935

  The French liner Normandie leaves Le Havre on her maiden voyage to New York.

• Jun 10, 1935

  Alcoholics Anonymous is founded in Akron, Ohio.

• Sep 2, 1935

  A Category 5 hurricane strikes the Florida Keys, killing 423 people.

• Sep 15, 1935

  Nazi Germany's Nuremberg Laws strip Jewish citizens of their rights.

• Sep 30, 1935

  President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicates the Hoover Dam.

• Oct 3, 1935

  Italy invades Ethiopia, beginning the Second Italo-Ethiopian War.

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 Kelly 25 Sellier, Epsom, Black is number 21 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 (16 here) is editorial: how much an object defines its field, not price alone.

Did you know

• Sellier means saddler, a nod to the harness workshop Hermès started as in 1837.
• Epsom leather did not exist until 2004; it replaced a leather called Courchevel.
• Epsom's grain is pressed into the hide with heat, which is why it stays rigid.
• In January 2026 the Kelly 25 cost the same in Togo and Epsom in U.S. boutiques: $13,700.
• A Kelly's base is built from three layers of leather and sits on four metal studs.
• Alfred Hitchcock let his costume designer buy Hermès accessories for To Catch a Thief, the 1955 film starring Grace Kelly.