FLOAT 100 · Handbags · No. 96

Hermes Kelly Cut Clutch

Hermes stretched the Kelly sideways into a slim 31-centimeter clutch in 2008, and a bag that once sold at auction for about $6,000 now carries asking prices near $30,000 when new.

Year: current
Maker: Hermes
By price in handbags: 17 of 100

Market asking price, not a sale · Aug 6, 2026$28,500This is not a sale. It is an asking price, and no transaction is recorded at this figure.

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Maker: Hermes, Paris
Model: Kelly Cut, an elongated, east-west clutch version of the Kelly
Introduced: 2008, after the Kelly Longue
This entry: Epsom calfskin with palladium hardware, in colors such as Rouge H
Size: About 31 cm wide; one guide gives 12 x 5 x 1 in
Features: Kelly flap and turn-lock closure, small flat top handle, chevre-lined interior with a slip pocket
U.S. boutique price: $9,150 in Swift leather as of December 31, 2025
U.S. auction result: $6,250 for a 2015 Jaune Poussin Epsom example in December 2019
Asking price found: $28,500 for a new 2026 Mauve Sylvestre Epsom example, October 2026

From a saddle bag to a clutch

The Kelly descends from the Haut a Courroies, a large leather bag Hermes introduced in 1892 to carry a rider's boots and saddle. In the 1930s Robert Dumas, son-in-law of Emile-Maurice Hermes, developed a smaller version for women, launched in 1935 as the Sac a Main de Voyage.

Grace Kelly made it famous. She came to love the bag while filming Alfred Hitchcock's To Catch a Thief in 1954, and in 1956, by then Princess of Monaco, she was photographed shielding her first pregnancy from photographers with it. The picture ran in Life magazine, and by the late 1950s Hermes had renamed the bag the Kelly.

In the 2000s Hermes began making the Kelly as a clutch. The Kelly Pochette arrived in 2004. The Kelly Cut followed in 2008, after the larger Kelly Longue was retired. One guide calls it the Kelly gone east-west.

A Kelly stretched sideways

The Kelly Cut keeps the Kelly's flap and turn-lock but changes its proportions. It is commonly catalogued at about 31 centimeters wide, against roughly 22 for the Pochette, and it is shallow, with a rounded lower edge. One guide gives its size as 12 by 5 by 1 inches and describes slightly expandable sides.

It has a small flat top handle and no standard shoulder strap. It can be held in the hand or tucked under the arm. A U.S. merchant's description of a current example lists tonal stitching, a front flap, pull straps that attach to a toggle, a small top handle and an interior lined in matching chevre goatskin with one slip pocket.

The Pochette is compact and deeper; the Cut is long and comparatively shallow. Its narrow depth is its defining practical trait: it holds evening essentials, not a day's load.

Why Epsom

This entry is the Kelly Cut in Epsom. Hermes added Epsom in 2004, replacing Courchevel. It is a calfskin with a heat-pressed cross-hatch grain, a semi-matte look and a rigid hand. One guide calls it the most durable leather Hermes has made, and it shows color vividly.

Those traits suit a long, thin clutch. A merchant notes that Epsom's structured grain resists scratching and holds a precise line, which keeps the Cut's flat profile crisp. Palladium hardware gives the turn-lock a silver tone.

The Kelly Cut is also made in Swift, Box and exotic skins. An exotic Cut is a different object in the market: a 2011 Bleu Roi shiny crocodile Kelly Cut sold in Paris in September 2022 for $17,291, and a 2021 matte black alligator Kelly Cut with palladium hardware brought HKD 302,400 in Hong Kong.

Sales and asking prices

For years the Cut traded quietly. A 2014 Flamingo Epsom Kelly Cut with palladium hardware sold in Hong Kong for HKD 52,500 in December 2015, and a 2015 Jaune Poussin Epsom example with palladium hardware sold online in New York for $6,250 in December 2019. One auction guide wrote that the style had yet to regain the popularity it had near its debut.

At the boutique, a Kelly Cut in Swift cost $9,150 in the United States as of December 31, 2025. New examples on the secondary market now ask far more. In October 2026 a U.S. merchant offered a new 2026 Mauve Sylvestre Epsom Kelly Cut with palladium hardware at $28,500, and another offered a brand-new black Epsom example with palladium hardware at $34,500.

Pre-owned examples sit lower. A mint 2015 Feu Epsom Kelly Cut with palladium hardware was listed at $13,500 by a U.S. merchant and is no longer available, and a Blue Izmir Epsom example with palladium hardware is marked sold out at $15,000. A Rouge H Epsom Kelly Cut with palladium hardware, stamped K for 2025 and unworn, was listed in the United Kingdom at GBP 19,000.

How to identify one

Measure the width: about 31 to 31.5 centimeters, against about 22 for a Kelly Pochette. One catalog gives a 2015 example as 31.5 by 13 by 2.5 centimeters. The bag should have a small flat top handle and no standard shoulder strap.

Check the leather and hardware against the claim. Epsom has a visible pressed cross-hatch grain and a stiff body; Swift is smooth and soft. The date stamp records the year: T for 2015, K for 2025 and G for 2026 in the listings cited here.

Like every Kelly, the Cut is made largely by hand, and Hermes's full-size Kelly takes a single craftsman about 18 to 20 hours.

The numbers

Dimensions: About 31 cm wide; 31.5 x 13 x 2.5 cm in one catalog; 12 x 5 x 1 in in one guide
Material: Epsom calfskin (heat-pressed grain) with chevre lining
Hardware: Palladium turn-lock and toggle
Carry: Small flat top handle; no standard shoulder strap
Introduced: 2008
Production quantity: Not published

Timeline

1892
Hermes introduces the Haut a Courroies, a saddle bag that leads to the Kelly.
1935
The Sac a Main de Voyage, the future Kelly, is launched.
1956
Grace Kelly is photographed shielding her pregnancy with the bag; the image runs in Life.
2004
Hermes introduces the Kelly Pochette and adds Epsom leather to its range.
2008
The Kelly Cut is introduced, after the Kelly Longue.
Dec 2, 2015
A 2014 Flamingo Epsom Kelly Cut with palladium hardware sells in Hong Kong for HKD 52,500.
Dec 10, 2019
A 2015 Jaune Poussin Epsom Kelly Cut with palladium hardware sells online in New York for $6,250.
Sep 2022
A 2011 Bleu Roi shiny crocodile Kelly Cut sells in Paris for $17,291.
Dec 31, 2025
The U.S. boutique price of a Swift Kelly Cut stands at $9,150.
Oct 2026
A U.S. merchant offers a new 2026 Mauve Sylvestre Epsom Kelly Cut with palladium hardware at $28,500.

The world in 2008

May 12, 2008
A magnitude 7.9 earthquake in Sichuan, China, kills about 87,500 people.
Aug 2008
The Russo-Georgian War is fought over South Ossetia.
Aug 8, 2008
The Beijing Summer Olympics open, the first Games held in China.
Sep 15, 2008
Lehman Brothers files for bankruptcy at the climax of the financial crisis.
Nov 4, 2008
Barack Obama is elected the 44th president of the United States.
Nov 26, 2008
Militants attack several targets in Mumbai.

Price record

$1,000$10,000$100,000

Date	Price	Kind
Dec 2, 2015	$6,774	Sold at auctionAt auction in Hong Kong: HKD 52,500 (including buyer's premium), shown in USD at the Federal Reserve rate on the sale date (1 HKD = 0.1290 USD).
Dec 10, 2019	$6,250	Sold at auction2015 Jaune Poussin Epsom Kelly Cut, palladium hardware, sold online in New York.
Oct 3, 2026	$28,500	Asking price, not a saleMauve Sylvestre Epsom Kelly Cut, palladium hardware, G stamp (2026), new, offered by a U.S. merchant.
Oct 3, 2026	$34,500	Asking price, not a saleBlack Epsom Kelly Cut, palladium hardware, brand new, offered by a U.S. merchant; year not stated.
Oct 4, 2026	$25,175	Asking price, not a saleA UK dealer: GBP 19,000 (asking price), shown in USD at the Federal Reserve rate on the sale date (1 GBP = 1.3250 USD).

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 Kelly Cut Clutch is number 17 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 (96 here) is editorial: how much an object defines its field, not price alone.

Did you know

The Kelly Cut is about 9 centimeters wider than the Kelly Pochette but far shallower.
The Kelly's ancestor was a bag for carrying a rider's saddle and boots.
Epsom leather replaced Hermes's Courchevel leather in 2004.
A 2015 Epsom Kelly Cut sold for $6,250 in 2019; new ones were offered near $30,000 in 2026.
At one 2022 sale, a crocodile Kelly Cut brought about $10,000 less than a comparable Kelly Pochette.

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