FLOAT 100 · Handbags · No. 25
Hermes Mini Roulis
Its clasp is a 1938 anchor-chain bracelet stretched across a leather flap, and the Mini Roulis has become the Hermes crossbody for people who want the house's craft without its loudest logo.
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- current
- Maker
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- By price in handbags
- 40 of 100
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- Hermes, Paris
- Introduced
- Spring/Summer 2011 collection
- The name
- Roulis is French for the rolling motion of a ship
- The clasp
- A stylized link from the Chaine d'Ancre (anchor chain) bracelet Robert Dumas designed in 1938
- Sizes
- Mini (18 cm) and Roulis 23
- Size
- About 18 x 14 x 6 cm; about 6.75 x 6 x 2.25 in on the tracked example
- This configuration
- Mini Sac Roulis in Evercolor calfskin, color Rouge Tomate, gold-tone hardware; the tracked example is dated 2017
- Inside
- Three compartments, the slim middle one zipped, plus interior and exterior back pockets
- US boutique price
- $10,100 for an Evercolor Mini Roulis on the US Hermes site in July 2026, per a price tracker
- Quota bag?
- No; guides describe it as available without the Birkin, Kelly and Constance limits
A ship's roll and an anchor chain
Hermes unveiled the Roulis in its Spring/Summer 2011 collection. It is a square flap bag worn on the shoulder or across the body, and at first glance it resembles the Constance, the house's other flap bag with a metal closure. The difference is the clasp. Where the Constance closes with a large metal H, the Roulis closes with an elongated bar that most people would not recognize as Hermes unless they already knew it.
The name is nautical. Roulis is French for the roll or rocking of a ship, and Hermes plays on it in its own copy, saying every movement of the bag echoes its name and calling the bag 'an invitation to weigh anchor.' The house describes the clasp as a stylized representation of the Chaine d'Ancre link, stretched to fit the leather flap.
That link has a long history at Hermes. The Chaine d'Ancre bracelet, modeled on a ship's anchor chain, was created in 1938 by Robert Dumas, and it has since appeared on belts and jewelry as well as bags. A reference account calls the bracelet emblematic of the house. The Roulis turned a piece of jewelry into hardware.
Robert Dumas and the house he ran
Robert Dumas was one of three sons-in-law of Emile-Maurice Hermes who joined the company in the 1930s. With Jean-Rene Guerrand and Francis Puech he worked on the ladies' bag with straps that was later named the Kelly. When Emile-Maurice died in 1951, Dumas took over as head of the house, working closely with Guerrand, and he introduced new handbags, jewelry and accessories while taking a particular interest in the silk scarves.
His son Jean-Louis Dumas took over in 1978 and led the house through the creation of the Birkin in 1984. By the time the Roulis appeared, the family's control was itself in the news. On October 23, 2010, the LVMH group disclosed a stake of about 17.1 percent in Hermes, and a financial battle followed. In 2011, the Roulis's launch year, the heirs created a holding company, H51, made up of 52 shareholder heirs and holding 50.2 percent of the capital, to protect the family's control.
In 2013 Axel Dumas, a sixth-generation descendant of Thierry Hermes, was appointed managing director of Hermes International.
2011: a year of upheaval
The Roulis arrived in a turbulent year. Protests across the Arab world led Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to resign on February 11. On March 11 a magnitude 9.1 earthquake and tsunami struck eastern Japan, killing 19,759 people and setting off a nuclear accident. On April 29 an estimated two billion people watched Prince William marry Catherine Middleton at Westminster Abbey.
On May 2 US forces killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan, and on July 9 South Sudan became the world's newest country. Occupy Wall Street began the Occupy movement. In luxury, the year was defined at Hermes by the family's fight to stay independent.
How to identify a Mini Roulis
The Roulis comes in two sizes: the Mini, also called the Roulis 18, and the Roulis 23. One guide measures the Mini at 18 x 14 x 6 cm (about 7 x 5.5 x 2.4 inches); another gives 7 x 5.9 x 2.3 inches. The tracked example, dated 2017, was listed at 6.75 inches long, 6 inches high and 2.25 inches deep with an 18.75-inch strap drop. The differences come from measuring handmade bags, not from different models.
Inside, the bag is divided into three sections. The middle one is the slimmest and closes with a zipper for cards and cash; there are also interior and exterior back pockets, and Hermes highlights its two gussets. The flap tucks under the bar clasp. A flat leather strap adjusts with a sliding bar for shoulder or crossbody wear; one guide measures the drop at about 50 cm extended and about 25 cm doubled.
Hermes has made the Roulis in Clemence, Evercolor, Swift, Sombrero and other calfskins, and in ostrich, lizard and alligator; Touch versions pair an alligator flap with a leather body. Evercolor, the leather of the tracked bag, was introduced in 2013 and is a pressed calfskin with a tight grain and a soft, satin-like finish, valued for color depth and scratch resistance. Hardware is palladium (silver-toned) or permabrass (a champagne-gold tone); guides point out that the rounded clasp shows scratches less readily than the Constance's flat H.
The tracked configuration is a Rouge Tomate (a tomato red) Evercolor Mini Roulis with gold-toned hardware. The 2017 example was offered with its dust bag and an authentication certificate.
A Constance alternative, at a lower price
Guides describe the Roulis as a non-quota bag: it is not subject to the purchase limits that apply to the Birkin, Kelly and Constance, though one guide says boutiques do not display it openly, so it must be requested, and popular colors sell quickly. One guide says some clients have bought a Roulis as their first Hermes bag with no purchase history.
Boutique prices have risen steadily. A 2022 guide listed the Evercolor Mini Roulis at $8,450, Swift at $8,500 and Evergrain at $8,700. A price tracker recorded an Evercolor Mini Roulis at $10,100 on the US Hermes site in July 2026, at GBP 6,810 in the United Kingdom in August 2026 and at EUR 6,600 in the Netherlands in July 2025.
Unlike the Birkin and Kelly, the Roulis usually resells at or below boutique price. A major auction house's guide puts store-fresh leather Mini Roulis bags at $7,000 to $10,000 on the secondary market, about half the $17,000 to $20,000 it cites for a Mini Constance 18. Used examples ask less: on October 1, 2026, Evercolor Mini Roulis bags were listed at $5,885 (Etoupe, excellent), $5,595 (Rouge de Coeur, excellent), $5,245 (Gris Perle, very good) and $4,725 (Malachite, excellent). The tracked 2017 Rouge Tomate example, in very good condition with wear to the edges and handle, was last listed at $3,820 and shown sold out.
Quiet by design
Hermes has varied the Roulis mostly through materials rather than structure. In December 2020 it introduced the Roulis Eperon d'Or, screen-printed with a design by Henri d'Origny. One guide credits the Korean drama Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha (2021) with bringing the bag wider attention, especially in Asia, and a 2022 guide reported its popularity rising as pandemic restrictions eased.
The house also borrowed the shape for small leather goods: the Roulis Slim wallet, about 5 x 4.2 x 1.1 inches, has a removable zipped change purse and a belt strap. The appeal of the bag itself has stayed the same since 2011: Hermes construction and an 88-year-old house motif on a bag that does not announce itself.
The numbers
- Dimensions
- About 18 x 14 x 6 cm (7 x 5.5 x 2.4 in); tracked example 6.75 x 6 x 2.25 in
- Strap drop
- 18.75 in on the tracked example; adjustable for shoulder or crossbody
- Material
- Evercolor, a pressed calfskin introduced in 2013
- Color
- Rouge Tomate
- Hardware
- Gold-toned Chaine d'Ancre bar clasp
- Compartments
- Three, with a zipped center section, plus interior and exterior back pockets
- Production quantity
- Not published by Hermes
Timeline
Thierry Hermes founds the house in Paris as a harness and saddle maker.
Robert Dumas creates the Chaine d'Ancre bracelet, the source of the Roulis clasp.
Robert Dumas becomes head of Hermes after Emile-Maurice Hermes dies.
Jean-Louis Dumas takes over the house.
LVMH discloses a stake of about 17.1 percent in Hermes.
Hermes unveils the Roulis in its Spring/Summer collection; the family forms the H51 holding company.
Hermes introduces Evercolor calfskin; Axel Dumas becomes managing director.
The Rouge Tomate Evercolor Mini Roulis tracked here is made.
Hermes introduces the Roulis Eperon d'Or, printed with a design by Henri d'Origny.
The Roulis appears in the Korean drama Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha, by one guide's account.
A guide lists the Evercolor Mini Roulis at $8,450 in the US.
A price tracker records the Evercolor Mini Roulis at EUR 6,600 in the Netherlands.
The US Hermes site lists an Evercolor Mini Roulis at $10,100, per a price tracker.
The UK price is recorded at GBP 6,810.
The tracked 2017 Rouge Tomate Mini Roulis is shown sold out at a last listed $3,820.
The world in 2011
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak resigns after mass protests.
A magnitude 9.1 earthquake and tsunami strike eastern Japan.
An estimated two billion people watch the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton.
US forces kill Osama bin Laden in Pakistan.
South Sudan secedes from Sudan and becomes the world's newest country.
Occupy Wall Street begins the Occupy movement.
Price record
| Date | Price | Kind |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 1, 2026 | $3,820 | Asking price, not a sale2017 Rouge Tomate Evercolor Mini Roulis, gold-toned hardware, very good condition; last listed price, shown sold out. |
| Oct 1, 2026 | $5,885 | Asking price, not a saleEtoupe Evercolor Mini Roulis, excellent condition. |
| Oct 1, 2026 | $5,595 | Asking price, not a saleRouge de Coeur Evercolor Mini Roulis, excellent condition. |
| Oct 1, 2026 | $5,245 | Asking price, not a saleGris Perle Evercolor Mini Roulis, very good condition. |
| Oct 1, 2026 | $4,725 | Asking price, not a saleMalachite Evercolor Mini Roulis, excellent condition. |
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 Mini Roulis is number 40 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 (25 here) is editorial: how much an object defines its field, not price alone.
Did you know
- Roulis is the French word for the side-to-side roll of a ship.
- The clasp comes from a bracelet Robert Dumas designed in 1938, inspired by an anchor chain.
- Guides say the rounded clasp hides scratches better than the Constance's flat H.
- The Roulis launched in 2011, the same year the Hermes heirs pooled their shares to fend off a takeover.
- Unlike a Birkin, a Roulis usually resells for less than its boutique price.
- There is a Roulis wallet with a belt strap, which owners wear as a tiny belt bag.
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 1, 2026.
- Archive
- Oct 5, 2026