One sure-fire way to show off your wealth is to own or gift luxury items made by one of the 11 most expensive handbag brands in the world.
A woman who possesses a bag made by one of these brands will surely be a main attraction at parties and gatherings, as such a bag would indicate her opulence and fine taste. A man who can give such a bag to a lady he desires is certainly one with enormous wealth and power. The robber who can snatch one of these bags will be glad that he hit the jackpot; that is, until he is inevitably captured. Chances are that the bags made by these brands are extremely rare, making the resale of these bags a very risky proposition.
As to why a vessel for holding a limited number of items can cost as much as a house (or even 20), there are a few factors in play that inflate the prices of these bags. The most significant factor is the material used for that particular handbag. Many of these handbag makers use expensive materials. And we’re not talking about just the rarest of leather, although that figures into the value of some bags as well. For the most expensive of bags, there are precious gems and other materials involved, such as gold, platinum, and diamonds. And it’s not just a single diamond; we’re talking about thousands.
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Another factor that drives up the price of these expensive handbags is the value of the brands themselves. It’s one thing to create a luxurious, rare-leather handbag by yourself, but it’s another thing if the maker of such a bag is a designer that is deemed synonymous with luxury and high fashion. No doubt that branded bag sells better, which explains the whole underground industry of counterfeit bags and other items.
For more luxury items to marvel at, check out our list of the 11 most expensive makeup brands in the world.
As for the 11 brands that sell the most expensive handbags, there are even a few individuals and institutions responsible for these luxury items. Of the 11 brands, four are owned by LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE (ADR) (OTCMKTS:LVMUY), the luxury conglomerate responsible for expensive liquor for guys and even more expensive bags for girls. Three brands carry the name of their creators, who are fashion design royalty of the highest order. As for the other four luxury brands— Prada, Gucci, Chanel, and Hermes— they are owned respectively by Prada S.p.A. (HKG:1913), Kering (EPA:KER), Chanel SA, and Hermes International SCA (EPA:RMS).
The brands were ranked based on the price of the most expensive handbag that particular brand has sold. To make things more interesting, we note that none of the brands that made this list of the 11 most expensive handbag brands in the world is responsible for the actual most expensive handbag ever sold; its maker isn’t even a fashion brand.
11. Prada
We start off the list of most expensive handbag brands in the world with the bag that the devil wears. Movie references aside, the most expensive Prada bag was sold for $36,490.
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10. Givenchy
The LVMH-owned brand sold its Obsedia Gradient Crocodile Bag for $37,000. Rest in peace to the crocodiles sacrificed for this endeavor.
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9. Fendi
Another LVMH stalwart has been selling $28,000 “baguette” handbags, for the price of which you can buy an actual baguette bakery (or at least a lot of baguettes). But its most expensive bag is the $38,000 Selleria, which is worth a bakery and a delivery truck.
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8. Hilde Palladino
The Norwegian designer created a white crocodile handbag studded with 39 diamonds. Unsurprisingly, the bag costs $38,470.
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7. Gucci
Yet another crocodile skin bag, this one from the famous Italian brand which is owned by KERING UNSPON ADR EA REPR 0.1 ORD (OTCMKTS:PPRUY). It sold for $41,500.
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The next six entries on the list of the 11 most expensive handbag brands in the world have been sold for at least $50,000, with some of the bags fetching more than 20-times that amount.
6. Marc Jacobs
The designer known as one of the most powerful gay people in the world sold a Carolyn Crocodile Handbag worth $50,000. If that doesn’t depict power (over a crocodile, but still), I don’t know what does.
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5. Judith Leiber
Taking a break from reptilian horrors, this American designer instead opted to make a rose-shaped handbag studded with 1,106 diamonds and 1,196 sapphires. The bag, which is probably heavier than anything you can put in it, sold for $92,000.
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4. Louis Vuitton
On the other end of the scale is the flagship brand of LVMH, which decided to create a handbag that looks like a mosaic of many handbags and sell 20 of them for $42,000. (Beyonce bought one, btw.) The brand also made five pumpkin-shaped, pure-gold bags for $133,430 each. But its priciest bag is actually made of trash and costs $150,000.
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3. Lana Marks
The South Africa-born American fashion designer of Hollywood celebrities created a Cleopatra Clutch bag that Helen Mirren carried when she won one of her Oscar. The bag is worth $250,000.
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2. Chanel
What’s more expensive than an Oscar victory bag? How about a handbag that has 334 diamonds, an 18-karat white gold strap, and crocodile leather (of course)? Only 13 of these bags were made, each costing $261,000. And now, let’s see the number one in our list of most expensive handbag brands in the world.
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1. Hermes
The luxury brand built some of its opulence upon its Birkin bags (named after actress Jane Birkin). There are three extremely expensive variants of the bag—an 11,000-diamond bag, an 1,160-diamond rose gold bag, and a 2,000-diamond platinum bag. Each bag costs $1.9 million. And I say that casually because that’s not even the most expensive bag in the world.
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BONUS: Mouawad
The honor of being the priciest handbag in existence goes to the 1001 Nights Diamond Purse, created by jeweller and luxury watchmaker Mouawad. The heart-shaped bag has 18-karat gold and 4,517 diamonds studded all over. You’ll need $3.8 million to own this bag; money that could be used to buy dozens of the 11 most expensive handbag brands in the world instead.
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