Rare Hermès · Selected by Jane
Hermès Kelly 35 Sellier Black Elephant Hide Gold Hardware
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Set a piece alertHermès Kelly 35 Sellier Black Elephant Hide Gold Hardware
The Hermès Kelly 35 Sellier in Black Elephant Hide is a significant artifact of the maison's production history. Crafted in the 1980s, this bag utilizes a material that has since been strictly discontinued by Hermès under international conservation regulations. Elephant hide is chemically distinct from traditional leathers; it is characterized by a deep, striated grain structure reminiscent of tree bark. This texture is not embossed but is the natural topography of the skin, making it exceptionally durable and virtually immune to scratches or water damage.
This example is constructed in the Sellier style, featuring external topstitching and rigid, sharp edges. The stiffness of the Elephant hide reinforces the boxy, architectural silhouette of the Kelly 35, ensuring it retains its shape over decades of use. Finished with Gold Hardware, the deep, matte charcoal tone of the skin absorbs light, creating a stark contrast against the polished metal. It represents a specific era of Hermès manufacturing that cannot be replicated today.
Condition: 2 – Excellent
Color: Black
Leather: Elephant Hide
Hardware: Gold
Dimensions: 35 × 25 × 13 cm | 14" × 10" × 5"
Collector's Insight: Elephant hide sits in the smallest tier of Hermès materials: used in limited runs decades ago and permanently retired from production under conservation regulations, the population of surviving pieces is fixed and cannot grow. A Kelly — the house's most formal silhouette — executed in this skin is among the least frequently seen configurations in the vintage market, and Sellier construction narrows it further.
Resale Insight: Permanently discontinued exotics trade on a different axis than current-production skins: no future supply exists at any price, so value concentrates in surviving examples with strong condition. Vintage pieces of this rarity surface a handful of times per decade and draw advanced collectors and institutional interest alike. Documentation of age and provenance is a meaningful component of value in this category.
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