Hermès Medor 23 Clutch Blue Brighton Swift Permabrass Hardware

Hermès produced the Medor Clutch from roughly 2009 to 2013, then discontinued it. Same architecture as every Medor: four pyramid studs flanking a central slotted plate, mounted on a leather strap that wraps the body and locks the flap. The hardware is the closure and the identity. At 23 cm, compact and flat, hand carry or under the arm.

Swift is smooth, unembossed calfskin with a soft hand and natural sheen. Bleu Brighton sits in the medium-blue range, brighter and warmer than Bleu Pétrole, cooler than Bleu Paradis. On Swift the color reads clean and unbroken, no grain to fragment it. Permabrass adds warmth: that pale champagne-gold finish pulls the blue away from clinical and toward something richer. Swirl marks visible on hardware from handling.

Collector's Insight:
Permabrass is the detail that separates this from most Medor production. Standard hardware options were Palladium and Gold. Permabrass, the pale champagne-gold finish, appeared on a fraction of output and was never available by request. Bleu Brighton in Swift with Permabrass is a specification you won't find repeated often. The 23 cm was the more common of the two Medor sizes (the 29 cm was retired earlier and produced in smaller numbers), but "more common" is relative for a clutch that only ran four years.

Resale Insight:
Discontinued Hermès clutches in non-standard hardware finishes sit in a very specific corner of the secondary market. Permabrass narrows the pool significantly compared to Palladium or Gold examples. Swift leather ages well on a piece that sees occasional evening use, and Bleu Brighton is a retired color that Hermès has not revisited.