Object Study
A Birkin drawn in light
Rose gold and blue sapphires give a familiar silhouette another life. A Sac Bijou Birkin privately placed by Three Over Six.
The object
A familiar form, transformed
The handles rise, the flap folds and the clasp turns. In the Sac Bijou Birkin, the gestures of a handbag survive an extraordinary change of scale and material.
Three Over Six’s private record dates this example to 2016: 18-carat rose gold set with 2,966 blue sapphires totalling 110 carats. It was sourced and delivered for a private client in 2025.
Origin
From handbag to high jewellery
The handbag becomes a jewel, with its recognisable proportions and working form still intact.
Hermès traces the bag to a chance encounter between Jean-Louis Dumas and Jane Birkin.
Hardy's official biography records the beginning of his work with the house.
Hardy is appointed creative director of Hermès fine jewellery and haute bijouterie.
Hermès reports the launch of a second fine-jewellery collection comprising four gold-and-diamond jewellery bags, including miniature Birkin and Kelly forms.
The present Sac Bijou Birkin was executed in 18-carat rose gold and set with 2,966 blue sapphires totalling 110 carats.
Three Over Six sourced and delivered the present Sac Bijou Birkin for a private client.
Construction
Leather translated into gold
The miniature keeps the Birkin’s working details. Its handles, flap and turn-lock are articulated in gold, giving the richly set surface an unexpected ease of movement.
Pierre Hardy described the 2012 pieces as miniature handbags that open like the originals. That small mechanical pleasure is part of the design’s appeal.
Colour
Blue held against rose gold
The sapphires form a continuous field of blue across the handles, flap, straps and clasp. Rose gold remains visible at the edges and moving joints, warming the outline of the miniature bag.
Private placement
A discreet private placement
Three Over Six located the 2016 example through specialist relationships and delivered it to a private client in 2025. The client’s identity remains private.
Object record
Hermès Sac Bijou Birkin
This record combines published context on the Sac Bijou collection with the specification and private-acquisition history held by Three Over Six.
- House
- Hermès
- Creative direction
- Pierre Hardy
- Object
- Sac Bijou Birkin
- Year
- 2016
- Material
- 18-carat rose gold
- Sapphires
- 2,966 blue sapphires totalling 110 carats
- Function
- Wearable miniature bag and bracelet
- Acquisition
- Sourced and delivered by Three Over Six in 2025
- Placement
- Private client
- Documentation
- Specification and 2025 acquisition details recorded by Three Over Six
Specifications and acquisition history: Three Over Six’s private record. Published references provide the wider design history. Client identity and edition details remain private.
References
- Hermès — The Birkin bag (primary source)
- Pierre Hardy — The Designer (primary source)
- Hermès International — 2012 Annual Report (primary corporate source; mirror)
- Le Monde — Rencontre avec Pierre Hardy (secondary interview)
- The Jewellery Editor — Hermès haute bijouterie (secondary contemporary report)
- Boulevard — Three Over Six founder interview (secondary profile)