Featuring 18k white gold hardware and nearly 11 carats of pavé-set diamonds, the Hermès Exceptional Collection 35cm Shiny Black Porosus Crocodile Birkin is one of the most special handbags ever created. Rarely offered at auction and highly coveted by collectors, the bag is hand-stitched and finished by a single artisan using one individual skin of the Porosus crocodile, which is prized for its small, square and symmetrical scales. The bag is then hand-dyed and buffed to a radiant finish. 

Hermès Exceptional Collection 35cm Shiny Black Porosus Crocodile Birkin Bag
Auction: May 8

This silver-mounted vase is from Gallé’s series of glass “marquetry” vases, which explored variations of orchid designs. A number of important works by Gallé are known to have been mounted by Fabergé and other makers such as Bolin, but this may be among the largest and most ambitious of Bolin’s mounted pieces. While several Gallé works mounted by Fabergé in silver are known to exist, this appears to be one of the very few by the St. Petersburg branch of the Swedish firm.

A Russian Silver-Mounted Gallé Marquetry Glass Vase Orchidées
Auction: May 13