The Man Who Spent $10 Million on a Birkin Bag

LuxembourgPosted on 03 August 2025 by Team

Shinsuke Sakimoto, the Japanese entrepreneur and founder of Valuence Group, is not just a luxury enthusiast — he’s making headlines for pushing the boundaries of handbag collecting. In 2023, his company reportedly paid US$9.5 million for a Hermès Birkin prototype, an unprecedented figure even in the rarefied world of luxury resale.

The bag, believed to be a pre-production model developed during the original Birkin design phase in the 1980s, represents more than just a collector's item. For Sakimoto, it is part of a vision: to preserve, study, and elevate fashion as a form of cultural heritage.

Valuence Group, which operates recommerce businesses across Asia, the U.S., and Europe, has been acquiring rare luxury items as part of what it calls a “circular luxury economy.” In this model, luxury goods are not just resold but authenticated, appraised, documented, and recirculated to new owners with full provenance.

This particular Birkin prototype — made of unique tan leather with original construction lines and design notes still visible — now resides in what Sakimoto describes as a cultural archive. It’s not available for sale.

His approach contrasts sharply with speculative buying. Rather than chasing trends, Sakimoto focuses on curation, storytelling, and value preservation — a concept that resonates with collectors across the globe, including in Europe.

In Luxembourg, where expats and professionals often engage with both heritage and innovation, this story strikes a chord. Luxury is increasingly not about flash, but about authenticity, meaning, and sustainability. Whether it’s art, wine, or handbags, the future of high-end collecting may lie in how well you understand what you own — not just how much you paid.

For Sakimoto, the $10 million Birkin isn’t just a bag. It’s a bridge between culture, commerce, and craftsmanship — one leather stitch at a time.

Read more: scmp.com/magazines/style/luxury/luxury-news/article/3318129/birkin-how-much-meet-shinsuke-sakimoto-whose-company-paid-nearly-us10-million-prototype-valuence

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