Could Hermès Birkin Bags Replace Diamonds?

Baghunter’s Bag Bespoke service has attracted some odd requests since its launch, however, none were as touching as the request received by a recent client who intended to use the bag as an engagement present and asked for custom artwork to include the names of both himself and his girlfriend and the date of the proposal, enclosed in a red heart. This incredible act of using the iconic bag instead of a traditional diamond ring got us thinking – Could a new trend be on the horizon?

It is certainly possible that affluent young men could turn to more unconventional gifts to replace diamond rings as an engagement gift. Recent figures published by the Wall Street Journal demonstrate a severe collapse in the value of diamonds over the last 30 years, while a recent study conducted by Baghunter showed that during roughly the same period, Birkin bags have outperformed both the S&P 500 and gold as an investment.

Traditionally, diamond rings were seen as a valuable gift to offer when proposing. They symbolized future financial security due to their perceived long-term value. However, the fall in value of diamonds over the last three decades has led some men to reconsider and to do away with tradition in favor of new, previously unthought-of luxury items such as a customized Hermes Birkin bag which, based on figures from the last 30 years, has held its value better than diamond rings.

The potential investment value of a customized Birkin isn’t the only factor that could lead to a new trend of Birkin proposals. At Baghunter, we decided to conduct a brief survey among our VIP customers to find out if there really could be a shift away from the use of a traditional diamond ring as an engagement gift. The results confirmed what we already thought, with over 70% of women responding that they would prefer a customized Birkin to a diamond engagement ring.

We got in touch with our client after customizing the bag to find out how the proposal went and were delighted to learn that he is now happily engaged to a fiancée who ‘wouldn’t trade her Birkin for anything in the world’. It seems there is a chance that in the near future women will ask to see each other’s Birkin bags instead of ring fingers after getting engaged!