Hermès Colour & Leather Chart: The Complete Reference for Collectors
Every Hermès bag is described by the same handful of variables: model, size, leather, colour, hardware and year. Learn to read them and you can price a bag, judge whether it suits how you actually live, and talk to a dealer as an equal. This is the working reference we use ourselves.
How to read a specification
A listing such as Birkin 25 Étoupe Togo Gold Hardware, X Stamp breaks down as:
- Birkin — the model
- 25 — the width in centimetres
- Étoupe — the colour
- Togo — the leather
- Gold Hardware — often abbreviated GHW; palladium is PHW
- X Stamp — the blind stamp identifying the year of production
The leathers
Togo
Grained calfskin with a fine, slightly raised pebble. Introduced in the 1990s and now the most common leather on Birkin and Kelly Retourné. It hides scratches well, holds a soft structure, and is forgiving in daily use. If you want one bag that will take real life, this is usually the answer.
Clemence (Taurillon Clemence)
Baby bull hide with a larger, flatter grain than Togo. Heavier, softer and more relaxed. A Clemence Birkin slouches noticeably at the corners over time, which some collectors love and others avoid. Excellent scratch resistance.
Epsom
Embossed calfskin with a fine cross-hatch grain. Light, rigid and structured, which is why it is the standard choice for Sellier construction. It holds its shape indefinitely, wipes clean easily, and shows colour crisply. It will not slouch, ever.
Swift
Smooth calfskin, formerly known as Gulliver. It absorbs dye more deeply than any other Hermès leather, so colours appear at their most saturated. The trade-off is that it marks and scratches easily. Best on smaller bags and for owners who will treat them gently.
Chèvre Mysore
Goatskin with a fine grain and a natural sheen. Light, strong, and structured, with a slight lustre that catches the light. Less commonly produced, which makes it desirable on the secondary market.
Box Calf
The oldest leather in the house. Smooth and glossy, it scratches readily but develops a deep patina with age that no other leather matches. A vintage Box Kelly is one of the most collectible things Hermès makes.
Barenia
The original equestrian leather, smooth and lightly waxed. It darkens and patinas dramatically with handling. Marks readily at first, then absorbs them into the finish. A collector's leather rather than a practical one.
Evercolor and Evergrain
Modern calfskins with a matte finish and good scratch resistance. Evercolor is smooth with a faint grain; Evergrain carries a light pebbling. Both are lighter than they look.
Fjord
Heavy grained bull calf, water resistant and extremely robust. Substantial in weight, which matters on larger sizes.
Exotic skins
Exotics sit in a bracket of their own, typically several times the price of a leather equivalent. All require CITES documentation to cross international borders, and some destinations restrict import of certain species entirely.
Alligator (Mississippiensis)
Symmetrical, squarish scales that graduate in size across the panel, with no visible pore. Considered by many the most elegant of the exotics.
Crocodile Porosus
The most prized. Small, even scales, each carrying a tiny pore dot. Because Porosus hides are small, large Porosus bags are genuinely rare.
Crocodile Niloticus
Larger, more irregular scales with visible pores. Slightly less expensive than Porosus, and its bolder scale pattern is a matter of taste rather than quality.
Lizard and Ostrich
Lizard has tiny, jewel-like scales and appears only on smaller pieces. Ostrich is identified by its raised quill follicles, is lighter than it looks, and is more hard-wearing than most people expect.
Finishes and marks
Exotic skins come lisse (polished, glossy) or mat (matte, unpolished). Matte hides scratches better; lisse catches the light. Hermès marks the species with a small symbol beside the blind stamp — a single caret for Porosus, a double caret for Alligator, among others.
The colours
Hermès has produced several hundred colours and retires them constantly, which is precisely why a discontinued shade can carry a premium. These are the families and the names that come up most often.
Neutrals
Noir, Étoupe, Gold, Étain, Craie, Béton, Trench, Nata, Chai. The most liquid colours on the secondary market. Étoupe and Gold in particular hold value reliably because demand for them never really moves.
Reds
Rouge H, Rouge Casaque, Rouge Vif, Rouge Grenat, Rouge Sellier, Braise. Rouge H is the deep, almost burgundy house red and behaves almost like a neutral.
Pinks
Rose Sakura, Rose Confetti, Rose Extrême, Rose Pourpre, Rose Jaipur, Rose Texas. The palest pinks are seasonal and frequently retired, which is why they can command significant premiums.
Blues
Bleu Nuit, Bleu Saphir, Bleu Électrique, Bleu Brume, Bleu Royal, Bleu de Prusse, Bleu Encre. The single largest colour family Hermès produces, ranging from near-black navy to vivid electric.
Greens
Vert Cyprès, Vert Amande, Vert Criquet, Vert Fizzy, Malachite, Vert Vérone. Greens divide opinion sharply, which makes them slower to place but often better value to buy.
Oranges and yellows
Orange H, Orange Poppy, Jaune Ambre, Jaune de Naples, Sésame, Ambre. Orange H is the house colour and carries an obvious association with the brand.
Greys and browns
Gris Perle, Gris Mouette, Gris Asphalte, Gris Meyer, Chocolat, Havane, Fauve, Noisette.
Hardware
Gold (GHW) and palladium (PHW) are the standards. Rose gold, brushed finishes (BGHW and BPHW), permabrass and ruthenium appear less often and are usually worth more for their scarcity. So Black pieces carry blackened hardware throughout and are rare special productions.
Hardware and leather interact. Gold hardware warms a colour; palladium cools it. The wrong pairing on an otherwise desirable bag will slow a sale considerably.
Blind stamps and dating
Every Hermès bag carries a blind stamp — a letter identifying the year it was made, together with codes for the workshop and the artisan. The presentation has changed over the decades: for many years the letter sat inside a circle, later inside a square, and more recently it appears without any enclosing shape. Position varies by model and era.
Dating a piece accurately matters, because production year affects both value and authentication. If you want to know exactly what you have, we can date and value it for you.
What this means for value
Two Birkin 30s can differ in price by a multiple. The variables that move value most, roughly in order: the skin (exotic against leather), the colour's current desirability, the size, hardware scarcity, condition, and whether the piece is complete with its box, clochette, keys, lock, rain cover and paperwork.
If you own a piece and want to know what it is worth today, our valuation service produces a written report suitable for insurance, probate or sale. If you are looking to buy a specific specification, tell us what you want and we will source it.
Interactive reference
The table below lets you filter by leather, colour family and finish.
This reference is compiled from pieces we have handled directly. Hermès does not publish a public colour or leather catalogue, and names, finishes and availability change season to season.