10-year-old bag sold for $217,144 in London auction
London, June 13 : A 10-year-old second-hand Hermes Birkin bag has sold for $217,144 in London, a new European record for the most expensive handbag sold at an auction.
The 2008 Himalaya Birkin, with an 18-carat white gold diamond encrusted lock, exceeded its list price of 100,000-150,000 pounds on Tuesday, reports the BBC.
The record for a bag sold at auction - also a Hermes Birkin - is $380,000, set in Hong Kong in 2017. It is the "undisputed most valuable bag in the world", auction house Christie's said.
It was first time the bag had been offered in a European auction, said Matthew Rubinger, international director at the auctioneers. The niloticus crocodile bag was said to be in "grade 2 condition" with no obvious flaws.
It measures just 30 cm wide - smaller than the original Birkin handbag - and is made from nilo crocodile hide and features diamonds.
Its name refers to the colour gradient, said to resemble the snow-capped hills of the Himalayas. A 2006 blue version of the handbag sold for $133,608 at the same auction on Tuesday, the BBC reported.
New Birkin bags can start at around $9,350 each, but they are not easy to buy, with famously long waiting lists.
The French luxury fashion house Hermes designed what became known as the Birkin in 1981.
Named after the singer and actress Jane Birkin, it has become one of the most sought-after accessories in the world, but it began as a quest for the perfect holdall.
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Illegal sand mining has created environmental crisis in National Chambal Gharial Sanctuary: SC
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Friday said rampant illegal riverbed sand mining has created an "environmental crisis" and wreaked "havoc" in the National Chambal Gharial Sanctuary, causing a grave risk to the gharial (long-snouted crocodile) preservation project.
Slamming the states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh for their utter failure in dealing with the issue, the apex court directed them to install high-resolution Wi-Fi-enabled CCTV cameras along all routes frequently used for illegal sand mining in the area.
A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta directed that live feed of such surveillance cameras shall be placed under the direct control, supervision and operational oversight of the superintendent of police or the senior superintendent of police of the concerned district and the divisional forest officer.
It said these officers shall ensure continuous and effective monitoring of the CCTV feeds by designating appropriate officers.
"It can't be gainsaid that the issues involved are of great concern in as much as the rampant illegal mining activities in the river bed have created an environmental crisis and havoc in the National Chambal Gharial Sanctuary causing a grave risk to the very project of gharial preservation of which the state governments themselves were proponents and were under an obligation to foster and promote," Justice Mehta said while pronouncing the order.
The bench directed the authorities in these three states to initiate prompt and necessary action under law if any instance of illegal mining or allied activities comes to light.
It said the authorities shall ensure seizure of vehicles or machinery found involved in illegal sand mining and also initiate prosecution of persons involved in it.
The bench, which passed several other directions, posted the matter for hearing on May 11.
The top court passed the order in a suo motu case titled 'In Re: Illegal sand mining in the National Chambal Sanctuary and threat to endangered aquatic wildlife'.
The National Chambal Sanctuary, also called the National Chambal Gharial Wildlife Sanctuary, is a 5,400-sq km tri-state protected area.
Besides the endangered gharial, it is home to the red-crowned roof turtle and the endangered Ganges river Dolphin.
Located on the Chambal river near the tripoint of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, the sanctuary was first declared a protected area in Madhya Pradesh in 1978 and now constitutes a long and narrow eco-reserve co-administered by the three states.
On March 13, the top court took suo motu cognisance of news reports about rampant illegal sand mining on the banks of the Chambal river.
