Newsflash July 2017 Europe is in full holiday mode this weekend, with flights, hotels and rental cars across the Mediterranean at full capacity. We are celebrating summer with a new lovely Hermes blue colour but first, some fabulously absurd news from Hermes Paris. News from the Handbag World The flagship boutique in the rue du Faubourg has introduced a new appointment policy, whereby if you get to the shop early enough, you can get an appointment with the Handbag Department and may be offered the opportunity to actually buy a bag. In effect, customers have to queue on the pavement outside the store to ensure they can get in. And as you will all agree, this is no way to start a day meandering around Paris. So the New York custom of line-sitting has taken off on Paris’ smartest shopping street. Students and locals are happy to sit all night to secure the position for a few hundred euros, and then have to be escorted by Hermes security into the store as violence has erupted on more than one occasion, with queue jumping and the occasional physical fight! We even heard that last week the police had to be called to remove the line sitters. The question is: is this great PR, or another demonstration of how NOT to treat your customers?! (image courtesy of Purseblog) Blue Zanzibar In a few recent years, Hermes has produced endless shades of one colour. Two years ago it was blue. We were drowning in blues, and although they are all lovely complicated shades, Lord you can have too much of a good thing. So this year we are pleased that there has only been the one this Spring, the beautiful Zanzibar. It’s a mixture of bright blue with deeper hues of green. We have this new Birkin 35 winding its way to Vigo Street next week for viewing by our lovely customers. For more information click here http://ow.ly/PYsg30e1Ap8. Cartier Ballon Bleu From the dozens of watches we see every month, it is always hard to choose which one to offer you. This month we went for pink in a big way because we love it! This highly unusual Ballon Bleu is 33cm. It is pinker than any other model we have seen, number WSBB0002, which has been customised with .94 carats of VVS quality diamonds. It has a steel case and a pink dial made of sapphire crystal, on a pink alligator strap. It was purchased on 12 May 2017. As soon as we saw this, we HAD to offer it to you. I hope you’ll agree. It’s £9,900. Hermes Colour Palettes The team here has been working over the last few weeks on collating all the colours in different skins that Hermes produces. We are proud to announce that this has now gone live, and can be found here: https://lilacblue.com/colour-swatches/ Amazing Property Opportunity And finally, do you like this view? If you are looking for a London property from £7m, we have access to a selection of new, amazing flats in an iconic Central London location. They will be sold privately. Please let us know if you’d like more information by emailing contact@lilacblue.com. Wishing you a wonderful summer, and so long for now, until our next News Flash! Copyright © 2017 Lilac Blue London, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: Lilac Blue London Ltd, Rembrandt House, 5 Vigo Street, London W1S 3HB Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list

 

 

 

Newsflash June 2017 Summer is truly upon us this week and London shines with hope and summer spirit. Bright colours are back in fashion. News from the Handbag World Christie’s Handbag and PR departments have been busy these last 2 weeks. Firstly a new world record was set in Hong Kong as a Himalaya Birkin with 10.23 carats of diamonds was sold for a record-breaking £293,000. You can read the whole article here: http://ow.ly/FHrZ30cKoFk Year on year, a new record is set for a new ‘most expensive handbag’. Here is the rundown: A similar Himalaya Crocodile Diamond bag became the most expensive handbag when sold for £208,250 last year. In 2015, a pink crocodile-skin Hermes Birkin bag was sold for £146,000. In 2011, a gold-and-diamond Birkin, formerly owned by Elizabeth Taylor, sold at auction for £142,000. The fact that it belonged to Ms Taylor added serious value, this is by far the most expensive pre-loved handbag to ever be sold. Secondly, the first London handbag auction took place on Monday. I was concerned that with Ramadam upon us, Christie’s auction would be quiet. But there was a happy buzz around the room full of bidders from London, and two banks of staff lined the room taking calls from the UK, Hong Kong, New York and Australia. The Bleu Marine Crocodile Birkin with diamonds, unused, but from 2007, fetched a large £125,000 which – after the 30% premium and tax – has cost the bidder a very considerable £162,500. Our opinion: given that the bag is 10 years old, this is a little high. The New Constance Back in what we can now call the more affordable Lilac Blue showroom, we have seen a new wave of interest in the Constance handbag. This has been sparked by the new funky ‘On a Summer Day’ Constance, an extremely modern route for Hermes in a collaboration with architect-come-artist Nigel Peak. The cubist design is inspired by a cityscape: showing buildings and trees in summer. We have such a bag, brand new in its box, and untouched by human hands, at £19,000. Please click on the image to see the details on the website. Vintage Bag Showroom in Chelsea, London LBL has joined forces with the Handbag Clinic and a large collection of vintage bags is on display on the Kings Road. The collection includes vintage kellies, pre-loved Birkins, Gucci, Chanel and Christian Dior. Click the link to view Lilac Blue London’s Vintage & Pre Loved Bags We have two extraordinary non-Handbag related opportunities this month: Ladies Patek Philippe Timepiece The extremely rare Calatrava Waterlilies (5077/100G-001) is in white gold with a diamond bezel. It comes with its box, papers, certificate and international warranty and is one of the timepieces from the Contemporary Collection. The beautiful watch has a round case in white gold which surrounds a green dial in white gold with enamel and diamonds scattered across the water lilies. A very pretty work of art, held on your wrist by a green alligator strap. The price is £85,000 including delivery to Europe, the US, or the Middle East. If you would like more information on this spectacular piece then please email contact@lilacblue.com So long for now, until our next News Flash! Copyright © 2017 Lilac Blue London, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: Lilac Blue London Ltd, Rembrandt House, 5 Vigo Street, London W1S 3HB Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list

 

 

Our First News Flash Lilac Blue London has been showcasing extraordinary handbags in Vigo Street, Mayfair for more than 7 years now, and we thought it high time we began to share our expertise to keep our loyal clients abreast of the news, developments and exciting investment opportunities available in the uber luxurious global Handbag Market. So we are delighted to announce the start of a monthly News Flash which will contain some exciting features, including our favourite Bag of the Month, commentary on the cutting-edge trends in the luxury handbag space, hot tips on shrewd investments in new or vintage bags, and the occasional opportunity to purchase a highly desirable limited edition item which is NOT a handbag! Hermes Sloane Street Revamp Hermes’ brand-new Sloane Street showroom, on the corner of Cadogan Place, delighted us with a great range of beautiful bags for sale in their opening week. Offerings included a diamond crocodile Birkin for those who have £158,000 burning a hole in their pocket, and Hermes used the opening to relaunch the “London Bag”, originally seen in 1962, featuring quirky straps inspired by the shoulder epaulettes of London police. The shop spans two floors, is beautifully minimalist and as classically stylish as you would expect. Then tucked underneath the curvaceous staircase is a spanking new Yamaha motorbike, covered in Hermes leathers.It’s a fabulous reminder of the made to measure leather services Hermes offers. May’s Head Turner Lilac Blue London usually recommends the purchase of tadelakt leather Hermes products only to very serious collectors: although it’s the original Hermes saddle leather, and made from the most expensive calf leather, developing an amazing shine over time, it is subject to scratching. So when the first scratch is made, it can seem an almighty calamity! But rest assured, after a few marks, knocks and bumps, you realise that the bag’s timeless charm comes from its shine and the imperfections that highlight that shine, like a fondly battered Chesterfield sofa. I have mentioned it here because never before have we seen a classic etoupe-coloured Birkin made in tadelakt leather. It’s by special order and an arresting piece, and we have one in Vigo Street. Please click on the image to see the details on the website. Vintage Handbag Investment I recently addressed an audience of private investors at a seminar in Bangkok on the wisdom of investing in Hermes bags, both new and vintage. There is no doubt that Hermes handbags have now joined the ranks of passion assets, such as vintage wine, art and classic cars. These assets provide a great diversification for the classic investment portfolio of property, stocks and bonds, while they also give a good hedge against the present risk of global inflationary forces, with their price underpinned by the limited supply. If you are thinking about introducing this asset class to your investment portfolio, Lilac Blue London would advise the following: Buy a piece you actually like. You may look at it regularly and you need to care for it, so make sure you are fond of it and it will help you preserve and increase its value. Choose either a classic colour (black, etoupe or gold) or go for an unusual and highly sought after colour (pink, or lime green perhaps). Or, one can never go wrong with a limited edition model, such as the ghillies, or the club Birkin, or a kelly So Flash… Make sure the bag is in excellent, or very good, condition. Serious tears or stains will hamper the bag’s appreciation in value. Read the full article here: http://ow.ly/mDgN30bm02y And FINALLY, Lilac Blue London’s promised non-handbag offering! Having concentrated on building the best collection of Hermes bag in Europe, we are now looking to diversify our luxury product offering and, on a highly selective basis, we are beginning to showcase some of the most desirable watches in the world. Patek Philippe 5711/1P. I trust you agree we have chosen well! We are offering a Patek Philippe 5711/1P 40th Anniversary watch, one of the most sought after and iconic watches in the World. This limited-edition model was launched in late 2016 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Nautilus; the original Nautilus was made in 1976 and was one of the most celebrated watch collections ever. The 5711/1P features a blue dial with diamond hour markers, the typical Nautilus embossed decor, and a discreet recessed anniversary logo. It is limited to only 700 pieces. This watch is brand new and comes complete with the 40th anniversary presentation box, papers that can be printed in your name and full Patek warranty. The watch has a retail price of approximately £90,000. Like the finest Hermes bags, it can be immediately purchased by the very lucky few at a premium price, even by those who are not VIP Patek Philippe clients. Please email contact@lilacblue.com for more information. So long for now, until our next News Flash! Copyright © 2017 Lilac Blue London, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: Lilac Blue London Ltd, Rembrandt House, 5 Vigo Street, London W1S 3HB Want to change how you receive these emails? You can [*|UPDATE_PROFILE|*]update your preferences or [*|UNSUB|*]unsubscribe from this list