all handmade?

[PennyD2911]

Not everything leather is made by hand, say SLG are all made by machines. I doubt even all bags are made by hand.

This is NOT true!!

 

[inwinter]

90% of birkins and kellys are made by machine. You can easily find the problems, but who care.

 

[inwinter]

I talked with a craftsman in an exhibition.

The craftsman informed me that (except for precious skins, whereas the ENTIRE bag will be hand-stitched), for bikin or kelly, only the parts that are subject to heavy tension are hand-stitched. I was also specifically told that handles of birkin are NOT hand-stitched, whereas the handle of kelly is hand-stitched.

I did not ask about other bags. But put it this way.....I would not expect that some less expensive models are entirely hand-stitched...so to save cost and time, Hermes can use machine to assist craftsman to do the stitchings...

For handle of birkin (except some precious skin)

You are right!!!!

 

[QuelleFromage]

Ever wondered why the Double Sens, a seemingly simple bag, is more expensive than the Evelyne? There may be hand stitching in the Evelyne (I highly doubt it at the price point), but if so it's not visible.

 

[lipeach21]

I thought all birkins and Kelly's are hand made, which would justify the high price. Didn't realize they were machine made.

 

[joanneminnie]

90% of birkins and kellys are made by machine. You can easily find the problems, but who care.

Hi inwinter, may I ask what your source is for saying this? I think it should be the other way around.

 

[cityboy340]

I think the biggest problem here are the semantics: Hand-made and hand-stitched are two very different things. All Hermès items are hand-made. This means that they are started and finished by the same person, and are guided by an actual human being. However, he or she may use a machine to assist (ie sewing) parts of the bags. Now every bag also has hand-stitching, where the craftperson sits down and drills the holes and threads the leather together by hand without a machine. So in essence, all Hermès leather products are hand-made. I believe reading that the easiest way to tell which parts are hand-stitched, and which are machine-sewn is by the direction of the stitches. Those that face this way: ////// are machine-done, while those that face the opposite: \\\\\\ are the ones that are hand-stitched. It makes sense to think that every bit of every bag should be hand-stitched, but honestly, it doesn't bother me because a) I know that the prices would double at least, and b) the wait times for bags would probably double. The machine-done stitches are done very carefully as well, so it's not as if the rest of the bag is done as a throw-away after the hand-stitching is done. Hope this helps everyone!

 

[Luvbolide]

Ever wondered why the Double Sens, a seemingly simple bag, is more expensive than the Evelyne? There may be hand stitching in the Evelyne (I highly doubt it at the price point), but if so it's not visible.

A huge difference between these two bag styles is that the Evelyne is completely unlined and the Double Sens is lined in leather. I am not much of a seamstress - to put it mildly - but I suspect that it is also more difficult/intricate when making something fully reversible.

 

[chicinthecity777]

Hand-made and hand-stitched are two very different things. All Hermès items are hand-made. This means that they are started and finished by the same person, and are guided by an actual human being. However, he or she may use a machine to assist (ie sewing) parts of the bags. Now every bag also has hand-stitching, where the craftperson sits down and drills the holes and threads the leather together by hand without a machine. So in essence, all Hermès leather products are hand-made.

This. For Bs and Ks and Cs etc, all outside parts where stitches are visible are hand-stitched. Inside pockets etc are hand-made by human-guided machines, e.g. machine stitched.

 

[inwinter]

No. Most parts of Bks and KLs are machine-stitched.

 

[Rom.roths]

I was told once by my director, as everyone understands, only the handle and the fasten belt part on the back of the bag are performed by humans. And to finish one Birkin bag, it takes 7 hours while 10 hours for a Kelly bag.

 

[chicinthecity777]

No. Most parts of Bks and KLs are machine-stitched.

And your source/proof of this is what?

 

[Luvbolide]

I was told once by my director, as everyone understands, only the handle and the fasten belt part on the back of the bag are performed by humans. And to finish one Birkin bag, it takes 7 hours while 10 hours for a Kelly bag.

I have trouble reconciling this with the observations made at Metiers. Why would H spend the time and money to send craftsmen and women around the world demonstrating the making of bags - by hand - if in fact only the handles are done by hand?

Not sure what you mean by "everyone understands" as the information is inconsistent with what so many other H employees have said.

 

[Rom.roths]

I have trouble reconciling this with the observations made at Metiers. Why would H spend the time and money to send craftsmen and women around the world demonstrating the making of bags - by hand - if in fact only the handles are done by hand?



Not sure what you mean by "everyone understands" as the information is inconsistent with what so many other H employees have said.

I don't understand either, what I can assure is the leather is at top quality, better than any other brands. And even when it's only partly hand made, the product still performs better quality than other brands.
I said it because when I review this thread, a lots of person have known that.

 

[mistikat]

I have trouble reconciling this with the observations made at Metiers. Why would H spend the time and money to send craftsmen and women around the world demonstrating the making of bags - by hand - if in fact only the handles are done by hand?

Not sure what you mean by "everyone understands" as the information is inconsistent with what so many other H employees have said.

^^This.