The bottega veneta cabas is a great great bag, and I had to face the same dilemma a few years ago, hermes won and here are the main reasons.
Craftmanship:BV cabas is handwoven
but seams are machine made
, whereas H bags are hand stitched. I think that for that price BV could give us handstitches as well.
Leather: I personally looove BV leathers, but that said H leathers are superior
for what's regarding quality selection etc. So BV is just the second whereas H never looses the first prize.
Ageing:We all know H bags age exceptionally well, and I can't say the same thing about BV bags that tend to show wear much more
. This probably happens because their very soft woven skins have raw edges, and I have seen some of these bags belonging to some friends showing some darkening within months (just like lambskin for H, but H doesn't use raw edged lambskin for bags, only small accessories).
For this reason if you opt for BV I would advice very dark colors
In my mind if I spend that amount of money on a bag, I want it to last.
Refusbishing:H does it, I am not sure BV does it, but I believe they don't
since I've had some stains on some woven leather boots and when I asked for some help they said they provide no service of that kind.
So once again if I spend that much I like the idea Iìll have some service
ush: . Some H bags in some leathers can be refurbished to almost new, and I like that. I want to buy something special.
Style: I like better H birkin and kelly
even if I think BVcabas is great.
Cabas pros are you can wear it on your shoulders and it's lightweight. But it doesn't close, and this can be an issue sometimes.
H bags are heavier, generally meant to be carried with your hands or on the crock of your arm, but they close and we are all sure their style is a neverending classic.
This is what I think, but that's just me, and all in all I am maybe just not rich enough for a white (amazing) BV cabas
!