Hermes spa pricing

[lisawhit]

well it took well more than 3 weeks: 4 months, but they had to order the handle in paris as they say it's impossible to make it here in italy. and they put the new kelly2 handle instead of the old one.
pics before (before the handle was actually torn apart) and after, together with invoice. great job, bag looks almost like new.

What a fabulous transformation!!!! Beautiful

 

[Leah]

I wonder how this is possible to happen to hermes bags!

The just bought a used in good condition birkin, and now after using it for 1 month, the handles started to open, any idea how this could happen to a birkin ? We pay so much for the bag itself, do we also have to pay for repair?

And does anyone know how much does it cost to repair the handles as the wax opened ?

Did the waxed portion of the handle slowly start to open? Unfortunately that does happen. It is fairly easy to fix and the handles should look good again after a spa visit.

Not sure where you are but for something like this, in Paris repair is about 200 euros and at the NY Madison boutique it's about USD225. Waiting time however is anywhere between 10-16 weeks.

 

[hopiko]

I wonder how this is possible to happen to hermes bags!

The just bought a used in good condition birkin, and now after using it for 1 month, the handles started to open, any idea how this could happen to a birkin ? We pay so much for the bag itself, do we also have to pay for repair?

And does anyone know how much does it cost to repair the handles as the wax opened ?

If the bag is fairly new (ie a couple of years). No charge. I can't say what h would charge if the bag is old. I speak from experience.

 

[nouraj1990]

If the bag is fairly new (ie a couple of years). No charge. I can't say what h would charge if the bag is old. I speak from experience.

Hi! I bought the bag 1 month ago from a consignment store online however it is a used bag. Production year: 2008. I was shocked when I saw the wax of the handles started to open

 

[hopiko]

Hi! I bought the bag 1 month ago from a consignment store online however it is a used bag. Production year: 2008. I was shocked when I saw the wax of the handles started to open

Hopefully they won't charge you. I am fortunate because my boutique has a craftsman so it was easy to bring in and get fixed. Good luck!

 

[jyyanks]

My vintage Kelly is at the spa and they are sending her to Paris for a new handle and the new fasteners. The turnlock is very loose so they will replace but they won't replace all the hardware which is a bit of a bummer. They quoted me 4-6 months. I have 2 questions
1) has anyone been able to replace hardware lately? I thought they would replace mine because they have to replace the broken turnlock so why not replace all to have it match
2) for anyone who has had a handle replaced, were you happy with the results?

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[bags to die for]

My barenia handle was changed last year and you can't tell that it's new.

 

[heye255307]

well it took well more than 3 weeks: 4 months, but they had to order the handle in paris as they say it's impossible to make it here in italy. and they put the new kelly2 handle instead of the old one.
pics before (before the handle was actually torn apart) and after, together with invoice. great job, bag looks almost like new.

money well spent
it looks A MA ZING!!

 

[Leah]

My vintage Kelly is at the spa and they are sending her to Paris for a new handle and the new fasteners. The turnlock is very loose so they will replace but they won't replace all the hardware which is a bit of a bummer. They quoted me 4-6 months. I have 2 questions
1) has anyone been able to replace hardware lately? I thought they would replace mine because they have to replace the broken turnlock so why not replace all to have it match
2) for anyone who has had a handle replaced, were you happy with the results?

Thanks in advance for your help.

Jyyanks, I have two friends who recently had 1.birkin handles and 2.box birkin hardware (ALL the hardware) replaced at Madison. Both were happy with the results. The handle replacement took much longer (can't remember what my friend said but it was around 3-4 months) and the hardware replacement took around 6-8 weeks (I think my friend left it late last year with Claude before he retired.)

Personally I would insist on replacing ALL hardware on a bag, unless the bag is 90% new. Otherwise the new hardware is going to look mismatched with current/old hardware.

 

[calexandre]

My vintage Kelly is at the spa and they are sending her to Paris for a new handle and the new fasteners. The turnlock is very loose so they will replace but they won't replace all the hardware which is a bit of a bummer. They quoted me 4-6 months. I have 2 questions
1) has anyone been able to replace hardware lately? I thought they would replace mine because they have to replace the broken turnlock so why not replace all to have it match
2) for anyone who has had a handle replaced, were you happy with the results?

Thanks in advance for your help.

Hi jyyanks! I have my 1981 BBK in at the spa in London at the moment, and the craftsperson recommended that I replace the turnlock because it's a bit wiggly. The emailed quote I got indicated that Spa would replace the turnlock and the plates on the straps for around 200 GBP. I emailed back, expressing concern that perhaps the new hardware wouldn't match the rings that secure the handles to the body of the bag, since those weren't on the list for replacement. I received a polite but somewhat indignant reply saying that Hermes would never suggest or agree to a repair if they felt that the result would be "unaesthetic." Well! That's good. But I suppose we all have to decide whether our personal aesthetic standards might be even more rigid than Hermes'. Is Spa saying they'll replace the plates on your bag or really JUST the turnlock? I think that might influence my own choice.

I decided to go ahead with the switch, for what it's worth-- if I had my druthers, my vintage bag would keep all of its vintage hardware forever, but honestly, I use that bag so heavily that it deserves a new turnlock that will keep it in working order for the foreseeable future, and because all the plates are being replaced as well, I don't think the contrast with the handle-rings will be too glaring. And the feet I could care less about.

Good luck with the decision!

 

[jyyanks]

Jyyanks, I have two friends who recently had 1.birkin handles and 2.box birkin hardware (ALL the hardware) replaced at Madison. Both were happy with the results. The handle replacement took much longer (can't remember what my friend said but it was around 3-4 months) and the hardware replacement took around 6-8 weeks (I think my friend left it late last year with Claude before he retired.)

Personally I would insist on replacing ALL hardware on a bag, unless the bag is 90% new. Otherwise the new hardware is going to look mismatched with current/old hardware.

Hi jyyanks! I have my 1981 BBK in at the spa in London at the moment, and the craftsperson recommended that I replace the turnlock because it's a bit wiggly. The emailed quote I got indicated that Spa would replace the turnlock and the plates on the straps for around 200 GBP. I emailed back, expressing concern that perhaps the new hardware wouldn't match the rings that secure the handles to the body of the bag, since those weren't on the list for replacement. I received a polite but somewhat indignant reply saying that Hermes would never suggest or agree to a repair if they felt that the result would be "unaesthetic." Well! That's good. But I suppose we all have to decide whether our personal aesthetic standards might be even more rigid than Hermes'. Is Spa saying they'll replace the plates on your bag or really JUST the turnlock? I think that might influence my own choice.

I decided to go ahead with the switch, for what it's worth-- if I had my druthers, my vintage bag would keep all of its vintage hardware forever, but honestly, I use that bag so heavily that it deserves a new turnlock that will keep it in working order for the foreseeable future, and because all the plates are being replaced as well, I don't think the contrast with the handle-rings will be too glaring. And the feet I could care less about.

Good luck with the decision!

Thank you both for your responses!!! I went to Madison and when I asked if they could replace the plates as well as the turnlock and they said no because the plates are not defective. I did mention my concern about the hardware not matching and they said they will polish the plates.

Frankly, I will let Paris decide as they have to call me back anyway with a quote. My bag is from the 60's so I have to believe that H Paris will determine that they need to replace everything, not just the swivel lock, in order to match. The metal they use now is not the same as the metal from the 60's which I think was brass at the time. Really hoping that when Paris sees the hardware, they will take the difference in metals into consideration. If not, I certainly will insist as the refurb will cost me a pretty penny and I want to make sure it looks great!

 

[ahhgoo]

Thank you both for your responses!!! I went to Madison and when I asked if they could replace the plates as well as the turnlock and they said no because the plates are not defective. I did mention my concern about the hardware not matching and they said they will polish the plates.

Frankly, I will let Paris decide as they have to call me back anyway with a quote. My bag is from the 60's so I have to believe that H Paris will determine that they need to replace everything, not just the swivel lock, in order to match. The metal they use now is not the same as the metal from the 60's which I think was brass at the time. Really hoping that when Paris sees the hardware, they will take the difference in metals into consideration. If not, I certainly will insist as the refurb will cost me a pretty penny and I want to make sure it looks great!

I had the turnlock and side straps replaced on my vintage Kelly - it was sent to Paris. The top metal plate was not replaced but I believe they did polish it. I don't see a noticeable difference in the hardware between new vs old.

One thing though, I did notice difference in the color of the new vs old box leather but that is because it was not a typical color. Hopefully, your Kelly is in a standard color that is easily replaceable without much color difference between the years. Overall, quite surprised at the transformation on my vintage bag as it was in such an awful state before. I would trust that the crafts(wo)men in Paris would provide a proper determination on whether the metals need to be replaced completely to match but always good to ask anyways. And yes, it will cost quite a lot to get some simple work done!

 

[jyyanks]

I had the turnlock and side straps replaced on my vintage Kelly - it was sent to Paris. The top metal plate was not replaced but I believe they did polish it. I don't see a noticeable difference in the hardware between new vs old.



One thing though, I did notice difference in the color of the new vs old box leather but that is because it was not a typical color. Hopefully, your Kelly is in a standard color that is easily replaceable without much color difference between the years. Overall, quite surprised at the transformation on my vintage bag as it was in such an awful state before. I would trust that the crafts(wo)men in Paris would provide a proper determination on whether the metals need to be replaced completely to match but always good to ask anyways. And yes, it will cost quite a lot to get some simple work done!

Good to know the hardware looks similar though I hope the craftsperson makes a decision on whatever looks best! The person at the repair desk did mention that the leather color may not be a perfect match but she said it would be very close. My bag is an absolute disaster so I'm hoping I will be wowed by the transformation. I'm so happy you were pleased with the results of your vintage K!

 

[ellelee]

My vintage Kelly is at the spa and they are sending her to Paris for a new handle and the new fasteners. The turnlock is very loose so they will replace but they won't replace all the hardware which is a bit of a bummer. They quoted me 4-6 months. I have 2 questions
1) has anyone been able to replace hardware lately? I thought they would replace mine because they have to replace the broken turnlock so why not replace all to have it match
2) for anyone who has had a handle replaced, were you happy with the results?

Thanks in advance for your help.

Yes and yes! (Picked up my bag 2 weeks ago.)

I had noted the issues with the hardware to the SA but it was Paris that notified me of the defective hardware (turn lock) and replaced it. The hardware on the straps were polished.
I am especially pleased with the new handles! They had the bag for about 4-5 months but it was well worth it. With the handles replaced my bag no longer flops over and it looks like a new bag! I've taken the bag in for spa after 2 years of using it but it was for minor scuffs and resealing the wax on the handles (which the results didn't last that long for me). While the pricing for replacement is much higher than a usual cleaning, I'd say I prefer the work done in Paris and would most likely wait to get everything all fixed at once.

 

[jyyanks]

Yes and yes! (Picked up my bag 2 weeks ago.)

I had noted the issues with the hardware to the SA but it was Paris that notified me of the defective hardware (turn lock) and replaced it. The hardware on the straps were polished.
I am especially pleased with the new handles! They had the bag for about 4-5 months but it was well worth it. With the handles replaced my bag no longer flops over and it looks like a new bag! I've taken the bag in for spa after 2 years of using it but it was for minor scuffs and resealing the wax on the handles (which the results didn't last that long for me). While the pricing for replacement is much higher than a usual cleaning, I'd say I prefer the work done in Paris and would most likely wait to get everything all fixed at once.

Thank you for your response ellelee. So glad you were pleased with the work, especially the new handles. Did the new hardware and polished old hardware look the same? My bag is getting a refurb, hoping that I'm as happy with the results as you are. Thanks again.