How difficult is it to obtain the Hermès albino crocodile bag property tycoon Truong My Lan seeks to reclaim?

A Hermès Himalaya Retourne Kelly 25 bag displayed as part of "Handbags Online: The London Edit" at Christie's in London, Britain, November 18, 2021. Photo by Reuters

During the Sept. 27 hearing, the chairwoman of property developer Van Thinh Phat, who is on trial for allegedly orchestrating a fraudulent bond issuance scheme in 2018 that resulted in the loss of VND30 trillion ($1.2 billion) by over 35,800 investors, requested that the People’s Court of Ho Chi Minh City return her two Hermès albino crocodile bags, among other assets confiscated during the investigation.

She informed the court that she purchased one bag in Italy and received the other as a gift from a Malaysian billionaire, stating: "I would like them returned to my family as mementos."

According to The Guardian, there is a waiting list to purchase one Hermès bag, but not everyone manages to secure a spot on this list. Acquiring an albino crocodile bag, known as the Himalaya variant, is even harder and entails more than just having the necessary funds.

"You or I could not walk into Hermès and say, ‘Please add me to the list for a diamond Himalaya,’" stated Matt Rubinger, former international head of handbags at the auction house Christie’s. "Even their top, top, buyers might not get one."

Daniel Englander, an expert on Fashionphile’s VIP Relations team, described to Page Six the chance to acquire a Himalaya bag from the fashion house as a "once-in-a-lifetime" opportunity.

Daily Mail reported that such premium handbags are produced in limited numbers and are available exclusively to a select group of elite Hermès customers.

In an interview with Vogue, Jane Finds, a leading Hermès curator, shared that "the 30-centimeter diamond Himalaya Birkin is possibly the rarest and most desirable handbag in the world."

In the retail market, bags of this type usually sell for six-figure sums.Sotheby’s auction house noted that six of the 10 most expensive bags it sold in the first half of 2024 were Hermès Himalaya bags.

A Hermès Kelly 25 Himalaya Diamond topped the chart, fetching a selling price of US$330,000. The rarity and high cost of the bag are partly due to the scarcity of white or albino crocodiles and the meticulous dyeing process required for the bag.

Kathleen Guzman, managing director at the New York office of Heritage Auctions, explained to CBS News that Hermès breeds its own crocodiles on a farm, carefully selecting them for their exceptionally light color.

"But then to search for a crocodile that has almost an albino skin is extraordinarily rare," he added.

Also, the dyeing process "is painstaking and takes many hours to complete," said Finds.

Earlier this year, Lan was sentenced to death for embezzling funds from the Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) between 2012 and 2022. She and her co-defendants are responsible for debts amounting to VND677 trillion, accrued through 1,300 separate loans. She has appealed the death sentence.