Chanel vs Hermès: which holds its value better?

Both appreciate — but differently. How the Chanel Classic Flap and the Hermès Birkin compare as stores of value, and which suits which buyer.

Ask which handbag holds its value and the answer is almost always Chanel or Hermès. Both have rewarded owners over the last decade — but they do it in different ways, and the right one depends on the buyer.

Hermès: scarcity does the work

The Birkin and Kelly appreciate because supply is deliberately, structurally scarce — you cannot simply buy one. That scarcity prices the best specifications above retail from day one and has driven some of the strongest appreciation in the category. The cost of entry is high, both in price and in the difficulty of acquiring the piece at all.

Chanel: the price-increase engine

Chanel takes a different path: repeated, aggressive retail price rises drag the value of existing bags up behind them. The Classic Flap has climbed year after year as retail has climbed, making it more accessible to enter than a Birkin while still holding — and growing — its value. It is also highly liquid: there is always a buyer for a good flap.

Which should you choose?

For the strongest appreciation and a true grail — and if you can acquire one — Hermès leads. For a more accessible entry, high liquidity and steady, dependable growth, Chanel is hard to beat. Many collectors hold both for exactly these reasons. Our Index of Rarity tracks how each has moved.

Whichever you favour, JVCreps places both — authenticated, complete and fully insured. Tell us what you are looking to hold.

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