Heart What you can never buy yourself: the Chanel bag adorned with 344 diamonds

Having a bag signed by Chanel is the dream shared by many women around the world. The prices of the maison, without a doubt, are not at all accessible, but there is a model whose label is worthy of causing heart attacks. As if that were not enough, even if you can pay for it, the chances of getting one of them are very limited.

This is the Diamond Forever Classic Bag, a model that was launched in 2007 by the French firm. It's crafted from crocodile leather treated to a matte white finish and richly detailed.

One of the most striking aspects are the iconic interlocking C's that form the brand's logo. These precious letters are encrusted with 334 diamonds (a total of 3.56 carats) set in 18-carat white gold. All this, added to the fact that it belongs to a (very) limited edition, since only 13 units were manufactured, caused its price to be set at an unattainable amount: 219,000 euros.

This bag was a revolution for the fashion industry at the time and the firm decided to include it in its 2008 Cruise parade, held at the Santa Monica airport, California (United States). Karl Lagerfeld decided to incorporate this valued accessory in a casual look, made up of flared pants and a perfect jacket in a boiler color. An applauded outfit in which the model carried the Diamond Forever Classic Bag hanging from her shoulder.

The success of the piece caused the brand to put its fame to work in the service of a charitable cause. In May 2008, the kaiser of fashion joined Madonna (63) to launch a special edition of this model that would be auctioned at the famous AMFAR gala dinner. This event would aim to raise funds to help, prevent, educate society about AIDS.

On this occasion, the only characteristic that changed was the color of the leather, which became black, thus keeping much more similarity with the most classic references of the maison. The singer's contribution consisted of her own lipstick and a handkerchief with a kiss from the pop diva colored red. This luxurious pack reached the price of 300,000 euros.

The exclusivity of this piece only makes it possible to obtain it through auction houses. Luckily, two have recently been held, in which one of the 14 copies (taking into account the special solidarity edition) in the world have been made available to a new owner.

In 2016, the auction house Heritage Auctions put one of them back on the market, giving collectors one of the rare opportunities to get their hands on the piece. "This is the bag that rocked the luxury world in 2008 when it was announced that Chanel would be launching a limited-edition series of classic flap bags," said Diane D'Amato, the company's director of luxury accessories. In June 2019 the well-known Christie's did the same, assuming this is the last time that the exclusive bag has been purchased for the time being.

[More information: The Diamond Himalaya Birkin, the most expensive bag in the world that costs more than 380,000 euros]

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