{"id":21878,"date":"2026-11-13T07:58:54","date_gmt":"2026-11-13T12:58:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.truefacet.com\/guide\/hermes-constance-bag-buying-guide\/"},"modified":"2026-11-13T07:58:54","modified_gmt":"2026-11-13T12:58:54","slug":"hermes-constance-bag-buying-guide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.truefacet.com\/guide\/hermes-constance-bag-buying-guide\/","title":{"rendered":"Herm\u00e8s Constance Bag Buying Guide: Sizes, Leathers, Hardware and What to Check"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Birkin and the Kelly get most of the headlines, but collectors know there is a third Herm\u00e8s icon: the Constance. With its bold “H” clasp, clean flap and sliding shoulder strap, it is one of the most recognizable bags the house makes, and Sotheby’s counts it among Herm\u00e8s’ “Big Three” alongside the Kelly and Birkin (Sotheby’s<\/a>). This Herm\u00e8s Constance buying guide covers the bag’s history, the sizes, the leathers and hardware, what it costs, and what to check before you buy pre-owned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Quick Background<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Herm\u00e8s tells the story this way: Jean-Louis Dumas, the house’s Executive Chairman, asked a designer to create a new bag. She was pregnant at the time, and she named the bag after her new daughter, Constance (Herm\u00e8s<\/a>). Auction houses identify the designer as Catherine Chaillet (Christie’s<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The date is less settled than the story. Herm\u00e8s’ own page places the commission in 1967 (Herm\u00e8s<\/a>), while Christie’s and Sotheby’s both give 1959 as the year the bag was introduced (Christie’s<\/a>; Sotheby’s<\/a>). Either way, the bag’s profile rose when Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis was photographed carrying it, and it has been a collector favorite ever since (Sotheby’s<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The “H” Clasp and the Strap<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The clasp is the Constance. Herm\u00e8s describes it as a first for the house: the H itself becomes a functional closure, opened and closed by a spring mechanism hidden on each side of the metal bar attached to the flap (Herm\u00e8s<\/a>). The second signature is the strap. It slides through its loops so the bag can sit against the hip or higher on the shoulder (Herm\u00e8s<\/a>), and on smaller sizes it can be worn crossbody.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inside, the Constance is lined in lambskin, with one or two compartments and slip pockets; larger versions add a zip on the inside slip pocket. It is also a demanding bag to make: a single artisan builds each one from start to finish, in about 14 to 18 hours (SACL\u00c0B<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Constance Sizes Explained<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The size number is the bag’s width in centimeters. Sotheby’s lists these current and past sizes, with approximate dimensions (Sotheby’s<\/a>):<\/p>\n\n\n\n