A Hermes Birkin Bag containing €8.5 million ($9.3 million) worth of jewels was stolen by two thieves at Aeroport de Barcelona-El Prat (BCN) on August 2, 2023.
The bag belonged to a Russian family that was queuing for check-in at the Emirates counter.
The gold and diamond-encrusted Hermes Birkin was sitting on top of a Louis Vuitton suitcase when it was stolen. The family did not immediately realize that the bag was missing.
According to Catalan News, the Hermes Birkin bag contained the following items, among others:
- €4.5M ($4.93M) diamond ring
- €750,000 ($822,000) Chanel brooch
- €500,000 ($548,000) diamond earrings
- €800,000 ($986,000) Bvlgari watch
- €10,000 ($11,000) in cash
Though it is not confirmed if it is the same model, the most expensive Hermes Birkin bag is the gold and diamond encrusted Sac Bijou Birkin, worth $2 million.
The thieves, who used a rental car to get away, were eventually located by Catalan police in the city of Salt. They were located using airport security camera footage, plus details from their car rental.
The incident occurred the same day as a Gucci store heist at a Bloomingdales in Beverly Hills, where nine thieves made off with $40,000 worth of bags in a ‘smash-and-grab’ robbery in broad daylight.
In July 2023, the San Francisco Police reported three downtown luxury retail store robberies in a span of one week.