Hermes Birkin 35 Bag Handmade In Togo Calfskin Leather Gold Hardware 73 Blue Saphir

Blue Saphir is the navy that hides in plain sight. In a dim hallway it passes for black, then you step outside and the blue comes up like ink spilled in water. Gold-tone hardware warms it; against silver this shade can turn cold and slightly institutional, which is exactly why I would pair this particular blue with gold and not the other way round.

On weekdays a navy 35 goes to work unnoticed, which is the point of it. Mine carries a slim laptop at the back, a notebook and pen, a pouch of cards and cables, and a folding umbrella in the wet months – the 25 cm height takes an umbrella standing upright, a detail I appreciate more every winter. At the weekend the same bag with jeans and a white shirt needs no jewellery at all.

The honest caveat is lighting. In a warm interior this blue can lean faintly purple where the grain curves, and some people love that while others do not. If you want a flat, uncomplicated navy, this is not it. If you want a blue that reacts to whatever room it is in, it is.

Togo’s texture keeps such a dark colour from looking like a slab, and the corners lighten marginally with use, going blue-grey at the wear points rather than dusty.

Rain does nothing much to it. That is one more reason it has become the bag I grab when the forecast is unsure.