Hermes Picotin Lock 18 CM Bag Handmade In Taurillon Clemence Leather Silver Hardware S4 Deep Blue

Deep Blue does what deep water does: it looks flat and calm on the surface and hides a lot underneath. This is a navy with real darkness in it — no denim brightness, no grey haze — and the silver hardware sets it off like a moon on a harbour.

Seven and a bit inches of width, the same height, and a soft bucket build in Taurillon Clemence — thick, pebbled, matte, quick to take the shape of whatever it carries. The handle rolls comfortably into the palm and the lock plate sits at the top where the straps cross, just as the Picotin has always arranged matters.

This is my travel-day bag: a passport slides in along the back wall, a cardholder and phone take the middle, keys and earbuds sit in the corners, and the whole thing weighs nothing on the wrist while I hold a coffee and a boarding pass in the other hand.

Style note: it wants silver jewellery, a grey coat and nothing else competing — the blue handles the rest. I keep the lock plate polished with a soft cloth, because on dark leather a bright lock is the one signature worth underlining.

The caution is a colour one. In low light this navy turns to black, including on the inside, where finding a dark key pouch becomes an archaeological exercise — I use a pale pouch for exactly that reason. The leather, as ever with Clemence, will ease into a soft slouch and stay there, handsome.