Hermès HAC Haut à Courroies 40 — Blue de Prusse Togo Leather, Palladium Hardware, 2010
Among the most compelling blue colourways in the entire Hermès archive — the HAC 40 in Blue de Prusse Togo leather from 2010 is a collector's piece that combines one of the house's most architecturally interesting blues with the HAC silhouette's inherent authority. Deep, serious, and quietly magnificent, Blue de Prusse is a colour that rewards extended attention — and on a well-preserved 2010 HAC 40 in Togo, it achieves a depth and character that few bags of any house can rival.
Blue de Prusse — Prussian Blue in the Hermès Context
Blue de Prusse — Prussian Blue — is one of the most historically significant pigments in Western art, first synthesised in early 18th century Berlin and subsequently used by painters from Hokusai to Picasso as a primary source of deep, saturated blue. Hermès's interpretation carries all of that depth: a rich, dark navy-adjacent blue with cool undertones that reads as intensely saturated in direct light and deepens to an almost midnight quality in shadow. It is a blue for those who find navy too conventional and Bleu Nuit too dark — a precisely calibrated intermediate that offers maximum versatility alongside maximum visual impact. On Togo's pebbled surface, Blue de Prusse achieves a particularly complex, multi-dimensional finish — the natural grain catching light differently across the bag's surface and producing a colour that appears to shift subtly with every viewing angle.
The HAC 40 — Presence Without Excess
The HAC 40 is the most balanced format in the Haut à Courroies family — large enough to carry everything required for a full day or overnight trip, proportioned precisely enough to remain elegant rather than overwhelming. In Blue de Prusse, the 40 cm format presents as a bag with genuine presence — a piece that occupies a room without demanding attention, noticed immediately by those who recognise what they are looking at and quietly invisible to those who don't. This is, of course, exactly the dynamic that defines the most considered Hermès choices.
2010 Production — Togo at Its Best
The 2010 production year places this HAC in the early part of the second decade — a period that collectors consistently identify as producing some of the finest Togo quality in the house's recent history. Over fifteen years of age, the leather has settled into its character entirely: the pebbling has deepened, the surface has developed the particular matte warmth that only aged Togo achieves, and the structure remains completely sound — a testament to the durability that makes Togo the preferred travel leather among serious Hermès buyers.
A Notable Condition Detail — Stickered Feet
The metal feet on this piece remain in their original protective stickers — an unusually well-preserved detail that indicates the bag spent a significant portion of its life stored rather than used. This is a meaningful condition indicator for buyers who prioritise finding pieces with minimal underside wear.
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Model: Haut à Courroies (HAC) 40
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Colour: Blue de Prusse (Prussian Blue)
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Leather: Togo (Pebbled Calfskin)
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Hardware: Polished Palladium (Silver-tone)
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Size: 40 cm
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Dimensions: approx. 40 × 37 × 24 cm
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Year: 2010
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Condition: Very Good — slight hardware scratches, minor corner & handle scuff
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Notable: Metal feet still in original protective stickers
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Set: Clochette, lock & keys included
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Closure: Double-strap with padlock
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Origin: Hermès Paris
