Hermès Picotin Lock 22 — Bleu Nuit Clémence with Alligator Touch Handles, Gold Hardware, 2019
The standard Picotin Lock is already one of the most desirable everyday Hermès bags. This is not the standard Picotin. The Alligator Touch handle configuration places this 2019 example in an entirely different tier — a mixed-leather specification that Hermès offers only on select pieces and that transforms an already exceptional bag into a genuine collector's object.
Alligator Touch — The Detail That Changes Everything
Alligator Touch is one of Hermès's most refined leather innovations — a proprietary treatment applied to calfskin that replicates the scale texture and visual character of genuine alligator skin while retaining the suppleness and workability of calf leather. The result is handles that read visually as exotic leather — with the distinctive rectangular scale pattern of alligator skin in deep Bleu Nuit — while offering a tactile softness and durability that genuine alligator cannot always provide. The contrast between the pebbled Clémence body and the scaled Alligator Touch handles is one of the most considered and visually sophisticated mixed-leather combinations Hermès produces — two textures in the same deep navy colourway, distinguishable only on close inspection, but immediately apparent to anyone who knows what they are looking at.
Bleu Nuit — The Deepest Blue in the Hermès Archive
Bleu Nuit — literally "night blue" — is Hermès's deepest and most saturated navy, a tone that sits at the very dark end of the blue spectrum with subtle ink undertones that deepen further in low light. On Clémence leather, Bleu Nuit achieves a particularly soft, velvety depth — the pebbled grain catching light and shadow in a way that makes the colour appear to shift between a deep navy and an almost black quality depending on the viewing angle. On the Alligator Touch handles, the same colour reads with greater definition and contrast — the scale pattern adding a structural quality that the Clémence body's softness does not. The overall effect is a bag of extraordinary visual coherence: one colour, two textures, one perfectly resolved design.
Clémence Leather — The Body
Clémence calfskin is one of Hermès's most popular leathers for the Picotin family — its naturally pebbled, double-tanned surface is exceptionally soft to the touch while remaining durable and scratch-resistant in daily use. The slight relaxed drape of Clémence gives the Picotin its characteristic gentle slouch and makes it one of the most comfortable Hermès bags to carry over extended periods.
Gold Hardware — The Warm Contrast
The gold-tone hardware — comprising the Picotin lock, strap hardware, and handle attachment — provides a warm, luminous contrast against the deep cool blue of the leather, creating the classic Hermès pairing of deep cool tone and warm gold that collectors consistently prioritise.
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Model: Picotin Lock 22
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Body Leather: Clémence (Pebbled Calfskin)
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Handle Leather: Alligator Touch (scaled calfskin)
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Colour: Bleu Nuit (both leathers)
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Hardware: Gold-tone
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Size: 22 cm
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Year: 2019
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Condition: Very Good — minor handle edge wear
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Set: Dustbag included
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Closure: Strap with Picotin lock
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Origin: Hermès Paris
