Inside the intense world of Birkin bag collectors, who pay up to $500,000 for one bag

Would you pay $500,000 … for a bag? In 2019, a diamond-encrusted Birkin handbag made of crocodile, from the French luxury brand Hermes, sold for half a million dollars. The Birkin consistently shatters sales records at auction, selling in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. But experts say the bag cost just $2,000 at its inception in 1984. Here's what happened in between, elevating the Birkin from an expertly-crafted leather accessory to the ultimate status symbol and collector's item.