While Mukesh Ambani’s simplicity rarely reflects his $102 billion fortune, Nita Ambani embodies her billionaire status with grace. The businesswoman behind the Mumbai Indians and the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre leaves no stone unturned in curating her image as the elegant half of one of the world’s wealthiest families. She was spotted at Manish Malhotra’s Diwali party, wearing one of his signature sarees with chevron draping and intricate detailing. The 61-year-old socialite paired her ensemble with a pair of heart-shaped Colombian emerald earrings from her personal collection and a matching diamond bracelet. But the real star of her look, outshining even the jewels, was her Hermès Sac Bijou Birkin.
Known as one of the most exclusive and expensive iterations of the Birkin, this miniature marvel costs at least $2 million, according to Sotheby’s, and that isn’t even the most jaw-dropping part. The piece is cast in 18-karat gold and pavé-set with 2,712 diamonds totaling nearly 90 carats. Even the flap is sculpted to mimic crocodile leather in metal, its pattern hand-carved, not stamped, before each diamond is set. It looks less like an accessory and more like an artifact. In truth, this palm-sized, fully functional Birkin was conceived as high jewelry to be worn like a bracelet rather than carried as a handbag.
Designed by Hermès’ fine-jewelry director Pierre Hardy for the Haute Bijouterie collection in 2012, it began as a whimsical sketch in rose and white gold. Hardy asked artisans to “think leather but cut gold.” Yet he insisted each remain a “real bag”: “I wanted them to be real bags, even if… you don’t know what you would carry in it.” I suppose you carry status symbols inside. But on a serious note, this is literally a brick of gold encrusted with diamonds, so intricate that Hermès revealed each piece took around two years to complete, involving 1,200 to 1,600 hours of meticulous handwork.
What makes the Nita Ambani sighting truly remarkable is that only three diamond-set Sac Bijou Birkins are believed to exist. It hardly surprises that she owns one of them, given her known passion for rare Hermès pieces like the $300,000 Himalaya Birkin and the $400,000 Neige Faubourg Birkin 20 White Matte Alligator. Of course, the Sac Bijou Birkin tops them all.
The Reliance matriarch’s taste in jewelry extends seamlessly into her love for watches. Her collection includes breathtaking timepieces such as a $360,000 Jacob & Co. watch and a diamond-studded $225,000 Patek Philippe. Clearly, she single-handedly represents the style and stature of the Ambani clan, while her husband, the 68-year-old Stanford dropout, sticks to the quiet charm of his discontinued $8,500 Rolex Cellini.
