Jamie Chua is regarded as the world's biggest Hermes bag collector worth about £1.6M. Her very first Hermès was a Blue Jean Birkin bag with white stit
Jamie Chua is regarded as the world’s biggest Hermes bag collector worth about £1.6M. Her very first Hermès was a Blue Jean Birkin bag with white stitches, worth more than £17,000, but now Jamie Chua, a former flight attendant boasts of more than 200 of such bags. A resident of Singapore the 42 year old mother-of-two is a socialite and skincare entrepreneur who hit the headlines when she married Indonesian multi-millionaire, Nurdian Cuaca after meeting him as he travelled in business class. And since they married she’s set about amassing an impressive collection of bags worth millions.
With prices starting at £8,000 for a Birkin, her collection is worth at least £1.6M and possibly much more, when rare pieces that can fetch up to £40,000 are taken into account. During their divorce in 2011 Jamie demanded more than £187,000 a month in maintenance payments and while the eventual settlement remains undisclosed, it’s enough to pay for luxuries such as refurbishing the walk-in closet where her collection of Hermes and Chanel bags reside.
A part of her bag collection
The former couple share two children Cleveland, 21, and Calista, 17, but Jamie could easily pass for her daughter’s slightly older sister despite being in her 40s. She maintains her very youthful appearance by spending almost £8,000 on beauty treatments a month, including hair, nails, massages, facials and a cryosculpting treatment twice weekly to maintain her slim figure.
Jamie Chua’s love affair with Hermes bags began 15 years ago when she realized that the luxury item is the ultimate wealth symbol. With everyone suddenly lusting after it, it became really hard for her to lay hands on one. But she however feels that for her, it isn’t about what it symbolised but truly how user-friendly the bags are. According to her, “Even until today, I still find that the Birkin or the Kelly suits my lifestyle the best. They fit the stuff I need for a day, and it’s really easy to find my things in them.”
Some of her sunglasses and bangles collection
She also recently had her wardrobe revamped to give her a ‘bird’s eye view’ of all her handbags. “It is so much more convenient for me especially when I’m in a rush, which is most of the time. Before this my wardrobe was really cluttered, there were shoes everywhere. I couldn’t see all my bags at once”, she said.
Her other favourite accessory is shoes, and she has hundreds of designer pairs. When Jamie Chua finds a pair of shoes she likes, she doesn’t hesitate to snap up a pair in every colour. And she also has a fondness for diamond accessories. Jamie regularly shares glimpses into her enviable life and wardrobe with her 478,000 Instagram followers, and admits that she goes to great lengths to ensure she gets the perfect snaps.
Some of her jewellry collection
Two full-time maids travel everywhere with her and they’re tasked with taking photos of their employer for social media, over and over until she’s happy they’ve captured the perfect shot. When she’s not admiring her handbag collection or being pampered at the salon, Jamie is busy promoting her skincare line Luminous1 by Jamie Chua.
In recent months she’s jetted to Paris, the Maldives and Shanghai to promote her wares and makes sure to set a good example of her work ethic to her children. Despite buying Chanel handbags for her daughter and a Range Rover and Givenchy shoes for her son, she insists they’re not spoiled.
“Other than that, I don’t lavish them with gifts. In fact, I always nag at them and tell them that they need to work hard to earn their own keep. I don’t want my children to laze around and think that money can just fall from the sky.”
Watch her tour of her walk-in closet below
