Discontinued Hermès Colors: Retired or Resting

In short: Many discontinued Hermès colors are still being made: Ardoise, Graphite, Prunoir, Chocolat, Vert Olive, and Havane all appear on recent bags or on Hermès' own site. Raisin, Rouge Vif, Gris Névé, Vert Chartreuse, and Potiron are resting, and the most recent Prune and Vert Anis pieces on record are special orders. This guide dates each color with auction records, and Ginza Celia's concierge team sources the ones no longer on the shelf.

Introduction: Why is "discontinued" the wrong word for most Hermès colors?

"Discontinued" is usually the wrong word for Hermès colors: the house publishes no end dates, and several colors widely called discontinued are documented on bags stamped 2024 or later. A shade stops appearing in boutiques, a season or two passes, and the market starts calling it discontinued. Some of those colors have not appeared on a regular bag for a decade or more. Others are still being made, and the label stuck anyway.

The reliable test is a dated bag. Most Hermès bags carry a blind stamp with their production year, and auction houses such as Sotheby's catalogue each lot with that year. A color on a regular-leather Birkin or Kelly stamped 2025 is not discontinued, whatever its reputation says. Below, we sort the colors collectors ask about most into two groups: those still in production, and those whose last regular-leather appearance we can date. A Hermès boutique no longer offers the second group, so Ginza Celia's concierge team sources those bags from the years the color was made.

How does Hermès retire a color, and what do the statuses mean?

Hermès retires colors quietly. A shade drops out of the seasonal offer without an announcement and may return years later, sometimes as a new shade with a new code. Because there are no official end dates, the most honest way to describe a color is by the most recent regular-leather bag on record.

• Still made: on a regular-leather bag (Togo, Epsom, Clemence, Swift, Box, Veau Madame, Tadelakt, or Doblis suede) stamped 2024 or later, or shown on Hermès' own site today.
• Resting: the most recent regular-leather bag on record is stamped 2023 or earlier. The year given is the latest we can document, not an official end date.
• Special order only: the most recent pieces on record are HSS special orders, made to a client's own color specification and marked with a discreet horseshoe stamp. It does not mean you can order the color today.
• Exotic only: produced only in crocodile, alligator, or other exotic skins. None of the colors here falls into this group.
• Returned: brought back by Hermès, sometimes as a new shade under a related name.

Hermès also reuses color names across categories. Rouge Vif currently appears on Hermès ballet flats and jewelry, and Prunoir on Hermès sneakers. The statuses below refer to bag leather only.

Which Hermès colors are discontinued, and which are still made?

Six Hermès colors widely thought to be discontinued (Ardoise, Graphite, Prunoir, Chocolat, Vert Olive, and Havane) are still in production. Gris Névé, Rouge Vif, Raisin, Vert Chartreuse, and Potiron are resting, and the most recent Prune and Vert Anis pieces on record are special orders. The table dates each color by its most recent regular-leather bag on record.

Production years from Sotheby's and Christie's lot records and Hermès' own site, checked October 2026: the most recent we can document, not official dates. Codes are Hermès shade references; a color made today can carry a different code from its namesake, as the original Bleu Jean (75) and New Bleu Jean (D2) show.

Which Hermès colors called "discontinued" are still in production?

Ardoise, Graphite, Prunoir, Chocolat, Vert Olive, and Havane, six Hermès colors with a reputation for being discontinued, appear on bags stamped 2024 or later, or on Hermès' own site today. If one of them is on your list, the practical questions are model, size, and leather rather than rarity.

Is Hermès Ardoise discontinued?

Hermès Ardoise is not discontinued. Ardoise, French for slate, is a cool mid-to-dark grey, and Sotheby's records an Epsom Kelly 25 Sellier and a Clemence Picotin Lock 18 in it from 2025. A two-tone special-order Birkin in Ardoise and Rose Dragée Swift from 2008 shows how long the shade has been in the range.

Is Hermès Graphite discontinued?

Hermès Graphite is not discontinued. The deep charcoal grey, darker than Ardoise, appears on 2024 Veau Madame bags (a Birkin 25 Sellier, a Kelly 28 Sellier, and a Mini Kelly II) and on a Clemence Picotin Lock 22 from 2022. It has a long record in leather and crocodile, with a Clemence Birkin 40 from 2008 and a matte crocodile Birkin from as early as 2002.

Is Hermès Prunoir still made?

Hermès Prunoir is still made, on regular-leather bags as recently as 2025. Named from prune and noir, it is a purple dark enough to read as black in low light and shows its purple in daylight. A Swift Birkin 25 from 2025 is on record, following a Togo Kelly 28 from 2015 and crocodile and alligator pieces around 2019 to 2021. If you like the depth of Raisin but want a color in current production, Prunoir is the closest relative.

Is Hermès Chocolat discontinued?

Hermès Chocolat is not discontinued, and its record is one of the longest here: from an Epsom Kelly 32 Sellier made in 2006 and a Togo Birkin 35 from 2007 through an Epsom Birkin 30 from 2021 to a Togo Kelly 25 Retourné from 2025. Chocolat is a deep, warm brown without the grey of Étoupe.

Is Hermès Vert Olive discontinued?

Hermès Vert Olive is not discontinued. The muted olive green is documented on regular-leather bags from 2003 to 2025: a Clemence Birkin 35 from 2003, a Box Kelly 32 Sellier from 2007, a Togo Kelly 40 from 2014, a solid Togo Birkin 25 from the early 2020s, and a 2025 Togo Verso Birkin 25 pairing Vert Olive with Plomb grey. It has also appeared in ostrich.

Whether a 2025 Vert Olive matches one from 2003 exactly is a separate question. Two decades of dye lots and leathers move a color, so compare an older and a newer piece side by side rather than by name.

Is Hermès Havane still made?

Hermès Havane is still made. Havane, the deep tobacco brown of a Havana cigar, appears on Hermès' own site today, on its collection page for the Sac à dépêches, shown on a Sac à dépêches 29 messenger. The recent Birkin-family pieces on record are exotic: matte alligator Birkin 20 Sellier bags from 2023 and 2024 and a lizard Mini Constance from 2023. The latest calf bag we can document is a Swift Mini Roulis 18 from 2021, after Togo Birkins from 2000 to 2006. A Havane Birkin in calf is therefore a sourcing request.

Which Hermès colors are resting, and when were they last seen?

Five Hermès colors have no regular-leather bag on record after 2023: Gris Névé (2023), Rouge Vif (2021), Raisin and Vert Chartreuse (2015), and Potiron (2010). Hermès has confirmed none of them as permanently retired, so acquiring one means sourcing an unused or well-kept pre-owned piece from those production years.

Is Hermès Rouge Vif still made?

Hermès Rouge Vif is resting in bag leather; the most recent regular-leather bag on record is a Tadelakt Kelly 32 Sellier from 2021, after Togo Birkin 25 and 35 bags from 2017 and an ostrich Birkin 30 from 2016. Rouge Vif, "lively red," is brighter and cleaner than Rouge H, and we have seen it on Box Calf, Togo, Swift, Tadelakt, and Doblis suede, including a 2006 Doblis Pochette Kelly we handled ourselves. You may have read that Rouge Vif disappeared in the late 2000s; the record runs to 2021, and a 2022 Tadelakt bag charm shows the shade still in use for small pieces.

Is Hermès Raisin still made?

Hermès Raisin is resting: the most recent solid Raisin bag on record is a Togo Kelly 35 Retourné from 2015. Raisin, French for grape, is a deep purple documented from a Togo Kelly 32 made in 2001 through Togo, Box, and Clemence pieces in 2008, 2009, and 2014. Raisin Togo is on record once more in 2019, on a Touch Birkin 25 paired with alligator. For a current alternative, Prunoir sits darker, and the 2026 Purple is a balanced violet, as our guide to Hermès' 2026 colors shows.

Is Hermès Gris Névé still made?

Hermès Gris Névé is resting: Christie's dates its introduction to 2023, and no regular-leather bag stamped 2024 or later is on record yet. The airy grey with a cool green undertone, named after the granular snow on a glacier's upper slopes, is documented across 2023 bags: Sotheby's records Togo Birkin 25 and 30 bags, a Togo Kelly 25 Retourné, a Picotin Lock 18, and a Clemence Evelyne TPM from that year. Christie's has illustrated a 2024 matte alligator Birkin 25 Sellier in Gris Névé. The name still appears on Hermès belts.

Is Hermès Vert Chartreuse still made?

Hermès Vert Chartreuse is resting; the most recent bag on record is a 2015 Verso Kelly 28 in Doblis suede with a Fauve Swift interior. The sharp yellow-green, named after the French liqueur and a close relative of Vert Anis, is documented on a Togo Birkin 35 from 2004 and a Clemence Birkin 30 from 2008, and on custom crocodile Birkins from the mid-2000s.

Is Hermès Potiron still made?

Hermès Potiron is resting, with no regular-leather bag on record since 2010. The deep pumpkin orange runs from a Chèvre de Coromandel Birkin 35 made in 2004 through Togo bags in 2006 and 2007 to a Togo Birkin 40 from 2010; the only later piece on record is a 2012 limited-edition Candy bag, where Potiron is the interior color. You may have read that Potiron ran only from 2003 to 2005; the record runs to 2010. Of the colors here, it is the closest to retired, although we know of no announcement from Hermès.

Which Hermès colors now appear only as special orders?

Two Hermès colors, Prune and Vert Anis, have no regular-line bag on record after 2014 and 2011. The pieces on record after those years are HSS special orders: a Prune Birkin 35 from 2017, and Vert Anis Birkins from 2013 and 2014. That shows the colors stayed in the special-order range for a time; it does not mean you can order them today.

Is Hermès Prune still made?

Hermès Prune has no regular-line bag on record after 2014. The deep plum purple, lighter than Prunoir, appears on a Togo Birkin 35 from 2007 and a Swift Birkin 25 from 2014, followed by a special-order Epsom Birkin 35 from 2017. You may have read that Prune ran only from 2008 to 2010; the record runs to 2014.

Is Hermès Vert Anis still made?

Hermès Vert Anis has no regular-line bag on record after 2011. The bright yellow-green was made in leather and exotics: a Togo Kelly 35 from 2004, ostrich Birkin 30 bags from 2004 and 2006, crocodile Birkins from 2005, and Togo Birkins from 2008 and 2011. Special orders follow, including an Orange H and Vert Anis Togo Birkin 40 from 2013 and a Vert Anis and Bleu Hydra Chèvre Birkin 30 from 2014. At Hermès today, the name appears on scarves.

Which discontinued Hermès colors have actually come back?

Two Hermès blues have returned: Bleu Jean came back in 2023 as New Bleu Jean, a related but different shade, and Ciel, recorded in 2009 and 2020, reappears for Autumn/Winter 2026. A returning Hermès color name does not always bring back the exact same shade.

• Bleu Jean → New Bleu Jean (Returned). The original Bleu Jean (75) is a lighter, faded-denim blue touched with green, on record in Togo from 2004 to 2010. Sotheby's notes that New Bleu Jean (D2) was released in 2023 as a similar shade; in the hand it is a balanced mid-tone denim and easier to wear. Our guide to Hermès blue colors compares the two.
• Ciel (Returned). The pale, muted sky blue (7G) is on record on Togo Birkins from 2009 and 2020 and reappears for Autumn/Winter 2026. We have already handled a 2026-stamped bicolor Kelly Doll in Swift with Ciel.

Is Hermès So Black still made?

Hermès So Black is no longer made in its original specification, as far as the record shows. Hermès introduced So Black for Fall/Winter 2010, during Jean Paul Gaultier's final period at the house, and its defining detail was black PVD-coated hardware on black leather. The name has appeared on later bags with different hardware, so a "So Black" piece belongs to the original line only if its date, materials, and hardware all match.

So Black is a collection, not a color. According to Sotheby's 2026 collector's guide, the documented originals include the Birkin 30 and 35, the Kelly, the Kelly Pochette, and the Kelly Cut, in Box Calf and matte crocodile or alligator; some Kellys carried black feathers applied by the Parisian feather house Maison Lemarié. Three checks separate an original from a later piece:

1. Hardware. Original So Black hardware is a saturated black PVD coating. Ruthenium, used on Hermès bags before So Black, reads dark grey or gunmetal.
2. Date. The original line is a 2010-era collection. A 2024 Togo Haut à Courroies Birkin 40 carried the So Black name with palladium hardware, which makes it a later piece, not an original.
3. Configuration. Model, leather, and hardware should match a documented original, such as a Box Birkin 30 or a matte crocodile Kelly Cut.

As one marker of value, an original Box So Black Birkin 30 sold at Sotheby's in June 2026 for the equivalent of ¥8,310,000 (approx. $53,760 USD), a single result rather than a price guide.

How do you confirm the color and year of a vintage Hermès bag?

You can confirm the color and year of a vintage Hermès bag in four steps: read the blind stamp, check the leather against the color's record, judge the color in daylight, and have the bag authenticated. A color name on a listing is a claim; the stamp, the leather, and the bag in your hand are the evidence.

1. Read the blind stamp. It gives the production year — our Hermès stamp year guide explains how to read it. A resting color on a recent stamp is not impossible, since special orders exist, but it deserves a second look.
2. Check the leather. Rouge Vif on Box Calf, Togo, Swift, Tadelakt, or Doblis fits what we have documented; the color sections above list the leathers each shade has been seen on. Our guide to Hermès leather types explains how each leather changes the same color.
3. Judge the color in daylight. Grain, light temperature, and camera white balance all move a color in a photograph; Prunoir can pass for black indoors. Our blue guide shows how far one shade can drift between screen and hand.
4. Have it authenticated. A rare color does not make a bag genuine; see how Hermès bags are authenticated in Japan.

Are discontinued Hermès colors worth more?

Discontinued Hermès colors do not automatically command a premium over current shades. In its July 2026 guide to color and resale value, Sotheby's concludes that rarity can add desirability but scarcity alone does not determine resale value; Black and Gold, the most frequently sold colors at auction, continue to command strong demand, and the characteristics of the bag itself (model, size, leather, hardware, condition, and age) can have an equally significant impact on price.

A resting color matters most to the collector who wants that exact color, and for that buyer a Raisin Kelly has no substitute. The price still follows the bag: a 2015 Raisin Kelly in excellent condition and a worn 2001 Raisin Kelly are not valued alike because they share a name.

How do you find a discontinued Hermès color in Japan?

Finding a resting Hermès color in Japan means sourcing an unused or well-kept piece from the years the color was made, through the country's specialized secondary market, which operates under the Secondhand Goods Business Act (古物営業法) with licensed dealers and police oversight. For colors still in production, the practical question is simply which model and leather you want.

At Ginza Celia, a color request starts with five details: the color (and whether a related shade would suit you, such as Prunoir for Raisin), the model and size, the leather, the hardware, and the stamp years you would accept. For a resting color, the stamp years define the search. We confirm each candidate with daylight photographs of the actual piece and state its condition plainly. Every piece is physically authenticated before sale, and we operate under the Secondhand Goods Business Act (License No. 305562116803).

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