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Dropping $1.2 million during Miami Art Week isn’t that unusual. At Art Basel, which is just one of the 20+ fairs taking place in Miami taking place through Sunday, Picasso’s “Couple with Cup” has a price tag of $30 million — and the festivities kicked off with the $4.75 million sale of a David Hammons painting.
But Evens Saint Clair is charging $1.2 million for what he calls an “art sculpture.” Others call them handbags.
The artist and diamond-mine developer’ big-ticket tote, dubbed “La Reine,” should come with a global travel itinerary.
Saint Clair traveled to Japan for two years to meet with local artisans for the stunning tote, including a famed woodworker known as Mr. Kyoto. The handcrafted Japanese wood frame is overlaid with Italian leather and pieces of rare silk kimono fabric dusted with gold leaf and strengthened by pearl shell. There are over 18 carats of diamonds placed throughout — from the front porcelain tile badge to the gold-plated “feet” of the bag to the multiple strands of bejeweled gold chains, which also boast emeralds and pearls.
“I’m bringing the art of craftmanship back,” Saint Clair told The Post. “Nowadays everything is just sent to China to be made as cheaply as possible, but true luxury isn’t mass produced. I have invested years of travel, research and innovation into these pieces and the accompanying luxury cases because I believe in beauty, happiness and giving back.”
Each bag takes up to a year to produce and passes through Japan, Guinea, Italy and Turkey before arriving in Saint Clair’s hometown of Bal Harbour, Florida, where the final embellishments are added.
For “Wicked” fans, there’s a $670,000 green alligator edition with a jade circular badge encircled by sparkling diamonds.
One of Saint Clair’s lowest priced bags ($110,000) is the “Pangea,” which features lacquered bamboo from Japan, a glittering gold chain flecked with diamonds, and python skins from Miami’s Everglades ecosystem, which is being overrun by the invasive snake.
Saint Clair says that his handbags are savvy investments with gold, diamonds, and gemstones rising in value. As such, each bag includes a custom storage case that is fingerprint activated. Saint Clair designed these unique wood veneer biometric safes himself, inspired by collector’s cigar cases from the Dominican Republic, which he sent to his wood maker in Japan as inspiration.
While the pricey bags are being launched at Miami Art Week with a splashy party at the St. Regis Hotel in Bal Harbour Saturday night, Saint Clair has privately sold several of the costly purses to well-heeled women in Guinea, where he develops diamond and gold mines.( He would not divulge clients’ names due to privacy and security issues.)
Saint Clair’s journey to luxury started far from the glittering world he now inhabits. Born in Haiti and raised in New York and Chicago, he faced bullying, gang violence and poverty. A scholarship to St. Thomas University in Miami became the turning point that led to a career in nightlife promotion.
In 2008, Saint Clair changed gears and moved to Guinea to develop gold and diamond mines.
Coming from impoverished beginnings, Saint Clair is determined to make a difference. Ten percent of earnings from his bags and artwork will be donated to multiple charities including Best Buddies, Make-A-Wish, Saint Jude, and Big Brothers Big Sisters of America.
The burgeoning artist is also exhibiting four paintings at Red Dot, one of the art fairs surrounding Art Basel in Miami, through the Agora Gallery. Next February, his mixed media artwork — which utilizes Urushi lacquer paste and resin — will be featured in a special exhibition at the Grand Palais in Paris.
