Someone paid Rs 1.77 crore for Steve Jobs’ old and worn-out sandals – Times of India

Memorabilia associated with Apple co-founder Steve Jobs is known to fetch quite a lot of money. This time it’s a pair of Birkenstock sandals worn by Jobs that has sold for a whopping $218,750 (roughly Rs 1.77 crore).
The sandals were put on auction by US-based auction house Juliens’ Auctions and the bid price was between $60,000 to $80,000. However, an unnamed buyer forked out almost three times of the expected amount.
Jobs’ Birkenstock sandals: What makes them ‘special’
According to the auction house, the brown suede leather Birkenstock sandals were personally ownedand worn by Steve Jobs. “Jobs would wear this particular pair of sandals in the 1970’s and 1980’s,” noted the website of the auction house. Incidentally, this pair of Birkenstock sandals were previously owned by Mark Sheff, the house manager to Steve Jobs. Sheff in an earlier interview said that jobs kept very few things.
The auction house claims that Jobs wore “these sandals during many pivotal moments in Apple’s history.” Jobs, in fact, was quite fascinated with the ingenuity and practicality of the Birkenstocks.
The sandals have been a part of multiple exhibitions, including but not limited to Salone del Mobile in Milano, Italy in 2017, at the Birkenstock Headquarters in Rahms, Germany in 2017, at Birkenstock’s first United States store in SoHo, New York, at IMM Koln, a furniture fair in Cologne, Germany, Zeit Event Berlin for the magazine Die Zeit in 2018, and most recently with the History Museum Wurttemberg in Stuttgart, Germany.
Jobs’ ex-partner Lisa Brennan-Jobs in an interview with Vogue magazine once said that, “The sandals were part of his simple side. They were his uniform. The great thing about a uniform is that you don’t have to worry about what to wear in the morning,” before adding that Jobs was “convinced of the intelligence and practicality of the design and the comfort of wearing it. And in Birkenstocks he didn’t feel like a businessman, so he had the freedom to think creatively.”
The auction house further shared details about the sandals and noted that they are well used but “still appear intact.” Each sandal features its original Birkenstock adjustable buckles and Birkenstock stamping on the inner edge of the suede leather foot straps. “The cork and jute footbed retains the imprint of Steve Jobs’ feet, which had been shaped after years of use. The rubber soles of the sandals show heavy wear from use,” noted the auction house.