A diamond-encrusted handbag billed as the most expensive in the world has been put up for sale.

Officially known as the Mouawad 1001 Nights Diamond Purse, the one-off accessory holds the Guinness World Record for being the most valuable handbag ever produced, with an original price of $3.8m in 2010.

The statement piece, designed by the jeweller Robert Mouawad, is handcrafted from 18-karat gold and covered with more than 4,500 diamonds.

The heart-shaped Mouawad bag is displayed in its presentation case at a Christie’s auction preview in Hong Kong. Photograph: Anthony Wallace/AFP/Getty

The rocks are mostly colourless but 105 yellow and 56 pink diamonds have also been incorporated into the design. The sheer volume of bling means the bag weighs in at 381.92 carats – even before any belongings have been stowed in it.

Handbags have become a sought-after investment for high net-worth individuals. Last year Christie’s auction house sold a Hermès Birkin bag for £155,000.

The intricate diamond work took artisans more than 8,800 hours to create, according to Christie’s, which is handling the private sale.

To drum up interest in what it described as a “bejewelled masterpiece”, the auction house is showing the piece to potential buyers in Hong Kong before embarking on a tour that will visit Geneva and London next month.

Mouawad also holds a number of other world records, including for creating the most expensive bra in the world. The $11m Very Sexy Fantasy Bra, which was modelled by Heidi Klum in a Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show in 2003, was covered with 2,800 diamonds, sapphires and amethysts and weighed 2,200 carats.