How crucial are luxury brands in today’s world? When you walk into a party flaunting a Louis Vuitton or a Versace, you will surely raise some envious eyebrows. Sometimes, it may even lift you up in your social rank if it is something that interests you! This is because, in today’s culture, luxury brand names wield immense power over consumers across the globe.

But renowned global brands often carry mind-boggling price tags merely for the name they bear. Is it a fair game? Well, that’s a debate we will save for later. Today, let’s explore ten outrageously expensive luxury brands, the kind that ordinary folks can only dream of buying. What is it that makes them so posh and luxurious?

1 Patek Philippe

If you want to know the price of a Patek Philippe luxury watch from Switzerland, good luck! Their website just says “price on request,” which itself is an indicator of the ultra-luxury tag on this brand. Established in 1839, this family-owned company boasts techniques and expertise passed down from generations.

It is not easy to know their prices. Their dealers, like Tiffany & Co., request interested customers to call or come to their store for pricing. But they can cost anywhere from $12,500 to $2 million and up. At a charity auction conducted by Only Watch in 2019, a steel Grandmaster Chime Patek Philippe was sold for $31 million in Geneva and became the most expensive watch in the world.

The price of a Patek Philippe, unlike most other brands, does not depend on the look, bling, or collection. For them, it is all about the mechanics of the watch and how complicated it is. For example, a lot of watches have annual calendars and dual time zones. Among their watches, the most expensive ones often have a minute repeater, a chronograph, or a calendar that can account for leap years.

Each Patek Philippe watch is an artist’s creation, conceived, designed, created, and finished by the Patek Philippe Company. It takes a minimum of two to three years of planning and at least nine months to produce unless it is a more complex model. Then, it takes much longer.

Often called the “Rolls Royce of watches,” a Patek Philippe watch from Geneva is revered worldwide as the zenith of the watchmaking industry, making it one of the most expensive luxury watch brands in the world. (1,2)

2 Hermès Birkin Bag

Hermès, the luxury brand from Paris, is celebrated all around the world for its iconic creations. It was established in 1837 by Thierry Hermès and originated as a harness workshop. Gradually, Hermès became known for its artistry and timeless designs, creating an ultra-luxury brand that makes brand buffs go crazy!

However, one of its most iconic products is the Birkin bag, named after actress and singer Jane Birkin. Introduced in 1984 by Hermès, it is now a symbol of prosperity and stature and was once considered the rarest handbag in the whole world. In 2023, the most popular Himalaya Birkin 25 bag cost around $200,000. Hermès Kelly Rose Gold was priced at $2 million, and the Hermès Birkin Bag by Ginza Tanaka was $1.4 million. The Blue Crocodile Hermes Birkin Handbag was priced at $150,000, too. But what makes a Birkin bag so expensive?

They have iconic designs, durability, double-handle designs, and color dyes made with fine materials and exclusively handcrafted by skilled artists after undergoing years of training. But that is not the only reason these bags are so expensive.

Hermès has made them extremely hard to get, making the entire process of production and distribution solely controlled by them! The bags are manufactured only after an order, and there is usually a huge waiting list that spans a few years. This luxury brand’s insanely high prices are mainly because they are rare and difficult to obtain! There’s not much competition there! (1,2)

3 Kopi Luwak Coffee

Kopi Luwak coffee is one of the most expensive coffees in the world, costing anywhere from $100 to $600 per pound, which is at least 20 to 60 times more expensive than a regular cup of coffee. But this unreasonably steep price is not the unique thing about this coffee. The process of its cultivation is what makes it rare and expensive. The coffee is made using beans that are consumed and passed through the digestive system of an animal, the Asian palm civet. Before your imagination takes a wrong turn, here is what you should know!

This animal called the Asian palm civet or the “luwak” in Indonesian, eats the ripest coffee cherries, often picking them with a lot of care. During digestion, the coffee beans undergo fermentation and enzymatic treatment that enhances their taste. After excretion, the beans are collected, thoroughly washed, cleaned, and finally processed. This unique process results in a coffee that is smooth, less bitter, and rich. In case you are wondering, it is safe to drink!

It is marketed as the most expensive coffee in the world (the Wild Variety). The Farm Variety is much cheaper! Its rarity and time-consuming, labor-intensive, intricate process of obtaining the beans add to its high price. In a London outlet, a cup of this coffee costs £70 (around $88).

Kopi Luwak Coffee brand gained attention globally, not just because of the luxury brand status, but also from animal welfare groups who were shocked to find out the horrific conditions the civets are sometimes kept in and how little public awareness seems to be there about the backstory of this luxury coffee brand. (1,2)

4 Aubercy

“Kick up your heels,” says the website of luxury brand Aubercy, from Paris, which makes exquisite, tailored, handmade shoes. The menswear boutique brand was founded in 1935 by André and Renée Aubercy, who dedicated their lives to the art of traditional shoe-making. The original shop, since its day of opening, still stands at 34 Rues Vivienne in the Bourse neighborhood.

According to their website, the brand’s ready-to-wear range starts from approximately $1,460, and their Bespoke starts at a staggering $6,375. The shoes are often diamond-studded. Aubercy is independent, family-owned, and hence aristocratic in its approach! They dedicate their art for the pleasure of the connoisseurs of their brand, resulting in perfect creations that are made to order.

According to Aubercy, their uniqueness comes from the certainty that their boot makers are driven by their hearing! Each pair is different, and only a limited number of shoes are produced each year. If you have the money, there is no guarantee you will get a pair anytime soon. There is a big waiting list for the shoes that can even be a few years! (1,2)

5 Balmain

The French luxury fashion house Balmain was founded in 1945 by Pierre Balmain, who was called the “King of French Fashion,” dressing clients like Ava Gardner and Brigitte Bardot. Balmain started his career working for a famous British designer, Edward Molyneux, whose clients included Greta Garbo and Vivian Leigh, among others. Here, he learned to avoid the superfluous and get back to the bare essentials. Molyneux also taught him that it was infinitely more difficult to design a beautiful, uncomplicated dress.

Today, the brand’s exclusivity lies in its simple, elegant, timeless designs and celebrity-studded clients. Olivier Rousteing gave the brand its first aesthetic makeover when he joined Balmain as a creative director in 2011.

Their “evening looks” collection for women roughly starts at $5,000. The website even has a dress for $21,000. Balmain’s basic T-shirts can cost anywhere between $450 to $2,000. Today, Balmain has extended its products to include fragrances, cosmetics, lingerie, and jewelry. Balmain is expensive, exclusive, and highly valued because of its design value. And, of course, needless to say, it is one of the many luxury brands loved and endorsed by celebrities! (1,2)

6 Tom Dixon

Tom Dixon, named after the brand’s founder and creative director, is a British design powerhouse renowned for its innovative methods and techniques. Celebrated worldwide for their furniture, lighting designs, and accessories, Tom Dixon, the brand and the man, rose to prominence in the mid-1980s. Dixon, an untrained designer, brought a breath of fresh air and wildness to the industry and soon made the company a renowned name among the other luxury furniture brands! Tom Dixon, today, already has multiple prestigious awards in his bag and is celebrated for his originality.

Their Fan Chair Black is priced at $2,595, and the Fan Black Stool at $790. These are two of their bestselling items. One of his iconic designs, the Pylon Chair, costs $ 8,400. His designs can be seen in the collections of the Victoria & Albert, the Design Museum, and the Museum of Modern Art in New York. (1,2,3)

7 Fendi Casa

Elegance, style, and artistry define Fendi Casa, the Italian brand established in 1988, known for its luxurious furnishings and home interiors. Though the roots of this brand were started by Adele and Edoardo Fendi in 1925 when they opened a boutique in Central Rome, it continued to grow from leather to fur and eventually expanded with ready-to-wear clothes and accessories.

But the furniture brand started much later, under the guidance of one of the daughters, Anna Fendi. With the use of high-quality materials and luxury elements like fine feathers and fur accents, Fendi Casa brings unparalleled sophistication into homes and spaces. Often used to decorate luxury yachts and private jets, this super luxury brand is super-posh, too.

On their website, you do not get to know the prices, but you need to book an appointment! But 1stDibs, an e-commerce reseller, has Fendi Casa furniture that can give readers an idea about their prices. Two table lamps with iconic interlocking designs made of Murano glass cost $16,000, and four basic suede dining chairs cost $5,091. There is a chandelier priced at $30,000 and a Fendi Casa Taupe Embossed Croc Leather Three-Door Buffet in Taupe Lacquer for $18,280.

The name Fendi Casa, for those who know their luxury brands, is synonymous with quality, prestige, and uniqueness, ranking it among the top expensive furniture brands. (1,2)

8 Guerlain

It does not come as a surprise that one of the most expensive luxury brands in perfume belongs to the French. With exquisite ingredients like gold and platinum used in the making of their perfumes, it is no wonder that this brand has been sealed with the love of royalty since the 19th century. It was a favorite of Eugene, the empress of France, Princess of Wales, Diana, and now the current favorite of the Duchess of Cambridge, Catherine.

Founded in 1828 by Pierre Francois Pascal Guerlain, it boasts elegance, style, and, of course, luxury. Apart from perfumes, they have a luxury cosmetic brand and skin care products, too, that have impeccable style and presentation. Guerlain had a diamond-made kiss lipstick, which was priced at $62,000. (source)

9 Christian Louboutin

Owning luxury brands like a Christian Louboutin shoe is an emblem of style, wealth, and rich taste. And if you happen to flash the “cult” red sole, a signature Louboutin emblem, at a party, you will surely get a “soleful” attention!

A Christian Louboutin shoe starts from a hand-drawn sketch that is sent to the Louboutin factory outside Milan once it is complete. Once the creation prototype is made, the iconic shop at Rue Jean-Jacques Rousseau opens its magical doors to the brand’s private clients. It is not about the comfort but more about how dazzling and beautiful the shoes look. (source)

10 Mont Blanc

As a means of communication, today’s world trusts keyboards, calculators, and touch screens more than handwriting, making personalization a slowly lost art. And as something as common as writing has become rare, luxury brands of pens have become a symbol of class, erudition, and status. The brand that remains a stalwart in producing timeless writing instruments designed to last for years is Mont Blanc, which makes one of the most expensive pens in the whole world. They can cost anywhere between $270 (ballpoints) to $36,500 (jewelry-encrusted fountain pens).

But what makes them so expensive? The materials used to craft them, the craftsmanship, and quality assurance, among other factors. The most expensive Mont Blanc pens are made using black resin and semi-precious metals such as iridium and platinum. Some pens even boast of containing 18-carat gold.

Truphae, a full-service fountain pen retailer, has a few of the most expensive Mont Blanc pens. They are the Meisterstuck 146 Atelier Prives Solid 18k Gold Fountain pen priced at $200,000 – or the Namiki Emperor Kisshomon Birds in Flight Maki-e Fountain Pen for $55,000. The other Namiki Fountain pens range from $4,000 to $12,000. Their business ballpoint pens, too, have “sophistication and luxury,” according to their website, and can cost as much as $1,399. (source)