photo credit: James Cridland

Report: Luxury Brands Study and Observations in San Francisco: Part 2.

Part 1 was published on December 14, 2008 Here. Part 1.

What is Interbrand and who is behind it?  

Read the excerpts from the company’s page: “ Interbrand, whose motto is “Creating and Managing Brand Value“. 

“ started in 1974 when the world still thought of brands as just another word for logo.
We have changed the world’s view of branding and brand management by creating and managing brands as valuable business assets.
We now have nearly 40 offices and are the world’s largest brand consultancy.”

The report is written in a very simple, yet logical and informative style, easily reads as a novel, makes you understand certain things, such as: ”Leading luxury brands understand the need for customer restraint rather than relentless acquisition. It is a paradoxical relationship but knowing when to say no – remaining the seducer not the seduced – requires a discipline that can often border on arrogance.”

“Interbrand launches premiere leading luxury brands ” Study.
“Until recently it seemed that luxury brands remained stable through economic downturns. However, it is clear today, as we plunge forward into the challenges of global recession that no industry will remain insulated,” said Jez Frampton, Group Chief Executive of Interbrand. ”

See how luxury brands are valued, with:  Leading Brands Value in Mil, with Louis Vuitton leading the list with brand value of $21.602 Mil.

Amazon.com offers a book about Louis Vuitton brand, which, ” traces the remarkable history of the House of Vuitton, which has been making practical but stylish luggage, handbags, and accessories for more than 150 years” and, according to some readers, is considered rare on eBay. It’s   The Birth of Modern Luxury”.

This (in PDF Format) 2008 Leading Luxury Brands Report is very detailed and informative.

Also, Global Brands Rating for 2008: Global Brands 2008, where Coca-Cola is Leading.

In case you want to do a more detailed study, read Nielsen report, too.

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This extraordinary stone has an appropriate history, mystery and enough lores to sustain its price: came from India, at one time possessed by king Philip IV of Spain, been given as a dowry at the engagement of a Spanish princess Infanta Margarita Teresa, who, when little, was depicted as a central figure in the famous work of art “Las Meninas” (1656) by the famous painter, Spaniard Diego Velázquez; in the 18th century the diamond belonged to the Bavarian royal family…the stone been lost, found, coveted…

 
“But it has now broken the world record for any diamond sold at auction. The stone was purchased by Bond Street jeweller Laurence Graff.”
“According to the Gemological Institute of America, whose research was published in Christie’s catalog, the most famous colored diamond in the world is the 45.52-carat blue Hope diamond in the Smithsonian Institute, Washington D.C. The 35.56-carat Wittelsbachdiamond rivals the Hope “in all attributes,” said the GIA.Today’s price exceeded the record of $16.5 million with fees paid for the 100.1-carat “Star of the Season” pear-shaped, colorless diamond at Sotheby’s, Geneva, in May 1995.”

 
Here is the  Video offered by Telegraph.co.uk about this diamond. 

 
For more info read an article from Telegraph.co.uk

 
Article from Bloomberg News.

 
Read the history and the lores of the Wittelsbach Diamond at: Famous Diamonds. 

 
See the painting “Las Meninas” by Velázquez and read about it at: Wikipedia.org 

 
Here is Christie’s page: www.Christies.com

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“The new Dior phone — priced from €3,500, or $5,000, and up — comes after competitors such as Prada SpA and Dolce & Gabbana have turned their fashion-branded mobile phones into significant businesses.”

 
It also: “In addition to all the regular features of a cellphone — a touchscreen, a camera, ringtones — the Dior phone offers a new gimmick: a miniature phone barely bigger than a USB key. Dior says the mini “My Dior,” as it is called, is handy for women who don’t want to rummage through their bags to find their phones. Instead, the mini version of the phone clips to the outside of a bag for easier access.”
That’s what I call paying attention to details.

 
You may read all about it and see the image of the phone at: online.wsj.com.

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The other day they profiled a metal tree hanger, which is intended for drying out laundry naturally.
Frankly, I don’t understand how you could possibly hang any clothes there, even if it’s on hangers. I think, it’ll be a little too crowded there. Besides, a strong wind will, probably, tear of the hangers off this metal tree and scatter everything on the ground real fast.

 
Somehow, envisioning a plain clothesline with a display of snow-white sheets and shirts, evokes a nostalgic feeling of the times, when fresh smelling laundry brought in from the outside, especially in winter time, was cold and rigid, with the residue of snow on it and had to be hung again, only this time in the room. And that room, for a long time, smelled wonderfully cold and clean…

 
Take a look here: The Dryer.
Judging by the comments, I am not alone in my dislike of this sculpture, made up as a nature dryer, with a very unhealthy tag price of $670.

 
Any thoughts?

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The article in Telegraph provides a short description of the house as well, as the new owner’s. “Mr Leviev, 51, is a close friend of Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich and is estimated to be worth £3.25 billion.”
“The vast entrance hall boasts a £750,000 stone staircase which was carved using techniques last used 150 years ago to construct French chateaux.
In the drawing room, a £100,000 hand-carved stone fireplace is a replica of one at Cliveden.
As well as an armour-plated front door which weighs half a tonne and cost £50,000, the house has a nightclub, a cinema and an indoor swimming pool decorated with gold-plated mosaic tiles.

 
The house has the most up-to-date entertainment and communication system.
Infra-red cameras, lights, music, electronic doors, heating and air conditioning can be monitored and controlled externally “from a yacht in the Caribbean if necessary,” according to a source.
The family room transforms into a cinema at the touch of a button and the pool room can convert into a ballroom.
He arrived in Israel from Uzbekistan in 1971 and went on to own the country’s largest diamond company.

 
He is the 278th wealthiest person in the world, and is believed to be moving to be closer to the City’s institutional investors.”
Click on the link “The House” to see the pictures (when at the paper’s site, click on the line “in pictures”, positioned in the lower corner of the picture. You’ll get a pop-up page. Navigate by clicking “Previous” and “Next” over the picure of the house): The House 

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As we all know, there is never a shortage of the spectators watching. The “Elite Choice” is one more site, which came up with the list of the 80 most expensive elite products sold during last year. Among the items listed are: world’s most expensive credit card, gift basket consisting of 2 melons, perfume, cake and ice cream cone, mansions, suite, dress.

 
The list is too long to recite, so if you are  interested in more details, such as the exact price and the picture, click on this link:  www.elitechoice.org and satisfy your curiosity.

 
If the loading of the page in the list is blocked, keep “ctrl” key pressed, while clicking on the targeted link of the item.

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