The law of supply and demand states that the more there is available of a particular item, the less it will cost. The less there is of an item, the more it will cost. For example, if diamonds were to be suddenly found in unlimited quantity and become easy to cut and polish, the price would go down, down, down, until it was similar to the cost of sugar. Imagine that!

There are some things that most everyone, all over the world, would be willing to pay a lot for — like gold. And then there are some things for which people are paying millions of dollars while others scratch their heads trying to figure out why.

Sushi a la Gold

Most people will agree that eating sushi can become an expensive habit, but there is a difference between expensive and expensive. Like the difference between $12 for eight pieces of sushi or $1,978 for five pieces of sushi!

Who makes this delicious concoction? Angelito Araneta Jr., a Filipino chef, otherwise known as the “karat chef” because he likes to add gold and diamonds to his creations. For this special sushi dish he uses pink Norwegian salmon and foie gras — nothing unusual. Then the craziness begins, as he wraps the roll in edible 24-karat gold leaf. Seaweed? That’s for cheapskates! He tops each roll with three Palawan pearls and 20-carats of African diamonds. Hope the taste is as good as the cost!

Pampered Princess

Mazel tov! It’s a girl! The ecstatic new mother immediately starts to shop for the darling little princess. No expense is spared. Budget? Um, $13.2 million for the crib, and a measly $500,000 for the pacifier. The crib comes in a choice of metals, the most expensive one being 18-karat gold. After all, princess must sleep very well in her Dodo Bassinet. Oh, and don’t forget to order the linen as well: choice of champagne silk, cashmere care, or even golden line. And order early —it takes six months to make.

With a crib like that, there is no way the baby is going to get a Walmart pacifier, or even the most expensive ergonomic one that can be ordered on Amazon. Only a special order from the Australia-based company Kalfin will do. Your choice of color. Your choice of diamonds and pay the hefty price of $500,000. But whatever you choose, little darling is sure to be the envy of every kid in the playground.

A Fortune for a Feather

I buy colorful feathers from the dollar store, but I could understand paying a bit more for a special feather to dress up an outfit or a hat. What about a feather from a rare and exotic bird? Or a bird that is already extinct and there are no more anywhere in the world?

The most expensive feather ever sold was a white-tipped tail feather of a Huia bird. It was purchased in New Zealand for about $6,800 by a family who wished to remain anonymous. (Maybe they didn’t want anyone to steal their precious feather.) This type of feather was apparently very sacred to the Maori people and only highly respected members of the tribe were allowed to wear it. The auctioneers estimated that it would sell for $500 but were pleasantly surprised when it sold for more than 13 times that amount.

(Excerpted from Mishpacha Jr., Issue 731)