Publishing houses are increasingly attempting to turn some of their first edition books into exclusive (and expensive) collector’s items. Taschen, the Los Angeles-based publisher, and luxury publisher Kraken Opus are among a handful of publishers who are publishing books in unusual formats with unusual features for exceptional prices. One example is a book about Indian cricket star Sachin Tendulkar. Published by Kraken Opus, the limited edition of ten copies ($75,000 each) includes a special page made from paper pulp mixed with a pint of Tendulkar’s blood.

Taschen has found such demand for some of its collector’s edition books that it has raised prices for some books it has already released. Its Helmut Newton photography book, titled “Sumo,” now costs $15,000, up from $1,500 when it came out in 1999.

These beautiful books appeal to Theta personalities, for whom a well selected book can make them feel like the true ‘them’, as well as Lambda personalities–for them a special, exclusive book can make them feel exceptional. In either case, how the individual interprets the book determines its value for him or her.

The provenance of a luxury good and its exclusiveness are two characteristics that matter a great deal to luxury consumers. Just ask Jessica Dunne–she had always loved perfumes and wanted to create a fragrance that appealed to the olfactory memories she associated with her grandmother, a fragrance that would be classic and familiar. Her desire to create a homage to her grandmother led to create ‘Ellie,’ a modern floral perfume with a “vintage ladylike properness” says the New York Times.

Dunne worked with a perfumer in France to create the scent and designed the packaging with the help of friends and family. She sent a sample to the Henri Bendel store in New York, and Claudia Lucas, the perfume buyer there, decided to give ‘Ellie’ a shot.

Sensing that women would like the perfume’s backstory as much as they liked the scent, Lucas noted that “a brand is always a story well told.” Dunne’s story of creating a modern interpretation of her grandmother’s femininity appeals to people looking for familiarity and stability in uncertain economic times. The limited run of 2000 bottles and limited availability in Bendel’s and a few other stores also makes the perfume something that other women won’t have.

A great raison d’être and healthy amount of exclusivity makes it easier for people to interpret a luxury product and understand the difference it can make in how they feel and what they do.

Photo by Ayala Moriel.

Following my post questioning whether we use luxury for the right purpose, today the Associated Press published a story about the booming luxury market and skyrocketing prices for unique luxury items.

Exclusivity is in–logos and brands are important, but not as important as the quality and uniqueness of an item. Items cited in the article include a $700,000 Montblanc pen (covered with rubies, diamonds and sapphires), a $40,000 Louis Vuitton handbag (a limited number were sold out in pre-orders) and a $10,000 Coach crocodile handbag.

Attaining the “highest” level of luxury appears to getting increasingly difficult. But should it be? It might be worthwhile for people to take a step back and remember that luxury is subjective. It doesn’t need to be a $1000 pair of shoes. And if $1000 shoes are the only or most prominent ideal of luxury, that’s “a terrible ideal for young people,” according to John Vogel, faculty director at the Allwin Initiative for Corporate Citizenship at Dartmouth.

We need luxury, but we also need to know what luxury is, for ourselves.

Earlier this week the Financial Times hosted its third annual ‘Business of Luxury’ conference in Venice. The event brought together some of the world’s most senior luxury executives, financiers and corporate decision-makers to discuss emerging trends and business models in the global luxury sector. Reuters was able to ask some of these executives what luxury meant to them and their answers were quite interesting, mostly relating to time, exclusivity and choice. A few of my favorites:

Federico Marchetti, chief executive and founder of online boutique YOOX: “Time. Time is luxury. In a fast-paced era, where technology is accelerating everything and everyone, that is true more and more. ‘Time is money’ is less important.”

Michele Norsa, chief executive of Salvatore Ferragamo: “Exclusivity. Being alone on a beach with a few close people. It’s more places than objects.”

Stanislas De Quercize, chief executive of jeweller Van Cleef & Arpels: “A piece of eternity on earth. We all would like to be eternal. We are not … we are all longing for something to stay for us. And for me, luxury is that. It’s a piece of eternity on earth because if you have beautiful jewellery or beautiful works it’s going to outlast you.”

Luc Vandevelde, founder and managing director of Change Capital Partners, previous chairman of Marks & Spencer: “There are two types of luxury to me. Having the freedom to do what you want to do in life is the ultimate luxury to me. Most of the time that would be measured by whatever financial needs you have but not always.”

“Luxury in terms of a material sense, it’s the kind of things you feel good with … it doesn’t necessarily have to be expensive …. Feeling good with a product or identifying yourself with a product, is what luxury is all about.”

We’ve talked about this idea of an emotional connection with luxury on Janus before. Check out all the respondents’ answers here.

An article in the IHT highlights a renewed interest among manufacturers in niche market luxury handsets. Vertu, the sector heavyweight, simply can’t turn out their precious-metal phones fast enough, as they are restricted by the limited capacity of their workshop in the UK.

However, if Siemen’s venture into the luxury market can be taken as an example, evidence would suggest that mass production and (relatively) affordable pricing is not the way to go. Their Xelibri line was culled after only 18 months in the market – but the Gizmodo article doesn’t quite tell the whole story. While the Xelibri handsets were undeniably oddball, and had only a limited feature set, the same could be said for Vertu’s line-up. Less quirky, perhaps, but a far cry from today’s smartphones in terms of functionality.

Is a high price a key determinant of appeal, then? The Xelibri range retailed for hundreds of pounds, whereas Vertu’s premium range starts in the tens of thousands; had Siemens added a couple of zeros to the prices of their fledgling range, woud they have fared better?

Economists call products which exhibit this characteristic Veblen goods, after Thorsten Veblen, who was among the first to examine the purchasing of luxury items. To anyone involved in brand strategy, this concept won’t be at all unfamiliar – by pitching to a higher price bracket, the sense of exclusivity is increased.

However, all of this comes with a caveat: unless the expensive product is backed up with outstanding customer service, great packaging and comprehensive after-sales support, the appeal may quickly fade. Simply slapping a bigger price tag onto a poor product experience won’t drive new custom.