London - A Hermes Birkin bag is the ultimate status symbol, carried only by a select group of A-listers.
It is almost impossible for an ordinary woman to buy one, even if she can afford the £6 000-plus (about R130 000) price. With no waiting list, no ordering system and no way of knowing when the next bag will be available, the Birkin is so elusive that only those who are deemed high-profile enough have a hope of snapping one up.
But handbags aren’t the only luxury product that money can’t buy. Here, we reveal other treats available only to the lucky elite...
JEWELLER WHO ONLY SELLS TO THE STARS
Bespoke jewellery is the only way to make sure your gems are unique - and celebrities have been turning to New York jeweller Jacob Arabo for decades.Victoria Beckham has graced the red carpet in his £790 000 earrings, model Miranda Kerr frequently flaunts his £245 000 emerald flower ring, and pop star Rihanna wowed at the 2014 Met Ball wearing his £752 400 18-carat white gold choker necklace.
But not just anybody can get their hands on his jewellery - even if they’ve got the funds to copy their favourite celebrities. Because Jacob, 50, only designs for VIPs.”Celebrities come to me for daring, one-of-a-kind pieces that aren’t available within other brands,” he explains.
BRITISH WATCH THAT TAKES A VERY LONG TIME TO GET HOLD OF
If you want to tell the time like a star, you need a RW Smith watch.
There’s just one problem: the coveted timepieces, made by award-winning watchmaker Roger Smith, from the Isle of Man, cost more than most supercars - £100 000 to £500 000 - and they are impossible to get hold of.
Each watch takes 11 months to make and there is a four-year waiting list, with only VIPs able to skip to the front. At present, about 50 people in the world own one. Mr Smith’s corporate mantra is “No one makes fewer”.
The watches are made using the “Daniels method”, where one man designs and makes the entire product (from raw materials, not machine-made parts) rather than specialising in a single component.
This means becoming a master craftsman of 32 separate trades, from engraving the hands to making the screws that hold it all together. Only a handful of people worldwide can do it. The good news? Each watch will last more than 200 years.In fact, these watches are so rare, you can’t even find them second-hand - only one has come up for sale in the past decade. It went for £115 000.
RESTAURANT THAT’S NOT HAD A TABLE TO BOOK IN 38 YEARS
You can’t simply book a table at 120-year-old Rao’s restaurant in New York - there hasn’t been one available in 38 years. Even top food critics can’t get in: the last review of the Italian restaurant was more than 35 years ago (the critic raved about it).
Perhaps this privacy is why tiny Rao’s is a favourite among celebrities such as Angelina Jolie, Leonardo DiCaprio, Madonna and Liza Minnelli.
Its ten tables are “owned” on a timeshare basis by their secretive but wealthy owners, and they pass on reservations to their A-list guests. But the food is far from snobby and exclusive: it’s classic Italian (giant meatballs is a favourite) and the prices are reasonable. Insiders say the Italian family who own Rao still run through the menu at the table, and it doesn’t take credit cards.
Most nights the whole place bursts into song (or does the conga) while the owner plays the piano - the atmosphere has been likened to an Italian wedding reception.
When the Mail called Rao’s, an answering machine told us reservations were closed and it was pointless to leave a message as “we cannot honour them”.
In fact, the only way to get a glimpse inside is to watch the film The Wolf Of Wall Street - Rao’s is where amoral banker Leonardo DiCaprio takes his lawyer.£20 500.
MANICURE YOU SIMPLY CAN’T GET YOUR HANDS ON
You don’t stand a chance of seeing A-list manicurist Leighton Denny unless you’re Joan Collins or Kate Moss. The nail artist, whose treatments cost up to £20 500, has been known to make a Saudi Arabian princess wait for his services - and as many as 200 others are in the queue.
HAIR TODAY, NOT FOR YOU
If you fancy hair like Nigella’s, Gwyneth’s or Angelina’s, then book an appointment at Jo Hansford’s Mayfair salon - but don’t expect to be seen by Jo herself.
Technically, clients can book a session with the eponymous founder for £500, but with a list of starry regulars longer than Rapunzel’s locks, she will never get around to the likes of you.
“I’d like to see everyone, but I can’t,” she says.
The same is true of Nichola Joss, celebrity facialist, who soothes the skin of Cate Blanchett, Scarlett Johansson and Gisele. Ordinary customers book appointments with an assistant, but Nichola visits better-known clients at their homes - a service for which there is a considerable waiting list.
THE MOST EXCLUSIVE FITNESS CLASSES ON THE PLANET
Non-celebs need not apply for the latest range of elite fitness classes, spreading to Britain from the US, where coveted slots are reserved for household names.
Waiting lists for the Skinny Bitch Collective class, beloved by most of the world’s top models, are so long that you have to sign up to an email group just to be notified when the UK list is accepting new names.
The exclusive class has been described by one attendee as the workout for women who “look like girlfriends past, present and future of Leonardo DiCaprio”.
Perhaps this exclusivity is because the women-only classes involve getting pretty hands-on with fellow attendees. One move involves jumping over your partner while they hold a press-up position, another involves doing an arm press on their knees as they squat down - so organisers don’t want just anyone sullying celebrity flesh.
Other fitness advice offered by the Collective includes having sex every morning, never missing breakfast and avoiding airplane food - they call it “packaged death”.
BAGS THAT SELL IN SIX SECONDS FLAT
If you’re bored of your Birkin, there is another sought-after bag owned only by the elite - for a knock-down price. Shame you’ll never be able to get your hands on one.
Since its inception in 2012, New York label Mansur Gavriel has been the A-list accessory producer of choice - its iconic £395 bucket bag sold out within hours of going on sale.
Thanks to its sensible price, it became known as the first post- recession It bag, and its subtle styling suggests taste rather than bling.
Now, Mansur Gavriel bags can sell out in six seconds.
That’s because for every bag that becomes available, there are 300 prospective buyers, meaning ordinary shoppers simply can’t get their hands on one.
The scarcity of these bags is no accident - the brand works with only one factory, which means tiny production runs.
Despite the scarcity, however, certain celebrities - including actresses Sienna Miller and Kirsten Dunst - seem to have had no trouble getting one. Perhaps that’s not surprising, as the Mansur Gavriel designers have said they have Excel spreadsheets working out where their bags are best placed.
PRIVATE CLUB FOUNDED FOR WALT DISNEY
There is a discreet door in Disneyland, California, marked with the number 33 that you are almost certain never to get behind.
That’s because it leads to Club 33 - an exclusive members’ club founded by Walt Disney himself, with a 14-year waiting list to get in.
If you are given the nod, it will cost you £16 287 to join, then annual fees of £6 500 - but you will get to rub shoulders with regulars Jack Nicholson and Tom Hanks.
Club 33 officially opened in May 1967. It had been intended as a place for Walt Disney to entertain visiting VIPs, though the great man died months before it was completed.
The restaurant serves a six-course tasting menu of French food (including poached lobster and pumpkin gnocchi) and is the only place in Disneyland that serves alcohol. The decor is classic Disney - bright colours and cartoon-like furnishings - and unsurprisingly for California, the dress code is relaxed. Tank tops and sandals are banned, but jeans are acceptable.
HOTEL SUITE RESERVED FOR VIP GUESTS
You may dream of staying in the plush penthouse of your favourite hotel, but many of the best rooms are reserved on a rolling basis for VIP guests.
The Royal Suite at the Lanesborough Hotel in London (£14 000 a night) is usually occupied by a celebrity - Madonna, Leonardo DiCaprio and Jim Carrey have all stayed there. Even if it’s not rented out, ordinary guests may be turned away in case someone more important shows up.
And no wonder. The 4 800 sq ft suite has seven bedrooms and bathrooms, two living rooms and a dining room. If you do want to go out, the hotel’s chauffeur-driven Rolls-Royce Phantom is available as a complimentary service. Breakfast isn’t cheap: a full English is £28, and a crumpet with mushrooms and bacon is £22.
JET THAT’S ONLY FOR VERY HIGH-FLIERS
For the A-lister who likes to splurge, the G650 Gulfstream jet ticks all the boxes.There are only 40 in the world, each costing £40-million, and there’s a three-year waiting list with 160 VIP hopefuls on it, including chat show host Oprah Winfrey. Only the creme de la creme get to the top.
Another elite preserve is art. With more and more celebrity collectors, including Madonna and the Beckhams, works by leading artists may be impossible to come by if you’re not a household name. An art world source says: “It’s set up to make people feel like outsiders unless they have a connection or can demonstrate fame and influence.”
Daily Mail