Despite weak economy, super rich continue to splurge

SPENDING SPREE: The sky's the limit for personal shoppers when it comes to getting you what you want.

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London: Forget the odd bit of nice clothing and a smart car. What do the super rich want these days? What is the new benchmark for luxury? Is it art, submarines or islands?

“We've had requests to furnish someone's yacht in Monaco in 24 hours, someone's home in Russia within 48 hours. There's no limit to what's been requested of us," boasts Katrina Judd, an employee of Britain's most prestigious store — Harrods.

The sky’s the limit for what’s sold at Harrods, and almost no limit to how far their personal shoppers will go for you to get you what you want.

"We rarely say no,” Judd explains.

Their diamond rage is, if not the most, certainly one the most exquisite in the world.

"It's by Cartier. We have diamonds, pearls and spinnels," Judd’s list goes on.

It's the only one of its kind in the world and costs $1.6 million. But then, the men and women who use this service — where the minimum is $4,000 — don't usually look at the price tag despite what's happening to the global economy.

"The level of clientèle we are dealing with is really high end. They are not affected by what’s happening globally, at least in terms of shopping and their indulgences," Judd adds.

Recreation is among their biggest indulgences.

Coutts — a bank that offers services to clients seeking full private banking — says the wealthy spend about three times as much as the average Briton on recreation, and four times as much on restaurants.

But make no mistake — lavish living has its price.

Coutts adds the inflation rate is much higher for the super-rich with big price increases for luxury items like caviar and club memberships.

"CPI says inflation is 2.1 per cent. This is to the year ending November 2007. According to our data, our clients could be spending to a rate of 9.5 per cent so the inflation rate for a high-net worth individual could be as high as 9.5 per cent, if you are spending at the luxury end and that's very interesting," explains Coutts & Co employee Duncan McIntyre.

When you are that rich, money can buy you anything, well almost.

Research from Barclays Bank reveals the biggest luxury for many wealthy people is more time.

That, perhaps, could explain why they're willing to spend on private jets, concierge services and, of course, personal shoppers. They may not be able to buy you time. But priceless time pieces? They can find you plenty.