My father, Philippe Charriol, always told me that luxury is relative; various cultures will define luxury differently and within the same culture people with greater wealth and/or privilege will consume luxuriously in ways that others cannot imagine, afford or access.  But the entrepreneurial, uber-rich, patrician and aspirational classes all have one thing in common: They all want a taste of luxury however they define it.

The Entrepreneurial Class. Twenty five years ago when he reached the peak of his corporate career at the most renowned luxury brand at that time, my father gave up all of the perks and privileges to launch his own Swiss watch and jewelry brand.  While his friends and colleagues viewed this decision skeptically, for him, it was the greatest luxury of all.  That bold action, deciding to live life on his own terms, was at the core of his brand, so much so that he gave CHARRIOL the motto, “L’Art de Vivre La Difference” (the art of living differently).  However valid my father’s definition of luxury might be for him and others from the entrepreneurial class, would it resonate with the new uber-rich, the old guard, or the aspirational class?  It’s all relative …

The Uber-Rich. Oligarchs are popping up like daisies, newly-minted from all corners of the globe, primarily owing to this decade’s commodity boom.  Their fortunes are so vast that consuming traditional luxury goods or services in rational quantities just is not enough.  Consider this recent example, told to me over lunch last week by the head of a six-star boutique hotel brand.  Last month a prominent Russian oligarch, in town for a few nights in their Dubai hotel, called the manager to order some rare vintage champagne from the wine list.  Not an unusual luxury purchase, except that this was a Balthazar (a 12 liter bottle named after the 6th century Regent of Babylon), and the Russian had ordered 15 of them (yes, I am serious).  Given the astronomical price (33,000 euros per bottle), scarcity value, and infrequent requests (no one had ever bought one), the hotel only had one such bottle on its premises.  The hotel manager called this executive in New York.  My friend authorized the manager to scour the Middle East (literally) to procure and deliver the requested amount.  At an astounding price of nearly a half a million euros, the order was fulfilled that night, and the client presumably bathed (himself and his rented playthings no doubt) in vintage bubbly.  The patrician wine connoisseurs among us will know that the best champagne houses do the secondary fermentation of the champagne in magnums (one point five liters), then decant the finished product into the larger bottles (up to 15 liters), thereby losing pressure and increasing the chance of more oxidation.  The point being that in this case, bigger is not better, unless of course the point is just to impress the girls!

Patricians. The old guard are repulsed by the vulgarity of “new money.” So much so that they eschew buying new products and prefer the luxury of having owned something of quality for years or even generations.  For a man, it might be his Twenty-year-old pair of well-worn shoes from Lobb or Crocket & Jones, preferably purchased before either was bought by Hermes or Turnbull & Asser respectively.  For his wife or sister, she gives pride of place to mummy’s 1950s Hermes saddle (a third-generation hand-me-down), the occasional maintenance of which might take her in to visit the demurely elegant sales associate Linda Jensen at the Hermes boutique on Madison Avenue (she longs for the old shop on Fifty-Seventh Street), rather than joining the waiting list for a vulgar new Birkin bag (which every gold-digger has under her arm before the ink on her pre-nup is dry).

Aspirational Class. With negligible net worth, it is still possible to buy into luxury at a very low cost (www.gilt.com for example sells designer goods at discount prices); to rent the look you need to feel richer than you are (www.avelle.com rents handbags and other accessories on a weekly or monthly basis), or to be assisted in getting the best that the luxury world has to offer (www.quintessentially.com is a luxury concierge service dedicated to satisfying you every need).  The term “aspirational” has a somewhat negative connotation, like “immigrant” does for Americans.  Of course the irony is that every American is either an immigrant or descended from one, and likewise even the wealthiest consumer is aspirational in some way.  So let’s love the aspirational consumer, because we are all part of this group, even though we sometimes prefer not to admit it!

Travel. Raised by French parents all over the world, I grew up in a swirl of frenetic energy that some people would call luxury.  Moving between Hong Kong, the Hamptons, Aspen, London, Boston, Geneva and New York, I would simply say that before globalization was a buzz word and well before my eighteenth birthday, I had traveled to 60 countries.  I have traveled the world for business and pleasure, and experienced so many cultures.  For me, this life of constant discovery – staying in my share of no-star and six-star hotels, sampling the finest cuisine or just a good club sandwich – is the epitome of luxury, because travel stimulates all five senses, provides an escape from everyday life, and can be a taste of freedom from our one-dimensional working lives.  A safari in Africa, a private boat charter down the Nile, a cooking class in the hills of Tuscany, a wedding in Cliveden, a honeymoon in Bali hopping between Aman resorts, a two-person massage in the spa of the Oriental in Bangkok, walking the Great Wall of China at sunset, spring skiing the backside of Aspen Mountain, cruising by speedboat from Cartagena’s old town out to a friend’s beachside villa on Baru …. my personal list is almost inexhaustible.  For me, travel is a way of discovering oneself and others around you, feeling connected to the world, and caring about the planet and the people on it!

Access. At a certain level, money is worthless.  The people worth meeting and the places worth visiting are simply not for sale, at any price.  To gain “access” to that inner circle is probably the most prized luxury of all.  But again, it’s all relative.  The best Salmon flyfishing in Argentina can only be done from a private estancia.  The best hiking and outdoors experience in the US can only be had on a privately owned ranch, actually it’s the only privately-held acreage located in the middle of America’s most famous national park.  The most exclusive private clubs in America and Europe cannot be bought into.  More than a list of “best” things to do, people to meet, or clubs to join, the truth is that it’s all relative.  Some of the most incredible experiences are only known to .001 percent of the world’s population, and they are not particularly expensive.  They will remain secret as long as possible, because those “in the know” want to keep it that way.

The Ultimate. But let’s stop kidding ourselves, the most luxurious thing in the world is a private plane.  It’s all about not being in a crowded place run by agitated airline employees who just lost their pensions, watched over by TSA officers who love to make us get barefoot and walk on dirty floors, and then try to feel us up.  The antidote to this misery is arriving at a small private airport, greeted by friendly folks who call you by your name, carry nothing on board except your purse and some magazines, and pick the wheels-up time yourself … for me it’s an unparalleled luxury.  I covet the rare time when I am the only one on a plane, an island, a boat, or a beautiful property (with family, of course).  Perhaps it’s that with the earth getting more and more crowded, just having privacy is such a luxury.

So in conclusion, let’s break down the DNA of true luxury for that all important aspirational consumer class (come on, admit it, we’re all part of it).  We work hard to make money, we make money to buy things, we buy things to make life easier and more comfortable, so we can have more time to do leisurely things.  At the end of the day, after we have consumed the tangible luxuries of life, we end up craving the truest and most intangible luxury, time.