This year's most expensive buys

IN STORE

A manufacturer of choice for several discerning boat buyers has just sold two of its million-Euro babies in India "" a 46-footer and a 55-footer. Guiseppe Zecchin, manager sales, Africa and Asia Pacific, believes it won't be long before he sells an 88' yacht (the largest in the firm's inventory).

Marine Solutions, exclusive importer of Ferretti in India, believes it will have sold 10 yachts in its first two years. Owning a boat isn't cheap, annual running costs are about 10 per cent of the cost price. One thing you can be assured of, at that price, is service. Ferretti promises that not only will spare parts be shipped in 24 hours, but a Ferretti "boat doctor" will be dispatched immediately.

The Brioni suit
Since its launch in March, it's the Brioni power suit that India Inc prefers to wear to the boardrooms. The one-of-a-kind Brioni is to the dresser what identical pin-striped Armani suits used to be. Shashikant Garware swears by it, as does Anand Mahindra.

These bespoke Italian-made beauties are 3,000 Euro a piece and only 71,000 suits are hand-sewn each year by one of 1,200 tailors in a little Italian town called Abruzzo. Each suit still takes 20 man hours to sew, each buttonhole 45 minutes.

Captain C P Nair, chairman Leela Hotels, orders his make-to-measure; each of those can cost anywhere between Rs 3 lakh and Rs 12.5 lakh.

Of course, competition arrived later in the year in the form of Dunhill's expert bespoke tailoring and suddenly everyone was clamouring for an appointment with Daniel Williams, the brand's master cutter. His snips cost prices that could well match a modest car.

Gucci baby booties
Now baby doesn't have to feel left out from all the luxury fashion frenzy. Gucci's arrival brought with it the most precious baby booties the Indian consumer has ever seen. At Rs 10,000, they are all Gucci, complete with the famous stripe "" a red band bound by a green band on each side.

Yamaha super bikes
Indian biking enthusiasts went weak in the knees when Yamaha recently launched the covetable YZF R1 and MTR01 bikes. The MTR01 has a 1,680 cc engine and YZF R1 is powered with a 998 cc engine. Both priced at Rs 10.5 lakh (ex-showroom).

The Rolls rolls in
The Rolls Royce Phantom Drophead coupe at Rs 3.1 crore is the unparalleled automobile purchase of the year. Inspired by the classic J-class racing yachts of the 1930s.