Bentley, Brabus, Cadillac, Spyker. As the old saying goes, if you have to ask "how much," you can't afford it.

Top Marques, renowned as the world's most luxurious supercar show, made its debut in Shanghai yesterday.

But it wasn't just cars that captured visitors' fancy. About 50 of the world's leading brands brought their finest products from sedans to private jets, from furniture to jewelry.

About one-third of the top brands at the Shanghai exhibition are automobiles. More than 20 super sports cars and sedans were shipped for the three-day exhibition, with prices ranging from 700,000 to 10 million yuan (US$86,400 to US$1.23 million).

So, what brands are the super-rich in Shanghai buying?

"For truly rich people, the pursuit of luxury is not solely on brand," said Alessandro Carnielli, president of Vanity Jewels.

"Beyond the good material and man-made process, they want something unique that is tailored specifically to their tastes and belongs only to them."

According to the organizing committee, more than 6,000 Chinese tycoons confirmed they would come to the exhibition.

About 90 percent of them are from the Chinese mainland and the rest from Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macao.

Ruan Suyou, president of Ernest & Julio Gallo winemakers, said he had visited Top Marques Monaco several times.

"It is a good platform that gathers up-market brands for high-end buyers."

He was interested in a Spyker sports car. Price tag: about 5 million yuan (US$615,000).

According to a recent report released by Ernst & Young, the Chinese luxury market currently generates more than US$2 billion in sales a year, which is about 12 percent of the world's sales of luxury goods. By 2015, it should reach US$11.5 billion.

Now, that's sustainable growth.

(China Daily October 19, 2005)