The most expensive thing here that someone actually paid for is Jane Birkin’s original Hermès Birkin handbag, which sold for about $10.1 million (8.58 million euros) at Sotheby’s Paris on 10 July 2025. The most expensive object on the list, a diamond-covered iPhone, is claimed at $48.5 million, but we found no sale, only a maker’s price. This top 10 of luxuries nobody needs mixes real sales, asking prices and valuations, and we label each one. Prices are as of October 2026.
| Rank | Item | Price (USD) | What the price is | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Falcon Supernova iPhone 6 Pink Diamond | claimed $48.5 million | Maker’s price, no sale found | not dated |
| 2 | Original Hermès Birkin made for Jane Birkin | about $10.1 million (8.58 million euros) | Auction sale | July 2025 |
| 3 | Mouawad 1001 Nights Diamond Purse | $3.8 million | Maker’s stated value | not dated |
| 4 | Tequila Ley .925 Diamante | asking price $3.5 million | Listed price | not dated |
| 5 | Le Chocolat box by Simons Jewelers | $1.5 million | Promotion price | 2014 |
| 6 | Parking bay at Mount Nicholson, Hong Kong | about $1.3 million (HK$10 million+) | Sale | June 2021 |
| 7 | Gundam Fix Platinum | about $250,000 (30 million yen) | Estimated retail value, not for sale | 2007 |
| 8 | Pasión Azteca tequila bottle | $225,000 | Sale | July 2006 |
| 9 | Louis XIII pizza by Renato Viola | about 8,300 euros (about $9,000) | Menu price | 2026 |
| 10 | PG Tips diamond tea bag | £7,500 (some sources say $10,000+) | Charity draw prize | 2009 reports |
1. Falcon Supernova iPhone 6 Pink Diamond: claimed $48.5 million
A customised iPhone 6 from a US luxury firm, with a pink diamond set into the back. Most sources give $48.5 million, though one listing quotes $95.5 million, and the value looks like a marketing figure rather than a sale.
It is a phone, and an iPhone 6 at that, a model Apple launched in 2014.
How we valued it: a maker’s price repeated by blogs. We found no sale, so we flag it as a claim.
2. Jane Birkin’s original Birkin: about $10.1 million
The first Birkin, made in 1985 after Birkin spoke with Hermès chairman Jean-Louis Dumas on a flight. Nine collectors bid in a ten-minute battle at Sotheby’s Paris. The buyer was reported as a Tokyo reseller.
It beat the old record for any handbag at auction, a diamond Kelly that sold for about $513,000 in 2021, by nearly twenty times.
How we valued it: auction house result, with fees, in euros and converted by the press at $10.1 million.
3. Mouawad 1001 Nights Diamond Purse: $3.8 million
An 18-carat gold clutch from the Mouawad jewellery house, set with diamonds, and billed by the company as the most expensive purse in the world.
Our earlier edition ranked it ninth. It now sits third, behind a handbag that actually sold.
How we valued it: maker’s own valuation, not an auction result.
4. Ley .925 Diamante tequila: $3.5 million asking price
A tequila bottle in a platinum and diamond-set case. Sources agree on the $3.5 million tag but disagree on whether it has a record, and we found no confirmed sale.
The record we can document is the Pasión Azteca bottle from the same maker, which sold for $225,000 in 2006.
How we valued it: maker’s listed price. No sale was found.
5. Le Chocolat jewelled box: $1.5 million
A dozen gourmet chocolates, sold with a set of jewellery, which carried yellow and blue diamonds, emeralds and sapphires. It was a holiday promotion and not a regular product.
It is no longer on sale, and the chocolates were the least expensive part.
How we valued it: retailer’s promotional price at launch.
6. Mount Nicholson parking space: about $1.3 million
A parking bay at a luxury development on Hong Kong’s Peak sold for over HK$10 million, a record at the time for a single space. The previous mark was HK$7.6 million, in October 2019.
In dense cities, a space can sell for more than a family home elsewhere.
How we valued it: press reports of a private sale. No registry record was checked.
7. Gundam Fix Platinum figurine: about $250,000
A 12.5 cm figure made of 89 pieces of pure platinum, with a 0.15-carat diamond as the camera eye, made by Bandai with the jeweller Ginza Tanaka.
Our earlier edition said $41,000. Bandai’s own estimate was 30 million yen, and the figure was shown rather than sold.
How we valued it: maker’s retail estimate. It was never put on sale.
8. Pasión Azteca platinum tequila: $225,000
Sold in Mexico by Tequila Ley .925 to a collector in a platinum and white gold bottle, and certified by Guinness as the most expensive bottle in October 2006.
How we valued it: sale price certified by the record keeper.
9. Louis XIII pizza: about $9,000
Made by a chef who comes to the buyer’s house with a sommelier and a second chef. Reports say the toppings include caviar and lobster.
A New York restaurant’s 24-carat pizza, certified by Guinness at $2,700, now lists at a base of about $2,000.
How we valued it: price quoted by press coverage, since the dinner is booked privately.
10. PG Tips diamond tea bag: about 7,500 pounds
Boodles made a tea bag with 280 diamonds to mark the 75th birthday of the tea brand. It was a prize draw for a Manchester children’s hospital charity.
Sources differ widely on its price in dollars, so we show the pound figure from earlier reports.
How we valued it: oldest reported value, in pounds. Later dollar figures vary.
Records set in 2025 and 2026
The Birkin sale in July 2025 is the only new record on this list. It beat the previous handbag auction record by nearly twenty times. The rest of the list is mostly marketing and promotional prices that have not changed in years, which is why we label them.
What drives these prices
- Provenance beats materials. The Birkin sold for far more than a diamond purse, because it was the first of its kind and had a famous owner.
- Marketing prices. Many items here were priced by the maker, not by buyers.
- Stones are cheap to add. Diamonds raise a headline price quickly on anything.
- Location. A parking bay costs seven figures only where land is scarce.
- Charity and promotions. Several items were gimmicks tied to a campaign.
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Short audio lessons on money, mindset and discipline, in the Alux app.
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What is the most expensive useless thing?
By claimed price, a pink diamond iPhone at $48.5 million. By real sale price, the original Hermès Birkin at about $10.1 million.
What is the most expensive handbag ever sold?
Jane Birkin’s original Birkin, at Sotheby’s Paris in July 2025, for about 8.58 million euros.
What is the most expensive bottle of tequila?
The Ley .925 Diamante carries a $3.5 million tag. The highest sale we could confirm is $225,000 for Pasión Azteca in 2006.
What is the most expensive parking space?
A Mount Nicholson bay in Hong Kong sold for over HK$10 million in 2021, about $1.3 million.
What is the most expensive pizza?
Renato Viola’s Louis XIII, about 8,300 euros, made at the buyer’s home.
What is the cheapest item on this list?
The PG Tips diamond tea bag, at about 7,500 pounds.
How we put this list together
We ranked items by stated or sale price, compiled in an internal valuation model, and labelled each as a sale, an asking price or a maker’s valuation. Prices are approximate and sometimes unverified.
Last updated: October 2026.
