I’ve been fascinated as long as I can remember by how just putting a symbol on something can considerably increase its perceived value. Recently I travelled to Dubai and Istanbul.  In both places I found examples of “brand value” that to me illustrate some of the challenges brands will face in an age of 3d printing. This will be the first post in a series discussing those implications.

In the impossibly vast Dubai Mall a jeweler, is selling a $193,221 cell phone.  As far as I could discern this is not one of these idiotic “world’s most expensive hamburger” marketing stunts. These phones are actual products, meant to sell and this makes them far more remarkable than a stunt. The hardware in it is pretty standard and it didn’t seem to even have a camera.  Look at the thing, it’s not even a smart phone.  Imagine how expensive it could be if you could do super advanced stuff with it, like check your email.

It’s a ridiculous thing for sure, flanked by it’s $58,246 and $32,927 cousins.

But a few thoughts came to mind:

• In this price category what exactly can established luxury brands offer customers that this jeweler can’t? For an extra $50,000 completely customized hardware and a software UI made to the customer’s specifications is a real option.
• The same mall sells watches that fetch over a $1,000,000. The phone can tell time and call, it’s a bargain by comparison.
• The price we pay for gold and diamonds is just as silly as the premium we pay for brands. We designated gold and diamonds to be a store of perceived value. Their “true” worth is far removed from actual production costs, just like an Armani shirt.
• For Roman Abramovich and people like him the phone could be an impulse buy. It would have the same relative impact on his net worth as buying a hamburger would be on mine.
• For many generations now grandparent’s luxuries have become grandchildren’s staples.
• Now imagine for a second that the wealth of customization options open to the jeweler were open to you. Imagine that you are Roman Abramovich out for a leisurely stroll in the Dubai Mall. Take price out of any decision. See the phone, buy it. Custom software, custom hardware, custom functionality, ability to design your own. No limits, no compromises, any functionality, anything is as you’d want it. N=1 and 1=aNything. This is how the future will be. A wealth of choice over every aspect of every single object we could own. To be able to make anything precisely as we see fit and to make anything fit us precisely. To me this is an achievable goal that we should be able to reach within my lifetime.

As for dependencies and qualifications, there are none, bar my health. Now excuse me while I go do some much needed sit-ups.