Editor's Note: In the video we say spruce is used for the bottom of the guitar, but Martin Guitars typically uses rosewood for bottoms.
Martin acoustic guitars are some of the most popular and well-known high-end acoustic guitars in the world.
Bulgarian rose oil is the most valuable rose oil on the market. Buyers are willing to pay $15,000 for a single kilogram. But to make the highest-quality Bulgarian rose oil, producers must spend the year cultivating fields that will bloom for only a few weeks.
Fish maw — the swim bladder of a fish — is one of the most expensive dried-seafood products in the world. A Chinese delicacy, it can fetch $450 to $1,000 per kilogram.
Fleur de sel is a rare, unrefined salt that is made by evaporating seawater slowly in 2-centimeter-deep ponds. It's made in western France using centuries-old methods. Just locally, it can cost 230 times more than table salt. Outside French borders, it can reach $420 per kilogram.
For over 200 years, tailors have been crafting high-end bespoke suits on London's famous Savile Row. A custom-made two-piece suit can cost £6,000. And while a tailor's tools are simple, the skills needed to turn a paper pattern into a pressed suit take years to master.
We traveled the globe to uncover the stories behind some of the world's most expensive items, from natural latex mattresses and bespoke dress shoes to handmade calligraphy ink and ancient Tyrian purple dye.
Hanji is traditional Korean paper made by hand one sheet at a time. Artisans turn the weblike fibers of paper mulberry trees into paper that can last more than a thousand years. The most expensive hanji costs over $20 per sheet. But despite hanji's quality, demand is in decline.
Golden kiwis are a pricey kiwi variety known for their yellow flesh and sweet taste. Created by Zespri, New Zealand's kiwifruit cooperative, golden kiwis saved the island nation's local kiwi industry after a disease destroyed most of its kiwi orchards back in 2010.