Conspicuous Consumption in China

To show off their their new wealth, the rich in China are going for $17 apiece apples.

As big as softballs and as shiny as gems, the precious produce typically goes from the farm to the glitzy retailers of Japan's big cities -- where the high prices charged for such fruit have earned this nation its reputation as the land of the $15 apple.

But this year, the most costly crates of Katayama's "Japan's Best" apples are bypassing Tokyo's chic Ginza district and heading to China instead. There, Japanese apples are being scooped up by the Lamborghini-driving, Gucci-toting nouveau riche in Beijing and Dalian at $17 a piece, or roughly 100 times the price of a Chinese apple. Some of the finest specimens, with dragon designs and Chinese characters in their peels, retail for more than $100 each.

It's a bit like the gold foil sushi that was popular in Japan back in the 1970's, when a few Japanese were getting suddenly and extemely rich.