$52,500 Handbag: Is This the Way to Boost a Brand?

Louis Vuitton has created a Tribute Patchwork Handbag priced at $52,500. It is created by dissecting 14 already pricey Louis Vuitton bags and rebuilding them into one bag as an iconic symbol of the brand.

Here's a photo, below. What do you think?
Milton Pedraza, chief executive of market-research firm The Luxury Institute, says it's a lesson in creating cachet for a brand.
Really? I'm having a hard time with this. Evidently, there is an issue among the ultra-rich about having items that no one else has...and that's the point of this bag. It's not about the product, it's about how many are out there and creating a rarified level of ownership of the product.
Chanel is evidently also in on this approach. They are coming out with a $260,150 bag in December made of white alligator skin and diamonds.
Is this really the best way to boost the iconography of a brand? Are these items considered to be pure artisan masterpieces where aging only increases their value and cache? Or is about the intoxication of the quest to own something that is limited, that few can own? Is this an important component to build or maintain a luxury brand?
In this path of brands creating this level of exclusivity and consumers desiring and spending at this level; has each somehow lost their way?
"Isn't this a beautiful bag?" "Absolutely...wish I had one."
"And aren't the emperor's new clothes just wonderful?" "Yes indeed."