Luxury goods I don't get #898

Swarovski crystals. Why?

Why do people want to pay ridiculous amounts of money for tackily-shaped mostly non-functional tat glass. I certainly understand the decorative value of glass beads and even some glass ornaments. But what is it about the brand that makes people pay so much for it? (5 or 6 times the price of regular glass beads, from what I can tell. Ok, they're lead crystal and have special coatings, but still. I'm not going to discuss the "ornaments")

ETA: Thanks everyone for enlightening me as to the fact that the crystal beads are superb quality and should totally command a premium price. We'll draw a veil over the rest of the stuff. :-)