Nobody has ever confused Banff Ave (Banff), Connaught Dr (Jasper) and Main St (8 Ave, Canmore) with Rodeo Dr (Los Angeles), Bond St (London) or Fifth Ave (New York). Nevertheless, well-heeled visitors can find elegant boutiques and merchandise with price tags that push the boundaries of platinum credit card spending limits.

CLOTHING
Ten dollar t-shirts are a staple of Rockies’ souvenir stores. But for a more elegant look purchase a Canadian-made Paula Lishman sheared beaver full-length coat (shown left) from Banff’s Snowflake for $11,250. The cuffs and hood are trimmed in mink. Because of its hand-knit construction the luxurious feel of fur is both inside and out.

Alternatively, you can dress like Inca royalty in a $5000 vicuña Brewster Alpaca Store cape displayed at Jacques Cartier Clothiers in Banff. Peruvian vicuña is prized for being the world’s finest and softest fibre. It's rare too—the wool can only be harvested from vicuñas (that only live in the wild) once every five years.

Also remarkably lightweight, soft, warm and hard-to-find are qiviuk garments made from the insulating down of the Arctic muskox. The fibre is hand-gathered from the tundra by Inuit residents of Canada's north. A classically designed Piacenza coat priced at $5000 can be found at Qiviuk Boutique in the Fairmont Banff Springs and Chateau Lake Louise hotels.

JEWELLERY
Prized diamonds from Canada’s Northwest Territories, engraved with microscopic Canadian icons such as snowflakes and maple leaves, are brilliant and high-priced keepsakes. Last summer Philippe of Banff set a 1.53-carat ‘triple ideal’ stone into a custom designed platinum and 18 kt yellow gold band. The ring sold for $54,000, although Philippe notes the average Canadian diamond purchase is “closer to $5500 for a quality half-carat gem”.

Recently, Canmore goldsmith Rudi Peet custom made a $40,000 platinum ring laced with an untreated cornflower blue sapphire and Canadian diamond. A $6000 neckpiece adorned with a yellow sapphire and diamonds is currently the priciest item in his shop.

Jewellery that features native Alberta ammolite, a colourful gemstone made from 70 million year old fossils, is also sought after. Calgary’s Korite International produces over 90% of the world’s supply—their $8600 Solara pendant (shown above) displayed at MJ Western Stones and Banff Springs Jewellery features a spectacular 30 mm x 20 mm ammolite set with diamonds in 18 kt gold.

A wide assortment of watches are displayed at Freya’s Jewellery in Banff and Jasper. The most expensive model is at their Banff outlet, an ornate version of the watch used by astronauts during space shuttle missions. The $18,800 Omega Speedmaster includes precision mechanics set into a solid 18 kt gold case with matching bracelet.

SCULPTURES
Jade is the gemstone of British Columbia, a dense and hard silicate that polishes to a translucent shade of green. While affordable jade jewellery is commonly found in local souvenir stores, unique jade sculptures by Canadian master carvers can be very valuable indeed.

World-renowned Lyle Sopel has carved BC jade for a quarter century. Each year he creates a series of exquisite wildlife sculptures for Banff’s Canada House Gallery. The Contest (shown above, $48,000) features a jade eagle where the speckle pattern of the rock matches the feathering in the wings. The eagle’s talons hold a fish carved from chalcedony, an agate usually used to make cameos. The tree is of rare black jade, and the base is carved from 250 million year old petrified wood.

Undoubtedly, the most expensively priced item in any Canadian Rockies shop is a 500 kilogram, $1 million jade bear carved by B.C. artist David Wong. The work is housed at Jasper's EA Studio at Maligne Canyon where an extensive collection of extraordinary Canadian art (including many Native works) is inauspiciously displayed adjacent souvenirs and a self-serve restaurant. Gallery owner Galal Helmy, who sponsored Wong from 1971 until the carver died in 1998, says “this is the largest jade bear ever carved; the artist worked on the piece for five years.” National Geographic (Sept ‘87) listed both Sopel and Wong as “among the best of the world’s contemporary jade sculptors.”

$85,000 Hunter’s Prayer is the most expensive work at either of the Mountain Galleries at the Fairmont Banff Springs or Jasper Park Lodge shops. Made primarily of whalebone, it is a multi-faceted representation of the Sedna spirit, a baby in the womb and the outstretched arms of a hunter praying for protection of his family. “Petalassie is Canada’s leading northern artist,” says gallery owner Wendy Wacko of the carver. “I have not seen an Inuit carving as interesting or original as this work.”

BICYCLES
High-end mountain bikes cost more than my first car, a 1976 Volkswagon Rabbit. Canadian made Rocky Mountain Bicyles ETSXs (shown right) top out at $7000. With Easton custom-flared scandium frames, projected pivot suspension that converts bouncing to forward thrust, disc brakes, top Shimano gears and Fox shocks, this bike will take way more punishment on the trail than you. Marie-Helene Premont rode this bike to Olympic silver in Athens. Buy them at Vicious Cycle in Jasper or Canmore's Rebound Cycle (902 Main St, 678-3668).

Although mainstream shopping in the towns of Canada’s Rocky Mountains is typically a modest affair, big spenders can nevertheless find plenty of opportunities to go wild.

Publication Date: 5/2005