What makes a duvet cost up to £36,736.85?
If you thought your daily £4 Blank Street matcha was extravagant, take that to the power of 9,184 and you’ll just about tickle the dizzying price tag of this bedding. Not a house deposit. Not a car. But for a duvet.
How can one truly justify such an RRP? One word: eiderdown.
Because if you thought Hungarian goose down was opulent, this filling takes it to the next level.
Eiderdown is unlike any other material, derived from the female eider who plucks it from her breast to construct her nest and uses it to keep her hatchlings warm on account of its insulating properties. It’s widely considered to be among the most insulating natural materials in the world. Once the family has left their nests, harvesting is possible with each producing only 15-20kg of the down. Only 15kg is produced each year, the equivalent of just 15 duvets. Talk about exclusivity.
It’s also hard-wearing with a specialised construction that means there’s no fall away - and for this reason, there are duvets in existence that are made up of the down that have lasted over 100 years. That means Scottish inventor John Logie Baird could have been swathed in one while demonstrating the first practical television system, and it would still be around today.
Eiderdown’s use in bedding has a storied history dating back to 834AD in the Viking Age. Archaeologists discovered Queen Asa of Agder buried among layers of pure eiderdown pillows and covers. With such limited supply and durability, it is not surprising that it has long been seen as a marker of social standing and rank. Consider it the Birkin bag of bedding.
Norvegr has been creating synthetic-free, organic duvets and pillows using the material as well as other types of down since its founding in 1956. A family-run business, it is the brand of choice of royals and celebrities with deep pockets, and each is customised to your sleep preferences after a consultation, typically with third-generation CEO Nils Stene.
I had to find out if this is truly worth re-mortgaging a home for, but on closer inspection, I realised this is actually not the first time I will be nestled within the luxury of Norvegr’s collection.
I was lucky enough to review the Belmond Monasterio hotel in Cusco, Peru last year for The Standard, where the two brands collaborated to create sumptuous comforters and a pillow menu to suit individual preferences. You will find this not just in the South American hotspot but onboard the group’s Orient Express train too, and in its African safari and keeping you warm and cosy in its Oxfordshire retreat.
This experience doesn’t compare, however, to resting between under own tailor-made creation from the Norway-based sleep specialist. You are asked such questions as “What is the temperature inside the bedroom?”, “Do you sleep hot or cold?” and your personal preferences as well as those of your partner, if you share a bed. The latter is considered, too, as you can get dual-fill options for couples that don’t agree on the right sleeping temperature. This then narrows the offering to best suit your requirements.
The resulting bedding is packaged up in a Santa-like sack and, once opening the sumptuous tie, reveal the most compact duvet I’ve ever seen. Not only does it appear thin, but it’s incredibly lightweight. So much so that I transported the £36k duvet home from my office on the tube - talk about high-low. I felt like I was smuggling a Fabergé egg, giving shifty looks to anyone who stared too long.
There are four weights: three seasonal options (summer, winter and polar) and one that will suit all year round. I went for the latter, because if you’re spending that much, you really need to get your money’s worth.
Testing the bedding through London’s heatwave, I was surprised by just how temperature-regulating it felt. With no aircon and only a cooling fan doing its best to battle through stifling 30°C nights, I remained at a good temperature, certainly cool enough to sleep right through the night.
I’ll be curious to see how it adapts when the weather cools, and if it will stay cosy inside during the depths of winter. Considering the Norwegian heritage, I’d say the chances are high. The filling is encased in 100 per cent pure Egyptian cotton and woven in such a way that the feathers are locked in and will not poke out.
I found that, while the duvet was good, it was the pillow that has my heart. Packed full of cosy feathers, it was a dream to lie my head on the plush piece. It had incredible airflow and breathability to maximise that fresh, cold pillow feeling.
These aren’t just decadent products. Sustainability is at the heart of the brand, and the paperwork included within the satin-lined sacks reveals that these bed layers are for life (not just for Christmas). You can have them endlessly restored and cleaned in specialised facilities, something Norveger recommends doing every 10 years, to maintain their longevity.
The same is true for the sourcing of the materials, the eiderdown comes from abandoned eider duck nests on the Norwegian island of Svalbard that are collected by hand only when they are left by their previous inhabitants.
Is it crazy to spend the equivalent of a year’s rent on a duvet? Absolutely. Is it the ultimate flex? Absolutely. Do I have any regrets? No chance.
