High net-worth consumers rated La Cornue the most prestigious luxury appliance brand in the 2008 Luxury Brand Status Index (LBSI) survey from the independent New York City-based Luxury Institute. Respondents who would recommend La Cornue say: "It is the Rolls-Royce of appliances," "their stoves are gorgeous," and are "outstanding and unique." Bertazzoni and Viking were rated second and third, respectively.

"This year we have decided to publish the top 10 brands as rated and ranked by wealthy consumers to help them make the optimal purchasing decisions," said Milton Pedraza, CEO of the Luxury Institute. "And, we have added additional insights to our surveys by asking wealthy responders 'what is the one thing you would change about each brand, besides price, if you could.' This has generated insightful suggestions from wealthy consumers as to what brands need to focus on enhancing their rating scores. Executives tell us they appreciate the constant evolution of our impartial ratings surveys."

Following are the top 10 rankings of luxury appliance brands as rated by wealthy consumers:

1. La Cornue
2. Bertazzoni
3. Viking
4. Wolf
5. Sub-Zero
6. Gaggenau
7. AGA
8. Thermador
9. Bosch
10. U-Line

The proprietary Luxury Brand Status Index (LBSI) survey is the only measure of the prestige of leading brands among wealthy Americans. A national sample of 1,883 wealthy American consumers, with an average income of $348K and average net-worth of $3.5 million, was surveyed online. The LBSI asks respondents to rate the brands along four main "pillars" of brand stature:

• Consistently superior quality
• Unique and exclusive
• Social status as a product consumed by people who are admired and respected
• Self enhancement, in that the brand makes the consumer "feel special" across all aspects of the customer experience

In addition, the survey also measures three key "outcome" metrics, which are compared to the category LBSI:

• Worthiness of a significant price premium
• Willingness to recommend the brands to people they care about and why, or why not
• Brand preference as the brand most likely to be considered the next time a purchase is made.

A new feature of the survey is the question: "What is the one thing you would change about each brand, besides price, if you could?"

Survey results are weighted to match demographic and net worth profiles of the same audience according to the latest Survey of Consumer Finances from The Federal Reserve.