High end sex toys have been growing both in popularity and in numbers over the past five or so years. Unlike most sex toys, which are mass manufactured and designed with little thought for the end user or longevity, high end sex toys are designed as much for their beauty as for their function, and are manufactured from high quality materials that are chosen for their practical and attractive applications.
It is worth noting that most of the people who are making high end sex toys are not from inside the adult sex toy industry. Instead they tend to come to their creations with backgrounds in industrial, graphic, or conceptual design, and marketing. The obvious (and possibly only) drawback to the high end sex toys currently available is price. With retail prices ranging from $150.00 to over $1000.00, high end sex toys are out of the reach of many of us.
The good news is that as more people buy these toys, and more people begin to make them, we will eventually reach a critical mass, when the prices of high end sex toys can go down, but the quality can remain (more or less) the same, eventually leading to the Ikea/Target philosophy of affordable design for all. Until then, if you’re looking to splurge, or just do some e-window shopping, check out this survey of the current high end sex toy designers and retailers out there now.
The creators of Elemental Pleasures, Peg and Dennis McIlnay-Moe, are both mechanical engineers who were working in the aerospace industry, and have combined their knowledge of durability and good design with their obvious passion for making great sex toys. Their line of vibrators are made of
Titanium ,
Stainless Steel, and
Anodized Aluminum and offer sensations and durability that are completely unique. They were the first people to make sex toys of this caliber in the U.S. for sale in retail stores. When you visit their site it’s well worth clicking through to watch the profile Sextv produced on the couple who are behind Elemental Pleasures (
full disclosure: I work for Sextv, and recommended this product to the producers for a profile).
Taking high end sex toys to a new level, Je Joue is the first commercially available product to really offer a practical teledildonic experience. While Je Joue lacks the organic shape and feel of other high end sex toys, it more than makes up for it in intuitive electronic design and functionality. The Je Joue not only helps you explore what you like, it remembers how you like it, and plays it back for you thanks to a powerful motor and a microprocessor which comes pre-programmed with 10 different digital foreplay 'Grooves', sensual vibration patterns designed to take you from zero to sixty, as fast or slow as you like. You can compose an infinite number of new Grooves and download them directly to the Je Joue's microchip. You can also create your own Grooves online, email them to a friend or lover's Je Joue, or leave them on the Je Joue website for anyone to download and try your Groove on for size.
Jimmyjane is the labor of love of a diverse group of professionals from the worlds of design, art, beauty and fashion. The company is lead by Ethan Imboden, an award winning designer who left consulting with a desire to create something genuine and unique. The concept: to infuse design & luxury with sex to bring beauty to a neglected product category. The designs are the height of simplicity and intelligence. Elements like their patented removable motor that can last up to 16 hours on a single AA battery, available engraving on their
Little Gold and
Little Platinum products are completely unique, and their new, equally beautiful but more affordable
Little Chroma series marks the first effort from a high end sex toy designer has moved to make luxury products more widely available in sex toy stores.
