Today on Forbes, Inside the Pond Shop for the Ultra Rich.

Inside a climate-controlled room at Lender Luxury Asset Capitals Manhattan Office,

rows of Hermes handbags line the shelves.

Mini-Kellys and exotic skins worth roughly $75,000 each,

diamond-encrusted Birken bags, and other limited edition pieces that are worth six figures.

Nearby, a first edition of The Catcher in the Rye, which can sell for as much as $50,000,

sits alongside contemporary artwork, including a Yoshitomo Nara drawing, worth more than $200,000.

Down the hall, safes hold scores of Rolex watches, diamonds, and gold jewelry, all meticulously

tagged and sealed, and none of it is for sale. The items are all collateral, pledged by ultra-wealthy borrowers

seeking quick cash. Denver-based luxury asset capital runs its operation with the basic mechanics of a

neighborhood pawn shop and the discretion of a Swiss bank. Barrowers pledge their watches, jewelry, handbags, and fine art in exchange for short-term

non-recourse loans, often funded within a day.

One borrower who manages a large hedge fund hawked his wife's eight-carat diamond ring,

worth upwards of $600,000 after receiving a large margin call.

The loan was eventually repaid and the ring was returned.

Another client once brought in an Emmy Award is collateral.

Luxury asset lending sits at the intersection of wealth management and urgency.

Cash poor but asset-rich borrowers pledge high-end possessions in exchange for fast cash rather than selling them outright or navigating

the paperwork and personal guarantees of traditional bank loans. The founder and CEO of luxury

asset capital, Dewey Burke, says, quote,

It's amazing how many people come to us and say, I didn't know I could do this.

Started in 2016, the firm reached profitability within its first year,

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