VPI's new "Vanquish" Ultra High-End turntable is a STUNNER!

And it doesn't even have a self leveling pendulum :(

Like Rolex, maker of the world's finest $800 dive watch, which they somehow manage to sell for $8k,

I hope you know more about audio than about fine timepieces. Granted, 10K (the actual starting price of Rolex's after sales tax) is high, but the quality of materials, finish, and the built-in-house movement set them apart from all but their very finest competitors. No $800 divers watch with a mechanical movement is master chronometer certified. 
Your analogy breaks down in another key area-Rolexes, alone with PP and the AP Royal Oak, hold their value and even sell for more than original MSRP often. Try that with just about any piece of current production audio equipment known to mankind (note my emphasis on the words "current production" to exclude the likes of the Vendetta Research phono stage or the Thorens TD124, Garrard 301, etc). 

OK, I went to the CAF but I didn’t have time to go hunting for the Vanquish. I saw enough silly bling as it is. Spent most of my time buying LPs. The show is still running today, but I am going to stay home and hang out with our son who is visiting.
Good points from Phoenix. Do you know whether the tonearm with no headshell offset is underhung or overhung, with respect to the spindle? If underhung, there would be at best one point of tangency to the groove, and yes the direction of the skating force changes from inward to outward as the stylus passes through that one point of tangency. Maybe HW was taken in by the story written for the RS Labs RS-A1 tonearm, which is underhung with no headshell offset and claims no skating force, too. All that said, I own an RS-A1, and it sounds remarkably good, despite all the geometric "problems". So good that I have been tempted to buy a Viv Float tonearm, which has similar geometry and gets rave reviews, despite massive tracking angle error at the outermost and innermost grooves. If the VPI tonearm is OVERhung and has no headshell offset, all is lost. Such a design would never achieve tangency across the LP surface. I can’t imagine they would do that.

I don't work for VPI but I visited with them a few weeks back with my phono stage.  I will try an answer some of the questions above.

The TT as a stand alone lists for $15,000 but you can buy the entire systems shown in the article if you want to. The TT is better than the one they had manufactured that went for $30K.  So as a manufacturer that is a big improvement and benefits the consumer.

The DD motor has noise of 0.004, I believe measured a the headshell.  VPI has made TTs with belts but nothing as quite as this and the speed is super stable.

Matt showed me the design with the continuous wires.

I love how many people post and say this or that about the design without having the knowledge why VPI implements the design.  You can call them up and ask them.  Or better yet, go to VPI and see the actual manufacturing site in New Jersey.  Then you can see all of the people who build the TTs, see all of the investment in designs, trails and errors, why they do what they do, why the feel the current designs are better, etc.  This TT is half the price of the one they built for $30K!

Do you actually think these things are not tested, tested, and tested, and that they don't try to improve on what they manufacturer.  They have a two car garage filled top to bottom with rejects.

My suggestion is to go there and see the people who measure the noise, quality of the motors, how they build the different tone arms, wires, how they test the platters, etc.

VPI takes this very seriously and they strive to build the best TTs they can.  Needless to say, I was very impressed as a manufacturer on what they do and how they approach.

Happy Listening.
  

100k for a turntable is stunning. 100K would buy a rather nice collection of recordings.