At this particular time of year, social media users are divided into two camps: those who wait for Christmas above all else and those who wait for the first good opportunity to insult Meghan Markle. This year, Prince Harry's wife saw fit to please both camps at the same time, as on October 1st, American Riviera Orchard, her glossy brand of preserves and home accessories, launched a 24-chocolate Advent calendar for $148. To many, the price seemed outrageous, yet compared to the price tags of the designer chocolatier, it seems much less scandalous than it seems.
What Meghan Markle's Advent Calendar Looks Like
The project was born from a collaboration with Compartés, a historic Los Angeles chocolate boutique, which has prepared 24 entirely handcrafted treats for the limited-edition box. The fillings are made with strawberry, raspberry, and blackberry jams and orange marmalade sold by the Duchess's brand. Completing the assortment are a praline decorated with sugar flowers from As Ever, Meghan's e-commerce site, and a dark chocolate truffle with a creamy ganache center, a historic specialty of the chocolate shop.
Each chocolate features a number in Meghan's handwriting, hand-painted with edible gold. Contrary to recent reports, the number wasn't drawn by the Duchess herself. The packaging depicts the Sussexes' Montecito, California, home to their family, which has been the subject of recent gossip about a possible future rapprochement with the United Kingdom. The limited edition will be available for pre-order starting October 1st, with shipping starting in early November.
Who is Compartés, Los Angeles' Stars' Chocolatier
Compartés opened in 1950 in Brentwood, a residential neighborhood in Los Angeles, where, according to company records, early customers included Marilyn Monroe, Frank Sinatra, and Elvis Presley. It has been owned by the Grahm family since the late 1990s, and today it is run by Jonathan Grahm, owner since around 2008. It was he who transformed the chocolate bars into collector's items, so much so that in 2018 some packages entered the collection of the Cooper Hewitt, the Smithsonian‘s design museum in New York.
Production is done by hand in the Culver City laboratory, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area, where the chocolate is tempered in small quantities and the fillings are dosed one by one, using energy from renewable sources.
Among its commissioned works, the company announces collaborations with fashion houses such as Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Fendi, Ferragamo, and Valentino, as well as with the jewelry brand Tiffany. And there's no need to worry about potential flops, as initiatives with As Ever in recent years have been wildly successful: the December 2025 Christmas bars, priced at $12 each, sold out immediately.
How Much Do Meghan Markle's Chocolates Cost Per Kilo?
Divided by 24, the price corresponds to $6.17 per window. The product description does not indicate the net weight of the chocolate, but it can be estimated based on that of a fine chocolate praline, typically between 8 and 12 grams. In this case, we could assume a weight between 190 and 290 grams, for a price between $510 and $761 per kilo.
The most instructive comparison is with Compartés itself, which sells its Advent calendar for $120, or $5 per candy. The As Ever version costs $28 more, or 23%, a difference that covers the gold-painted numbers, the illustrated box, and, most importantly, Meghan's name.
How Much Does Luxury Chocolate Cost Around the World?
To understand whether $148 is a lot, it's worth looking at the price lists of major chocolatiers around the world. In Europe, assorted boxes of artisanal pralines generally cost between 145 and 270 dollars per kilo, while Advent calendars from the most famous chocolate houses, thanks to their packaging and assortment designed specifically for the holidays, can reach up to 390-405 dollars.
In the United States, the same products cost much more, so much so that La Maison du Chocolat, one of the most renowned Parisian chocolatiers, sells its assorted box from 26 to 45 dollars in France and at 89 dollars on the American market (almost double).
- Pierre Marcolini (Brussels), 2026 calendar at 61 dollars, approximately 345 dollars per kilo
- Patrick Roger (Paris), from 147 to 219 dollars per kilo, with peaks of over 615 dollars
- Pierre Hermé (Paris), from 182 to 270 dollars per kilo, Signature calendar at 72 dollars, approximately 402 dollars per kilo
- La Maison du Chocolat (Paris), 2026 calendar at 77 dollars in France (396 dollars per kilo) and at 100 dollars in the United States (508 dollars per kilo)
- Guido Gobino (Turin), pralines from 157 to 203 dollars per kilo, with a 400 gram pack costing 75.55 dollars
- Ernst Knam (Milan), six pralines for 18 dollars, approximately 3,02 dollars each
- Antonino Cannavacciuolo (Suno, Novara), 2025 calendar at 156 dollars
The Price in Relation to The Cost of Living in Los Angeles
A comparison with everyday life in Los Angeles further puts the controversy into perspective. In the city, a cappuccino costs an average of nearly $6, a cocktail at a bar costs nearly $20, and a three-course dinner for two at a mid-range restaurant costs around $120. In short, for a handcrafted product, made in a Californian workshop, in a limited edition, and packaged like a gift, $148 is perfectly reasonable and falls squarely within the price range of a luxury American chocolate shop.
Those who want a quality calendar without going to California can also make one at home, perhaps with cookies. For those who choose Meghan's, however, the real extra cost is the Duchess's handwriting, which costs little more than a dollar per chocolate: in Hollywood, an autograph costs considerably more.
;Resize,width=767;)
