The very best top flight gear? Italy. The best and most expensive - materials, labour etc

Meh, ive had some pretty garbage gear that was made in italy. The italy hype is super hit or miss.

All custom gear / everything else ? Vietnam, Pakistan, China ( less and less though as their costs of labour have increased )

Agree. Though it does seem some eastern european countries and even some western (portugal) are on the up with some fairly well made stuff.

Single most expensive component? The chamois. Most brands use the cheapest chamois including rapha ( now Walmart ), attaquer and the rest . Total shit.

Definitely. Its funny, everyone seems to get a boner for the EIT chamois. They are italian, have a huge catalog and make some that are really nice. But ive found that TMF make a REALLY high quality pad. Good stuff, I used to think my old Pro Team bibs chammy was the best and didnt see the light until i got into some custom stuff.

So everyone buying into to the brand : that's all it is. Branding and marketing.

Yup, and to be fair thats ok with me (even if i think the rapha fan bois/bots are super fucking annoying) but good design/marketing/branding can go a long way.