FWIW, you don't really need "high end" where nail clippers are concerned. Frankly, the Japanese and Chinese have stepped up and are making some seriously great clippers without breaking the bank. I've tried a few luxury-brand clippers... and found they're pretty much overhyped kit. The simplicity of a clipper doesn't require overpaying to get something good, and in fact you may find cheaper clippers do a better job.
So case in point, I researched clippers for a bit and found
KAI from Japan was making some of the best, often used by beauty salons. I bought the Type 001. I got a pair on sale for about $10. They're really great, but... they do have a problem. First, the blades are so super sharp, you've got to be extremely careful. I have accidentally cut too far into flesh with them by accident. The flaw, IMHO, is that the blade sides aren't angled/beveled enough, making it difficult to get good entry to the nail. Anyway, it took some time getting used to them and they work... but then, by accident I stumbled upon another brand, from China: Kaasage.
I first got these clippers:
Kaasage Classic Steel Nail Clippers. They're a nice size for large/XL hands and work very well. While the blades are sharp, the edges have a good bevel and smoothness so insertion is easy. My only gripe is that there's no dock for the lever when closed (so it can move around easily). My package included a gift card towards another purchase, so I bought another set from them:
Kaasage Steel Clipper set with nail file. This was only $10. The quality is superb. What I like is that the cutting action is just as good as the others, but the smaller one is more convenient to use for travel. Excellent polished steel with anodized lever. And in closed position, the tension is good enough so the lever doesn't slide around. If you paid $30 for this set at a Brookstone Store, you'd consider it good value.
Don't bother with those super low profile clippers when closed. They're neat as a concept, but I find they just don't work well. Same for those "claw" like clippers. You can't beat the traditional clipper design. It simply works. There's nothing to improve upon, except materials. And if those are done well, you're golden. FWIW, I have a pair of Korean made nail clippers I bought many years ago from Walgreens. There's a rubber sheath around the lever and the body has a plastic catch case. Those clippers work really well. I've had them for about 15~20 years now. Blades are still reasonably sharp. But I have only 1 pair and when I looked to get a backup, I found that nobody was making them any longer. That's what led me to researching nail clippers as described above.
