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11 Ridiculous Gold and Diamond Accessories
At a time when the jewellery industry is troubled by serious ethical problems, there seems to be no limit to some consumers’ appetite for bling. More and more designers use precious stones and metals to add a sense of luxury to what used to look like sensible, everyday items.
iPod
The iDiamond iPod was made recently by Norwegian Jeweller Thomas Heyerdahl and consists of a modified iPod Shuffle with matching headphones. The iPod itself is home to 312 diamonds, the headphones holding another 118 and underneath those stones lies a casing made of 18 carat gold. The estimated value of this suped up MP3 player? US$41,000. More Information Here
Cellphone
The solid white-gold, diamond-studded phone on the left is apparently the world’s most expensive with a pricetag of US$1,300,000. The deal clincher? It comes with a 2GB memory card so you won’t need to splash any more cash for storage space. If you’ve forgotten your wallet and only have US$25,000 in your back pocket, the phone on the right could be yours. More Information Here
Television
When released back in 2006, Keymat Industrie claimed this dispicably extravagant television to be the most expensive LCD TV on earth. This wasn’t due to incredible technology but the 160 diamonds attached to its gold plated frame, all of which boosted the gadget’s value to US$130,000. More Information Here
Laptop
On the left is a 24 carat gold plated Macbook Pro, the Apple logo encrusted with diamonds. If this kind of laptop modification is up your alley and you have at least a few thousand dollars to spare, head on over to Computer Choppers, a company dedicated to beautifying the most plain of gadgets. There is no listed price for the Gold Macbook, but you can be sure that with the insurance on top it’s going to burn a hole in your possibly diamond-lined pocket. More Information Here
Computer Mouse
It’s a mouse. It’s home to 59 diamonds. It’s US$24,180.
The website claims it to be ‘the perfect gift for a 60th Wedding Anniversary’ but it doesn’t say whose wedding anniversary. Obviously the mouse is also cast from 18 carat white gold. More Information Here
Purse
The next time your wife asks for a handbag for Christmas, just be grateful she hasn’t seen the one above. It was made by ‘Superstar Jeweller’ Ginza Tanaka, is fashioned from pure platinum, is adorned with 2,182 diamonds totalling 208 carats and will set you back a wallet-obliterating US$1.63 million. Just for the record, Ginza is the man responsible for creating a US$850,000 Christmas tree made from 28kg of gold in 2006. More Information Here
Wheel Rims
You know how annoying it is when your wheel rims get covered in dirt after a long drive? Now imagine each of those rims cost US$250,000 and the pain should be multiplied by a few thousand. Rim-manufacturers Asanti are apparently the only company to offer this kind of service and presumably they aren’t swamped with enquiries from serious buyers. Their Diamond range rims each contain 12,000 diamonds and 800 sapphires, hopefully glued on excessively. More Information Here
Gearstick
So you’ve got the diamond rims and some spare change…
It now makes complete sense to start on the interior, and why not go for the ‘Most Expensive Bentley Shift Knob’ in history? Handcrafted with 30 carats of diamond set on 18 carat white gold, the knob is yours for US$150,000. As the website points out, ‘For all you Ballers out there…”What is your braggin’ right?” Wow. More Information Here
Lavatory
This sparkling lavatory, part of Jemal Wright’s Isis collection, could be yours for just US$75,000. Before you rush for your credit card details though: they aren’t diamonds deliciously wrapped around the cistern but 50,000 Swarovski Crystals. Maybe a diamond-studded lavatory would’ve looked silly. More Information Here
Child’s Dummy / Pacifier
This little item is truly remarkable. It’s a dummy/pacifier, made from 14 carat white gold and finished off with 278 pave cut white diamonds. If you really want to spend the required US$17,000.00 for diamonds, is your child’s mouth really the best place to put them? From the website: ‘We don’t recommend actual use’. Useful. More Information Here
Hearing Aid
With a retail value of US$42,590, this horrendous addition to any hearing-impaired person’s wishlist is cast in solid 24 carat gold, additional sparkle coming in the form of 220 diamonds. What’s more disturbing than the earpiece itself is the discreet remote control, emblazoned with a diamond-encrusted company logo larger than a normal person’s entire head. More Information Here
