With the holidays just days away, the last minute gift-buying scramble hits full throttle. If you’re the organized type, you’re relaxing with your gifts purchased weeks ago, beautifully wrapped, and ready to be received. Or you might be like most of us – still trying to decide on that perfect jewelry gift with an unmistakable wow factor.
If you’re short on inspiration, you’ve come to the right place. We’ve taken a look back at 2015 for some of the most spectacular jewelry and gem-encrusted presents we could find. And while these pieces don’t exactly qualify as last-minute impulse purchases, they just might give you some diamond and jewelry gift ideas sure to stun even the most seasoned jewelry connoisseur.
Ultimate Apple Watch
Diamond iWatch. Courtesy: Mervis Diamond Importers – mervisdiamond.com
The Apple Watch was one of the most anticipated products of the year. Mervis Diamond Importers added some more pizzazz with its Diamond iWatch – an 18K rose gold timepiece studded with 15.14 carats of diamonds. You can get yours in white gold or platinum if you prefer.
Glam Guitar
Eden of Coronet®, Diamond Gibson Guitar, set with 400 carats of diamonds. Courtesy: Aaron Shum Jewelry Ltd
Why play any old electric when you can jam on a diamond-encrusted guitar which is the result of collaboration between jewelry designer Aaron Shuma, Chow Tai Fook, Gibson Guitar and Mark Lui. Covered with more than 400 carats of diamonds in 18K gold, the Eden of Coronet Diamond Gibson Guitar was named Most Valuable Guitar by the Guinness Book of World Records. Plug it in and turn up the amp: You’ll sound good and look great.
Natty Nails
Images Luxury Nail Lounge of Newport Beach, California, offers a manicure that should appeal to the rich and famous. According to the company’s press release, for $25,000, manicurists will artfully set diamondson your nails. Nail polish made from 24K gold leaf is also available for those wanting that over the top beach look.
Diamond manicure. Courtesy: Images Luxury Nail Lounge
Diamond Belt Buckle
Give a run-of-the-mill object like a belt buckle to Swiss watchmaker Roland Iten, and he’ll turn it into something spectacular. Iten, in collaboration with Claude Sfeir, spent 18 months creating a belt buckle that features Diablo, a staggering 60.66 ct brown diamond from India’s historic Golconda district as its centerpiece. The belt buckle is also a mechanical marvel: it has 109 components that allow for it to adjust to the wearer’s comfort level.
A mechanical belt buckle with the 60.66 ct Diablo brown diamond. Courtesy: Roland Iten Mechanical Luxury SA (RIML SA)
Diamond Shoes – A Perennial Favorite
Jewelry designers seem to have a thing with covering shoes in diamonds. Maybe it’s the ultimate show of wealth. Maybe they love the Paul Simon tune, Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes. Whatever the reason, diamond-covered shoes showed up again in 2015.
Beyoncé made a statement by sauntering around in these diamond shoes with a cost of over $311,000. These sparkling show-stoppers by Borgezie featured 1,310 diamonds, total weight of the diamonds is 65.50 carats. In case you’re interested: the shoes are available in platinum or 18K gold. Courtesy: Borgezie
When the Dreams of Diamonds exhibit came to GIA ‘s Carlsbad Campus in April, 2015, visitors were wowed by a pair of diamond-studded boots. By any measure these were extraordinary. Some 38,883 diamonds totaling 1,527 carats adorned them. Craftsmen spent 30,000 hours fashioning the pair. The only challenge: when to wear them.
Diamond Studded Boots. Photo: Orasa Weldon/GIA. Courtesy: Diarough-Uni-Design and A.F. Vandevorst
The great thing about bling is that imaginative jewelry designers are sure to come up with something even more exceptional in the next few months. So we can look forward to seeing more mind-boggling creations in 2016.
The year 2014 was a great one for impressive diamonds and jewelry, too. Enjoy the timeless treasures we found.
