Israeli Diamond Portal Reports: The Lure of Glittery Gadgets

July 1, 2008 - PRLog -- If you already own diamond necklaces, rings, pendants and earrings or if you are simply looking for something different but still shiny, gadgets are the way to go.



And there is no lack of them. Diamond-embedded cell phones are already fairly blas?. Vertu produces a cell phone inlaid with either 18K yellow or 18K white gold or platinum, and embedded with up to 4.2 carats of pav? set diamonds. Amosu has produced a limited edition of hand sets featuring 325 diamonds weighing 3.3 carats, with a price tag of £12,000. Not to be outdone, Goldvish produces a bejeweled cell phone bearing 120 carats including four special cuts.  

Other expensive toys include diamond studded key chains, pens, belt buckles, eye glasses and model sports cars (263.56 carats of black diamonds). And we mustn’t forget diamond studded skulls, wireless microphones (550 carats), diamond-encrusted hairclips for pampered pooches, and get this – a miniature diamond-shaped Christmas tree (made by the Israeli diamond manufacturer I. Berman) weighing 1.15 carats.



Diamonds have not skipped the world of apparel either. A diamond dress valued at $4.1 million was modeled by Tanya Alvarez in Dublin last year. At a fashion show in Belgium, model Ellen Petri appeared in a breathtaking evening gown embedded with 20,000 carats of Fancy Colored diamonds. Aquadress produces skimpy diamond-studded bikinis ranging in price between $1.79 million and $10.73 million.



There are more outlandish glittery gadgets such as a diamond embedded but functional roulette table crafted especially for a casino owner from Vegas. Tzoffey’s 1818 offered what it called a “million dollar” chess set made of 1 kilogram of gold and set with 9,900 black and white diamonds at an auction.

 


Bling jewelry is another example of the attraction of gaudy glitter. Bling generally consists of outsized or heavy jewelry items such as watches, earrings or even pendants in various shapes like the head of Christ or skulls. One hip-hop star even had his teeth studded with diamonds. The Diamond Museum of Antwerp featured an exhibit on Bling last year, which attracted crowds of young people.



While everyone agrees that young people should definitely be encouraged to visit museums, when it comes to Bling and glittery gadgets, there are those who feel that they may well be detrimental to the diamond’s future.



Yehuda Kassif, jewelry advisor to the Israel Diamond Institute Group of Companies, states: “Diamond-embedded gadgets can be attractive and even fun, but they may signal the diamond’s downfall.”

 

Kassif elaborates: “I would like to keep diamonds in a class of their own, completely removed from daily items. They should remain the most luxurious and glamorous item to be acquired. I think we should savor the stone’s aura of romance, mystery and majesty rather than turn it into a fashion item that can be purchased at the nearest shopping mall. Albeit in a very expensive shop, but still at a shopping mall.”



He continues: “A case in point is the cultured pearl which not very long ago was considered an expensive and coveted gemstone. But suddenly pearls began to appear everywhere and they were embedded on almost anything. The end result was the cheapening of the pearl, which is an object of outstanding beauty.”



One can only hope that the diamond’s fate is not so dire, but one thing is certain – at this point the market for upscale glittery gadgets and Bling shows no signs of weakening. If anything, it is steadily gaining momentum.