StuartHughes
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iPad 2 gets an $8 million Cretaceous makeover with dino bones, diamonds and gold
In case you weren't aware, Apple's sold a whole lot of iPad 2s, so aside from the couple of bezel color choices or adding a Smart Cover, there's not much you can do to make your tablet stand out from the crowd. Well, now there's another option for the well-heeled gadget lover. Stuart Hughes is back with another custom gadget for the economic elites called the iPad 2 Gold History Edition. It's got a solid gold backside, an Apple logo and home button crafted from a total of 65 flawless diamonds, plus a bezel crafted from Ammolite rock and slivers of thigh bone from a Tyrannosaurus Rex. Between all that ice and prehistoric bling, there won't be a problem picking this iPad out of a lineup. What is a problem (for most of us, anyway) is the price: eight million dollars. We dig the dino look and all, but that's an awfully hefty entrance fee -- we'd rather buy a stock slate and take a few dozen trips to the final frontier instead.
Stuart Hughes strikes again with world's most expensive, diamond covered iPhone 4
We've already established that if you're filthy rich, you probably don't want the same cell phone as common folk. No, if you're looking for something higher end, you'll probably end up talking to Stuart Hughes, who customizes electronics by plating them in gold and diamonds. We've already seen his work on a $20,000 iPhone 4, but his latest achievement is downright ridiculous. Called the "world's most expensive phone" (we'll see how long that lasts), Hughes made two identical models for an Australian client. Each handset includes over 500 diamonds and totals over 100 karats, and comes in its own special granite box. Its total cost is £5 million -- nearly 8 million dollars. Just don't bother crying when you leave it on the seat of a cab.
iPhone 4 Diamond Edition: white, unlocked, and $20k
Looking for something a bit more eye-catching than a iPhone 4 with a wooden veneer? Then it looks like you can once again thank Stuart Hughes for throwing any subtlety to the wind and going all out with the so-called iPhone 4 Diamond Edition. As you can see, not only does the phone pack a smattering of diamonds (including a bedazzled Apple logo), but it's a white iPhone 4 (32GB, naturally), and unlocked for good measure. Of course, there's no guarantees you'll actually get it before white iPhone 4s become commonplace, but we're pretty sure this is $20,000 well spent either way.
iPad Supreme Edition: worth its weight in smug
It's that time again, the time when excess ruins a perfectly functional device. You can thank Stuart and Katherine Hughes for creating this 22ct "solid gold" iPad Supreme Edition slathered in 53 gems. A cookie for the first person to wear this £129,995 (about $190k) monstrosity from an iPad Chain.
Stuart Hughes' gold Privé brick phone redefines 80s excess
Stuart Hughes usually reserves its gold and diamonds for recent gadgets, but the fine purveyor of ridiculous excess has taken a slightly different approach with its latest offering: the $200,000+ Privé brick phone. In addition to a 22ct gold shell and a smattering of diamonds, this apparently functional phone packs a color screen and features like SMS support and, um... buttons. Limited to just ten but, amazingly, still in stock.
Stuart Hughes goes low-end with $160k Nokia Supreme
Stuart Hughes aficionados take note. The luxury bedazzler is now back with an entry-level alternative to its $3.2 million iPhone 3GS Supreme. Of course, the new Nokia Supreme will still set you back a suitably ridiculous £99,995 (or $160k), which will get you a Nokia 8800 encrusted with 12.5 cts of pink diamonds, some handmade veneers made from 83 grams of platinum, a navigation button topped off with a single 3 ct diamond, and the usual granite box to store it in. Only three have been made, but it looks like today's your lucky day -- it's still in stock.
Nintendo Wii Supreme is topped with a layer of gold, sprinkled with diamonds, and priced at £300,000
Inventing a new echelon in Engadget's Holiday Gift Guide, Stuart Hughes has managed to Supreme-ize a Nintendo Wii, covering it in over 2,500 grams of solid 22 carat gold and an aggregate total 19.5 carats of flawless diamonds for the three front buttons. Three have been made and were done so reportedly over the span of six months. Asking price is £299,995, or about $484,818 in US dollars, which if you go by Kotaku's admittedly untrained estimations is about $200,000 in raw materials and the rest in labor / profit. The only to make this sound reasonable is if we compared it alongside a $3.2 million iPhone 3GS, and what do ya know, that was also a Stuart Hughes creation. We're gonna take a stab in the dark and say that Wii Sports is not included.
iPhone 3GS Supreme is diamond encrusted, spectacularly expensive
Seeing as how the iPhone's exclusivity status has been slipping, it was inevitable that the bourgeoisie would invent a new way to distinguish themselves from the lowly masses. Enter a designer by the name of Stuart Hughes, already expertly familiar with slapping precious metals onto slightly less precious mobile phones. He classes up a 3GS handset with a 22 carat solid gold body, which he then sprinkles with no less than 190 diamonds. And just to make sure none of the riff raff can get their hands on it, this creation is priced at £1.92 million ($3.2 million), which places it precisely £1.92 million outside our budget. Completing the, erm, value proposition is a storage chest cut from a single block of granite, which you may peep after the break.
