Gadgets for the rich

Last updated 11:30 16/03/2010

It never ceases to amaze me how much money some people are willing to pour into flashy gadgets.

ipadOK, I'm not really one to talk, I've put my fair (but probably comparably small) share of money into camera gear, but there are much more drastic examples out there.

You might have seen the diamond-studded iPad (pictured) and thought, "Wow, but who would actually buy that?"

This gaudy Apple is decorated with 11.43 carats of diamonds, hand-set in a micro-paved style. You can pick one up for a mere NZD$28,476. Outrageous!

Or so I thought - then I looked around and found the real big boys of the flashy gadget market.

And here are a few of them, in all their platinum-coated, diamond-faceted glory.

1. The Vacheron Constantin Tour de I'lle watch. Price - NZD$3,658,404.

watch

Called the world's most complicated watch, this marvel was produced in a limited run of seven. It contains 834 parts and required over 10,000 hours of research. It features a minute repeater, sunset time, perpetual calendar, second time zone, a tourbillon device, the equation of time and the representation of the night sky.

2. The Goldvish Le Million mobile phone. Price - NZD$1,956,144.

mobile

The world's most "luxurious and exclusive phone". Only 100 of these were made, and they feature platinum or gold plating with inset diamonds. They are supposedly made to the highest levels of Swiss precision. The specs? Well, they're pretty average, but that's not what matters, right?

3. The PrestigeHD Supreme Rose TV. Price - NZD$1,423,892.

tv

It's a 55-inch HDTV with a difference. It contains 28 kilograms of solid gold and 72 brilliant cut 1ct IF flawless diamonds. The inner frame is made from hand-sewn alligator leather.

4. The Sony PS3 Supreme. Price - NZD$431,855.

ps3

Fashioned by designer Stuart Hughes, it is the most expensive PS3 system in the world. It takes 12 weeks of workmanship to fashion the item, which contains 1.6 kilograms of solid 22ct gold. The disc loading entrance boasts 26 carats of flawless diamonds

5. The Zeus Jupiter desktop PC. Price - NZD$1,066,097.

pc

The Jupiter features a case made entirely from platinum, adorned with jewels in the shape of constellations. Under the hood, it has a 3GHz Core 2 Duo CPU, 2GB of DDR2 RAM and a 1TB hard-drive... pretty ordinary stats for that price, huh?

By the way, those prices are subject to change; you might be able to shop around and save a couple of hundred thousand.

What do you think? Ridiculous? Do any of these gadgets make you wish you were rich? What's the most you have ever spent on a gadget?

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14 comments
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Dan   #1   12:01 pm Mar 16 2010

These look so tackey they belong in Vegas

Heather Carlson   #2   12:04 pm Mar 16 2010

(Sigh!)

paul   #3   12:14 pm Mar 16 2010

It's silly really. Except for that watch. I'd end up wearing it in the shower and buggring it's mechanism.

I would rather blow my (hypothetical) millions on high-spec cars as an absolute statement about my ability to buy and sell small countries.

Mazzykins   #4   12:34 pm Mar 16 2010

Hear hear, Paul! It's hard to fathom that some of these tiny gadgets amount to more than it would cost to buy a Lamborghini (or whatever your car of choice would happen to be).

Yes, these gadgets do make me wish I was rich... so I could NOT spend my money on them. :)

Sheriff of Nothing   #5   01:26 pm Mar 16 2010

Ridiculous? Not really.

People are constantly paying large sums of money for gold, diamonds, and other sniny things. Why does it suddenly become 'ridiculous' once said shiny object is attached to a gadget?

jv   #6   01:27 pm Mar 16 2010

Let me guess americans own these items? Wow that doesnt suprise me! lol..what a joke to spend so much money on crap!

Tracey   #7   01:40 pm Mar 16 2010

My partner and I can't even afford an engagement ring with .5ct diamond and here we have a cell phone smothered in them. Oh how the other half live....

jared   #8   02:32 pm Mar 16 2010

like the article says, most are limited edition and there arnt many of them made. so they r for the super rich. people with billions in the bank, yeah some look tackey but hey some people r tackey. i see tackey people every day and they are even rich they r just wearing really really bad stuff.

you cant say you wouldnt spend huge amounts of money on random crap untill you become that rich. every body who dosnt have money says they wont do what other rich people do, but the matter of the fact is that your just guttered you cant do that. you may not want to get that stuff in this article but ul certinaly do something else with that money, like buy 10 ferraris or 18 houses around the world. spending 30 grand on a watch.

but why not spend your money on stuff, if your a billionair you have so much money that you cant possibly spend it all in a life time. you cant take your money with you when you die. so why not splash out on everything, buy something that there are only 7 of in the world even tho it costs over a million. you dont know what kind of life you will leade unitll you have millions in the bank account.

The other other Simon   #9   03:16 pm Mar 16 2010

@Jared #8

If you've got that much dosh, why waste it on pointless bling when you could give it away in ways that will make a positive difference in the world.

Much more satisfaction to be gained from that IMO.

Simon.

GL   #10   03:18 pm Mar 16 2010

Love the golden PS3. I wonder if they will need to replace the whole unit if the Blu-Ray reader dies.

@jv #6 - Either Americans or rich folks in UAE.


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