Abu Dhabi’s seven‑star Emirates Palace still owns the record for the world’s most expensive Christmas tree: a 13‑metre (43‑foot) artificial fir with a jaw‑dropping $11 million valuation. The tree itself? Roughly $10,000. The real money is in what’s hanging from its branches.
Forget glass baubles and fairy lights. This tree was dressed in 181 pieces of high jewelry from local jeweller Style Gallery: diamond, pearl and emerald necklaces, earrings, bracelets and watches, loaded with diamonds, sapphires and other precious stones. The priciest single item was a diamond set worth around $1 million. The jewels were on loan and went back to the gallery after the holidays, but the spectacle was enough to lock in a Guinness World Record for the “most expensively dressed Christmas tree.”
Planted in the hotel’s gold‑leafed lobby, the display mixed classic Christmas lights with serious haute joaillerie, all in the name of maximum excess. It flashed more bling than a rap video, yet the hotel didn’t actually spend $11 million; the value sat in the borrowed gems, not in a purchase.
[ Via : WSJ ]
