Jay Johnson - We're seeing the strong trend in everyday objects to guild the lily by adding a jewelry element. Today's design must be both beautiful and functional. Take a spatula, for instance. We could have a boring, traditional stick of wood with a white rubber spreading tip affixed to the end, or we could add color and interesting materials like bamboo or steel or resin to really make the object pop and distinguish it from the ordinary.
UK artist Damien Hirst's diamond-encrusted skull, 2007, helped start the trend
Enter the jewelry effect. We're seeing precious and semi-precious stones added to art, like Damien Hirst's diamond skull (above), and everyday objects to greatly increase both their bling and price tag. Click on each photograph for more info on the be-jeweled items.
Vertu: diamond-covered model is costliest cell phone in the world
The Natural Sapphire Company: $700,000 for its white gold and sapphire-encrusted iPad case
India's Nano Car: the cheapest car in the world has a gold, silver, semi-precious stone edition
HYLA Vacuum: $21,900 model boasting 32,000 Swarovski crystals
Dussault jeans: $10,000 denims boast gold, diamond, ruby wallet chains
We thank Sheffield School, New York, NY, for permission to reprint this post. Sheffield began as an Interior Design school in 1985, and then expanded our course offerings to train people in other design-related fields, including Feng Shui, Wedding and Event Planning, and Jewelry Design. With thousands of active students and more than 50,000 graduates, Sheffield has trained more design professionals than any school in the world.