Those of you who managed to catch this year’s Dubai based Big Boys Toys event on The Palm – which showcases the glamorous, the novel, the exquisite, and on occasion, the downright baffling – may well recognise this Diamond coated Bentley Continental GTC from Swiss company Luxury Refinish.
‘Just your average 2012 Continental with sparkles,’ I hear you postulating. Not quite. That’s not just your average gloss with a healthy dose of glitter. That’s 32 layers of 101-carat diamond paint, an innovative new product perfected by Swiss company Luxury Refinish, the sole international supplier of surface finishing using grounded diamonds straight from the mine.
It’s tempting to see this model – now on display at Centurion Cars in Al Aweer – as proof of an extraordinary bank balance or a way of showing the wife that you REALLY love her. There is a meticulous amount of effort that goes into this process though: you’re unlikely to get this kind of finish with even the heartiest of chamois leathers. First the diamonds have to be a malleable size but large enough to retain their brilliance, a balancing act that requires a steady hand.
A coat of varnish is then applied to each diamond filament, which measure only 50 micrometres in size. And instead of just chucking said fragments into the tin, thin layer upon thin layer has to be added to the surface to ensure the diamonds are spread evenly. Unsurprisingly, it takes a good few months work to get the process right.
Now comes the big one: the price. Given that their main selling point is luxury interiors, exquisite exterior styling and over 100 years of heritage, you’ll be pretty close to the $200k mark for a Bentley Continental GTC. You’ll be paying that price again plus change for a diamond-painted bonnet.
If you think that’s pricey, Luxury Refinish and their Art of Diamond acumen also showcase 10 limited edition iPhone 5 covers with a gold and diamond coat finish. All for a very reasonable $23,000. Well, you’d look a fool if you had one and not the other…
– FULL GALLERY OF IMAGES HERE – CLICK – Shots courtesy of Justus Nyman.
