Extreme diamond jewellery – it’s a dog’s life
Being an animal lover, I am always drawn to cute canines when passing them in the street. Often, as was the case today, I see pups that have been dressed in tiny knits, exuding an almost unbearable cuteness akin to no other animals but themselves. Some dog owners relish the chance of pimping their pooches, but one in particular definitely took that concept to the extreme by kitting his furry friend out in $4.2 million worth of emerald and diamond jewellery.
Riwin Jirapolsek of Thailand, made Kanune, his 15-year-old Maltese, a titanium tiara encrusted with 250 carats worth of emerald and diamond jewellery for a Bangkok dog show. Jirapolsek, a diamond jeweller by trade, used gems given to him by his mother to make the piece, vowing to make Kanune a hair clip next. “It needs a hair clip, otherwise its fur will block its view. (The clip) may be decorated with jewels too,” he told Reuters Television.
Surprisingly, it seems that he is not the only one. In the US, pampering pets with expensive gifts such as diamond jewellery, has become a common trend. Dog owners are often buying their pets matching items to those they wear themselves, with as many as 23% admitting to having spoiled their beloved pals with precious gems and stones, including diamonds. Popular diamond jewellery for dogs can be obtained in the form of leads, collars, pendants, bracelets, necklaces and clips, all encrusted with the precious stones. The items come in different shapes and sizes according to the age and breed of the dog and even follow trends, as featured in Diamond Dogs and Canine Couture magazines. Not only are specialist diamond jewellers for dogs emerging to cater for this newly popular trend, ordinary jewellers in some states are having to design separate lines especially for canine counterparts, simply to keep up with demand.
This unusual craze of dressing dogs in diamond jewellery is yet to take off in the UK and the cynics among us may question whether it ever will. Discounting the cost of such a generous and unappreciated gift, the practicalities of the situation perhaps outweigh the slightly ostentatious token of the dog owner’s affections – no one would want their pet to return home from its walk in the park without it’s diamond encrusted bracelet on it’s furry paw. In the case of Kanune, his amazing example of canine diamond jewellery did not win him any prizes, but somehow he managed to steal the show anyway – a sufficient outcome for his loving and satisfied owner.
Pia Chaudhuri