Not a child's play

Madame Alexander Eloise $5 mn

If you thought Barbie was expensive, this one might be a shock. Created by doll designer and the toy’s namesake Madame Alexander, this stylish handmade doll comes wearing Christian Dior clothes, Oscar de la Renta fur and Katherine Baumann accessories decorated with Swarovski crystals and 9 carats of diamonds. She’s one of five total, each coming with other accessories like an equally stylish dog for one.

Charles Hollander Backgammon Set $5 mn

Charles Hollander — like Sidney Mobell — was entranced with the idea of creating precious versions of standard board games. His chess set is very well known (it is believed to cost around half a million dollars) but it was the backgammon set, created in conjunction with renowned artist Bernard Maquin, that people associate with the Hollander name the most. Drawing inspiration from the origins of backgammon in ancient Mesopotamia, Maquin designed a set that harkens back to the world of the Arabian Nights. No less than 61,082 diamonds of various varieties made their way into the backgammon set (the checkers were set with nearly 3,000 white diamonds), over six-and-a-half kilos of gold and 150 gm of silver. A most expensive masterpiece!

Lamborghini Aventador Model Car $4.8 mn

This toy car will cost you 12 times more than the real thing. It took 500 hours to finish the model, which is just 1/8 the size of the original. It does have pricey features like gold and platinum rims, studded with diamonds in its seats, steering wheel and headlights. This beautiful model was designed and made by German engineer Robert Gulpen. If you can afford it, it’s probably best that you buy the real thing, which is a meager $400,000 and fully operational.

Shimansky Soccer Ball $2.5 mn

You cannot kick this soccer ball, and yet it costs a whopping $2.59 million. The reason: this ball is a 4.8 pound beauty that is encrusted with 3500 carats of South African diamonds including 6620 white diamonds and 2640 black diamonds. It was created by South African jewelry brand Shimansky to commemorate the soccer World Cup held in that nation in 2010. Shimansky took three months to design and manufacture this magnum opus. The ball was made to attract wealthy soccer fans and tourists and entice them to buy Shimansky’s gemstones and other precious wares. The manufacturer also produced crystal replicas of the ball, displayed them in local stores, and auctioned them for charity.

Golden Monopoly $2 mn

This version of the popular board game Monopoly is made of 18 carat gold and encrusted with jewels. Made by the San Francisco jewellery designer Sidney Mobell in 1988, he donated it to the Smithsonian Museum in 2003. Mobell spent a whole year making the game. The number dots on the set of dice are made with 42 full-cut diamonds. Properties in the game board are set in a total of 165 gemstones. The hotels are topped with sapphires and the house chimneys with rubies.