Just a few hours before the World Cup of Soccer kicked off in South Africa, luxury jewellery house Shimansky unveiled a special soccer ball. This one was encrusted with diamonds.
This balloon was made from 6,620 white and 2,640 black round cut diamonds produced in South Africa. It is valued at $2.5 million and has a total weight of 3,500 carats.
The ball took months of painstaking work to complete. It weighs about 4.8 pounds (2.2 kilograms) and has the same dimensions as the official ball for the World Cup on right now in South Africa.
Michele Meyer is marketing manager for Shimansky. She comments: "It took about three months from conception of design to manufacture of the first crystal soccer ball."
Shimansky is presently in talks with the owners of two European football teams who are interested in purchasing the precious ball.
The jewellery house also offers rings with 9.3 carats worth of diamonds that are exact replicas of those used for the ball.