$4.2 Million Christmas Tree is a Good Deal, Says Tokyo Jewelry Store (VIDEO)
'Gold is Over 4,400 Yen Per Gram,' Says Jewelry Exec
A $4.2 million Christmas tree is making waves internationally after the pure gold wonder of craftsmanship was created by the Ginza Tanaka jewelry store in Tokyo, Japan. The nearly 8-foot tall tree is also covered in various Disney characters.
The $4.2 million Christmas tree— that's 350 million Japanese yen— is priced not only for the pure gold it was crafted from, but the work that went into it. Its 1.2 meters in diameter, 2.4 meters tall, weighs 88 pounds, and took 10 craftsmen two months to finish.
Despite the hefty price tag, which accounts for the gold ribbon draped around the tree, Tanaka Kikinzou Jewelry, which runs the Ginza Tanaka jewelry store, maintains that $4.2 million is a good deal.
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"Right now gold is over 4,400 yen per gram. We used pure gold and had an expert craftsman form each Disney character by hand," Tomoko Ishibashi, of the company's marketing department, told Reuters.
The 50 silhouettes of Disney characters like Mickey Mouse, Tinker Bell, and Cinderella covering the tree made the store a hit for customers, who took pictures and video of the shiny Christmas tree.
"It is vivid and the gold is very pretty," Takashi Miura, a 36-year-old jeweler, said. "The characters on it are also really cute and it really looks like a Christmas tree."
Although no one has yet taken the first steps to spend $4.2 million on the ornate tree, a smaller version of the tree with less Disney characters has caught the eye of some buyers, according to Ishibashi.
The smaller solid-gold Christmas tree has about 20 of the children's characters, and is about 25 centimeters— about 10 inches— tall. The price tag is still too pricey for many Christmas shoppers at $2 million, or $243,000 Japanese yen.
Click below to see a video of the solid gold Christmas tree.
