With Easter arriving this Sunday, we thought it would be fun to take a close look at the world’s most extravagant chocolate Easter bunny — a confectionery masterpiece that boasts real diamonds for eyes and a price tag of $49,000.
British master chocolatier Martin Chiffers spares no expense in the execution of the 15-inch-tall statuette that he personally hand carves from a solid block of Tanzania-sourced chocolate.
The bunny weighs in at a dense 11 pounds and packs a staggering 548,000 calories. But even more impressive are the bunny’s ravishing diamond eyes — each a GIA-certified round brilliant-cut gem that weighs 1.7 carats. Nestled around the bunny's left foot is a gilded bonus — three edible gold-leaf Easter eggs that punctuate the lavish design.
Although Chiffers frequently finds himself pushing the limits of chocolate indulgence, this is the first time he’s used gems in his creations.
“While I'm am very accustomed to teaching about and creating extravagant luxury chocolate pieces,” he said, “incorporating diamonds is a first."
The VS clarity, G-color diamonds are valued at $37,320, or about 76% of the bunny’s total value. The rest is attributed to the high-end chocolate and the amount of labor that goes into the piece. Chiffers reported that the carving of the chocolate takes two full days. On his Facebook page, he called the process "therapeutic."
For this diamond bunny project, Chiffers collaborated with two London-based firms famous for their over-the-top offerings — the web site VeryFirstTo and online jeweler 77 Diamonds.
While the original bunny design calls for white diamond eyes, Chiffers is able to swap them out for colored diamonds or other precious gemstones. Once the bunny is devoured, 77 Diamonds is offering to set the gemstone eyes into a custom piece of jewelry at no extra charge.
Eleven pounds of chocolate may take a while to consume, but the good news is that the bunny has a two-year shelf life if it is kept at the relatively cool temperature of 60 degrees Fahrenheit.
Images via VeryFirstTo.com, Facebook/Martin Chiffers
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