Million-dollar love

Money, they say, can’t buy you love. But as Christopher Marlowe said, it improves your bargaining position. And on Valentine’s Day, what better way to bargain than by dropping a small fortune on a blingtastic bauble that literally screams your love?
This is no time to let a recession stand in the way of expressing your feelings, in fact, now more than ever, you need to dig deep to impress your beloved.

Love in the fast lane

The Bugatti Veyron is so last season, darlings. To truly take your relationship into overdrive, it’s the Aston Martin One-77 you want. Launched at the Paris Motor Show in 2008, it is now widely regarded as the world’s most expensive production car, a title it grabbed from the Veyron merely by raising the stakes in terms of driving technology.
So how much is it? While a final price has not been made public, experts estimate that it could cost in the region of $2.4 million depending on specifications.

Press $ for love

A mere two months ago, the most expensive mobile phone on the market was the Apple iPhone 3GS Supreme, from London-based designer Stuart Hughes. But then, early this year, he trumped himself by upgrading to a nosebleed £1.93 million model finished in rose gold with a handmade platinum bezel featuring 130 individual 0.75ct flawless diamonds, which total 97.5ct. Also set are 4 pink baguette diamonds, each weighing 2.5cts. The rear section is formed with circa 112 grams of 18ct rose gold along with its rose gold Apple logo and 53 diamonds. And the main navigation is by way of a single-cut 7.1ct diamond settled in its 18ct rose gold mount. All the diamonds are certified and are conflict-free.

Take a golden WII

Also from designer Stuart Hughes, this blingtastic video game console is the ideal gift for the man who has everything – or almost everything. The Nintendo Wii Supreme is covered in a 2.5kilo layer of solid 22-carat gold and sprinkled with an aggregate total 19.5 carats of flawless diamonds for the three front buttons. Reportedly, only three have been made – and no wonder! Each is believed to take six months to finish.

And how much would it set you back? A mere £299,995. One Nintendo Wii Supreme can buy almost 2,500 regular Wiis, so your love is worth 2,500 times than the ordinary person’s!
 
Heart bath

Probably one of the cheesiest gifts in the eyes of anyone who isn’t madly in love, a heart-shaped Jacuzzi is the perfect way to spend time together if you’re a couple of homebodies. If you have ever tried to have a romantic rendezvous in a standard Jacuzzi, you know how difficult it can be to get amorous. But with heart-shaped baths designed for two, these models are both more roomy and more conducive to romance. One of these babies should set you back between $5000 and $10,000, with installation costs extra.
 
Diamond love

High-quality lingerie is the best kind to invest in, but the true connoisseur wants something special. Such as the 2009 Harlequin Fantasy Bra, designed exclusively for Victoria’s Secret by Damiani. Giving a new meaning to the term eye candy, it is hand-set with over 2,350 brilliant-cut white, champagne- and cognac-coloured diamonds and accentuated with a rare 16-carat heart-shaped champagne diamond pendant, making for a total of 150 carats. It can be worn in five different ways, strapless, halter, crossback, one strap or classic. And all it costs is a cool $3 million.
 
Holiday fever

This week-long package is not for the weak-hearted. Abu Dhabi’s iconic Emirates Palace Hotel, which has played host to world leaders and oil-rich sheikhs, has advertised a $1 million Valentine’s dream holiday.

The package includes a first-class return trip on Etihad Airways from any international destination to Abu Dhabi, seven nights’ stay in a 680 square-metre Palace Suite at the hotel, a chauffeur-driven Maybach at the disposal of you and your partner, all meals, daily treatments at the Anantara Spa, the services of a personal butler and a choice of a variety of other add-ons, such as a romantic dhow cruise, camel racing, falconry, a Rolls Royce Golf experience, a helicopter tour of the emirate, the services of a personal shopper, bespoke perfumes and more.

And over the holiday,  you can spend three separate days travelling on a private jet to different countries around the Middle East, including exotic Iran, pearl-rich Bahrain and historic, biblical Jordan. The package can be booked from now until the end of the year.