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Wales Online
Wales Online
National
Daniel Smith

Why this Christmas tree is worth an incredible £12m

This lavishly decorated Christmas tree is estimated to be worth a staggering £12.5million.

The opulent, 19ft tree sparkles with trinkets hand-crafted from upcycled jewellery and designer fabrics, including a "Cartier adorned glass bauble" and nutcrackers encrusted with blue sapphires and diamonds.

Celebrity artist Debbie Wingham spent a month making over 500 decorations by hand, with materials such as vintage Louis Vuitton leather, emu eggs, upcycled mink fur and jewellery by Bvlgari, Cartier, Van Cleef, Arpels and Chanel.

Debbie claims her tree smashes the current record for the "world's most expensive Christmas tree" reported to be a $11.4 million sparkler displayed at The Emirates Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi in 2010.

The giant spruce is currently on display at the Five star Kempinski Hotel Bahia in Marbella, Spain.

Debbie, 37, said: “Panic set in when I first saw the size of the tree… they used a crane to get it in the building.

“When I hung the last ornament the feeling of accomplishment was overwhelming.”

She enlisted the help of celebrity friends, including Alexander McQueen’s nephew Gary James McQueen, who created a digital print that is featured throughout the tree.

Debbie added: “It was wonderful to get the support of fellow artisan friends on this project, every part of the tree had to be custom-made.

“I was over the moon when Gary James McQueen offered to create a print especially for the tree. It’s wonderful to have supportive friends in high places."

Gems hanging from the branches include a three carat pink diamond, worth around £2 million, an oval red diamond worth around £4.2 million and nine three carat black diamonds worth a total of £450,000.

Real ostrich eggs were painted with gold leaf and diamond dust paint and the entire tree glitters with 3,000 Swarovski crystals.

Debbie, a British artist famed for her high-value creations, estimates the tree’s exact value to be £11.9 million.

The artist has made a series of “world’s most expensive” items for billionaires in Dubai and beyond.

Earlier this year she appeared on The Wendy Williams show in the USA, to debut an upcycled purse worth £5 million.

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