The diamond industry can take a lesson from British artist Damien Hirst. His latest work is a platinum cast of an 18th century man’s skull, encrusted with 8,601 flawless diamonds weighing a total of 1,200 carats. The skull titled ‘For the Love of God’ is part of a larger exhibit of his work which opened in London this month. The 18cm-tall piece has a tag of $98 million and has been dubbed the most expensive work by a living artist.

Diamond Skull

What is really interesting, however, is the fact that Hirst had added more value to the diamonds in the skull than any piece of jewellery could even hope to achieve. The skull cost only some $20 million to fabricate – which means the finished piece has achieved a staggering five-fold increase in value addition! And there are more add-ons – lower-priced limited edition silkscreen prints embellished with diamond dust ranging in price from $18,000 to $200,000.

But associating the macabre with diamonds is as far away from their entrenched emotional appeal of eternal love as anything could be. In fact, Hirst states that his masterpiece stands for the inevitability of death! So much for the ‘forever’ nature of love etc. that De Beers has been pushing for close to 80 years. Perhaps De Beers’ strategic team should get in touch with Hirst to institute Supplier Of Choice-3!

Hirst is a well-known British painter, sculptor and installation artist whose work features preserved and mutilated animals, blood, gore and violence. Understandably, the reaction to his art ranges from anger and shock to admiration.

Using morbid symbols in jewellery is not new. A small consumer segment, such as celebrities, rock stars and those in search of alternate fashion, appreciates the skulls and crossbows genre of jewellery, and well known designers such as Vivienne Westwood, Alexander McQueen have juxtaposed skulls with diamonds, as have jewellery brands Christian Dior and Roberto Coin. The attention which the skull is attracting will probably result in much more jewellery being designed along similar lines.

To wrap up, here are some details about the diamond skull. It was made by Bentley and Skinner, a silversmith in Bond Street, Central London. The firm says it is the largest diamond commission since the crown jewels, and contains three times as many diamonds as the imperial state crown.The cast of the skull uses 2,156 grams of platinum and is encrusted with 8,601 VVS diamonds totaling 1200 cts. The forehead has a ring of 14 white pear-shaped diamonds (3-12 ct each). In the centre is a 52 ct fancy pink from Angola which has been titled the Skull Star Diamond.