TVs are a common household consumer electronic. It almost falls under a basic need. Most people will pay a reasonable amount to get a decent TV from manufacturers like Samsung, LG, Hisense, and Sony. However, not every consumer wants a reasonably priced TV with excellent specifications.
Some consumers like going the extra mile when buying such household items. They want a TV that stands out and starts conversations. That is why some consumer electronics manufacturers are willing to make one-of-a-kind TVs catering to monied clients’ wants.
This article will highlight some of the features of the most expensive TV in the world, the Stuart Hughes PrestigeHD Supreme Rose Edition. Continue reading to learn why the TV has such a high price tag.
Facts About the Most Expensive TV in the World
- The Stuart Hughes PrestigeHD Supreme Rose Edition holds the Guinness World Record for the most expensive TV in the world.
- When launched, the PrestigeHD Supreme Rose Edition had a price tag of $2,250,000.
- Stuart Hughes released the television in 2010.
- The Supreme Rose Edition TV is covered in 61.73 pounds (28 kilograms) of rose gold.
- The TV contains other precious gems and stones like diamonds, amethyst, and sunstone.
- The TV is also lined with handcrafted alligator skin.
The History of The Stuart Hughes PrestigeHD Supreme Rose Edition: What to Know
Before we get into the history of the most expensive TV, we have to understand the company that made the product. The TV was created by Stuart Hughes, a company that shares its name with its founder.
Stuart Hughes was born in 1971 in Liverpool, UK, where he grew up observing and taking in the city’s rich arts, music, and sporting scene. As an adult, he sought to have a similar impact on both the town he grew up in and the world.
He would go on to join forces with designer Jo-Emma Larvin to found a company called Goldstriker International. Goldstriker International would later serve as the parent company of Stuart Hughes. Together, Hughes and Larvin started designing desirable items infused with luxurious features.
Notable Items
Today, the company has a reputation for making even the most common items unique by adding opulent gems, jewels, and metals. Some of their most iconic products have broken world records.
For example, the company made the world’s most expensive denim jacket under commission for a musician. The jacket contained 2.1 kilograms of 21-carat gold, platinum details, and 129 carats of diamonds for around $4,500,000 USD.
Stuart Hughes also holds the record for making the world’s most expensive gaming console. In 2015, the company made three Nintendo Wii Supreme consoles. Each console contained 2.5 kilograms of 22-carat gold, while the console’s buttons were made from diamonds. The selling price was just over $454,000 USD using 2015’s exchange rate.
As you may have noticed, Stuart Hughes products are not for everyone. The company’s products cost the same as supercars like Ferraris and Lamborghinis and properties like houses and yachts. Its record-breaking television is similarly priced.
One of Stuart Hughes’ most notable products is the Stuart Hughes PrestigeHD Supreme Rose Edition television, unveiled in 2010. The company made only three Supreme Rose Edition TVs, each with a retail price of $2.25 million.
The Supreme Rose Edition TV was a 55-inch TV made by PrestigeHD using technology from the German company Metz. Stuart Hughes handled the design duties.
The Stuart Hughes PrestigeHD Supreme Rose Edition: Each Edition
Stuart Hughes PrestigeHD Supreme Rose Edition
The Supreme Rose Edition TV has a base, stand, and frame made using solid 18-carat rose gold weighing roughly 61.73 pounds. The 18-carat gold refers to gold’s purity. It means the gold contains 75% rose gold, and the other 25% contains another metal, such as silver.
The frame also contains 72 round cut one-carat diamonds. However, carats denote weight when referring to diamonds, unlike gold, where carats represent purity. A one-carat diamond weighs 0.2 grams, meaning the PrestigeHD Supreme Gold Edition contains 14.4 grams of diamonds.
The Supreme Rose Edition has Flawless (Fl) diamonds, which according to the GIA Clarity Scale is the highest classification. A Flawless rating means the diamonds do not have any materials trapped inside or blemishes and fractures visible by a skilled diamond grader under 10x magnification.
The rest of the frame is decorated using other ornamental gemstones, including sunstones and amethysts. The sunstones help liven up the frame with their bright orange and red colors resembling the sun. Sunstones are also an incredible addition due to their adularescence properties. Adularescence, or the Schiller effect, is an optical effect visible in some gemstones denoted by a shimmering, milky reflection on the stones’ surfaces.
Amethyst is a purple-colored quartz once considered among the five cardinal gems alongside sapphires, rubies, emeralds, and diamonds. Lastly, the inner lining of the Supreme Rose Gold Edition is covered in hand-sewn alligator skin.
Stuart Hughes PrestigeHD Supreme
The PrestigeHD Supreme Rose Edition is not the only TV released by Stuart Hughes in 2010. The company intended to start a line of luxury TVs, and it had to offer more than one option to consumers.
The second choice was the Stuart Hughes PrestigeHD Supreme, which shares several qualities with the Supreme Rose Edition. For example, the Supreme has a base, stand, and frame with similar ornamentations like gold and diamonds and a 55-inch high-definition display. Its inner bezel is also lined with hand-sewn alligator skin.
However, when released, the PrestigeHD Supreme had a $1.5 million price tag, which is $750,000 cheaper than the PrestigeHD Supreme Rose Edition. The PrestigeHD Supreme is cheaper, relatively speaking, than the PrestigeHD Supreme Rose Edition because it has fewer gems and precious metals. The Supreme has around 41.88 pounds of 22-carat gold covering the base, stand, and parts of the frame. That means the gold on the Supreme has a 91.67% purity compared to the Supreme Rose Edition; however, it is about 20 pounds lighter, lowering the overall value.
In addition, the Supreme Edition’s frame contains 48 round cut 0.75-carat diamonds, meaning the total weight of diamonds on the TV is 7.2 grams. The Supreme Edition has Internally Flawless (IF) diamonds, the second highest ranking on the clarity scale. An IF classification means the diamonds do not have any materials trapped inside. Instead, they have blemishes visible to a skilled grader under 10x magnification. Other precious stones used on the PrestigeHD Supreme Edition include aventurine, a type of quartz, and topaz.
Public Response
At the time of the Stuart Hughes PrestigeHD Supreme Rose Edition’s release, the global economy was still recovering from a recession. As such, much of the media focused on recovery efforts. In addition, the public did not have an appetite for news about extravagant spending.
As a result, you will be hard-pressed to find news articles about the Supreme Rose Edition TV launch on any of the major news networks and publishers like Forbes, Bloomberg, and Business Insider. However, several other news outlets covered the TV’s launch, and its prominence has continued to spark interest more than a decade after its unveiling. In addition, our research did not find evidence of an elaborate launch event hosted by Stuart Hughes to unveil the world’s most expensive TV.
Regarding public opinion about the Supreme Rose Edition TV, most people did not understand why one would spend over $2 million on a TV. They believe it is a waste of resources on an object with vastly cheaper alternatives and one that will not retain value. Moreover, many people agree that the TV’s ornamentation is excessive, which proves counterproductive because the TV is not necessarily attractive or aesthetically pleasing.
Given the uniqueness of the Supreme Rose Edition TV, you will not find it for sale in major retail stores and outlets. Instead, it is more likely that the TV’s sale was an in-house affair carried out by Stuart Hughes. Furthermore, Stuart Hughes only made three such TVs to maintain the model’s exclusivity. This negated the need to find a retailer to sell them. Lastly, judging whether the TV was a success or a failure is challenging. That is because Stuart Hughes only made three TVs to provide bespoke items to its customers.
