Premiere Design

As you may have surmised by now, the Ultimate Gear blog is dedicated to A/V products that are extreme in terms of performance, design, and/or price. I normally try to find items that embody all three elements, but sometimes, one of them takes center stage. So it is with the PrestigeHD Signature Rose LCD TV from British luxury purveyor Stuart Hughes, which can be yours for only £1.5 million, or about $2.2 million as of this writing.

Yep, that's right—over $2 million for a 55-inch LCD TV. Of course, it's completely ridiculous, even obscene, but fascinating nonetheless. How can a TV possibly justify such an outrageous sum? Well, the base and outer frame consist of 28 kilograms of 18k rose gold, and the outer frame is studded with 72 brilliant-cut, 1-carat IF flawless diamonds as well as sunstones and amethysts. The inner frame is hand-sewn alligator skin—obviously, this TV won't find a home with any super-rich environmentalists.

Is the TV itself any good? Supplied by Metz of Germany, it offers 1080p resolution, full LED backlighting with local dimming behind an IPS (in-plane switching) LCD panel, 200Hz refresh rate (remember, this is the European market, which starts at 50Hz instead of 60Hz as in the US), SRS sound, and an integrated DVR. That all seems fine, but I can't imagine watching a TV with that much bling in the bezel.

Of course, you can get a superb 55-inch LCD TV for a tiny fraction of 1 percent of what this one costs, but that's not the point here, is it? The PrestigeHD Signature Rose is so exclusive, only three will be made, and I have little doubt they will be sold—to those with more money than sense.