Jewelry designer Hugh Power is being hailed as a real-life King Midas, after making it his life’s mission to transform the most mundane everyday objects into opulent gold jewelry.
The Beverly Hills-based artist runs ‘House of Solid Gold’, a company that specializes in turning mundane objects like glasses or earbuds into luxurious gold-plated accessories that sell for tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Need anything made of gold? Power’s your man. He once made a gold toothpick for rap superstar Snoop Dog, because that’s what you need to scoop out food from between your gold teeth, but his collection of gold accessories includes gold shoelaces ($14,995), gold earbuds (14,995), gold chopsticks ($1,695), gold glasses ($75,000) and even a gold-plated, diamond-encrusted football ($375,000).
But Hugh Power’s pride and joy might just be this $500,000 mountain bike made of solid 24-karat gold, with its chain, spokes, and pedals also covered in the precious metal. The logo at the front has 500 black diamonds and 600 yellow sapphires, while the seat is covered with alligator skin. There’s even a custom gold water bottle wrapped in stingray hide. Although the price is rather steep, Power is confident that the bike will eventually find a buyer.
“There’s so much money out there and they’re looking for places to spend it,” he said. “You’ll always remember who gave you the gifts of gold.”
He might be right, given that humans seem completely obsessed with gold. Remember this bread sprinkled with gold dust, gold-plated chicken wing bones, and this Indian man who wore a pure gold shirt? Power knows what he’s talking about.
Photos: House of Solid Gold
