Double Your Bentley’s Value with Diamond-Set Gear Shift

Ahead of the annual Specialty Equipment Market Association trade show last year in Las Vegas, LP Wheel owner Tony Lee created a $150,000 diamond-studded, 18 karat white-gold Bentley gear shift.

“I wanted people to feel luxury in the palm of their hand,” Lee told The New York Times. “People wear jewelry in their car, so I came up with the idea that the car should wear jewelry, too.”

It took more than 100 hours to set the 30 carats of diamonds onto the 10-ounce stripe of gold in the middle of the knob. “For the past couple of years, the most popular car for the big dogs has been the Bentley Continental GT,” he said, which carries a suggested retail price of about $165,000.

Each diamond is 2.5 millimeters in diameter, a size that according to Lee provides the maximum effect: larger stones would have created unsightly gaps around the knob’s edges, while smaller stones wouldn’t appear dazzling enough.

Maybe the dazzle was not enough. The Times reported that the custom knob is so expensive that the company has been unable to sell it. The knob is now on display at LP Wheel Group headquarters in Las Vegas.

Lee feels it was worth while. The item created enough buzz to buy him publicity that exceeds the cost. “A lot of publicists have been calling us about making custom knobs.”