World's first gem-coated car - 70,000 carats worth! / The Beading Gem

The Tokyo Auto Salon 2010 has a bedazzling car which is currently making the news. Honda Net Nara showcased a Honda Odyssey covered with 70,000 carats of Kyoto Opal. Not just sparkle but the special paint job has the distinctive color play of opal. Kyoto Opal is a synthetic opal lab-cultured to be the same quartz grain material as natural opal. They combined it with Jewel Paint, a new type of coating technology from Honda Net Nara. All that dazzle for 8 million yen or US$88,000....not counting the car. Check out the video.

While most of us are not interested in, let alone afford a blinged out car, the coating technology is innovative. Kyocera is the manufacturer of Kyoto Opal or man made color opal. Natural opal is inherently brittle but the man made opal will not split or crack. It can thus be easily cut into many shapes. The special staining techniques have resulted in a rich selection of tints and hues. The material was launched last year for other applications like clothing and fashion accessories like buttons. Perhaps we may have Kyoto Opal beads for us some day? Via