THE DECODER

… is the price of this one-off diamond-encrusted knife. Here’s what makes it the ultimate indulgence

A diamond-encrusted knife worth Dh550,875

Two years in the making,

the Platinum Mamba represents the concerted effort of 50 highly skilled artisans, including jewellers, metallurgists, cra smen and designers. The team created countless sketches and prototypes, and performed numerous tests, before this final creation came into being. “The Platinum Mamba is a one-off, one-of-a-kind object, never to be produced again,” says Rob Bianchin, the American director of Sandrin Knives.

The curved, concave handle of the Platinum Mamba was shaped from 11.5 ounces of platinum,

inset with rare Wyoming black jade and decorated with 320 colourless F, GIA-grade diamonds. Metallurgists worked with polyhedral tungsten carbide to create a blade that is harder than that of any steel knife in existence.

Tungsten carbide is an engineered material

that starts as a mix of powdered chemical compounds, primarily tungsten, carbide and cobalt. A er sintering in specialised ovens for 20 hours, this forms a material so hard that it can only be shaped using diamond grinding wheels.

Sandrin Knives prides itself on “exceeding carbide technology”

and is the first company to use the material in the production of knives. Another jewel in the company’s crown is the Big Bang knife. The handle of this $10,000 (Dh36,725) collector’s item is made from a 4.5-billion-year-old meteorite.

For those looking for a more affordable option,

the Italian blade maker offers a selection of “standard” knives, including the Explorer, Venom, Venor and Initium. Each blade can be matched with a handle of choice, depending on whether your tastes veer towards mammoth tusk, abalone, carbon fibre or micarta. Each knife comes delivered in a special box, with a certificate of authenticity. Prices start at Dh1,500.