Here's a chance to own a ritzy car

Do you want your favourite ride to stand out from the crowd of uber-luxurious cars that can be spotted garnering eyeballs on the roads of Dubai? If the answer is yes, then what better way to do it than jazzing your car up with diamonds or other precious stones.

And if you are regretting why you never thought of it while you were placing an order for your car, then don't despair. We have just the man to do it for you, and right here, in Dubai.

Cyril Mothe, the French designer, has made the emirate his home after spending 10 years working for the royal family in Saudi Arabia.

The latest creation to come out of Mothe's studio is an Aston Martin DB9 Volante.

This car, that has been priced a little over Dh5 million has been customised by Mothe, using bamboo and brown diamonds. The 8,474, brilliant-cut diamonds weighing 1,238 carats have been hand-crafted into the dashboard, the main consol between the two front seats and the door capping.

When the car will be sold the initials of the owner will be engraved in the ashtray in the console with white diamonds.

Brown diamonds have been chosen to match the cream and brown interiors of the car and the diamonds vary from light to dark brown to give a shadowy effect.

Mothe took six months to customise this car. The whole process, right from conceptualisation, study of the project, creation of a 3D simulation for approval of the client, to having the actual product on the ground took one year.

The designer creates just two cars a year and he never repeats a design, so owners of the customised car are assured no one else will have a car like theirs.

Mothe told Emirates Business: "The idea behind using diamonds was to push the boundary of car customisation and make people realise that diamonds are not just for jewellery, but you can use them in everyday products.

"When people hear of a car studded with diamonds they think it is too much bling. But we have done this tastefully, aesthetically, with a lot of thought," he said.

Mothe revealed how it all started. "I belong to a family of jewellers. My family has been in the business of manufacturing jewellery and providing precious stones to the biggest jewellery stores in Paris, for three generations. I used to help manufacture pieces of jewellery that had been designed by others. That used to frustrate me no end as I longed to make modifications to those designs and design my own jewellery.

"Fortunately for me, my parents realised the creative streak in me and gave me the freedom to experiment and create." Mothe's parents' trust in their son's abilities paid off. In 2002 he launched his own brand called Sicelo.

He set up shop in Rue de la Paix in Paris and called on the expertise of Place Vendôme's most exclusive workshop. Several months later, a Saudi prince, an eclectic art lover, summoned Cyril Mothe to the Ritz, placed several orders and invited Cyril to join him on his travels around the world.

Mothe also designed several pieces of jewellery for the Saudi prince and his household before customising the princes' TVR.

Mothe recalled: "It all started five years ago when the prince asked me to customise his car with black diamonds. After that I customised a DB7 and S40 before launching on the DB9 project."

Even though diamonds are Mothe's favourite, he also uses other precious stones and materials such as gold, silver, amethyst and diamond dust. Now that the DB9 is completed, Mothe is thinking ahead.

"My next project is a Mercedes Maybach and a limousine."

So turn your favourite car into a ritzy one, but be warned, there is a mile long waiting list.

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