Most Expensive Hood Ornament in the World
How much can cost the most expensive hood ornament in the world?
For rich people, a glimpse of their fortune. Ornaments on the right cars lood good, look prestigious. And if it’s coated in diamonds, well … you’ll get all the attention. Let’s find out more about this item which is claimed to be the world’s most expensive hood ornament.
The world’s most expensive hood ornament costs $200.000, but it’s not for sale. An ornament that expensive and luxurious should be on the hood of a car as luxurious as the Spirit of Ecstasy. And which care is more suitable than a Rolls Royce?
The ornament is called ‘The Spirit of Ecstasy’, ‘Emily’, ‘Silver Lady’ or ‘The Flying Lady’ (in the USA). The story of this ‘lady’ is quite impressive. The ornament was a request for Lord John Walter Edward Douglas-Scott-Montagu’s Rolls Royce Silver Ghost. Charles Sykes, the sculptor who designed The Flying Lady used Eleanor Velasco Thornton (Lord John Walter Edward Douglas-Scott-Montagu’s secret love) as a model for the mascot.  Eleanor Velasco Thornton was Lord Montagu’s secretary, but their love had to remain secret. The reason for that is obvious. Social and economic status.
Originally, Charles Sykes dubded the ornament ‘The Whisper’. Why that name? Because the figurine was Eleanor pressing a finger against her lips. This gesture symbolize the secret of their love. The ornament is on display at the National Motor Museum in Beaulieu. Then, the sculptor modified ‘The Whisper’ into ‘The Spirit of Ecstasy’. He called it ‘ “A graceful little goddess, the Spirit of Ecstasy, who has selected road travel as her supreme delight and alighted on the prow of a Rolls-Royce motor car to revel in the freshness of the air and the musical sound of her fluttering draperies’ and presented the hood ornament in 1911.
Eleanor Velasco Thornton
But that was back then. Now we want more gold, more silver, more diamonds, more luxury, more everything! Designer Jean Kemanjian created a version of the Spirit of Ecstasy coated in diamonds for Manhattan Motorcars. The hood ornament was unveiled at the New York Auto Show. It is made from platinum and other rare metals and embellished with 150 carats of high quality diamonds (VVS1).
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