Diamonds Are A Grouts Best Friend
What would you expect to find on the world’s most expensive roulette table? Millions of dollars worth of diamonds, maybe? But Spectralock Pro Premium grout?
In fact, the maintenance-free, easy-to-use, hard-wearing epoxy grout, along with some $4.5 million worth of diamonds, were the main focus in creating the amazing-looking roulette table that formed the centrepiece of a multi-million-dollar birthday cake made by one of the world’s most expensive designers. Mosaic artist David Arnott was approached by Debbie Wingham, who has previously created the world’s most expensive black diamond dress worth £3.5 million, the world’s most expensive abaya (a cloak worn in the Muslim world), costing £11.7 million, and the world’s most expensive cake, worth £48.5 million: a diamond-encrusted cake for an Arabian client.
This time, Debbie enlisted the skills of Manchester-based Arnott to come up with a piece that combined edible art, mosaics, and diamonds for a client’s son’s 35th birthday. The cake featured a look-alike of the son, edible roulette chips, a roulette wheel and a Gucci man bag stuffed with gold money. Arnott also created the table itself; a roulette wheel and a million dollar chip. The flawless gems included pink and black diamonds; while 35,000 24-carat gold tiles were used and bonded together using diamond dust mixed in with Spectralock Pro Premium. The piece was unveiled at an intimate family party at the client’s home. Using Laticrete products throughout the project, Arnott said: “Spectralock Pro Premium is definitely the only grout on the market capable of adding diamond dust, giving a rich shine to the piece.”
“After seeing my collaboration with Debbie Wingham on the world’s most expensive roulette table, I have had many people asking me where I get my materials from. I use Laticrete and Palace Chemicals for my adhesives and grouts. There’s a reason behind this: I only use the best of the best materials on any mosaic I create for stability. If anyone has any projects for mosaic or tiling coming up I would definitely recommend you use their materials. It’s top quality.” “I was honoured to be part of this project and to work with such expensive materials,” added Arnott. “It is very unique adding diamonds in to mosaics and being able to work on projects without many restrictions, although there is no room for error. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Available in 52 colours, Spectralock Pro Premium is a three-component system made up of a resin, hardener, and coloured sand. The three-component system means that the installer is always in control of the mixing and can decide how thick the grout is applied. It is also very easy to clean off of the face of the tiles, unlike other epoxy grouts on the market. Spectralock Pro Premium is designed for use on ceramic tile, glass tile, and stone applications, both residential and commercial. It can be used both interior and exterior on floors and walls. Spectralock Pro Premium is perfect for swimming pools, fountains and other wet area applications and provides a maintenance free solution to a grouting requirement.
Steve Ball, Commercial Director at Laticrete UK, said: “What a coup for David Arnott and what an honour for the Laticrete brand. To be used in this expensive creation is a multi million-dollar endorsement for us and we thank David for being as supportive of the brand as we are of him. A fantastic piece of work to be proud of and we very much look forward to the next big project with David.”
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