Glitz Addiction...

The only silver lining (or platinum lining since I am after all, The Luxury Diva) in the financial devastation of The Great Recession would be the end of the garish excesses of the conspicuous consumption of the nouveaux riches. Or so I thought. Instead, it seems there is never going to be an end to our glitz addiction and those diamond-paved cel phones, gear shift levers and toilet issue holders are still with us. Even tackier, they are no longer real gems but shiny fake crystals posing as diamonds.

The newest place to stick glitter is on dinnerware. Prouna, a Korean manufacturer, introduced a line of Swarovski crystal-trimmed china that has been so successful in the Middle Eastern sand kingdoms that a family of Iranian steel traders thought it was just the ticket for America's taste-challenged rich guys. Prouna USA has unveiled their "Jewelry Collection" dinner services trimmed in 24-karat gold or platinum and bejeweled with clear or amber crystals.

The five-piece place settings range in price from the $500's to just short of $1,000 depending upon the amount of glitz you can stomach and I do mean stomach quite literally. Although the collection is supposedly dishwasher-safe, those crystals could detach so you'd best be sure your insurance is high enough to cover a dinner guest choking on your glitzy china.

As if that's not quite enough, the 2011 Maybach, that extravaganza yacht of a car that also appeals mightily to the oil-rich, has Swarovski crystal-trimmed seats. Heaven help us...could this be a new trend?