Man buys $8 million iPhone covered in diamonds

The recent problems with Apple's iPhone 4 did not deter an Australian businessman from ordering a custom iPhone worth $8 million.

Considered to be the world's most expensive phone, the diamond encrusted iPhone is said to be the first of its kind, The Daily Mail reported.

One-hundred carats of 500 individual flawless diamonds surround the phone that is also encased with a plate of rose gold. The Apple logo glimmers on the back with an additional 53 individual diamonds.

The luxury doesn't end there. Instead of the normal home button that is on the bottom center of the iPhone, the designer, Stuart Hughes, replaced it with a 7.4 carat pink diamond. But if you don't like pink, it can also be interchanged with an 8 carat single cut flawless diamond.

"The diamonds are rare and difficult to source, stones like that usually have a very long history," Hughes told The Daily Mail .

And don't forget about a case for the lavish device. Hughes' website shows a magnificent chest made from a single block of granite in imperial pink that is inlaid with a top grain leather called Nubick.

Hughes was asked by the un-named Australian businessman to create not one, but two of the extravagant phones, The Consumerist reported.

He told The Daily Mail, "It was a fantastic challenge and I am really pleased with the end result - the phones look superb. Phones are so popular at the moment and this is the ultimate design for one. It was a very exciting project."

This isn't the first opulent piece Hughes has been asked to design. In 2003 he gold plated a Nokia 8800 phone – his first. He also has cheaper iPhone models that retail between $2,800 and $34,000. Past customers include designers Karl Lagerfield and Stefano Gabbana.

When asked why anyone would want such an extravagant phone, Hughes said, "It is amazing that someone is prepared to spend £5 million on a phone, I doubt it will get used because it is worth so much money. It would be a disaster if it was ever lost."