The Most Expensive Christmas Trees to Ever Go on Display
We all think we have an idea of what constitutes an expensive Christmas tree. Yet, in the grand (and we do mean grand) scheme of things, our minds have plenty of room to be blown when it comes to fancy firs and valuable ornaments. Check out the most expensive Christmas trees to ever go on display around the globe.
1. The Emirates Palace Hotel Christmas Tree
Cost: $11.4 million
Abu Dhabi doesn’t exactly ooze North Pole vibes, but it’s certainly known as a lavish destination. So we’re not entirely surprised that the most expensive Christmas tree was on display there in 2010. At the Emirates Palace Hotel, the gigantic tree stood more than 43 feet tall and was decked out in diamonds, rubies, and other jewels and expensive decorations. It was on display from December 16 to December 29th that year, and the hotel has since admitted regret over the costly Christmas decoration. Nevertheless, it nabbed them a world record for the most expensive Christmas tree — a true Yuletide achievement.
2. Ginza Tanaka Disney Gold Christmas Tree
Cost: $4.2 million
Constructed in 2012 to commemorate Walt Disney’s 110th anniversary, this solid gold Christmas tree stood 2.4 meters tall. The 40 kg gold tree featured carved characters, including Mickey Mouse, the White Rabbit, Tinker Bell, Cinderella, and several others. To make it even more whimsical, the tree revolved like a carousel.
3. Ginza Tanaka Golden Christmas Tree
Cost: $1.95 million
Jeweler Ginza Tanaka is to flashy Christmas trees what Santa Claus is to cookies — an honest-to-goodness connoisseur. The year before the magnificent Disney tree, Ginza Tanaka built a 2.4-meter-high Christmas tree with a whopping 12 kg of gold. The design featured 60 pure gold, heart-shaped ornaments and delicate ribbons.
4. Takashimaya Department Store Preserved Rose Mini Christmas Tree
Cost: Estimated $1.8 million
As the daintiest tree on this list, Tokyo-based Takashimaya Department Store’s mini Christmas tree was made of delicate preserved roses and embellished with Australian and African diamonds. Based on a design seen at Parisian flower boutique Claude Quinquaud, this 16-inch tree had an adorable bear companion that was also decked out with diamonds.
5. Ginza Tanaka 24K Gold Thread Christmas Tree
Cost: $1.8 million
Ginza Tanaka embraced gold once more in 2016 to celebrate its 90th anniversary. This nearly-$2 million tree featured threads of solid gold and reached 1,200 meters in length. The tree stood 2 meters tall and was one of Tanaka’s most intricate, festive, and flashy creations.
6. Diamond Christmas Tree by Soo Kee Jewellery Shop
Cost: $1 million
Singapore-based Soo Kee Jewellery Shop constructed a 6-meter, 3-ton Christmas tree display out of diamonds — 21,798 of them to be exact. (We’re dying to know why they couldn’t squeak two more in there for an even 21,800.) The 913-carat tree was accentuated by 500 lightbulbs to catch every twinkle and crystal.
7. Washington D.C. Capitol Christmas Tree
Cost: $1 million
Every year, the U.S. Capitol sources its Christmas tree from a different national forest (this year’s is coming from Alaska). The 2024 tree is a staggering 80-feet tall and ornamented in extravagant fashion. While the tree is donated by its origin state each year, estimated costs year after year land right around $1 million.
8. Swarovski’s Tallest Christmas Tree in Asia
Cost: $700,000
The tallest Christmas tree in Asia was born in 2015 at the hands of Swarovski, partnered with Pavilion Kuala Lumpur. At a towering 23 meters, the tree was an extravagant, glowing, sparkly sensation on display at the Malaysian mall. Its luminescence came from 175,000 clear crystals, dangling from more than 31,000 crystal strands. We’d expect nothing less dazzling from the crystal king.
9. Steve Quick Jewelers Gold Tabletop Tree
Cost: $500,000
We know Sam the Snowman crooned about silver and gold, but gold and diamonds is just so much flashier, no? That was the cue Steve Quick Jewelers took when it created an 18k gold tabletop Christmas tree in 2007. The tree, bedazzled with diamonds, boasted a 4.5-carat diamond and solid platinum star on top.