Most Expensive Compact Disc

Universal Music has unveiled the world’s most expensive compact disc at a Japanese department store. The disc, entitled “Woman: Sweet 10 Diamond,” features eighteen songs by female recording artists including Mariah Carey, Rihanna, Mary J. Blige and Nelly Furtado.

The disc’s real draw, though, is its case. Designed in Tokyo by Japanese jeweler Nagahori, the platinum case is studded with ten 2-carat diamonds arranged in a circle around the disc’s title.

The disc is on display at the Takashimaya department store in Tokyo and has a retail price of ￥10 million—just over US $100,000.

That certainly beats the glass CDs created by Japanese engineer Suenori Fukui by a long shot. Made to take advantage of the material’s transparency and scratch resistance, glass compact discs promised audio quality unattainable by plastic.

Most expensive CD

The first glass CD made available to the public was Johann Sebastian Bach’s “Air on G String,” sold by N & F Label for around $883. Judging by the lack of media attention in the years since it was released, though, you shouldn’t hold your breath waiting for your favorite band’s entire discography to be released on glass.