More and more luxury companies are creating mobile phone applications to sell their wares and expose their brand–Tiffany & Co. just released their engagement ring finder iPhone app earlier this month, joining Chanel, Net-a-Porter, and many others. Van Cleef & Arpels has also joined the fray, but their app is different from other apps I’ve seen.

Their app, A Day in Paris (the newest version of which just came out this week), doesn’t directly sell Van Cleef & Arpels jewelry — it provides users with “a variety of poetic strolls to guide you in Paris … revealing the most poetic places chosen by the private Van Cleef & Arpels’ blogger community”. The app also has “a new thematic menu to browse the categories of poetic places: arts & culture, gastronomy, shopping, poetic places” and encourages users  “to discover [Paris's] selective and poetic places and share those magical places with their Foursquare contacts and of course on Facebook if they so choose.”

Providing a positive experience affiliated with the brand (but not directly selling to consumers) is an interesting strategy, and I believe that it sets Van Cleef & Arpels apart. Have a look at the app in action here:

This one isn’t for the squeamish — the Netherlands Institute for Innovative Occular Surgery is offering a procedure sure to please the most discriminating Lambda: a jewelry implant for one’s eye. It’s certainly unique. Is it safe? I’m not sure — have a look at the video (warning, it’s a bit graphic):

Here’s an interesting video from last year about one man’s exploration of luxury:

Benjamin Wallace seems to be a Lambda personality–he sought out achievement and uniqueness by trying out some of the world’s most famous luxury items, including the 1947 Cheval Blanc–but in the end he was left somewhat unimpressed, and thought that many of the things he tried weren’t worth their extravagant cost.

Luxury is in the eye of the beholder–even though the things that Wallace tried are the ‘generally accepted’ to be the very best, his opinions perhaps differed from those of a ‘real’ connoisseur. It’s very important to figure out what’s important to you, what gives you the most pleasure–knowing and being able to seek that which gives you the most pleasure is the greatest luxury.

Earlier this week a new unpolished 478-carat diamond was discovered in Lesotho. It’s reported to be the 20th largest rough diamond ever discovered, and it’s particularly special because of its great color (grade D, the highest for a white diamond) and clarity. It may even yield a 100-carat plus round stone. The last time an especially large diamond was discovered, it turned out to be a hoax. I’m not holding my breath this time, though this video suggests it’s the real thing:

What happens when you put together a $1.5 Ferrari Enzo (one of 400 made) and a comedian more adept at one-liners than staying within the lines? Click on the video below to find out (from a charity fundraising event on March 26):

The comedian, Eddie Griffin, was okay. The owner of the Ferrari, however, was not.

The latest from De Beers — further trying to break down preconceptions (admittedly self-perpetuated) that engagement is the sole opportunity for diamond giving.