Doncaster artist creates diamond studded collection with frame worth £1.5MILLION

This extravagant showcase comes as a timely tribute as the United Arab Emirates celebrates its Golden Jubilee, the Year of the 50th.

Coined the Queen of the ‘World’s Most Expensive!’, Debbie Wingham, is no stranger to the Middle East.

Her work has been famously sought after by celebrities, royals and art aficionados alike.

After breaking world records in Haute Couture, opulent accessories, and a show stopping pieces of confectionary, the chameleon of medium returns following a two-year

world’s most expensive hiatus.

Her new collection, inspired by Dubai, pays homage to the city’s extraordinary transformation through time.

During the pandemic, Debbie began painting. An art form she hadn’t explored in many years.

“The last time I painted I was a teenager. During lockdown was the perfect time for me to pick up a brush again and really immerse myself in this medium,” she said.

“Time seemed like a very relatable topic, especially because throughout the pandemic time is the one thing that hit us, whether it's counting down the moments to see our loved ones or one day melting into another without differentiation.”

“Then the other element I introduced was Dubai, I guess because I couldn’t travel due to the pandemic so instead, I traveled through my artwork.”

The oil painted collection, named Dubai Through the Years feature Dubai architecture including, the Frame, the Burj Khalifa and the current contender for the world’s tallest building Dubai Creek Tower, representing Dubai past present and future.

Her painting style is ethereal realism and it’s painted in such a way that you can barely see a brush stroke insight. Wingham often describes Dubai as dreamy and in these

paintings, you can really visualize the dream, the framing of them is exquisite, hand crafted in reclaimed metal, weighing a staggering 9KG each.

Each of the frames are free standing in a finely sculpted arm in the style of a super-sized vintage pocket watch in a frame standing at an impressive 5 ft tall.

All three of these frames could take the title of the world’s most expensive picture frame because they are all accentuated in diamonds and all of them worth more than any other frame on record.

But the frame with the most diamonds is present day Dubai and the only one in the series to have a silhouette with roman numerals.

She said: “It’s a true celebration of Dubai, here and now.”

The world’s most expensive picture frame features more than 10,000 individual diamonds, made up of hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of flawless pointer diamonds and a series of centre piece diamonds including five flawless four carat white diamonds, which adorn the roman numerals worth £250,000 each, a giant six carat sapphire worth £80,000 and it weighs a hefty 10kg more than its counter parts, so that’s 19kG.

The frame is worth a staggering 1.5 million pounds and what’s incredible about it is that it is made from both reclaimed diamonds and reclaimed metal, meaning that it is the height of eco-luxury. Merging materials through time.

Debbie plans to sell prints of these framed paintings at a more accessible price and a sizeable percentage of all profits will be donated to local charities in Dubai, benefiting children with learning disabilities and families impacted by covid.

She said: “It seems like the only thing to do, since Dubai was my muse in creating this collection then I just have to give back to Dubai.”

In these confusing and worrying times, local journalism is more vital than ever. Thanks to everyone who helps us ask the questions that matter by taking out a subscription or buying a paper. We stand together. Liam Hoden, editor.