British jeweller Russell Lord combined his love of jewellery and his passion for the Ford Escort to create a unique life's work that he completed in 25 years.
It is a 1:25 scale Ford Escort Mk2 racing car made of precious materials and stones such as gold, silver and diamonds. This unique creation by Russel Lord is based on the factory rally-car driven by Ari Vatenen in the late 1970s.
This jewel of a car, with its creator's passion and attention to detail, is being auctioned on 2 May for a good cause on the website www.themarket.co.uk.
If jewellery attracts you more than driving, then this is the perfect car for you. You may never see it on the road, however this Ford Escort is worth a fortune.
This different Ford Escort was built from scratch with a lot of love and passion by professional jeweler and sports car enthusiast, Russell Lord. Lord, having owned 55 full-size Ford Escort cars for many years, began working on this amazing "one-off" exactly 25 years ago, putting in thousands of hours to complete it.
The body is made of silver, with the car also featuring gold brakes and spoiler, 18-karat gold wheels and bonnet hinges, 18-karat white gold grille, 0.72-carat diamond headlights, orange sapphire turn signals and ruby brake lights.
Other characteristic details of the construction are the rotating pulleys at the front of the engine, the platinum and moving gear lever inside and the crystal windows, for which Russell Lord had to crush countless jars in order to find the exact crystal cross-sections with the right curve.
"It was a lifelong hobby that I would come back to every now and then, but three years ago I decided to end it. I know the car inside and out. There were no plans, I just built it from scratch, piece by piece," commented Lord, from Essex, UK.
With the cost of the materials that make it up at 90,000 euros, this different Ford Escort Mk2 is based on the factory rally-car driven by Ari Vatenen in the late 1970s. As announced, this unique miniature will be auctioned off via the website www.themarket.co.uk on 2 May, with all proceeds going to charity.
