When design meets luxury: The most indulgent items in the world

There's a good reason Marc Newson's sterling silver tea service comes limited to an edition of ten -- the handles are made from mammoth-ivory. The rare commodity is responsibly sourced of course, but ivory is only one luxurious facet of the Australian designer's creation. Each item in the $125,000 (excl. tax) Georg Jensen set requires three months of hammering by hand (by a ninth generation silversmith, no less), and will be made to order in the 111-year-old Danish company's Copenhagen workshop.

The Wu-Tang Clan have never shied away from ostentatious gestures, but the East Coast collective took opulence to a whole new level when they teamed up with Moroccan designer Yahya. The two parties met backstage at a gig in Barcelona, and got on immediately, Wu-Tang suggesting he get involved in concept album "Once Upon A Time in Shaolin."

"They wanted to use an artist that blurred the lines between art and design, and understood the world of art and luxury," Yahya told CNN. "I was sworn to secrecy by [Wu-Tang producer] Cilvaringz, but given complete artistic freedom to create a jewel box that would house their artwork inside."

Only one copy of the double-album was ever released, sitting inside Yahya's hand-carved silver and nickel container. It was sold earlier this year at auction for $2 million, blowing previous records out of the water. The new owner, pharmaceutical entrepreneur Martin Shkreli, is no stranger to controversy, buying up AIDs drug Daraprim and raising the price from $13.50 to $750 per pill. One thing he won't be able to exploit is the new album from the Wu -- legally "Once Upon A Time In Shaolin" cannot be duplicated or distributed for the next 88 years.

The Orpheus are not your average luxury headphones. The price tag is a hefty $55,000, but for that you get what might just be the greatest personal listening experience available in the world. The electrostatic reference headphones are closer to a work of art than a piece is technology. They come with an amplifier crafted from a single block of marble, with an eight-channel vacuum tube pre-amp rising up out of it when switched on. Each headphone diaphragm is platinum-coated, and the Orpheus' cables are silver-plated, oxygen-free copper. There's no prescribed number Sennheiser say they'll make, but due to the intensive, handmade production process, the team behind the Orpheus can only make 250 sets a year.

"I'm interested in the way things work," says Marc Newson. "It's a technical obsession." The genre-hopping Australian designer now on Apple's payroll proved he was true to his word in 2014, tackling Beretta's traditional side-by-side shotgun.

An Italian classic, Newson took the 486 and refined it further, adding an Eastern flourish to proceedings. The elegant walnut stock sits alongside steel engravings of dragons, snaking between flowers. It's not as incongruous a move as it first appears. Newson explains that "pheasants originate and are native to Asia, before being widely introduced elsewhere as a game bird. It was important for me to somehow play homage to this." Created using a combination of high tech robotics and hand-crafted components, this beautiful weapon comes in at a cool $27,100.

Legendary British photographer Terry O'Neill needs no introduction, and happily furniture designer Jimmie Martin's retooling of his iconic images invites us to re-examine O'Neill's oeuvre. Part of a group of photographers working closely with celebrities in the sixties, O'Neill captured the fashion and styles in a time of great transition. Many of his subjects are now seen as the defining cultural figures of the era, and Martin has given them suitably grandiose furnishings in his Haute Couture range. Audrey Hepburn, David Bowie, Brigitte Bardot and Mia Farrow take their place on thrones in Martin's neo-baroque creations, completed with hand painted artwork and some finished in 22-carat gold leaf. They debuted in 2012 and all have since sold, but be sure to keep an eye out in auction houses in the future.

Alexander McQueen-alum Iris van Herpen and designer and United Nude founder Rem D Koolhaas have been taking the heel game to new heights with their 3D-printed creations. Twelve pairs of the root-like shoes were entirely 3D printed in 2013 for Paris Fashion Week, and the duo have since gone on to complete similarly drastic creations. Van Herpen says she was inspired by the forces of nature and the free-flowing sculptures of David Altmejd for the heels, which featured in her collection "Beyond Wilderness." As for the price: if you have to ask, you probably can't afford them.

Contemporary art phenomenon and Chinese dissident Ai Weiwei proves once again that something beautiful can arise from tragedy. Inspired by the devastating 2008 earthquake in Wenchuan, Sichuan Province, China, Ai focused his attention on the poorly constructed buildings that collapsed in the quake, claiming the lives of thousands. Now working with wearable sculpture artist Elisabetta Cipriani, Ai has crafted a homage to the victims of the tragedy, casting miniature rebars in pure 24 karat gold, flexible and bent to adapt to the wrist or neck of the wearer.

"It's about commemoration and memory," he told the New York Times. "I used gold because it's precious, and that's what life is — precious. If you wear this piece in the name of the memory of a life lost or your life ahead, that's what matters. It's all about respect for life."

An unofficial collaboration, but a beautiful one nonetheless, Etai Drori's modified Air Max 1s recall the golden age of Versace prints. The custom leather goods designer has made his name in the L.A. sneaker scene, where he sells his hand-stitched Nikes through on-trend lifestyle boutique Round Two.

These kicks, named "What The Versace?" started life as a pair of vintage women's trousers, owned by Round Two employee Sean. Drori "fell in love" with them and bought them off his friend, before taking them back to his workshop. Turning them into a pair of Air Max 1s "took about a week," he says, "but I work 24/7, so it's hard to tell." You can't buy these ones -- Drori made them for himself -- but his designs can be purchased at Round Two and perused on his Instagram account.

Ron Arad has always had a playful approach to design, and his commission for Maison Ruinart shows a man free from all constraint. The brain behind the "Bookworm" bookcase and the "Rover" armchair has returned with a champagne cooler -- with a twist. Delicately crushed into a folded, curvaceous oval echoing classical marble sculptures, it's an ideal home for any magnum of champagne. The edition of five, crafted by the most skilled Anjou pewtersmiths, is another addition to Ruinart owner LVMH's huge artistic portfolio. Each retails at $5,430 and comes packaged with a magnum of Ruinart's Blanc de Blancs, white gloves and a cleaning kit.

New York-based artist Maya Hayuk has joined forces with Italian eyewear designer Max Mara with the "Optiprism" project, celebrating the brand's Autumn/Winter collection. Demonstrating a high level of trust, Max Mara allowed Hayuk to reinterpret their logo, the iconic stud featured on its glasses, and create an original artwork from it. Hayuk took the design and ran with it, tessellating the logo and rendering it in her familiar bold color palette. The original artwork will tour three continents, but fashionistas worldwide will have a chance to own part of the project, as Hayuk's painting has been adapted for Max Mara's latest collection, adorning the oversized frames of multiple glasses. Bright and beautiful, they're the perfect antidote for the dark days and long nights.