At Dh300,000, a World Cup trophy embossed with more than 900 diamonds on show in Dubai may be the planet’s most expensive Lego set.
Indian jeweller Hemant Karamchandani has created bespoke items for millionaires and celebrities in the city for 25 years, but wanted to mark the 2026 festival of football in his own special style.
Mr Karamchandani’s creation is complete with 18-carat gold elements, each custom designed and handcrafted.
Starting with a retail Lego model of the Fifa World Cup, Mr Karamchandani has added to the 2,842 piece set to build a unique replica trophy.
Its value is now considerably more than the Dh800 the set originally sold for.
Created in his workshop at Passion Jewellers in Dubai’s Gold and Diamond Park, the 36cm model has been attracting a lot of attention since going on show.
“I’ve been in the business for 25 years, so I do this kind of thing for my clients on a regular basis,” said Mr Karamchandani.
“Every customer comes with a design on a piece of paper, and then we put it into reality.
“Recently my son bought a Lego set. When he was building it I saw it was such a big piece and thought it is always good to surprise my little one, so I added my special touch to it.
“When I looked at the trophy, I thought let me add a special element and bring it up a little bit.”
Mr Karamchandani’s son, Yash, 10, spent three days building the model. It took his dad another 35 days to complete the final piece.
He started by adding diamonds to the Fifa World Cup nameplate.
“The World Cup trophy was a lengthy process because I had to match the exact piece with an item of gold. It had to fit perfectly, which took some time,” said Mr Karamchandani.
“We haven’t decided where it will end up yet, either for charity or even in the Museum of the Future in Dubai as there has been interest.”
Mr Karamchandani is often commissioned work by celebrities and sports stars.
Although sworn to secrecy to protect their identity, he did reveal one of the more unusual requests by a wealthy fast food fan.
He was asked to create a pendant of a packet of McDonald’s chips out of rubies, gold and yellow diamonds.
Another famous client asked for a diamond-encrusted dummy for their baby.
Manufacture takes place at the Gold and Diamond Park, with 65 jewellers and smiths working on custom pieces and everyday items.
The official World Cup trophy is handcrafted with 18-carat gold and valued at about $250,000.
Due to its historical significance, having been handled by some of the greatest footballers in history including Pele, Diego Maradona, Zinedine Zidane and Lionel Messi, it has been insured for $20 million.
The original trophy that will be presented to the World Cup winners at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on Sunday, July 19 weighs 6.14kg and is 75 per cent 18-karat gold.
It was designed by Italian artist Silvio Gazzaniga in 1974, and depicts two people holding up the Earth.
Winning nations do not get to keep the original, which is on display at the Fifa museum in Zurich, but instead are awarded a gold-plated bronze replica.
Developed in collaboration with Vecta Sports for the Beyond the Game project, the Lego diamond trophy will go on display around the UAE to inspire children to play sport.
As a part of a UAE-wide campaign “100 Dreams. 100 Opportunities”, it will be shown in public exhibitions, at malls and during football community events.
“Vecta works with schools, football academies and young people, so the idea is to take Beyond the Game out into those environments and use it as a conversation starter about ambition, creativity and dreaming big,” said co-founder Tom Wood.
“When Hemant first shared the concept with us, we immediately recognised its potential to become something much bigger than a trophy.”