時尚雙語:鑽石聖誕樹亮相日本 價值180萬美元

For those who don't mind splurging a bit this holiday season, a Japanese department store is offering a Christmas tree with 400 diamonds for a cool 1.8 million dollars.

Takashimaya department store chain is selling the tree -- actually a small tower of preserved roses with a teddy bear -- for a symbolic 200.7 million yen from Wednesday to kick off its year-end sales campaign.

The tree, which stands 40 centimeters (16 inches) high, features about 100 carats of diamonds from southern Africa and Australia, the department store said.

The smaller diamond pieces "sparkle charmingly like morning dew on petals, while two-carat and three-carat pieces mesmerise admirers with their noble glow," the store said in a statement.

The tree is based on a design by Parisian flower boutique Claude Quinquaud.

In recent years, many Asian people are embracing the western festival as a great excuse for shopping, partying and even romance, though few of them are Christians.

In Japan, Christmas Eve has taken on a meaning similar to Valentine's Day, being the time for romance among young couples.

不惜在聖誕節小“揮霍”一把的人注意了：日本一家百貨商場正在出售一款鑲有400顆鑽石、價值180萬美元的聖誕樹！

這顆聖誕樹呈小塔狀，樹身由玫瑰乾花組成，還配有一隻泰迪熊。日本高島屋百貨連鎖店從本週三起開始銷售這款鑽石聖誕樹，這顆聖誕樹開價2.007億日元，象徵着今年的年份“2007”，由此拉開商場歲末大促銷的序幕。

據高島屋百貨連鎖店介紹，這顆聖誕樹高40釐米，樹上鑲的共100克拉的鑽石都產自南非和澳大利亞。

高島屋百貨連鎖店聲稱，“小鑽石就像清晨花瓣上的露珠，閃爍着迷人的光芒；而2克拉和3克拉的鑽石則以其高貴的光芒吸引着傾慕者”。

這顆鑽石聖誕樹是由一家名叫Claude Quinquaud的法國巴黎花店設計的。

儘管亞洲的基督教信徒很少，但近年來，很多亞洲人也過起了西方的聖誕節，人們都想趁機享受一下購物與聚會的樂趣，而體驗浪漫更是這個節日的一大主題。

在日本，平安夜和情人節有着近乎相同的意義，年輕夫婦和情侶們會在這一天盡情享受二人世界的浪漫。