Let Them Eat Diamonds!

What do three-carat diamond earrings, a four-strand pearl necklace, a pricey Oscar de la Renta dress and a Chanel J12 white ceramic watch get you? A nice batch of controversy, if you’re Cindy McCain.

Vanity Fair did a little digging after Mrs. McCain made her Monday night debut at the Republican National Convention, and their experts estimate that her outfit for the evening cost a whopping $300,000. The earrings alone are estimated at $280k. Do we have a new Marie Antoinette in the making?

To be fair, Michelle Obama wore designer duds throughout the Democratic National Convention, but her brooch bling was, how shall we say, not as awe-inspiring in the diamond department. We’re sure inheriting a beer fortune helps up the ‘ice’ quotient in your jewelry box.

So what does $300,000 mean to us regular folk? According to Vanity Fair:

• One and a half houses, given the national median home price of $206,500.

• A year's worth of health care for 750 people.

• The full array of back-to-school supplies and clothes for 500 kids.

• Enough gas to drive cross-country 543 times.

• 365 round-trip flights from Washington, D.C., to Anchorage, Alaska.
  

Interesting. Very interesting.