World’s Most Expensive Ice

As if the bottled water craze that has stigmatized tap water consumption wasn’t enough of a waste of money, one company has hit upon an even more fantastic way to throw away your money—some of the most expensive ice in the world.

Gläce Luxury Ice Co. have eschewed the typical ice cube for a more pleasing sphere. Each 2.5” sphere is carved by hand and made with pure water to preserve the flavor of high-end drinks. Gläce recommends allowing a sphere to “age” for 3-4 minutes once you’ve removed it from the freezer, lest your precious status symbol be marred by “crackling” and “spidering.” These luxury ice spheres cost $8 each.

Gläce isn’t the first company to make ice spheres for beverage cooling, however. Okamoto Studios—New York’s most expensive ice sculptors—once made ice balls for an event at a bar. Using a leather strap, screws and dog bowls, they made ice balls for patrons’ drinks. By using differently sized bowls, they were even able to vary the sizes of the balls.