Dr D's column: Trump and the Santa Claus chronicles

From solid gold to diamond-encrusted branches, here’s a look at some of the most fabulous and expensive Christmas trees on display.

(In Pic: On the left is the Swarovski crystal Christmas tree, and on the right is the Pro Aurum gold Christmas tree)

Trust Hong Kong to pull a stunt as glittering as this one. In 2013, passengers fl ying out of Hong Kong airport for their annual Christmas break were greeted by a 50-foot Christmas tree sparkling with millions of Swarovski gold and silver crystals brought all the way from Austria. Rising up to the second level of the airport, the crystal tree cost Swarovski an estimated $1.8 million to set up.

It was a yellow Christmas in Japan in 2012 when jewellery giant Ginza Tanaka stunned shoppers with a $4.24 million gold Christmas tree. Standing tall at 2.4-metre, this solid gold tree was erected to commemorate the 110th anniversary of Walt Disney. The 40-kg tree was decked with Disney characters like Mickey Mouse, Tinker Bell and Cinderella and revolved on a carousel. Ten artisans working for two months ensured that the Disney Tree made it to the store display in time.

The festive season in Germany got all the more sparkly this year, thanks to German Gold dealer Pro Aurum’s Christmas tree. Touted as Europe’s most expensive tree, it is made out of 2,018 gold coins, that all rest in slots on an acrylic tree. Atop the tree sits a larger gold coin star. The glittering pyramid, displayed at Pro Aurum’s Munich Goldhaus, is three-metres high. The ‘tree’ was made in cooperation with the Austrian mint and is valued at $2.6 million. The dealer said it still could have been worth more, but gold’s value declined during the second half of this year.

While most entries on this list feature towering trees, Takashimaya went the other way to prove that size is not all that matters when it comes to Christmas tree glamour. Based on the design by Parisian fl ower boutique Claude Quinquaud, the Japanese department store chain managed to shrink a Christmas tree to 40 centimetres, clustering it with a small tower of preserved roses. Each rose petal was encrusted with diamonds from Australian and African extraction, all of which cost a cool $1.8 million.

While most entries on this list feature towering trees, Takashimaya went the other way to prove that size is not all that matters when it comes to Christmas tree glamour. Based on the design by Parisian fl ower boutique Claude Quinquaud, the Japanese department store chain managed to shrink a Christmas tree to 40 centimetres, clustering it with a small tower of preserved roses. Each rose petal was encrusted with diamonds from Australian and African extraction, all of which cost a cool $1.8 million.