The precursor to the Focus, the Escort is hardly the most valuable car ever made... even by a mass-market automaker like Ford. A miniature version, that much less, you'd figure. But not this one.

This 1:25-scale Mk2 Escort was made to replicate the RS1800 rally car that Ari Vatanen drove to the World Rally Championship title in 1981 – itself similar to the one that Ken Block has been racing (with mixed results) over the past couple of years. But as you can see, this wasn't made in plastic or metal from a diecast mold.

The bulk of the six-inch-long model was made of platinum, silver, with brakes, spoiler, wheels, hood hinges, and grille made from 18-karat gold. The headlights are 72-point diamonds, the brake lights are rubies, the turn signals orange sapphires, and the emblem a blue sapphire.

It's the evidently obsessive work of one Russell Lord, a British jeweler who's probably one of the biggest Escort fans in the world. The money he's earned from crafting jewelry he's poured into collecting Escorts, owning 55 of them over the years. And he's put in some 2,500 hours of work into this project over the past quarter-century .

The raw materials alone are valued at over $100,000 – not including the work he's put into it. And we'll find out sooner than later how much the finished product is worth. The bedazzled toy car is set to go up for auction online later this week, with proceeds earmarked towards local charities.

"It's been a hobby that I've come back to again and again but three years ago I determined to finish it," said Lord. "I know this car inside out – so there were no plans I just built it from the ground up piece by piece."