Japan gold dealer unveils $275,000 metallic gown

TOKYO (Reuters Life!) - It may weigh you down, but it would be worth it. Japan's largest bullion house on Thursday unveiled a shimmering gown adorned with hundreds of gold coins weighing a staggering 8 kg and valued at close to 30 million yen ($275,000).

Tanaka Kikinzoku Jewellery K.K. has created a dress using 325 Austrian gold coins issued to commemorate the Vienna Philharmonic, which it will display for a week at its store in Tokyo's upscale Ginza district.

Two men's jackets also using gold coins, together valued at about 127 million yen, will also be shown.

The open-necked, mermaid-line gown, trimmed with fur and sporting one huge gold puff sleeve, was designed by students at Tokyo's Bunka Fashion College, the alma mater of several leading Japanese designers including Kenzo Takada.

The bullion house does not plan to sell the gown, but it said it would entertain any serious offers.

"It's not exactly created to float gracefully around," said Tomoko Ishibashi, a Tanaka Kikinzoku spokeswoman.

Asked what would be an appropriate occasion to show off the gown, Ishibashi said: "You might want to wear it when you have been invited to meet the emperor, such as to the annual garden party."

Mayuka, the 178-cm (5 foot 10 inch) model weighing a little over 50 kg (110 lb), admitted that the dress was very heavy and she that was unlikely to try dancing in it.

"Wearing this is a pretty amazing experience, and I think it's quite gorgeous," she told reporters.

Apart from gold coins, Tanaka Kikinzoku also offers a range of goods made from gold. An 18-karat gold bathtub that it crafted for a Japanese hotel made the headlines twice, once when it was unveiled and a second time when it was stolen from the seaside hot springs.

Gold prices are currently hovering just below an all-time high of $936.50 an ounce hit in early February.

(Reporting by Miho Yoshikawa; Editing by Mike Miller)