The $28,000 Chastity Belt (I Mean Bracelet)

For 26 years, the ultra-luxe Cartier has been selling the "Love bracelet"--a gold bracelet that must be secured onto a lover's wrist with a screwdriver. How romantic! Cartier's Love bracelet was originally "inspired by medieval chastity belts," explains New York Times reporter Sandra Ballentine in her article "Prisoner of Love" in the Women's Fashion Fall 2006 magazine.

The signature bracelet, selling for a mere $2,975, has apparently been flying off shelves for decades now, and currently adorns the slight wrists of Hollywood starlets like Lindsay Lohan and Sofia Coppola. (Though who knows who holds the key--or screwdriver?--to their hearts?)

Ballentine reports of Cartier's new plans for the contemporary chastity bracelet: "This October, in a nod to more conspicuous commitment, a $28,000 diamond-encrusted bangle version will be introduced."

I suppose the idea is that the more you spend, the greater the likelihood of fidelity.

Though technically, the "chastity bracelet" does not discriminate according to gender, it still seems to be a gift mostly for the girl, of course. Perhaps it's the upscale, celeb-style version of the ever-more-popular promise ring worn by so many Christian teen girls.