A London luxury fair attracted wealthy tourists from the Gulf recently. Diamond-encrusted iPhones and watches with £500,000 price tags were among the luxury items on offer at the Gulf Luxury Fair held at the Intercontinental Hotel in London.



The luxury fair is the first and only UK trade event aimed at tourists from oil-rich countries whose personal fortunes have not been hit by the ongoing financial crisis.



Some 140,000 Middle Eastern visitors are expected to visit the West End this year. They are expected to spend an estimated £250m - an 11% increase over last year.



The United Arab Emirates - including Abu Dhabi and Dubai - Saudi Arabia and Egypt have been less affected by the global economic downturn than other countries, leaving residents with more liquid finances at their disposal.



Among the exhibits was the world's most expensive iPhone - the

diamond-encrusted phone is priced as £89,000. Only two such phones are in existence.



Girard Perregaux’s watches also proved to be popular, particularly the £455,000 rose gold watch named The Jackpot.