We have earlier introduced you to some of the very exclusive cards, including the American Express Black Card, and the diamond-studded Royale MasterCard for Dubai’s elites.

Now, MasterCard and Kazkommertsbank, the second largest bank in Kazakhstan, together are bringing a MasterCard credit card festooned with gold and diamonds.
Known as the “Diamond”, the card has a 0.02-carat gem ¬embedded in its centre and a picture of a peacock for female cardholders and a winged horse for men.

The card, which has a $1,000 (£620) annual fee, is to be issued in two weeks’ time by MasterCard and Kazkommertsbank, the second largest bank in commodities-rich Kazakhstan, where the oil and minerals boom of recent years has created a fresh crop of billionaires.

Asked about the timing of the launch, the bank’s head of international payment systems, Alla Voyakina, said: “The [financial] crisis is also affecting us but we are talking about rich people, they can afford to have such cards. It’s a question of prestige to have such cards in your -wallet.”

The diamond was “only a design element”, Ms Voyakina said. “It’s showing your status.” The card comes as even the super-rich are feeling the pain of the credit crunch. Spending on items such as $1,000 mobile phones is expected to end a boom that more than doubled the size of the global luxury goods market in the past decade.

However, Ms Voyakina said the bank had a target audience of “the best of VIP customers” and only planned to issue 1,000 cards. Each would have a credit limit of $50,000, about $20,000 higher than the highest limit on some MasterCard platinum cards (Pictured above is the diamond-studded Royale MasterCard issued earlier for Dubai’s elites).

For quite some time the American express Centurion card or commonly known as the American black was a highly coveted item. For users of the American black there is no such thing as credit limits ordinary folks have to put up with.

The estimate is that at the moment there approximately 17,000 black cards in circulation. However to be eligible for the American express black you must charge 250,000 per year. The initiation fee will set you back for $5000, while the annual fee is $2500.

But apart from the no credit limit there are many added perks – a personal concierge service that will score tickets for events and make your reservations for you. Then there are the private shopping services that will open doors for you at all the major fashion houses.