Kuhn Studio has officially unveiled the first Kuhn-Bösendorfer grand piano in its Winston-Salem, N.C. gallery.

The $1.2 million piano claims to be the most expensive new limited edition piano currently available.

The stunning 7’4″ black Kuhn-Bösendorfer piano (along with its matching bench) is inset with as many as 100-thousand hand cut, lead crystal jewels arranged in a glittering array of diamond patterns on the case, lid, legs and fallboard.

The instrument has been a year and a half in the making and is a “grand collaboration” between L. Bösendorfer Klavierfabrik GmbH of Vienna, Austria and Jon Kuhn, the world’s foremost cold glass sculptor. Kuhn’s work is known for its unusual intricacy and extraordinary reflective light.

His cubes, circles and works of varied sizes and geometries are included in the permanent collections of over 35 museums.

“This piano is beyond words,” Kuhn said during the launch event. “It’s breathtaking. We knew it would turn out great, but nothing like this. It’s vibrant. Alive. It’s the first time – ever,” he noted, “that another artist has participated in the creation process, and I most emphatically consider Bösendorfer craftspeople to be artists, true artists. And what a privilege it has been to collaborate with them.”

“Bösendorfer has worked with top artists and designers since the nineteenth century to create uniquely designed, hand-built pianos of unusual visual as well as musical quality,” noted Eric Johnson, the maker’s U.S. Operations Manager and Eastern Regional Sales Manager.

“We’re very pleased with the initial Kuhn-Bösendorfer. And now that we’ve had the pleasure of working so closely with Jon, we’re looking forward with great anticipation to the next one – and the one after that.”

Each instrument has the purchaser’s name written in gold leaf and embedded deep within the Kuhn-Bösendorfer’s striking crystal fallboard logo, assuring that the owner’s name (whether art collector or professional pianist) will endure – along with the piano.

“Bösendorfer has been making these incredible pianos for over 180 years, and some of them are still around,” says Kuhn. “So it’s not unrealistic to assume that this first Kuhn-Bösendorfer will be playable at the end of the 22nd century. Somebody’s great-great-great-great grandchildren will be enjoying it. That’s awesome! That’s a legacy.”

Each Kuhn-Bösendorfer looks and sounds like none other.

Richard Ruggero, the man who brought Kuhn to the piano maker’s attention, pronounced the piano “nearly perfect” after its arrival from Vienna, where the instrument was built and Kuhn’s artwork was installed. “But that’s typical of Bösendorfer,” he said.

Kuhn-Bösendorfers are available from $1.2 to $3.5 million, including the flagship 9’6″ Imperial concert grand. Each design will be different.