The Everest Globe from National Geographic

No other globe has been created with such attention to detail.  In producing the globe's components, National Geographic sought out and preserved rare world-class art forms, some of which date back 500 years or more.

The result is a breathtaking representation of our planet.  One that will bring you great pleasure and will become a treasured heirloom for generations to come.  Your Everest globe will offer you a view of Earth that no other globe, wall map or atlas can ever rival.  Gaze upon it and explore the wonder of the world we live in.  Discover anew the sense of adventure that gives life its deepest meaning.

The Everest Globe stands 39 inches high at the top of the meridian and 31 inches wide.  The sphere itself is 20 inches in diameter.  When lit from the inside, the Everest Globe portrays the physical face of our world.  Ocean depths, mountain ranges, deserts.  With the light turned off, you view the political world and its continents, countries and cities.

The patented "two worlds in one" map features 24 layers of printing, rendering rich colors and details crisp, and is hand-lacquered for a highly polished effect.  These two exacting processes give your illuminated Everest Globe the appearance of delicate stained glass.

The political map offers approximately 6,500 place names as well as land mass heights, ocean depths, and warm and cool current movements.  Geographic features such as mountain ranges and ice caps are also represented in minute detail.  The highly articulated physical map shines dramatically through when the globe is lit.  Special "Rheostatic" lighting offers variable levels of illumination.

In every detail of its creation, the Everest Globe has received meticulous attention.  Peerless artisans have lent their skills to craft each of the globe's components.

Evoking the fires of inner Earth, glass blowers transform coarse sand into a glowing mass to create the globe's crystal sphere.  Each finished globe is a piece of art, exhibiting slight variations in width, height and thickness to make it unique.  After the spheres cool, artisans painstakingly adhere the intricate two-sided map to the glass.  Only a few artisans remain who can produce a globe using this process.  Trimming by hand, each section of the map is hand applied to the glass sphere until the world is complete.  The final assembly of the map onto the glass sphere is then varnished and protected.

Wood for the Everest Globe base comes from the Black Forest.  National Geographic called together a team of talented European woodworkers to build one of the most well made pieces of furniture you will ever own.  A beautiful focal point for any room, the base glows with a deep gloss finish that highlights the carved detailing on the rim and legs.  Carefully lathed, carved and sanded, and finished by hand, each Everest Globe base exhibits qualities of balance and design uncommon in today's world.

Delicate mother of pearl inlay graces the top of the base.  From the depths of the ocean, we have chosen only the finest shells of non-endangered species to send to European artisans who specialize in heirloom-quality mother of pearl inlay.

The polished brass meridian encircles the Everest Globe.  The ornamental meridian on the Everest Globe provides the globe with an elegant longitudinal circumference.  It begins as a flat band of solid brass precisely calibrated every ten degrees by an expert engraver.  It is then curved by hand around a wooden form creating a structure that is both flexible and strong.  Once bent, the meridian is hand-rubbed and lacquered to a gleaming shine.  A small brass knob on the horizon ring allows adjustment of the meridian, while a felted brass catch prevents the globe from turning too far in its stand.

Crafted of precious materials derived from the desert, the forest, the ocean and the mountains, this elegant sphere calls up memories of the greatest explorations of humankind.  All of Earth's elements, along with the outstanding cartographic excellence of National Geographic, and the dedication of many talented artisans, have combined to bring you a masterpiece:  The Everest Globe.

Each Charter-edition Everest Globe comes numbered and dated.  Only 250 globes will be made.  Each will include a brass plaque engraved with the number of the globe, along with your personal inscription.   It will also include a signed, numbered Certificate of Authenticity from the National Geographic Society.

Custom inscription may consist of any wording you choose.  We provide the following as an example:

The Everest Globe
Created for
John W. Doe
by the
National Geographic Society
Number 000 of 250

The total price of the National Geographic Everest Globe is $7,990.00 and includes personal, white-glove delivery and assembly, by appointment.  To commission one of these limited edition globes, or to speak with an Everest Globe Specialist, please call:
1-877-884-2402

Unfortunately, the Limited Edition Everest Globe is no longer available.

View our other Extra Large Floor Globes
View our other Illuminated Globes

Example cartography of Everest Globe


2nd example of cartography


Detail of mother of pearl inlay on horizon ring


Detail of carved woodworking


Woodworker carving legs


Glass blown sphere being formed

• 6,500 Place Names

• Blown Crystal Sphere

• 24 Layer Printing

• Mother-of-pearl Inlay

• Limited Edition

To commission your Everest Globe
or to speak with an Everest Globe Specialist,
please call:

1-877-884-2402

Unfortunately, the Limited Edition Everest Globe is no longer available.

"Every once in a while, an opportunity comes along that almost defies description.  An opportunity that pushes the boundaries of what you have come to expect in life.
This is one such opportunity."

"Highly accomplished glassblowers.  Skilled woodworkers.  Brass engravers and girdlers.  Mother-of-pearl artisans.  All have combined their impressive talents to create a legacy piece of fine art.  The globe base alone stands as a remarkably elegant piece of furniture."

"Composed of warm earth tones - soft roses, teals, lavenders, and ochres - this stunning rendition marks a departure from the standard primary colors used on other maps.  The ocean is painted in golden tones, causing the edges of continents to glow."

"Worthy of the finest living room, study, or boardroom, the Everest Globe offers you a magical window to the world.  As your hands trace its polished surface, you'll imagine boats docking in the harbors of Cypress... clouds chasing antelope across Africa's steppes... the northern lights glowing over Greenland."

John M. Fahey, Jr.
President, National Geographic Society

"Your Everest Globe will offer you a view of Earth that no other globe, wall map, or atlas can ever rival.  Gaze upon it and explore the wonder of the world we live in.  Discover anew the sense of adventure that gives life its deepest meaning."

Allen Carroll
Chief Cartographer, National Geographic Society

THE BASE

National Geographic searched the world to find just the right hardwoods for the hand-carved base that supports the Everest Globe.  In Germany, they discovered the finest maple and hornbeam.
National Geographic called together a team of talented European woodworkers to build one of the most well made pieces of furniture you will ever own.  A beautiful focal point for any room, the base glows with a deep-gloss finish that highlights the carved detailing on the rim and legs.
Carefully lathed, carved, sanded, and finished by hand, each Everest Globe base exhibits qualities of balance and design uncommon in today's world.

THE INLAY

When National Geographic considered the inlaid markings that curve around the top rim of the base, we honored the centuries old tradition of using iridescent mother-of-pearl.

From the depths of the ocean, National Geographic has chosen only the finest shells of non-endangered species to send to European artisans who specialize in heirloom-quality mother-of-pearl inlay.

First, woodworkers precisely drill the months and cardinal directions of north, south, east, and west into the rim.  Next, the artisans fashion fragile sanded and polished mother-of-pearl pieces that drop exactly into the carved recesses for a perfect fit.  Wood and shell become one.

THE MERIDIAN

To explorers, the meridian is an imaginary great circle that passes through Earth's geographical Poles, cutting the Equator at right angles.

The ornamental meridian on the Everest Globe provides the globe with an elegant longitudinal circumference.  It begins as a flat band of solid brass, precisely calibrated every ten degrees by an expert engraver.

Girdlers curve the metal by hand around a wooden form, creating a structure that is both flexible and strong.  Once bent, the meridian is hand-rubbed and lacquered to a gleaming shine.

Dr. Robert Ballard with the Everest Globe.
 
"Like many of my discoveries, the Everest Globe is a one-of-a-kind marvel, and something you will treasure not only as a valuable heirloom but also as a work of art."

Dr. Robert Ballard
Explorer-in-Residence,
National Geographic Society

(Best known for his 1985 discovery of the Titanic, Robert D. Ballard has succeeded in tracking down numerous other significant shipwrecks, including the German battleship Bismarck, the lost fleet of Guadalcanal, the U.S. aircraft carrier Yorktown (sunk in the World War II Battle of Midway), and most recently John F. Kennedy's boat, PT-109. In addition to being a National Geographic Society explorer-in-residence, Ballard is president of the Institute for Exploration in Mystic, Connecticut)


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