The Monster Diamond Tears were announced back at CES 2012 in January, but we managed to get our hands on them for a quick play.

The Monster man told us that the concept had been to recreate the jewellery box experience and opening up the lid sees the headphones rising up ready to be lifted free of the packaging to adorn your head.

The Diamond Tears are squarely pitched at women and seeing an increasing number of the ladies sporting Beats on-ear headphones, there is probably a growing market for them.

The design is brash, bling and showy, but they also feel well made. Much as we suspected we'd dislike the angular finish, there's something exciting about the way it catches the light, so we can't help sort of liking it.

The cables are detachable, so can be changed depending on what device you're using them with and they fold, making it easier to stuff them into your bag.

As a set of Monster headphones the sound quality is great, but we didn't spend enough time with them to make any great evaluation. Developed in collaboration with JYP, they embody the attention to detail we've come to expect from Monster. 

We played with the Monster Diamond Tears at a John Lewis showcase, and although the pricing isn't confirmed, they're listed at $349, so we're guessing something like £250. They will be available from August. 

We love the timing though. The information says that "diamonds are forever", just don't tell Barclays...