LIMITED EDITION : rihanna - talk that talk (navy officer's chest)

so i asked the faithful readers of simonsez-CD to vote for which LIMITED EDITION piece they'd like to be reviewed next and the winner was....rihanna's 'talk that talk (navy officer's chest)'! so let's dive into the sea of navy goodness...

so, the back story! this delightful piece was released as a strictly limited edition run (only 500 being made), along side the less opulent 'rihanna navy box' (also only 500 copies), to celebrate the release of riri's 6th album. not only were the pieces visually based around the original 'talk that talk' artwork and logo, but also inspired by the idea of 'the rihanna navy', the loyal fans of the bajan beauty. take a look at the outcome below:

the chest is truly a thing of beauty, the feel of it is pure quality and feels so solidly made.

the first (of mannnny) navy logos throughout the edition...

the details are delightful :)

each one is individually numbered...

and herrre we go...everything has it's place and is so well packaged and protected :)

even more purdy details, the hinge and tabs are made of ribbon.

the piece includes the deluxe edition of the album...

click "Read More" to see the rest of the review and my score for this piece! :)

back of the album

side 1

side 2 (i love the attention to the design, even though it's a split, they have still designed edges for it)

the digipak opens up to four panels, with the strong visual style and design running throughout!

behind panel one...

two postcards featuring the deluxe album cover..

and the standard edition cover..

as well as the credits of the album

in a fold out :)

which fully folds out to reveal the 'talk that talk' era "r" logo!

the second panel is the album's disc.

annnd the third panel is a delicious photo booklet!

the cover of the booklet...

"i'm such a rockstar i kick RUBBISH BAGS!"

...the back of the booklet.

onto the next sections...

this lil' trinket is a pin featuring three "collectable charms"

the detail on the bleeding heart is just awesome, look at the knife...LOOK AT THE BANNER SAYING RIHANNA!

UPDATE! : a reader has sent in a picture of their version's charms and they are different to my copy's! check them out here!

the next item is a keyring...

...which holds the second riri "navy" logo. LOOK.AT.THE.INTRICATE-NESS! 

onto the next sections...you'll love these little boxes...

the first treat shows the next navy logo...

and when opened, you discover the flight pin!

for reals, is it just me that gets crazy excited over the novelty factor of this?...i feel like the little girl with the stuffed unicorn from "despicable me"....

yum yum yurrrmmmm!

annnd the second box...

lots and lots of "R"s :D

excited for what's inside??

this box contains a protective sheet, which i photographed on a black background to show the cute little "R"s embossed onto it...details details details...

and the contents: an "R" logo USB drive.

i mean, come on, this is divine!

although it only holds 1GB of memory and doesn't have any pictures/audio files already on it (a la gaga's USB drives...), it still looks amazing!

so that was the top part...now to use those loverly ribbon tabs and see what lies in the murky depths...

more loot!

silly, fun and just what you've always wanted: a rihanna navy patch!

...with another logo to boot :D

the NEXT (yes there's more) item is a flight tag, decked out with a gold, embossed logo...

...and a deeee-licious card to fill in your deets!

(another one for you logo lovers out there...)

next is the navy membership card holder...some more of that gold, embossed swag for ya'!

and you know that is the bajan queen's handwriting, excepting you into the ranks of the navy!

last, but not least...and probably the most novelty piece...is the officer's hat!

don't hate 'cause you ain't got one!

that logo reign won't let up...

and just because i'm a sucker for packaging, i'm including a pic of the empty chest...even with nothing in it the box is a thing of beauty!

...and one last present is the specially created rihanna tabloid newspaper, with previously unreleased images! (and you can't tell in the photo but this thing is huge, like A2 size! sooo much rihanna, i can't handle it!!)

the middle folds out into a HUmongous poster, featuring the artwork of the 'we found love' single :)

mmm, mmm, mmmmmm! well wasn't that a visual treat :) from the intricacy of the included trinkets, to the fun factor of the pieces, to the quality of the materials, to the detail in the logo and visual design, it really is a solid edition. there are so many elements that stand out to me, so many that i can't even choose just one! i hope the quality came across to you the reader as well, the materials alone are well chosen and really work well. for all those that say riri throws out "fast food" music, no one can say that this piece doesn't hold some heart and a sense of fun and that it is truly an edition any true navy member should own!

originality : 9/10

materials : 10/10

design : 10/10

the music : 8/10

overall : 9.25/10

rarity : only 500 versions made (all numbered)...only a few left for sale...

and there we have it. sheesh! that was probably the biggest limited edition post simonsez has ever undertaken! enjoy it? click the "my editions" tag below to see more of my limited edition cover-to-cover reviews :)