Monday, November 26, 2012

At Rs 630 crore, 'The Scream' is world's most expensive painting

Edvard Munch's iconic painting 'The Scream', considered one of the most recognisable in art world, was sold for over $119 million (Rs 630 crore), creating a new record for the highest price ever paid for a work of art at any auction. The painting, depicting image of a man holding his head and his mouth wide open, was sold for $119,922,500, which includes the premium paid to Sotheby's at the auction held in New York on Wednesday.

Most expensive spa treatment

20-Hands Duo Massage for $4,000 Spa: Spa Grande at the Grand Wailea, A Waldfor-Astoria Resort, Maui Though the Grand Wailea’s 20-hand couple’s massage was originally a limited-time only, 20th anniversary treatment special, it’s popularity has led to it become a staple treatment worth a whopping $2,000 per person. The once-in-a-lifetime opportunity ended back in September, but started with an hour of relaxation time, followed by a 100-finger frenzy of oils and phalanges. But for those who missed the deadline, the Maui resort has no shortage of extravagant offerings, including the Kokoleka Truffle Body Cocoon & Facial ($285 minimum), Volcanic Ash Cocoon ($230 minimum), and Diamond Facial ($325 minimum).

Most Expensive Bath

Baldi Amazon Crystal Bath But all those other baths have just been small potatoes compared to the world's most expensive bath. Two of these tubs were made from a single ten ton block of flawless crystal. Once again, crafted by luxury bathroom company and friend to the filthy rich, Baldi. So how much will this set you back? How does a very round £530,000 sound? Coming back to reality - what about the rest of us mere mortals? Don’t we deserve luxury too? Of course we do! So what are your top tips on making your bathroom look and feel like a million dollars?

Most Expensive Christmas Cocktail

Movida, a London nightclub catering only to the most affluent, has just launched Flawless, the most expensive Christmas cocktail in the world. At £35,000 (over $71,000 USD), Flawless is several times the price of Trader Vic’s Mai Tai, the former most expensive cocktail in the world (£750, over $1,500 USD). The cocktail’s less exciting ingredients include Louis XIII cognac (around $1,500 per bottle), Cristal Rose champagne (around $700 per bottle), angostura bitters ($100 to $200 per bottle) and brown sugar (a few bucks for a bag). These are, after all, things you would expect to find in such an expensive cocktail. Even the 24-karat gold leaf flakes seem a somewhat perfunctory offering for such a steep price. Maybe it’s the 11-carat white diamond ring resting in the bottom of the crystal glass that makes Flawless so expensive. Maybe it’s the security guards who not only watch over Flawless’ preparation but also watch over your table until the cocktail is finished, making sure that everyone knows that you just dropped tens of thousands of British pounds on the most expensive cocktail in the world. Or maybe you’re just in a giving mood. It’s Christmas, after all.

World’s Most Expensive Christmas Trees

Emirates Palace Christmas Tree, 2010 US $11.4 million In 2010, the merriest Christmas goes to patrons of the Emirates Palace hotel in Abu Dhabi, as their extravagant tree has smashed the previous record. While decked with over $11 million in jewelry from Style Gallery, the tree itself is merely a 13-foot faux evergreen. The jewels include 181 diamonds, pearls, emeralds, sapphires and other precious stones. This is certainly a fitting decoration for one of the most expensive hotels in the world.

World’s Most Expensive Calendars

Porsche Design Advent Calendar – $1 million This ultra expensive calendar is truly the gift that keeps on giving. Not only is the calendar itself almost 6 feet tall and made with brushed aluminum with double-coat finished surfaces, it’s also filled with exciting Porsche items. Behind the twenty-four lit windows marking the days leading up to Christmas, Porsche Design has placed an array of goodies including a Porsche Design P’6910 Indicator watch in rosé gold, an individually customizable Porsche Design Kitchen P’7340 and a 27-foot motor yacht. Only five of these calendars have been created and only one will be sold on any continent.

Kadupul Flower

Its considered priceless The Kadupul Flower is at the top of our list, even though it has never been sold for more than the other flowers in the list. The simple reason why the Kadupul Flower is the champion of the most expensive flowers in the world list is: it is completely priceless. No amount of money could ever buy this flower. It is so rare and so frail that it lives for only a few hours, and then dies. Even the local people of its native Sri Lanka seldom see this delicate beauty. Blossoming just before midnight and perishing before dawn, no one, neither orchid-lover nor oligarch, has yet been able to remove the flower from its stem to make a gift of it. Due to its incredibly short life span, this flower has become almost mythical in its status and is revered by many as the most desirable and valuable flower on earth.

WORLD'S MOST EXPENSIVE CANDY BAR

The most expensive candy bar actually appears regularly in the television show Lost, where the characters in the show have stolen many of them out of a research station they find on the deserted island. However, the candy bar actually had a larger impact on the alternate reality game show The Lost Experience, where contestants’ actions determined the outcome of the game. During promotion for the game show, the producers handed out many of the Apollo candy bar and also invited many people to be photographed with the candy bar, so that their pictures could be seen online. Once enough pictures were collected, the producers also distributed a video that would conclude the game. It’s from the candy bars that were handed out as marketing efforts that comes the most expensive candy bar. This particular Apollo candy bar was sold on eBay just before the release of the conclusion video. It sold for $130 USD, making it the most expensive candy bar ever sold. Apollo bars are still for sale on eBay but they usually only cost about $10 USD.

World’s Most Expensive Candle

People have been practicing chandlery for over 5,000 years, but a truly impressive candle still comes along every now and then. Such is the case with the “Ultimate Luxury Candle,” the most expensive candle in the world. The Ultimate Luxury Candle by Luxury Soy Candles lives up to its name with both its fragrance, Champagne Noir Soy, and its embellishment—a Diamond Bow Necklace designed by Bucci Jewelry & Design. The necklace is adorned with 2.23 carats of G color, VS brilliant diamonds—thirty-eight in total—set in 14k white gold. The candle is packaged in a black box with a white satin bow. It can be purchased

World's Most Expensive Wine: Penfold's Debuts $168,000 Bottle Enclosed In Glass

Have a spare $168,000? Well Australian wine producer Penfolds has got you covered. The winery debuted today its "2004 Block 42," a wine entirely enclosed in glass. There are only 12 limited editions of the glass ampoule and if you're one of the lucky purchasers, you get your very own special opening ceremony. Here's the press release's description of how that plays out: When a decision is made to open the Ampoule a senior member of the Penfolds Winemaking team will personally attend a special opening ceremony for the owner (essentially your very own master-class). The winemaker will travel to the destination of choice, where the Ampoule will be ceremoniously removed from its glass plumb-bob casing and opened using a specially designed, tungsten-tipped, sterling silver scribe-snap. The winemaker will then prepare the wine using a beautifully crafted sterling silver tastevin. 2004 Block 42 is made from Cabernet Sauvignon grapes from a single vineyard. It is the most expensive wine directly sold from a winery in the world (well, assuming it does sell for $168,000). The glass sculpture was designed and hand-blown by Australian glass artist Nick Mount.

The World's Most Expensive Lighter for $79,000

When it comes to fine gentleman's smoking accessories, its hard to get more luxurious than S.T. Dupont's new Ligne 2 Champagne lighter. The exquisite piece, part of the venerable French firms Prestige Collection, is made of solid 18-carat white gold embellished with 468 brilliant-cut diamonds and is priced at $79,000. Also available is a matching fountain pen also in solid 18-carat white gold with rhodium finished trims and 502 brilliant-cut diamonds for $74,000. S.T. Dupont has always been held in high regard by the cognoscenti but gained recent acclaim when some of its pieces were used by Daniel Craig as James Bond in Casino Royale. S.T. Dupont was founded in Paris in 1872 by Simon Tissot Dupont; his son Andre Dupont, who had expertise both in leathergoods and as a goldsmith, invented the first pocket petrol lighter in 1941 for the traveling case of a Maharajah. At the time Dupont's ultra-luxurious travel cases were its main line; in 1947 they made one in lavender blue leather for HRH Princess Elizabeth of York, the future Queen of England. In 1952 Dupont patented the adjustable gas lighter upon which the present model is based and created a special model for the Duke of Windsor, which was reissued in 2006.

Michael Jackson's 'Scream' Music video is still the most expensive one ever made...

So I'm sometimes amazed by the amount of non news which gets a lot of attention on the series of tubes. A swine flu death in New York? You got it! Michael Vick is working with (insert animal org here). You're covered! Michelle Obama's guns? Sure... why not? So here it is, my contribution to the never ending barrage of worthless information with yet another post which will waste your time when you could be catching up on something that is actually worth while. (Yay run-on sentences!!!) Ladies and Gentlemen, at a whopping 7 million U.S., Michael Jackson's 1995 'Scream' music video is still the most expensive one ever made! And yes, I'm being hypocritical.

Worlds most expensive sunglass

Dolce & Gabanna DG2027B Completely blowing those pricey frames out of the water, Dolce and Gabanna recently released a pair of sunglasses whose price easily overshadowed that of Lipow’s $3,800 shades. The brown-tinted shades are framed in gold and appear to have the brand’s logo written on the arms—in diamonds.

The World's Most Expensive Bed

So you bought that fabulous multi-million dollar home of your dreams (perhaps maybe one like this?). The question now is how to decorate. Start with the bedroom — after all, many a rich and famous person on MTV Cribs has admitted, “it’s where the magic happens.” A one-of-a-kind house needs a one-of-a-kind bed…How about one worth £4 million (conversion: more than $6.4 million). British designer Stuart Hughes has just unveiled his latest ultra-high end and utterly exclusive foray into furniture: the Baldacchino Supreme. In a joint collaboration with Hebanon by Fratelli Basile Interiors of Nocera Superiore Italy, a team of master Italian furniture makers, the Baldacchino Supreme is the world’s new most expensive bed for sale. Only two will be created, each taking 3 months to hand craft upon purchase. Ensconced in Italian silk curtains, the canopy bed is a decadent vision of creme and gold, carved from chestnut, ash and cherry woods: it’s the type of structure a royal medieval Italian wedding night would welcome. The headboard is fashioned in capitonnè — that button-punctured fabric pattern harking from Parisian home decor — and can be customized with diamonds upon request (in case you want some bling to go with “the magic”). The real expense behind this bed however is the sheer amount of gold in use. It’s generously brushed along the borders of the entire structure in the form of gold leaf: 107 kg of solid 24ct gold to be exact. In commodities trading terms, that’s over $5 million worth of gold at current market prices. The bed may seem like a publicity ploy from the two companies, but surprisingly one order has already been placed — and filled. The inspiration for this entire project came at the behest of a wealthy Italian buyer (who will sadly remain anonymous) looking for an overly indulgent, fabulously decadent bed to call his own. He contacted Hebanon and they in turn contacted Stuart Hughes, who has built a clever brand around bourgeois adaptations of every day items like diamond-encrusted flat screen television sets and multimillion dollar iPhones. As for the one remaining bed, it’s still available for purchase — just in time for Valentine’s Day. Hughes says these items in general can take “one minute or an eternity to sell.” With a bed like this, I can’t help but wonder what the wealthy buyers will choose furniture-wise to accompany it.

$5.7 Million Gown Sets The World Record For Most Expensive Dress

If you’ve been waiting to spend millions on something you never thought you’d need, here’s a record-breaking black diamond dress that’s just begging to be worn. United Kingdom-based designer Debbie Wingham has been touring the world and showcasing her designs all year. The first stop was in Monte Carlo in June, the second in Ukraine in September, and she plans on displaying her wares in Dubai and Switzerland later this year. Earlier this month, Wingham showed a collection of dresses, several of which were embellished with diamonds. One in particular was a hands-down showstopper. The dress in question isn’t just any ol’ black peplum dress, but a fantastical creation made with white diamonds, and — wait for it — 50 two-carat black diamonds. The dress was hand-sewn, weighs 29 pounds, and costs around a cool $5.7 million. Yes, it is the world’s Most Expensive Dress, according to the World Record Academy. Twenty-five black diamonds were used on the bodice (which took six months alone to create) and peplum hem, and 25 more were used on the detachable shrug. It’s safe to say that Wingham’s name will be on everyone’s lips, and although she’s new to us, she’s actually been in the industry for a while and her designs have been worn by celebs like Kate Winslet, Hilary Swank, and Amy Smart. So tell us, if you had $5.7 million lying around, would you buy this dress? Let us know below!

World’s most expensive bicycles for uber-rich riders

Bicycling is fun, but it can cost you a fortune if you want to drive the one which boasts high-end craftsmanship just like the high-end cars. With the escalating fuel prices and increasing environmental concerns, even the wealthy consumers are opting in custom-made, high-end bicycles to experience the joys of pedal power every now and then. Luxury is something that could come your way in any form and if it’s simply a two-wheeler that comes gold plated, studded with dazzling Swarovski crystals, made with real butterfly wings, custom made with carbon fiber and chrome, or with high-tech features, it definitely is meant for the discerning. We have listed here some of the most expensive and impressive bicycles that have ever been designed. Take a look.

Sony Ericsson Black Diamond = $300,000 (£162,162)

Apparently the Black Diamond will be available in 2007, not from Sony Ericsson but by a company called VIPN. Initially only 5 unique numered pieces will be available for the unbelievable price of, wait for it… $300,000. With regards to the specifications, don’t expect anything remarkable for your money. It will have Quad-band with Wi-Fi, an Intel 400Mhz processor running Windows Mobile 5 and a touch sensitive 2″ screen. It will also include internal memory of 128mb and will come with a 2Gb SD card for external storage plus a respectable 4 Megapixel camera. The designer Jaren Goh has used some pretty impressive materials for the build, featuring titane with polycarbonate, mirror-finish cladding and diamonds.