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The phone derives its name from the Princess cut used on 138 of the 318 diamonds on its surface. The rest of the 180 diamonds on the phone are brilliant cut and it has 17.75 carats of diamonds set in 18k white gold around its rim. All diamonds used are of the best quality.This iPhone Princess Plus has a price tag of €120,000 ($176,400 USD) its first customer is a Russian businessman who had pre-ordered it way back in October 2007 for January 2008 delivery. And if you can’t afford this, the poorer lot can buy the iPhone set only with brilliant-cut diamonds. This can be purchased for the more “modest sum” of €45,000 ($66,150 USD).
Saturday, January 30, 2010
The world's most expensive iPhone
Austrian luxury designer and jeweler Peter Aloisson has something more to add to his kitty – ladies and gentlemen, presenting to you the Aloisson designed iPhone – the world’s most expensive iPhone. While diamond studded phones are nothing new, the only thing the iPhone Princess Plus has to its credit is being the most expensive iPhone.
The phone derives its name from the Princess cut used on 138 of the 318 diamonds on its surface. The rest of the 180 diamonds on the phone are brilliant cut and it has 17.75 carats of diamonds set in 18k white gold around its rim. All diamonds used are of the best quality.This iPhone Princess Plus has a price tag of €120,000 ($176,400 USD) its first customer is a Russian businessman who had pre-ordered it way back in October 2007 for January 2008 delivery. And if you can’t afford this, the poorer lot can buy the iPhone set only with brilliant-cut diamonds. This can be purchased for the more “modest sum” of €45,000 ($66,150 USD).
Read Full Entry
The phone derives its name from the Princess cut used on 138 of the 318 diamonds on its surface. The rest of the 180 diamonds on the phone are brilliant cut and it has 17.75 carats of diamonds set in 18k white gold around its rim. All diamonds used are of the best quality.This iPhone Princess Plus has a price tag of €120,000 ($176,400 USD) its first customer is a Russian businessman who had pre-ordered it way back in October 2007 for January 2008 delivery. And if you can’t afford this, the poorer lot can buy the iPhone set only with brilliant-cut diamonds. This can be purchased for the more “modest sum” of €45,000 ($66,150 USD).
Thursday, January 28, 2010
World's oldest and most expensive camera to go under the hammer
A Giroux “Daguerreotype” – the world’s first commercially-produced camera – is expected to set a world record price when it goes up for auction this May at WestLicht Auctions in Vienna.The previously undocumented camera has been in private ownership in northern Germany for generations and is in remarkable condition given it is 170 years old.
The wooden sliding-box camera was made in Paris in September 1839 by Alphonse Giroux, the brother-in-law of Louis Jacques Mande Daguerre, the inventor of the first practicable photographic process.
Daguerre even signed the camera to verify its authenticity. Only a few of these cameras are known to exist worldwide and all of those are in public museums.Every detail including the plaque signed by Daguerre, the lens, the black velvet interior and the ground-glass screen are in their original state and the camera also comes with the extremely rare original instructions in German. These instructions, entitled, “Praktische Beschreibung des Daguerreotyp’s” were published by Georg Gropius in Berlin 1839 and feature 24 12x20cm pages with 18 illustrations in 5 plates showing the equipment used for producing Daguerreotypes in accordance with Daguerre’s invention.
The cameras produced by Daguerre’s brother-in-law are more opulently finished that those of the competition and the selling price of 400 Francs was very high, representing approximately the annual income of an average working man at the time. There is no record of the total number of cameras that Giroux produced, but since cheaper and improved cameras came onto the market relatively quickly it is assumed that the numbers were limited.
Making Daguerrotypes is a relatively involved process and the camera was originally sold with all the equipment necessary for their production. This included fuming and mercury boxes, a spirit burner, the silver-covered copper plates and the necessary chemicals. In total all the required equipment weighed around 50 kg (110 lb).
How it works
The camera itself consists of two boxes made of different kinds of wood that slide into each other. The larger of the two, which has the lens attached to it, is fixed to the base plate. The back of the smaller box is either the ground glass plate or the holder insert and it fits into the forward box so that the whole camera is lightproof. The interior is lined with black velvet. In order to bring the image into focus the rear box is moved back or forwards along the wooden camera base.
It can then be fixed in position by means of a brass screw, while a fold-out mirror behind the ground-glass screen allows the image to be seen while standing upright.Initially Daguerre used plates of pure silver but later switched to plates made of silver-plated copper to save on costs. Before the exposure was made the plates were fumed with iodine or bromine inside a special wooden box with the aid of a spirit burner. Under the influence of this fuming process, light-sensitive silver iodide formed on the surface of the plate.
In order to maximise the brightness of the image while focusing the lens’s outer brass fitting was removed. During the exposure the ground glass screen was exchanged for the (now) light sensitive plate (167 x 216 mm). Before the exposure was made the diaphragm was replaced and a swiveling cap served as a shutter. Daguerre suggested exposure times of between 3 and 30 minutes, depending on light conditions.
After the plate was exposed, the photograph was developed with the aid of mercury fumes which adhered to the surface producing a very faint silver image. Development and fixation in a salt or cyanide solution results in a positive image made of grey quicksilver. The tonality of the original pictures varied between grey and blue-grey but, after the introduction of gold toner, they could also be gold, purple or sepia-coloured.
Daguerreotypes are astoundingly finely nuanced and practically grainless – even when examined under a magnifying glass they exhibit very fine details. When they are framed in a way that excludes air they are extremely durable. Daguerreotypes are always unique, which is also one of the reasons why they are such sought after and desirable collectors’ items nowadays.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
40 Nokia Booklet 3Gs - The Most Expensive Way to Play Guess Who
If you were a kid, or had a kid, at any point in the last 20 years, you’re probably familiar with “Guess Who”. This classic game from Milton Bradley taught many of us that it isn’t okay to be different, because you’ll just lose right away. In a slightly nerdier take, the fellows behind the WOMWorld/Nokia site found themselves with 40 Nokia Booklet 3Gs. So of course, they used them to play “Guess Who”.
Instead of picking from a series of faces, each computer had a different mobile phone website on it. This is the sort of extravagance you rarely see, so drink it in. As to why they have 40 of these pricey netbooks, your guess is as good as ours. If you were wondering, at the going rate that’s about $24,000 worth of mobile computing goodness.
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Instead of picking from a series of faces, each computer had a different mobile phone website on it. This is the sort of extravagance you rarely see, so drink it in. As to why they have 40 of these pricey netbooks, your guess is as good as ours. If you were wondering, at the going rate that’s about $24,000 worth of mobile computing goodness.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Is this the most expensive night out in Wales?
WITH Valentine’s Day just around the corner, the romantics among us will be looking for somewhere to take our loved one away for that special weekend. And those with deep pockets and a taste for the good things in life can treat themselves to a little luxury – and what could be the most expensive weekend in Wales.
A weekend break at Ynyshir Hall, in Powys, will set you back £1,500 for a two-night stay for two under its ‘star grazing’ package. For around £750 per day, you get a deluxe double room and a cookery demonstration with the hotel’s Michelin-starred head chef Shane Hughes.
You also get an upgrade to the ‘gourmand’ menu for dinner on one night with wine to match each course. Dinner is included on the second night’s stay, and you also get breakfast, afternoon tea and a hamper of local food.
Pricey though it is, the food is certainly of a very high standard. The luxury Ynyshir Hall, once owned by Queen Victoria and which has played host to guests including Richard Gere and Led Zeppelin frontman, Robert Plant, last week regained a coveted Michelin star.
The star grazing package has been designed to celebrate it.
Normal room prices at Ynyshir Hall start at £250 a night for bed and breakfast and go up to £405 for a luxury suite.
Value for money? Andrew Davis, chairman of von Essen Hotels which owns Ynyshir Hall, certainly thinks so.
He says: “Our hotels continue to be recognised as fantastic place to visit, stay and dine at and I am grateful to the dedicated teams both front of house and in our kitchens.”
And in press material sent out this week, the company said: “Ynyshir Hall, under the culinary guidance of Shane Hughes, has become one of the most sought after spots in the UK to unwind, recharge and enjoy fine cuisine.”
But prospective punters are not so sure if they’d splash out for such luxury.
Nicky Howson, 26, from Swansea, has been going out with his girlfriend for two years.
He said: “I would never spend a couple of thousand pounds on a weekend away, I’d want a few weeks in the sun for that price.
“If you splashed out that much for Valentine’s Day, what on earth would you get your girlfriend for her birthday?”
Rhys Dwyer, 30, from Cardiff, said spending £1,500 on a weekend break for him and his wife would be a “once in a lifetime” gift.
“You couldn’t spend that much every year,” he said.
“Maybe if you were going to propose to your girlfriend or if it was a 30 or 40-year anniversary. But it is a lot of money when you think about what else you could buy.
“I think most men feel the pressure of trying to get something good for their wife or girlfriend so maybe some men would pay it to make sure their partner is happy.”
Elsewhere in Wales, there are plenty of other places to part with your cash.
Those wanting to make a grand gesture need to look further than two of the capital’s best hotels.
The plush St David’s Hotel in Cardiff Bay is offering bed, breakfast and dinner and its best room for £679 per night – or £1,358 for a weekend.
Cardiff’s Hilton Hotel will give you the “full run of the hotel” for just shy of £1,400 for Valentine’s weekend.
This includes bed, breakfast, and the presidential suite with access to the executive lounge.
Further east at the Celtic Manor Resort – due to host the Ryder Cup in October – a romantic escape is on offer from £356 per couple.
That’ll get you a two-night break, full Welsh breakfast and the full use of the health club.
A Valentine’s dinner will set you back anything from £50 to £80 a head in one of its four restaurants.
Read Full Entry
A weekend break at Ynyshir Hall, in Powys, will set you back £1,500 for a two-night stay for two under its ‘star grazing’ package. For around £750 per day, you get a deluxe double room and a cookery demonstration with the hotel’s Michelin-starred head chef Shane Hughes.
You also get an upgrade to the ‘gourmand’ menu for dinner on one night with wine to match each course. Dinner is included on the second night’s stay, and you also get breakfast, afternoon tea and a hamper of local food.
Pricey though it is, the food is certainly of a very high standard. The luxury Ynyshir Hall, once owned by Queen Victoria and which has played host to guests including Richard Gere and Led Zeppelin frontman, Robert Plant, last week regained a coveted Michelin star.
The star grazing package has been designed to celebrate it.
Normal room prices at Ynyshir Hall start at £250 a night for bed and breakfast and go up to £405 for a luxury suite.
Value for money? Andrew Davis, chairman of von Essen Hotels which owns Ynyshir Hall, certainly thinks so.
He says: “Our hotels continue to be recognised as fantastic place to visit, stay and dine at and I am grateful to the dedicated teams both front of house and in our kitchens.”
And in press material sent out this week, the company said: “Ynyshir Hall, under the culinary guidance of Shane Hughes, has become one of the most sought after spots in the UK to unwind, recharge and enjoy fine cuisine.”
But prospective punters are not so sure if they’d splash out for such luxury.
Nicky Howson, 26, from Swansea, has been going out with his girlfriend for two years.
He said: “I would never spend a couple of thousand pounds on a weekend away, I’d want a few weeks in the sun for that price.
“If you splashed out that much for Valentine’s Day, what on earth would you get your girlfriend for her birthday?”
Rhys Dwyer, 30, from Cardiff, said spending £1,500 on a weekend break for him and his wife would be a “once in a lifetime” gift.
“You couldn’t spend that much every year,” he said.
“Maybe if you were going to propose to your girlfriend or if it was a 30 or 40-year anniversary. But it is a lot of money when you think about what else you could buy.
“I think most men feel the pressure of trying to get something good for their wife or girlfriend so maybe some men would pay it to make sure their partner is happy.”
Elsewhere in Wales, there are plenty of other places to part with your cash.
Those wanting to make a grand gesture need to look further than two of the capital’s best hotels.
The plush St David’s Hotel in Cardiff Bay is offering bed, breakfast and dinner and its best room for £679 per night – or £1,358 for a weekend.
Cardiff’s Hilton Hotel will give you the “full run of the hotel” for just shy of £1,400 for Valentine’s weekend.
This includes bed, breakfast, and the presidential suite with access to the executive lounge.
Further east at the Celtic Manor Resort – due to host the Ryder Cup in October – a romantic escape is on offer from £356 per couple.
That’ll get you a two-night break, full Welsh breakfast and the full use of the health club.
A Valentine’s dinner will set you back anything from £50 to £80 a head in one of its four restaurants.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Who has the most expensive car insurance?
A Moneysupermarket.com survey has revealed who in Britain has the most expensive car insurance premiums. The poll suggests it is 17 to 21-year-olds in the G62 postcode area - East Dunbartonshire, Scotland.
However, thirty-something men in Swindon (SN5) and Sheffield (S1) also scored highly. Steve Sweeny, head of motor insurance at the price comparison company, said that fitting this profile or collecting speeding convictions not only increases cover premiums by sometimes nearly 50 per cent but also risks licence point losses and fines of up to £1,000.
He added that the fact there were no women "anywhere near the tope of the table in our analysis" was clearly reflected in the amounts each gender pays for their policies. The Institute of Advanced Motorists recently published findings to fight another driving stereotype - that of old people being a danger on the road. In their research, drivers over 70 were found to be no more likely to cause crashes than any other motorist.
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However, thirty-something men in Swindon (SN5) and Sheffield (S1) also scored highly. Steve Sweeny, head of motor insurance at the price comparison company, said that fitting this profile or collecting speeding convictions not only increases cover premiums by sometimes nearly 50 per cent but also risks licence point losses and fines of up to £1,000.
He added that the fact there were no women "anywhere near the tope of the table in our analysis" was clearly reflected in the amounts each gender pays for their policies. The Institute of Advanced Motorists recently published findings to fight another driving stereotype - that of old people being a danger on the road. In their research, drivers over 70 were found to be no more likely to cause crashes than any other motorist.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Most Expensive Seafood Hamper -world record set by The Fish Society
Says Fish Society chairman, James Smith: “Our members often want a ‘big spread’, and they will find these packs very convenient. They’d take a long time to make this selection and would be wondering if they had the balance right. We’ve done it for them.The price… well, the price is the price. It’s not difficult to get to these price points if you are dealing in meaningful amounts of caviar. I can assure you they are good value.”
The Most Expensive Seafood Hamper contains 17 kinds of seafood including 16 inch long giant Siberian crab legs, extra large crab claws from Chile, freshly cooked native UK lobster, four kinds of prawns including monstrous prawns from Madagascar weighing in at half a pound each, assorted more humble but nevertheless crucial shellfish, and as the magnificent centerpiece, 750g of Sevruga caviar.
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