What better way to celebrate the 60th anniversary of a country that seems to have a, um, problem with all forms of open media than with a, um, camera? Oh but what a camera it is! Leica has taken it upon themselves to create this beauty. It’s gold-plated(24 carat), and as you can see, comes in colors to celebrate the People’s Republic of China. Not bad. Limited to just 60 units, each hallmarked with a year between 1949 and 2009, the Golden Camera is encased in red calfskin, bears an inscription of Mao Zedong’s favorite slogan and includes the Leica Summilux-M 50mm f/1.4 Gold lens. It also costs a whopping $30,000. Wait, now China also has more expensive limited edition cameras than the Western World?! Why, I never.
In order to commemorate the 20th anniversary of SIHH (Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie), Panerai has decided to reissue it’s classic Mare Nostrum watch. It is not available yet as they are waiting for the official 2010 SIHH event. The watch is purported to sell for around $36,000. The Mare Nostrum features a monstrous 52mm dial and is reported as being based on a hand-wound Minerva chronograph movement, dubbed the Panerai OP XXV caliber. In short, this watch is a looker and is sure to capture the attention of any onlookers.
Steampunk merchandise is certainly a niche market, but when it clicks, it certainly clicks. Check out this Victorian-themed USB drive, available for $600. The aesthetics are through the roof, and it holds 16GB of data so it’s useful as well. It also comes with a custom made, velvet lined tin box. Not bad for $600, or using Victorian monetary standards, one billion trillion British pounds.
Jewelery manufacturer Since1910 has been around, well, since 1910. That’s 100 long years of watch and bracelet sales. In order to commemorate this feat they decided to, what else, make a diamond-topped cupcake. This magnificent diamondy cake rings in as the most expensive cupcake ever made. It costs $106,794 in order to bite down on this diminutive cake. But don’t bite down the diamond, it’s a GIA-certified 5.48 ct round diamond – F color – Si2 clarity –and it’s a good cut. And yes, we know this isn’t exactly cake, but it’s a diamond topped cupcake for God’s sake!
There are diamond watches, and there are diamond watches. This falls into the latter category. As a matter of fact, this timepiece features so many of the desired gems, you’ll have friends saying “Would you like any watch with your diamonds?” Over 20 carats combined. But it’s not all diamonds. There’s white gold on the case as well, and beautifully designed patterns running throughout. The automatic caliber 25A tourbillon movement is composed of 238 components with 29 jewels with a 168-hour power reserve. All of this can be yours for $1,342,700.
Is there any better gift for the Winter Olympic fanatic in your life than this watch? I mean, other than an intervention of course. This limited edition Richard Mille RM011 DLC Titanium “Americas White” watch truly is the bee’s knees of Winter Olympics memorabilia. The 40mm x 50mm DLC coated titanium case is in DLC (diamond like carbon) coated titanium for strength and scratch resistance. It’s priced at $90,000 and limited to just thirty pieces. The watches can only be purchased at authorized Richard Mille retail stores throughout America and Canada. Happy hunting.
Swiss luxury watchmaker BUBEN&ZORWEG has ventured into the world of safes with their “X-007.” This ultimate safe boasts precision engineering and high-end craftsmanship similar to that of the watchmaker’s timepieces. Notice how the unit looks more like a work of art than just a safe space for them. What else that sets it apart from other safes is that it opens upwards, making it the ideal presentation platform for your valuables.
Chealsea footballer Frank Lampard is a very famous man, also one of the greatest players the Premier league has ever seen. In addition to being a competitive sportsman, the English midfielder is also quite the humanitarian. He is launching a signature gold iPod in support of the Teenage Cancer trust charity. He teamed up with Goldgenie, who designed the iPod. It’s a 3rd generation iPod touch and it’s available in 8GB, 16GB or 32GB. Each unit is laser engraved with the man’s signature and plated in 24ct gold. They range in price with a max of £433.
This is one-of-a-kind gadget marries the convenience of a 64Gb USB drive with the looks of a truly original piece of steampunk art. The Pocket Memory 5 was designed by Will Rockwell and features a Kingston 64 Gb hard drive inside. Outside, it’s all love. Everything is handcrafted and lovingly detailed. It utilizes the LED on the drive to power a faceted jewel that is mounted like a diamond on the end of the drive. The drive comes encased in a custom velvet lined box that features a unique “cooling system” of pipes and manifolds to keep it ventilated. There is just something so pleasant about that future meets past aesthetic of steampunk, and what better to capture it than a hard drive? The designer has made 4 previous incarnations, which would account for the “5″ in the title. Until “6″ rolls around, this unit is the only one there. It’s up for auction now on the designer’s website.
Just when you thought there was one single inch of this planet that hadn’t been slapped by the Swarovski “pen,” along comes this Olympus camera redux. You may remember the Olympus Pen E-P1 because it’s a damned fine camera. However, it lacked one crucial element: a generous slathering of Swarovski crystals. Luckily, that weakness has been rectified. All other aspects of the photo taker are equal to the camera we know and love. The crystals won’t make photos any, um, shinier or anything. If this is your cup of crystalized tea, pick one up for £1,999.
