The most recognized trophy in the world, the Oscar statuette has stood on the mantels of the greatest filmmakers in history since 1929.

Shortly after the formation of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 1927, the fledgling organization held a dinner in the Crystal Ballroom of the Biltmore Hotel in downtown Los Angeles to set out its goals. Among the topics discussed that night was how best to honor outstanding moviemaking achievements and thereby encourage excellence in all facets of motion picture production.

Agreeing to institute an annual award, the group turned its attention to creating a suitably majestic trophy. MGM art director Cedric Gibbons designed a statuette of a knight standing on a reel of film gripping a crusader?s sword. The Academy tapped Los Angeles sculptor George Stanley to realize the design in three dimensions ? and the world-renowned statuette was born.

A Knight Called Oscar
Since the initial awards banquet on May 16, 1929, in the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel?s Blossom Room, 2,701 statuettes have been presented. Each January, additional new golden statuettes are cast, molded, polished and buffed by R.S. Owens & Company, the Chicago-based awards manufacturer retained by the Academy since 1982.

Oscar stands 13½ inches tall and weighs in at a robust 8½ pounds. The film reel features five spokes, signifying the five original branches of the Academy: actors, directors, producers, technicians and writers. Although the statuette remains true to its original design, the size of the base varied until 1945, when the current standard was adopted.

Officially named the Academy Award of Merit, the statuette is better known by its nickname, Oscar. While the origins of the moniker aren?t clear, a popular story has it that upon seeing the trophy for the first time, Academy librarian (and eventual executive director) Margaret Herrick remarked that it resembled her Uncle Oscar. The Academy didn?t adopt the nickname officially until 1939, but it was widely known enough by 1934 that Hollywood columnist Sidney Skolsky used it in a piece referring to Katharine Hepburn?s first Best Actress win.

The Stuff that Dreams are Made Of
The statuettes presented at the initial ceremonies were gold-plated solid bronze. Within a few years the bronze was abandoned in favor of britannia metal, a pewter-like alloy which is then plated in copper, nickel silver, and finally, 24-karat gold. Due to a metal shortage during World War II, Oscars® were made of painted plaster for three years. Following the war, the Academy invited recipients to redeem the plaster figures for gold-plated metal ones.

Achievements in up to 25 regular categories will be honored on February 22, 2009, at the 81st Academy Awards presentation at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center®. However, the Academy won?t know how many statuettes it will hand out until the envelopes are opened on Oscar Night®. Although the number of categories and special awards are known in advance, the possibility of ties and of multiple recipients sharing the prize in some categories makes it impossible to predict the exact number of statuettes to be awarded. As in previous years, any surplus awards will be housed in the Academy?s vault until next year?s event.

More than 80 years after that auspicious gathering in Hollywood, Oscar?s success as a symbol of filmmaking achievement would probably amaze those who attended the dinner, as it would its designer, Cedric Gibbons.

How much would you pay for "the Bentley of cellphones"? $1,000? $10,000? Try a cool million bucks. This one-of-a-kind quad-band handset by Goldvish sports a blinding 120 carats worth of VVS-1 grade diamonds, according to designer Emmanuel Gueit, and as you would expect from a seven-figure phone, features such amenities as Bluetooth, a camera with 8x digital zoom, MP3 playback, FM radio, included 2GB memory card and an EDGE connection (though curiously no 3G option or WiFi -- it seems a million bucks is not what it used to be). For those of you not willing to drop such an obscene amount of money on a phone that even the designer likens to a boomerang, Goldvish also offers several other diamond-encrusted 18k gold models in your choice of rose, yellow, or white, starting at a much more reasonable $25,600.

Gorenje luxury fridge-freezer - Eye-catcher
Gorenje will make luxury fridge-freezer crystallized with Swarovski, the Eye-catcher. The refrigerator produced in distinctive gloss black color, will have 7,000 hand-embedded Swarovski crystals. Gorenje will try to make it rather unique - fewer than 10 planned. However, another less fancy version in black and silver color will be available commercially with only 3,500 crystals. The Eye-catcher will have new touch control screen mounted at eye-level on the fridge door. This screen will show settings, warnings and serve as a built-in radio, recipe book and voice memo recorder-player. Available in May, June 2006. No word on the price. Gorenje.

ARMANI/DADA

A partnership between the Armani Group and the Molteni Group for the production and distribution of kitchen systems

The Armani Group and the Molteni Group announce the formation of a joint partnership for the future production and distribution of kitchen systems under the brand name ?Armani/Dada?. The ?Bridge? kitchen system was the first Armani kitchen concept to be produced by Dada, the result of a long term collaboration that now envisages the development of additional systems for both the residential and contract sectors.

Milan, ? The Armani Group and Molteni Group announce the formation of a joint partnership for the future production and distribution of kitchen systems. This collaboration will result in a new line Armani/Dada.

Armani/Casa was launched in 2000 as an ad hoc division perfectly attuned to the other "worlds" within the Group, providing a platform for Giorgio Armani to transmit and establish his vision in the home environment: creating an intimate and individual ambience, simultaneously sophisticated and comfortable.
Dada, a company within the Molteni Group, has been developing and producing furnishing systems for the contemporary kitchen environment since 1980, always achieving a very high aesthetic and functional level.

Giorgio Armani, President and Chief Executive Officer of Giorgio Armani SpA, observes: ?I am delighted to have such a well established new partner as Dada backed up by the Molteni Group, to develop and produce kitchens in the perfect Armani style. The original Bridge model has already delivered excellent results, in prestigious private homes and now in the Armani Residences in Dubai.?

Carlo Molteni, President of the Molteni Group, responds: ?It is with great pleasure that we announce this partnership with the Armani Group. The excellence and total perfection that we have admired for so long in the Armani style will definitely present us with a challenging reference point for the development of new models.?

Design and comfort, elegance and functionality. These are the key words that define the Armani/Dada collection, which will be expanded to include new products as from the Salone del Mobile 2009, where the second kitchen system will be introduced ? alongside ?Bridge?, which has already found commercial success throughout the world.

The projects handled by Contract Armani/Dada include the development of kitchen systems for 144 exclusive Armani Residences within the Burj Dubai, the tallest building in the world, now under construction in Dubai. Armani/Dada kitchens also feature on the 57th floor of the Federation Tower in Moscow which, at 340 metres high, will be the tallest tower in Europe, now under construction near the Kremlin square.
Armani/Dada Systems will be available from single brand Armani/Casa outlets as well as the most appropriate concept stores belonging to the Molteni Group.
This collaboration between Armani/Casa and Dada has a cosmopolitan mission. To bring the simplicity and elegance of true Italian style to the whole world.

The Nokia N95 is already a multi-functional smartphone by itself, and what better way to increase its desirability than to throw a whole bunch of diamonds on it? What you see above is the result of such an extravagant imagination, done up by Alexander Amosu. This exclusive limited edition diamond Nokia N95 8GB will be limited to just 10 in the whole wide world, and each handset is adorned with 18 carat solid white gold with 325 diamonds, boasting a total diamond weight of 3.30 carats. Be prepared to fork out *cough cough* slightly less than a quarter of a hundred thousand dollars for this ultra-luxurious smartphone - $24,482 to be exact.

£1,700,000 ($3,346,456). Sothebys London, February 2007
The sale of this colorful work was a milestone in the Art market, as it was not only the most expensive photography ever sold, but also almost triplicated the auction record for a contemporary photography.

This is the most expensive bikini in the world. It is consists of 150 carats of D-Flawless diamonds and worth about 30 million U.S. dollars.
Designed by Susan Rosen, the bikini can best be worn only at beaches. True confession, its fall into the lingerie category is not justifiable as the fabric used for this bikini is a layer of pure diamonds and not a bit of clothe.

The painting was sold by David Geffen, founder of Geffen Records and co-founder of Dreamworks SKG, to David Martinez, managing partner of Fintech Advisory Ltd, in a private sale for a record inflation-adjusted price of $140 million. The sale was reportedly brokered by Sotheby?s auctioneer Tobias Meyer, however, Shearman & Sterling, LLP issued a press release on behalf of its client, David Martinez, to announce that contrary to recent articles in the press, Mr Martinez does not own the painting or any rights to acquire it. It is speculated that Geffen sold the painting, along with two others, to raise enough funds to bid for the Los Angeles Times. Martinez has reportedly been amassing an art collection, buying multiple modern artworks in recent years as well as a two-floor, $54.7 million dollar apartment in the south building of the Time Warner Center.

This sale would make the painting the most expensive ever sold, privately or at auction, exceeding the sale of Gustav Klimt's 1907 Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I to Ronald Lauder, heir to the Estée Lauder Companies fortune, by around five million dollars. David Cook, deputy director of painting at Sotheby's Australia, stated that the price of Pollock's paintings will continually rise in value, as very few of Pollock's paintings are still left. Cook has also stated that another of Pollock's paintings, Blue Poles, is worth at least 180 million AUD and possibly even more than No. 5, 1948.

Many have questioned Martinez's motives for paying a profligate price on a painting which has little apparent meaning. Skeptics claim the painting looks like something out of an early elementary school art class.

Louis Vuitton already has an enviable reputation for producing eye-catching and incredibly stylish bags and has even played with special edition cases for wine, whisky and crockery but this really is something special: a case for transporting caviar! It?s a handy cube with neat dimensions (37cm x 30cm x 32cm), hand-finished in Vuitton?s design studio in Asnières. Open up this magic box and you?ll find a lining manufactured from elegant shagreen leather. Also inside are four vodka glasses, plates, a caviar dish with silver lid, a large serving spoon and four individual caviar spoons with mother of pearl inlay. Perhaps the most attractive feature of this case is that it can be made to your personal specifications; customers can choose the sizes and indeed which material the case is constructed from (i.e. alligator leather is an option).

Author: Verena Schulemann

GODIVA

Godiva was first to create the concept of premium chocolate. They did this by combining a fabulous product, stimulating advertising, sophisticated packaging and selective distribution. Godiva's standards of excellence include maintaining the product's high quality by requiring special handling during storage and display. Their growing popularity as a premium product is due to an innovative approach in manufacturing, advertising and packaging.