dollar

Hublot $3 Million Big Bang Watch

It actually costs only 2 million euros - but that is close enough to 3 Million dollars to call it that right? This year Hublot makes another big bang with this baguette diamond covered 18k white gold Big Bang tourbillon watch. This follows up the Million Dollar Bing Bang from a few years ago that used black diamonds. The $3 Million Big Bang has something like 142 carats of diamonds all over the case, dial, and bracelet. Most of them are large baguette-cut stones and they look marvelous.

The 18k white gold bracelet is stunning with all the diamonds. There is a blinding amount of bling, and that is just what Hublot was going for. The watch speaks as much to other brands as it does consumers about Hublot's market stance. Inside the watch is an in-house made caliber HUB 6003 manually wound tourbillon movement with off-centered time display. Pieces like this are made to order for the right type of people. This isn't the type of watch you can just walk around in. Though at the right social event, the guy wearing the diamond encrusted Hublot that sells for an obscene price might have his taste and sanity questioned, but certainly not his success.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch reviews site aBlogtoRead.com.

Gallery: Hublot $3 Million Big Bang Watch

Tags: 3, bb, big bang, dollar, hublot, million, watch

Wife of Washington Lobbyist Uses Money as Wrapping Paper

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wealth

When it comes to gifts usually it's what's on the inside that counts, but that's not necessarily the case for the gifts Edwina Rogers gives -- she wraps her presents in money. Uncut sheets of real, government-issued, dollar bills.

The wife of Washington lobbyist Ed Rogers gets the money sheets from the United States Bureau of Engraving (you can order them for yourself here) and then slices and dices as you would any wrapping paper to best fit the gift and get the best pattern on the front of the package (in this case it's lining up Washington's face just right). No matter that she regularly cuts several bills in half in the process, to be frugal she sticks to the dollar paper and only uses it to wrap "small" gifts.

A sheet of money paper consisting of 32 $1 bills sells for $55.

Via Trendhunter

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Tags: dollar, dollar bills, DollarBills, dollars, edwina rogers, EdwinaRogers, money, money sheets, MoneySheets, sheets, washington, wrap, wrapping, wrapping paper, WrappingPaper

Does the "Made In Italy" Label Have Intrinsic Value?

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

The rising euro and the falling dollar have had a wide variety of effects in the world of luxury goods. For the holiday shopping season, Europeans headed to the U.S. to take advantage of the lower prices. An AP article brings up the fact that the prized "Made in Italy" label on luxury goods may cost us even more in the coming year. Italian brands such as Gucci, Armani, Fendi and Versace are finding that it is becoming more expensive to produce goods in their native land. In the article Diego Della Valle, founder of Tods leather goods, says that those who produce in Italy are at a disadvantage because it will cost them more to produce the same goods. Currently, most designers are absorbing the increased production costs, especially since consumers in the U.S. seem to be cutting back on their consumption of many luxury goods.

The question for the long run is whether or not consumers will be willing to pay more for something that is made in certain place. Currently makers of goods created in both the U.S. and Europe are at a disadvantage compared to those who produce their items in China and other places where costs are lower. But the recent recalls of toys and other products made in China has made some consumers more aware. For the last few years, the designer name has been enough of a reassurance of quality for consumers no matter where the products is made. I think, however, that we are at the start of a trend where all consumers and particularly those at the higher end of the spending spectrum will be paying more attention to where products are produced. If not, that "made in Italy" label might end up becoming a bit of a rarity as costs force designers to chose economy over tradition.

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Tags: armani, designer, dollar, euros, expire-images:2008-12-26, fendi, gucci, handbags, versace