expensive

According to Element Case, the Vapor Pro is the most expensive non-designer iPhone 4 case available. This version is masculine looking and made in aluminum. Rather than snapping on to the iPhone 4, it is screwed on (with a supplied tool). The ports to all the buttons and connectors on the phone are easy to access, while the case further gives the iPhone a more ergonomic shape for holding. There is even a polymer section over the antenna to prevent signal issues. Element cases offers the Vapor Pro iPhone case in a number of colors and finishes. Retail price is $149.99, and you can enter to win one below.

THANKS FOR ALL WHO ENTERED. THE GIVEAWAY IS NOW OVER.

To enter, leave a comment on this post sharing why you'd like to win this case. The giveaway ends on March 18th at 8:00pm PST. See additional rules below.

* To enter, leave a confirmed comment below.
* The comment must be left and confirmed before March 18th, 2011 at 8:00PM Pacific Time.
* You may only enter once.
* One winner will be selected in a random drawing.
* One winner will receive one Element Case Vapor Pro iPhone 4 case valued at $149.99.
* Open to legal residents of the 50 United States, and the District of Columbia, who are 18 and older.

See full giveaway rules here.

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

I can't believe I'm about to say this: Oh, those poor rich people.

But it's kinda true, if you're in a generous and sympathetic mood and willing to look at the numbers. The more money you have the more money you need, it's as simple as that. The luxury market and the prices of luxury goods is rising at about 3 times that of the standard market and of standard goods. Part of the reason for this is the fact that although there's more and more money floating around in the world there is still a finite amount of goods to be purchased with that money, and for people with money to spend status symbols become almost exclusively defined by their price: the higher the better.

It's a LOT more complicated than that, but it really can all be summed up in the simple phrase "it's expensive being rich!"

70 year old Joan Hardee got quite the birthday greeting in the mail when she received a painting from artist Damien Hirst. Joan had been Hirst's college secretary, so when her son was planning a surprise birthday party he asked Hirst if he wouldn't make a special card for her. Hirst, though, took it a step farther and sent her an entire painting instead with the words "Happy Birthday Joan" written on it. At the time the painting had an estimated value of £30,000.

Joan Hardee had attempted to sell the painting back in 2001 (rumors are she couldn't afford to insure it) but was unsuccessful, so assuming she still has it how much to do suppose it's worth now?

People who have money and taste are ever looking for different and more exotic ways to relax and entertain themselves, and the world of cruises is no exception. Trips to the Caribbean and the Bahamas are all but mainstream, so luxury cruises are moving towards smaller more personal ships and less common locations. And the world's most expensive luxury cruises are no exception, with popular locations ranging from the Baltic to Africa to Antarctica, and prices soaring upwards of $2,000 per person per day in some cases. Money like that will get you the best rooms, interesting adventure options (like kayaking in the Antarctic), upscale shore excursions with exclusive perks and privileges, and of course travel at the peak of the sometimes short seasons. Where do you want to go? I don't think I could decide!

How much would you spend on a wedding if money were no object? For most celebrities it isn't, and the result is wedding costs skyrocketing into the hundreds of thousands and even millions of dollars. Forbes recently compiled a list of the 20 most expensive celebrity weddings, going back as far as 20 years. Whether paying for 50,000 exotic flowers or renting an entire island to escape the paparazzi, celebrities spare no expense when it comes to having exactly what they want. The top 5 spenders, in order, are:

• Liza Minelli and David Gest: $3.5 million
• Paul McCartney and Heather MIlls: $3 million
  
• Elizabeth Hurley and Arun Nayar: $2.5 million
• Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes: $2 million
• Elizabeth Taylor and Larry Fortensky: $2 million

Others on the list of 20 include David and Victoria Beckham, Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston, and of course Donald Trump and Melania Knauss.

Sadly, 40% of the couples on the list are now divorced (including obviously Brad and Jennifer above), so feel free to check out this list of the most expensive celebrity divorces -- a few made both lists!

There's a new top to the list of the most expensive houses on the market in the United States. Topping the list now is Beverly House, the Beverly Hills mansion of William Randolph Hearst and Marion Davies. It has hit the market at an astronomical $165 million. The pink stucco home also comes with 6.5 acres of land that include four houses, an apartment and a cottage for the security staff. The stats here are dazzling: three separate pools, 29 bedrooms, a movie theater and a disco (the main house has just nine bedrooms). The home was built in 1927 for banker Milton Getz and designed by Gordon Kaufmann. Hearst bought it for $120,000 in 1947. The LA times reports that the home is currently owned by attorney-investor Leonard M. Ross, who is looking for a "lifestyle change." Ross bought the home in 1976. If you had acted fast 20 years ago, when the home was briefly on the market, you could have picked this place up for $25 million. As Curbed LA mentioned the home has been in several movies including The Godfather, The Jerk and The Bodyguard.

No house in the U.S. has sold for over $100 million yet, although the deep-pocketed have plenty to choose from, including the $155 million mansion being built in Montana, Prince Bandar's compound in Aspen for $135 million, Fleur de Lys also in Beverly Hills for $125 million and Trump's offering in Palm Beach for $125 million. Check out a gallery of the previous leaders of the pack here. And for even more real estate gawking, a look at some of the homes the world's billionaires have constructed. Maybe one of these guys needs a Beverly Hills mansion as a second home.

[Thanks, Jake!]

Damien Hirst is now the world's most expensive living artist, which is quite a title considering the price many pieces are going for at auction these days. America's Jasper Johns held the honor previously, on and off since the 1980s, along with Willem de Kooning from 1989-1997. Damien Hirst officially took the title when his Lullaby Spring pill cabinet sold for $19.1 million at Sotheby's, but he didn't take it directly from Jasper Johns. Just 24 hours earlier artist Lucian Frued had the title (yep, for just one day) after his "Bruce Bernard" portrait sold for $16.5 million in London.

The list of 2007's priciest cities is out, and Moscow gets spot #1 for the second year in a row. The top 50 includes a whopping 30 European cities, with London jumping 3 spots to claim 2nd place and Copenhagen, Geneva, Zurich, and Oslo also making the top 10. It looks like New York was the highest ranking U.S. city, falling in the teens just behind Milan, St Petersberg, and Paris.

A number of factors contributed to the high cost of living ranking for so many European cities, and the Swiss consulting firm Mercer that conducted the survey credits both rises in accommodation prices (especially in London and Moscow) and the strength of the various European currencies.

All golfers dream of playing on the best courses around the world, but only a few actually get to experience it. Although "the best" is a subjective term when it comes to golf courses (you'll get slightly different results looking at different lists), there's one thing that comes straight down to numbers: price. How much do you currently pay for a round of golf? $500? Probably not, unless you play regularly at Shadow Creek in Las Vegas, NV, the most expensive golf course in the world. Pebble Beach Golf Links in Pebble Beach, CA ($475) and Old Head Golf Links in Kinsale, Ireland ($400) round out the top three on the list of the world's most expensive golf courses. What do you think? Are they worth it?

An all-too familiar theme when away from home is the stress over not only finding a bathroom when you need it, but then dealing with the usual grunge and general nastiness that always seems to be the case. It's a shame more places don't put more effort into their restrooms, but thankfully there are a few that do. And in a big way, too! Concierge.com has traveled the world and compiled this list of extravagant, outrageous, and sometimes almost unbelievable bathrooms featuring everything from high-tech fogging glass walls to pulsating neon lights to solid gold everything.

Next time you're traveling it might be with the specific intention to visit certain bathrooms, instead of traveling in spite of them!

If you know what a "daguerreotype" is then you know more about cameras than most of us. A daguerreotype is an early type of photograph -- the first kind to be made commercially available. Along with daguerreotype photos came the first commercially available daguerreotype cameras, one of which was recently found in somebody's attic in Germany.

Built in 1839 and touted as "the world's oldest camera" (commercially produced), it went up for auction last week and sold for a whopping $792,333 to an anonymous online bidder. That sale price earned it the additional title of "world's most expensive camera."

Really? There's no "$1 million camera" anywhere? I doubt that.

Via BornRich

A reader sent in this tip and had nothing more to say than sharing the link and "I'm not sure how much more absurd it gets." Pretty dead on if you ask me. Forty bucks a bottle for water because its glass is studded with Swarovski crystals. It comes in blue and another color, and we covered the regular bottles a few months ago, read the original post here. Personally, I don't mind buying Evian, but I see no practicality in buying a glass water bottle (that means you too, Voss). It may have a bit of cool factor for a party or wedding or something, but on a day-to-day basis, I'll stick with good old plastic.

Pancake Day - more officially known as Mardi Gras, Fat Tuesday or Shrove Tuesday - was yesterday and diners the world over indulged in a plateful of the popular cakes. Lucky diners at the Earlsdon Cottage, in Warwick Street weren't stuck with just any pancakes. Instead, they ate some of the most expensive pancakes in the world at £95 ($185) per pancake. Chef Alex Lovell used a batter that contained Madagascar vanilla beans for the pancakes themselves and topped with with a jelly containing Dom Perignon Champagne, a fruit mixture containing black cherries, strawberries and raspberries that were flambéed in £100-a-shot Louis XIV cognac, and a scoop of amaretto ice cream. At £10 ($19.50) per mouthful, were the pricey pancakes worth it? "A few of our customers shared one and thought it was wonderful," reported Lovell.

For some, Valentine's Day is a celebration of an existing relationship. For others, it is a first date that could become something more. Forbes decided to help out first-daters this year and put together a list of the most expensive cities for a first date. The only downside to a study like this is that, since you are unlikely to be traveling too far outside your comfort zone (or your date's, for that matter) is that the only thing you really gain is a knowledge of how much less expensive your meal would be somewhere else. And, unless you're in the number one city, the knowledge that someone out there is paying more than you are.

The criteria used were the average cost of "some key elements of a first date," namely alcohol, food, entertainment, grooming and transportation. From the specifics, you can tell it was not the type of date that Luxist would recommend: a 1.5 liter bottle of Livingston Cellars, Gallo Chablis or Chenin Blanc wine; a 12-inch pizza from Pizza Hut; a movie ticket (only one?); dry cleaning for one outfit; a barbershop visit (Forbes assumed that the buy would be paying); and gasoline. Clearly, it is possible to have a more expensive date in any city if you choose nicer venues and more unique entertainment options, but as the criteria stand, the ten most expensive date cities, out of a total of 25, are: