Evangelical Chinese billionaires have created the world's first biblically proportioned Noah's Ark which opened this week in Hong Kong. The Noah's Ark at Ma Wan Park in Hong Kong is a tourist attraction built by the Kwok brothers, who are behind Hong Kong's largest real estate developer Sun Hung Kai Properties. The 450-foot-long ark and luxury hotel has 67 pairs of fiberglass animals. According to the Christian Post, Thomas Kwok, an evangelical Christian, was the main driver behind the project which has been in discussion for 17 years. Although the ark is inspired by his Christian faith the emphasis is on family values and the attraction won't be promoted as being overtly religious.

There are five levels with different themes and the ark offers a sea-front restaurant, the Ark Expo and Noah's Hall as well as many more exhibits with the top floor given over to Noah's Resort. The grounds include the Ark Garden, Noah's Adventureland, Noah's Stadium and Fun Fun Track.

Christie's International offered 38 lots at its Asian auction in Hong Kong, and 34 of them sold. Bidders battled for prime pieces, and the auction house came ahead $23.4 million. Almost a quarter of the result came from one painting, "Cats and Birds," by deceased Chinese artist Sanyu. The piece ultimately sold for $5.4 million, setting a new record at auction for this artist.

This sale kicked off what will be a four-day auction run with 1,600 lots going under the gavel, including artwork, gems and antiques. In all, Christie's expects to move close to $97 million by the time the final gavel strikes.

While reaching presale estimates has become a measure of success in this market, don't forget that these targets are much lower than last year's. In May 2008, Christie's offered 2,400 lots over six days in Hong Kong, estimated $219 million and took in a record $310 million. Nonetheless, a stream of disappointment that stretches back to mid-September may be coming to a close.

The success in Hong Kong follows a robust contemporary art auction for Christie's in New York, in which it outperformed competitor Sotheby's by 2:1.

A Hong Kong-based company is offering memberships in what is billed as the world's most expensive private club for $15.2 million apiece. Only 100 Charter Corporate Platinum Memberships in the Richman's IMC (International Millionaire's Club) will be available worldwide, good for 30 years. The whopping fee is justified by its being an an "all-access, first-class VIP pass" to megayachts, yacht clubs, jockey clubs, country clubs, golf courses, ski resorts, gentlemans clubs, supper clubs, luxury hotels and restaurants around the globe, eliminating the need for multiple memberships.

You also get the right to own and race horses at China's Royal Nanjing Jockey Club, where prizes run to the millions; confidential concierge and problem resolution services including 24-hour international emergency medical assistance; global executive travel assistance; personal bodyguards, travel guides and elite escorts worldwide; and the ability to charge expenses to an exclusive global biometrics-protected club card with a $1 million credit line. It all sounds incredibly ambitious considering there's an international recession on.

[via JustLuxe]

You know it's rough out there when Sotheby's makes you pay for coffee. At its five-day Hong Kong auction, the house was able to move only $89 million in antiques (HK$691 million), paintings and gems – less than half the take for the same event in 2008. With bidders forced to HK$20 (which looks more menacing than the U.S. equivalent, $2.50), one can only hope that Sotheby's was able to make up the difference.

This is a far cry from the $227 million that sold a year ago.

Sensitive to the global financial crisis, Sotheby's planned ahead, offering fewer expensive lots, which tend to get a bit more bidder action when financial markets are struggling. A larger number of wine lots showed up, as the liquid flows more easily than canvas. All of the bottles moved at the first Sotheby's Hong Kong wine auction.

Despite the downturn in art prices, some feel that now is a good time to invest in the oldest of old media. Ian Kai, an art dealer based in Beijing, remarked for Bloomberg, "Governments are printing so much money now. Fine artworks might be a better way to store value than currency."

The highest-priced piece at the auction was "Fishing Harvest" by Lin Fengmian, which fetched a hair over $2 million. Most paintings sold for prices well below those of comparable works at last year's auctions. Heading into the Hong Kong auction, Sotheby's cut presale estimates by an average of 20 percent and expanded its offering to include video installations and other non-painting works.

And that could be the enduring benefit of this marketplace.

"We are now seeing conceptual art at Hong Kong auctions, which is fantastic," said Sandra Walters, a Hong Kong-based collector who runs a namesake art-consulting company.

A broader perspective will lead to future returns for artists, collectors and auction houses.

When it comes to delicacies this rare soup is among the most coveted in Asia. Its appearance seems quite benign as the gelatinous mixture, a steamed bird's nest, rests in a light chicken broth but when you discover the true contents of this unique offering it might change your mind. The key ingredient is truly a bird's nest but not one made of twigs and leaves, the sparrow-sized swiftlet's nest is primarily composed of saliva. The complete structure is built within thirty-five days by the male swiftlet to accommodate one to two eggs and its shallow cup shape does not exceed the size of a human hand.

The nests are harvested three times a year and the swiftlets are typically given time to breed and raise their young in the nest before removal.

There's some good wine auction news out of Hong Kong. Bloomberg reports that a 12-bottle lot of much-prized 1961 Chateau Latour sold for a record price of HK$1.32 million ($170,320) at Christie's International first wine auction in Hong Kong in seven years on November 29. The amount was double the high-end of the pre-sale estimate of HK$650,000. They were bought by an Asian private collector. Two other lots of Latour 1961 were the second- and third-most expensive items at the auction. And the sale ratio was healthy on this one, out of 246 lots offered, 231 sold for a combined HK$31.5 million with many lots going above estimates. Wine seems to be fairing better than art at auctions recently, especially in Hong Kong. Around 90 percent of lots offered at Acker Merrall & Condit's Nov. 15 sale found buyers.

Omega, the Official Timekeeper of the Olympic Games, is auctioning off a one-of-a-kind limited edition watch set in a bespoke black walnut trunk (above) that's expected to fetch up to $1.5 million. Known as the Unique No. 8 Collection and based on the Chinese concept of "lucky number 8", the rare and unique item is being offered at Sotheby's in Hong Kong today, with proceeds going to The Chinese Athletes Educational Foundation (CAEF).

The set is comprised of the eighth numbered piece of each of the 32 Limited Edition wristwatches in the Omega Beijing Olympic Collection, plus three Olympic Split Seconds Chronograph 1932 pocket watches, also numbered 008 in their limited editions of 100 pieces. The watches, including a set of split seconds open-faced chronographs in 18k yellow, white and red gold, are presented in a striking black walnut pagoda-style eight-drawer tower with intricate carving and a lacquered finish, paying homage to traditional Chinese architecture. Truly the ultimate Olympic collector's item.

The opportunities to spend a lot on whisky just keep coming. For this one though, you'll have to fly to Hong Kong. The Balvenie Distillery has released 151 bottles from a single cask of The Balvenie, cask number 10378 from 1964, to be sold exclusively in Hong Kong International Airport. The whisky comes in a cherry wood box and each bottle is individually hand numbered. It was bottled exclusively for duty free retailer Sky Connection and sells for HK$108,000 ($14,200 U.S.) a bottle.

The Times of London has come up with a new list of the world's 10 richest streets based on property prices. The most expensive street on the globe, unsurprisingly, is in ultra-rich Monaco - Avenue Princess Grace, to be exact, where average prices run about $17,000 per sq. ft. It's a pretty safe bet that anyone with an address there is a millionaire at the very least. In second place is Severn Road in Hong Kong's Victoria Peak district (above), where the average price is about $11,000 per sq. ft. Here are the rest of the runners-up:
No. 3 - Fifth Avenue, New York
No. 4 - Kensington Palace Gardens, London
No. 5 - Avenue Montaigne, Paris
No. 6 - Ostozhenka, Moscow
No. 7 - Via Suvretta, St, Mortiz, Switzerland
No. 8 - Carolwood Drive, Beverly Hills
No. 9 - Wolseley Road, Sydney, Australia
No. 10 - Altamount Road, Mumbai, India

Wine seems to be quickly claiming the title 'drink du jour' around the world and no where is this more apparent than in Hong Kong. Positioning itself to be the wine market hub of the east, just like London and New York are in their respective parts of the world, they are making it easier for individuals to purchase wine. Earlier this year they lowered taxes on the vinous beverage and with a subsequent boom in sales they decided to remove those tariffs all together! This tax abolition has market predictors claiming that the Asian Market will be worth $1.5 billion by 2017 with increased growth to $870 million in China's wine imports. No tax means lower prices which equals higher consumption and greater numbers purchasing higher quality wines. If only New York would go tax-free on wine -- or on gas, groceries and clothing...I can dream, can't I?

In November, London-based auction house Christie's will hold their first wine auction in Asia since 2001, featuring a landmark collection of 140 years worth of Latour sourced directly from the Château cellars.

The first Château-sourced collection of the fabled Bordeaux ever to be sold in Asia will go on the block Nov. 29 in Hong Kong; the 150 Latour lots, including magnums and large format bottles from a wide range of vintages dating from 1865 - 2005, are expected to fetch over $1.5 million total.

One of the top prizes is a 1900 magnum estimated at $18,000 - $24,000. Christie's already has a strong showing in Hong Kong with art and antique auctions bringing in over $300 million in Spring 2008, the highest total ever achieved for an Asian season.

A new record has been set in Hong Kong real estate. The 80th floor penthouse of The Arch building in the Kowloon district has sold for $28.8 million making it the most expensive apartment per square foot ever sold in Asia at 41,000 Hong Kong dollars per square foot. In the building no floors start with 4, so you go from the 39th to the 50th floor in this building, there are actually 65 floor total (4 is bad luck in Hong Kong like 13 is here in the U.S.). The new owner gets a private swimming pool, a rooftop terrace and 5,497 square feet of space in this unique complex. The building also includes a fitness area, lounge, and pool areas starting at the 60th floor in the place where the two towers join.

It may not be the prettiest food we've ever seen but the 750-gram (26-ounce) white truffle shown above, is one pricey delicacy. The "Queen Tartufo" Alba ttruffle recently was auctioned off for $208,000 and will be served at a banquet in Hong Kong. The truffle had been shipped from Alba in Italy's Piedmont region to Hong Kong for the charity auction which benefits Mother's Choice, a charity that provides care for pregnant women.

It's an expensive year for the truffle market. A bad truffle season in Alba has driven prices up to an average of $4,000 a pound with small truffles less than an inch in diameter sells for around $50. Luckily you don't need a lot of truffle to make an impact. A few thin shavings over pasta or an omelette can make a simple meal luxurious. Black truffles from Italy are a cheaper alternative at $500 a pound. Or you can always go American, Oregon white truffles can be found for $40 for three ounces. They aren't held in quite as high regard as Italian truffles but they are gaining in popularity and there is even an Oregon Truffle festival held in January.

Wedding dresses come in all shapes and sizes from sleek and stylish to large and marshmallow-like, and from hand-embroidered to mass-produced. And although jewels aren't that uncommon in small doses, what about 4 pounds of jewels? A designer in Hong Kong has created a wedding dress with 9,999 karats of jewels (that's a very deliberate number!) and it's on sale for over $130,000.

It's beautiful but I personally wouldn't want a wedding dress with so many different colors, and I think for that price it might be more worth it to just get something custom-made -- I think I'd still be able to afford plenty of jewels.

You are looking at one expensive stone, a 6.04 carat diamond that is Fancy Vivid Blue color and has Internally Flawless clarity. The stone sold in a platinum ring where it is flanked by two white emerald-cut diamonds for a grand total of $7.98 million at the Sotheby's Hong Kong auction. For comparison purposes, a 7.01 round white diamond from Blue Nile with G color and and IF clarity is listed at $386,927. The price is a new record to price per carat, a whopping $1.32 million which beats the previous record for a diamond known as the "Hancock Red" that fetched just over $900,000 per carat in 1987. The extremely rare diamond was picked up by Moussaieff Jewelers, which has a collection of rare gemstones include the Moussaieff Red, a rare red diamond.