We all know that youth will always have an edge in pop culture and consumerism. But now even babies in utero are in on the commercialized luxe life. A new show on WeTV, Platinum Babies, debuting on Friday, November 6, will highlight wealthy parents-to-be who are sparing no expense when it comes to getting ready for their little one's arrival. In the first two episodes you'll meet Victoria and Tom, and Tara and Andrew, and watch along as they shop, shop, shop, par-tay (celebs on hand, natch), get massages, et cetera. I don't think I'll be DVRing this show, as I feel a little bit icky thinking about what I assume will be baby exploitation and massive, blatant product placement.

The grand finale at the "David Tutera by Faviana" wedding dress collection runway show on September 22, 2009 at Gotham Hall in New York City was a real showstopper. The dress, shown above, is a one-of-a-kind platinum wedding gown. The gown includes a platinum-colored tulle veil and bouquet to match. It is drenched in jewelry drama with 10 feet of platinum chain, 33 carats of diamonds, 145.84 carats of aquamarine, white keshi pearls and topped with a stunning white south sea pearl pendant suspended from platinum. The dress was a collaboration between Tutera, a wedding planner and host of WEtv's "My Fair Wedding" and red-carpet jewelry designer, Erica Courtney. It is valued at $501,640 and is available for purchase at Michael C. Fina at 545 Fifth Ave New York, NY.

It is the timepiece that you never thought Tag Heuer would make - but they did. As a limited edition of just 150 watches the Monaco V4 is a great looking watch that is as fun to watch in operation as it is to show off. Plus, it is the only Tag Heuer watch I know of made from platinum (170 grams of it). Aside from the unique look of the watch and the modern styling, there are two major points of interest in the watch.

First, the watch movement uses a series of transmission belts instead of pinions. The belts are the smallest made anywhere and still have a thin steel wire in them for strength. Basically, instead of smaller gears connecting some of the larger gears, there are the belts that do it. Second is the use of a liner weight for the automatic movement. The idea is meant to resemble a piston in a engine. Instead of an oscillating weight moving around in a circle, the linear weight moves up and down to power the movement. Power is stored in four barrels that are seen in the rear of the watch (hence the V4 name). The power reserve is 52 hours, and the watch is actually very accurate at about plus or minus 4 seconds a day.

The watch also uses mini ball bearings instead of "rubies" that are commonly used in watches for low friction between gears and palettes. Tag Heuer says that the ball bearings provide even less friction than the commonly used synthetic rubies. The watch functions include the time and a power reserve indicator. It is a new style of skeletonized watch, and very Tag Heuer in character. Price is $80,000 for each piece in the limited edition (save for the first piece that is being auctioned off for charity).

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

For those of you who know, German Sinn watches represent super high levels of function and durability. Having a Sinn watch in a luxurious material simply because it is expensive is almost contrary to the theme of the brand. However, that just changed with the 10th anniversary version of their Model 6000 Financial Center "Finanzplatzuhr" watch. The Sinn Modell 6000 Finanzplatzuhr will come in a limited edition of 10 pieces in platinum. The brand that made famous super hard Tegimented steel and the low maintenance mechanical movement, now dips its toes in the classic sense of luxury.

The Modell 6000 also comes in steel, but this one is in platinum and the case is 38mm wide and 100 meters water resistant. The dial is anthracite with guilloche machine decoration and is rhodium plated. The dial is obviously pilot watch themed, but altered a bit to represent Frankfurt, the home of Sinn, as well as Germany's financial center. Likewise, on this limited edition, the automatic movement rotor has been decorated with the city's skyline.

For the movement, Sinn took a Valjoux 7750 and modified it with their Diapal technology. This replaces certain gears and palettes in the movement with diamond plated components. This is to created parts of the watch that require no lubrication as they have such low amounts of friction. This dramatically increases the time the watch needs to go between servicing. They also fitted the movement with a GMT hand. The watch is capable of tracking three timezones, and the external hour ring rotates using the crown at 10 o'clock. The Sinn Modell 6000 Finanzplatzuhr watch is impressive alone, and this limited edition platinum model is even more impressive. In accordance with the non-excessive values of the brand, the platinum version watch is priced at 19,900 euros, certainly cheaper than most all other platinum cased watches. Available now, but there are only a few.

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

Using their brand new manually wound Caliber 4400 movement, Vacheron Constantin releases a new rare pocket watch. This is actually the first time since 1992 that the exclusive Swiss brand has released a new pocket watch. While demand for pocket watches is not nearly the same as for wrist watches, it is a matter of heritage and of course personal style for some.

The Vacheron Constantin Patrimony Contemporaine pocket watch will be included in their Excellence Platine collection for the timepiece is totally done in platinum. It is a smaller in size for a pocket watch, being 43mm wide, but is still heavy given the luxurious material. The dial is classic Patrimony collection-- stark, simple, and elegant. All of the watch itself is in platinum including the case, dial, and hands. The watch comes in a leather pouch with a leather strap to hold the pocket watch. It will be limited to just 50 pieces.

Images via The Hour Lounge.

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

Pita Barcelona is a cool and funky independent Spanish watch makers who will soon release their long anticipated Oceana diver's watch in a limited edition of just 80 pieces. The watch will be highly customizable, with over 2,300 possible combinations. One can choose from many types of parts and features, including straps, dials, hands, crystal materiel, bezel, and of course case metal. While the limited edition of just 80 may seem low, Pita's statement of "2009 limited edition" might mean that more of the desirable watches will be made in the future. The watches will be available in various styles of steel, gold, and even in platinum. Prices start at about 3,200 euros, and top out at around 17,000 euros for the 950 platinum case version. This is an incredible deal for a platinum watch that usually go for before $50,000 and way up. I cannot definitively say that this is the cheapest platinum watch out there, but is is one of the lowest prices - and as part of an incredible overall timepiece.

Many innovations went into the Pita Oceana's design. Notable is the crownless design and water resistance to 5000 meters. The case is 43mm wide and 18mm thick. The watch movement is based on a heavily modified ETA 2671 automatic, while the overall watch has two patents in the design. The small star-shaped seconds hand is also a "chromatic depth meter." Something about the colors changing as you dive deeper. A very cool looking watch that is totally unique from a couple of master watch makers in Barcelona. Check out the online Ocean customization options here.

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

A welcome addition to the increasingly lively line of Rado watches is this new Sintra Automatic for 2009. The shape of the watch as it widens at the case is almost iconic at this point, while most of the visible features of the watch are ceramic - available in black or platinum colors. It has a sort of smooth, effortless elegance that works well on both the male and female wrist (models sized for each gender are available). The inner case of the watch is steel, while the screws and clasp are titanium. Inside the watch is an automatic ETA 2892 movement that ought to power the easy-to-read face nicely.

I like that the face of the watch is actually very easy to read. Certain Rado watches have been less easy on the eyes from a legibility standpoint, but the round dial and lume covered hands are simple and effective. A large sapphire crystal over the face is flush with the rest of the watch case. I think the Sintra line was always "futuristic" in style, but never too far out there as to alienate people wanting a classic looking watch. The Sintra is now an icon for Rado, and still a handsome timepiece for a few thousand dollars.

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

The quintessential function-first, tool watch has finally gotten a healthy dose of gaudiness. It was only a matter of time before Omega decided that it needed to price a version of the Omega Speedmaster Professional Moon Watch out of its core consumer's spending threshold. Available starting at Omega's new flagship 5th Avenue store in New York City - 69 pieces of the new 40th Anniversary Limited Edition Apollo 11 Moon Watch, in platinum, will tempt collectors. The watch case, bracelet, and hands are done in platinum. An 18k gold engraved plate on the caseback, and as the seconds subsidiary dial, are emblematic of the successful 1969 moon landing mission. The gold plate on the dial pictures an eagle landing on the moon, to celebrate the historical statement made famous by event stating, "the eagle has landed."

Even after 40 years, the watch remains very true to the original. Size of the case is 42mm wide, while the crystal is made out of an acrylic compound called Hesalite. Why not sapphire? Because the plastic is shatter-proof (even though it can scratch), and a shattered sapphire crystal in a space shuttle would be a disaster. The movement is a still manually wound Omega Caliber 1861 movement. Again, this has to do with the fact that an automatic movement would be worthless in a gravity-free environment.

The platinum version is in addition to a stainless steel version of the 40th Anniversay watch, which will also be in a limited edition, but of 7,969 pieces instead of the 69 pieces for the platinum version. From afar, the only thing telling the watches apart from is the color of the engraved plate on the dial - which is gold for the platinum watch, and sterling silver on the steel version. I would guess that price for the platinum version is $100,000 plus. Still a good looking watch, but did they take it too far? We will only know after seeing what Omega comes up with for the important 50th anniversary in another 10 years.

Ariel Adams publishes the watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

The latest random object to get plated in platinum and studded with diamonds is, of all things, a CD case. Displayed in Tokyo the CD is called simply "Woman, Sweet 10 Diamonds," and features a case of platinum with 10 2-carat diamonds embedded on the front. The CD case was created through a collaboration between Universal Music and Japanese jeweler Nagahori and is valued at $100,000.

And apparently the actual music on the CD is of little importance, since it's only ever referred to very generally as "18 songs by female vocalists." Wow.

Luxury watch maker Maurice Lacroix releases a daunting number of new models each year with an occasional ultra high end addition to their product line. This luxurious model is the limited edition of 30 pieces, Masterpiece Tourbillon Rétrograde timepiece, released in honor of Maurice Lacriox's 30th anniversary. Any "Masterpiece" label on a Maurice Lacroix watch signifies something special above and beyond mere "mainstream luxury." This 43.5mm wide platinum cased wonder is a traditionalist watch collector's dream. The manually-wound hand-built and decorated Maurice Lacroix caliber ML 110 tourbillon movement features and impressive 90 hours of power reserve, with a full visual exhibition through double sapphire crystals. The 232 components in the movement are hand fabricated while every nanometer of polish on the movement is applied by hand.

The functions on the watch are simple and easy to read. The retrograde part of the model's name refers to the date dial on the upper left, and is visually complemented by a power reserve indicator opposite it on the right side of the dial. The double arched tourbillon bridge helps give the watch face a balanced and symmetrical look. Traditional pomme hands complete the artistic yet functional look of this Maurice Lacroix Masterpiece Tourbillon Retrograde timepiece. The strap is black crocodile with silver threading. Price is around $150,000.

Ariel Adams publishes the watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

If you've ever really listened to the lyrics to the holiday song, Santa Baby, it details quite a fabulous wish list. Looking around today trying to fulfill every item would make for a bounty of gifts, especially for just one person, but if we were to give it a shot, this is what might end up under the tree:

• 'Santa Baby, just slip a sable under the tree, for me...'
• '...Santa Baby, a '54 convertible too, light blue...'
  
• '...Santa Baby, I want a yacht and really that's not a lot...'
• '...Santa honey, one little thing I need, the deed, to the platinum mine...'
• '...Santa cutie, and fill my stocking with a duplex and cheques...'
• '...Come and trim my Christmas tree with some decorations bought at Tiffany's...'
  
• '...Santa Baby, forgot to mention one little thing, a ring...'

'Hurry down the chimney tonight...'

The upcoming 60th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards are always a place to check out diamonds on display. Keep your eyes on the red carpet on September 21 to spot the Platinum Clutch, a new design by Cate Adair, costume designer for Desperate Housewives and Kwiat. The one-of-a-kind purse is valued at more than $500,000, and will debut at the Platinum Guild International Red Carpet Jewelry Preview, September 18-20, in Beverly Hills. The bag features genuine platinum design elements set with 60 carats of Kwiat diamonds, The bag will be on the arm of a celebrity on the red carpet and then on display at Kwiat's new store on Madison Avenue in New York. Not quite as pricey as the $1.9 million diamond bag but still pretty impressive.

Hommage, the Parisian purveyor of luxury grooming equipment, skincare and spa services for men, has created a limited edition, platinum-sheathed straight razor using the same ancient layering techniques as the Crusaders' swords, for $30,000. Called the Damascene Razor, the blade is hand-forged in Germany with 128 layers of legendary Damascene steel, with a rose and torsion pattern. The sheath is plated in pure platinum, treated to resist tarnishing.

The razor comes in a lacquered gift box of Tanzanian anigré wood. The name Damascene is often attributed to the steel swords made in the vicinity of Damascus, Syria and first gained its mythical reputation during the medieval Crusades. According to Hommage, "the blade of a Damascus steel sword was said to be able to cut a piece of silk in half as it fell to the ground and was strong enough to cut through a rock without losing its sharpness." And now you can use it to get the world's most expensive shave.

A few days ago I had the privilege of being a guest of American Express at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week 2008 in NYC. Aside from agonizing over what to wear (and realizing that of course no one was looking at me), it was a fun experience, and one I'd likely never get to have without this invite. As an AmEx guest, I got to go to a special "Skybox" to view the DKNY Spring 2009 show along with about 20 AmEx Platinum Card members, who were there (at the cool price of $700 each) to enjoy the day's events and luxuriate in special amenities as part of AmEx's "By Invitation Only" program. Also on hand were staffers from various companies associated with AmEx, who made sure the guests were comfortable and enjoying themselves. I chatted with one guest, who took advantage of the complimentary hair and makeup services that morning. She did have excellent hair. The room was too dim for me to see her makeup, but I'm sure it was lovely.

AmEx, a major Fashion Week sponsor for the second consecutive year, has long associated itself with fashion icons. On display in the tent's main lobby, front and center, was an AmEx booth that featured three iconic photos, used as part of AmEx's "I'm a Card Member" ads: Sammy Davis Jr., Diane Von Furstenburg and Venus Williams. Word is the photos changed throughout the show. Other sponsors also had booths in the main lobby, from the usual suspects, such as Judith Ripka and the Italian Trade Commission, to unexpected companies, such as Office Max and M&M's.

Last year, artist Damien Hirst exhibited his diamond skull piece "For the Love of God" while he was shopping for a buyer. Hirst eventually bought the piece along with a group of investors for its $100 million asking price. Now the piece is on the road again. The Netherlands' national museum will exhibit the diamond and platinum skull for six weeks starting November 1. The piece is decorated with 8,601 diamonds and allegedly takes its name from Hirst's mother's exclamation when she heard what her son was up to.