world record

EXCLUSIVE: Abramovich Said to Be Owner of World's Most Expensive Painting

Filed under: Art, Wealth

EXCLUSIVE: Abramovich is Likely Owner of World's Most Expensive Painting

When we first reported back in May that Pablo Picasso's 1932 painting Nude, Green Leaves, and Bust (above) had sold for a record-breaking $106.5 million at Christie's we heard whispers that the buyer was a certain Russian oligarch known for his eye-popping acquisitions: Roman Abramovich. Now that the world's most expensive painting has been lent to the UK's Tate Modern museum by the unnamed "private collector" who bought it (as my colleague Deidre Woollard reported), a strong indication that the owner is based in London where Abramovich spends most of his time, we're hearing them louder. [cont'd]

Gallery: Record-Breaking Art

Tags: abramovich, art, art auction, art collectors, auction, billionaire, chelsea, London, modern art, most+expensive+painting, mostexpensivepainting, museums, oligarch, Pablo Picasso, Picasso, Roman Abramovich, Russian billionaires, Tate Modern, UK, wealth, world record, worlds most expensive, worlds most expensive painting

Continue reading “EXCLUSIVE: Abramovich Said to Be Owner of World's Most Expensive Painting”

Christie's Sells Record-Breaking $91 Million Worth of Watches in 2010

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches, Auctions

With its final auction of the fall season on December 14 in New York, including the stunning collection of rare Rolexes we wrote about the other day, Christie's International wrapped up a record-breaking year for fine and rare watches that realized an astonishing $91.2 million in total sales – the highest annual total ever achieved for watches at the global auction house. During what has emerged as a remarkable year for investment in fine timepieces, every watch sale hosted at Christie's salerooms in Dubai, Hong Kong, Geneva, and New York achieved sell-through rates above 90% by value. The top watch of the year was a unique Patek Philippe gold chronograph Reference 1527 (above) manufactured in 1943 that sold for a record-breaking $5.7 million at Christie's Geneva in May. The top 8 prices of the year were all attributable to Pateks, and no other auction house in the world achieved as many record prices for important timepieces during 2010.

Tags: auctions, Christies, Dubai, Geneva, Hong Kong, New York, Patek Philippe, Rolex, watches, world record

Sikorsky X2 Helicopter Sets World Speed Record

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Gadgets, Wings

Sikorsky has just revolutionized the world of aviation with their amazing X2 prototype (above), officially the world's fastest helicopter after clocking over 250 knots (287.69 mph) on a test run, setting a new world speed record in the process. The X2, which uses a pair of coaxial rotor systems rather than the single rotor found on most choppers, easily beat the current world record of 216.46 knots (249.1 mph) set by the British-built Westland Lynx ZB-500 in 1986. The X2 is roughly twice as fast as Sikorsky's famed Blackhawk, and its tail rotor faces backward like the propeller on a boat in order to provide thrust. Even with its unusual design the X2, which features fly-by-wire controls, can maintain superlative low speed handling, efficient hovering, autorotation safety, and a seamless and simple transition to high speed. It will likely be several more years before the aircraft is ready to go into production at a cost of several million dollars however.

[via JamesList]

Tags: aviation, helicopter, helicopters, Sikorsky, world record

1959 Ferrari Sells for Record $7.26 Million at Pebble Beach

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos, Auctions

A rare 1959 Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spider Competizione (above) with coachwork by Scaglietti fetched a whopping $7.26 million at Gooding & Company's Pebble Beach sale in California over the weekend, setting a new world record for the model and capping a round of stunning auction results. The stunning roadster, which took 5th place overall at the 1960 12 Hours of Sebring race, was just one of several multimillion-dollar Ferraris to cross the block over the weekend. Gooding & Co. also hammered down a rare 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB SEFAC Hot Rod for $6.1 million, and a 1933 Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 Monza for $6.7 million. As we reported previously, Bonhams set another world record over the weekend with the $4 million sale of a 1970 Porsche Gulf-JWA Le Mans 917K coupe, while RM Auctions netted $4.6 million for a 1954 Ferrari 375 MM Berlinetta, among others. Gooding achieved a new record in sales, realizing $64.5 million for 106 cars during the landmark event.

Tags: Alfa Romeo, auctions, Bonhams, California, classic cars, Ferrari, Gooding Company, Monterey, Porsche, race car, RM Auctions, world record

World's Most Expensive Porsche Sells for $4 Million in Monterey

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos, Auctions

A rare 1970s Porsche racecar just fetched $4 million at Bonhams' sale in Monterey, setting a new world record for the most expensive Porsche ever sold at auction. The stunning and historic car, the ex-Jurgen Neuhaus/Jurgen Barth 1972-73 European Interserie and David Hobbs/Mike Hailwood Gulf-JW Automotive team 1972-73 Porsche 917 Interserie Spyder, neé 1970 Gulf-JWA Le Mans 917K Coupe (above), was hammered down after fierce bidding. The car is similar to the famed model driven by Steve McQueen in Le Mans. Many other strong prices were attained for Bonhams' rarest offerings, including a 1930 Mercedes-Benz 7.1 Liter SS Tourer for $2.5 million, and the ex-works, Gerhard Mitter/Lucien Bianchi Nurburgring 1000 kms-leading 1967 Porsche 910 Endurance Racing Works Coupe for $800,000. Earlier we reported on the nine Ferraris which each fetched over $1 million at RM Auctions' own Monterey sale.

Tags: Bonhams, California, classic cars, Ferrari, Le Mans, Mercedes-Benz, Monterey, motor racing, motorsports, Porsche, Porsche 917, racecar, RM Auctions, Steve McQueen, world record, worlds most expensive

Billionaires Compete to Get Highest Champagne Tab

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wine

Billionaires entertain themselves differently than everyone else, case in point at St Tropez last week when two partying tycoons got into a competition over who could rack up the highest champagne bill. The competitors were Malaysian billionaire Zhen Low, little brother to the more famous Jho Low, and Winston Fisher of the prominent New York real-estate family. The competition to see who could order more £600 bottles of Cristal took place at Les Caves du Roy nightclub and the winning bar tab, belonging to Zhen Low, came out to be a whopping £1.77 million ($2.6 million). That's a lot of champagne.

And among the guests witnessing the competition and helping Low to celebrate his win was none other than the infamous Paris Hilton who has been spotted all around St. Tropez this summer with her sister Nicky.

Source

Tags: billionaires, champagne, paris hilton, world record

The Classicist: Rash of New World Records Says "The Rich Are Back"

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates, Timepieces / Watches, Luxury Cars & Autos, Auctions, Art, The Classicist, Wealth

Following an incredible number of record-breaking sales of some of the world's most expensive items, from cars to art to watches, diamonds and estates, that have taken place just in the past two weeks, we are hereby making an official declaration: The Rich Are Back. While the economic recovery has been slow to materialize in some quarters, those with the money to make multimillion-dollar purchases are suddenly not shy about dropping the coin. The megabucks deals mean an optimistic outlook has finally taken a firm hold, and the wealthy no longer feel the need to pinch their pennies in the fear that more hard times could be lurking right around the corner. We say it's about time too.

In one hectic twelve-day period, from May 3 to May 14, we saw the record-breaking sales of a $106 million Picasso painting; a $50 million mansion in Bel-Air; a $46 million ranch in Colorado; a $40 million Bugatti; a $32 million Warhol self-portrait; a $26 million Jasper Johns painting; an $18 million Ferrari; an $8 million blue diamond; and a $5 million Patek Philippe chronograph – about $330 million worth of the world's most expensive possessions. The astonishing sales have given an immediate boost to the art, classic cars, real estate and collector's timepieces markets, many of which faltered in the wake of the economic downturn, losing billions of dollars in value. Here's a rundown of the nine history-making deals as they unfolded over the twelve-day whirlwind of wealth disbursement; see the gallery for images:

Gallery: The Return of the Rich

Picasso, <i>Nude, Green Leaves, and Bust</i>

Tags: Andy Warhol, art, auction, Bel-Air, Bootjack Ranch, Bugatti, Chris Evans, Christies, chronograph, classic cars, Colorado, contemporary art, diamond, estates, Ferrari, Ferrari 250 GTO, Jasper Johns, Michael Crichton, Pablo Picasso, Patek Philippe, Picasso, ranch, real estate, The Rich, world record, worlds most expensive

Continue reading “The Classicist: Rash of New World Records Says "The Rich Are Back"”

Michael Crichton's Jasper Johns Flag Painting Sells for Record $28.6 Million

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Auctions, Art

Following the record-breaking $106 million Picasso sale we reported on last week, another world record has been set with the sale of late author Michael Crichton's seminal Jasper Johns Flag painting last night for $28.6 million. Both works were sold by Christie's in New York, fulfilling our prediction in The Classicist last month that the auction house's May art sales would bring in "megabucks". The 1966 flag painting, which had been estimated at up to $15 million, was sold to to New York art adviser Michael Altman before a crowd of VIPs and art collectors including hedge-fund manager Steve Cohen, Hollywood mogul Michael Ovitz, billionaire Eli Broad, author Salman Rushdie and designer Marc Jacobs. The sale's other big cash cow was Andy Warhol, whose 1965 Elizabeth Taylor diptych, "Silver Liz," sold for $18.3 million to New York art dealer Dominique Levy. The Crichton estate's 31 pieces alone sold for $93.3 million, against a $69.6 million high estimate. The sale broke at least five world records for artists including Johns, as predicted by Luxist's Tom Johansmeyer.

All in all Christie's auctioned $232 million of post-war and contemporary art on Tuesday, with around 74% of the offerings going to American buyers. "Within five minutes of opening the rooms for the stunning pre-sale exhibition of the Crichton Collection, we were packed," said Brett Gorvy, International Co-Head of Post-War and Contemporary Art at Christie's. "There was a sense of anticipation. The sale [Tuesday] reaffirms the continued confidence in the art market." Amy Cappellazzo, Christie's International Co-Head of Post-War and Contemporary Art, notes that "This is the most significant Post-War & Contemporary Art collection ever sold at auction. It was a quintessential American sale. We were delighted with the results across the board and also to see the works by Warhol sell well. Warhol is a bellwether for the market. It sends a strong signal across the board."

Gallery: Megabucks May 2010 Art Auctions

Source

Tags: Andy Warhol, art, auction, auction record, contemporary art, flag, Jasper Johns, Michael Crichton, New York, painting, Picasso, world record

$106 Million Picasso Sale Sets New World Record for Most Expensive Work of Art

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Auctions, Art

Last month The Classicist broke the news that a rarely-seen Picasso was expected to fetch up to $90 million at Christie's landmark Evening Sale of Impressionist and Modern Art, which took place yesterday in New York. Now the results are in and the painting, Nude, Green Leaves, and Bust (above) dated 1932, from the Collection of Mrs. Sidney F. Brody, was sold for a staggering $106.5 million to an unidentified telephone bidder, breaking the previous world record for any work of art sold at auction (set back in February when a Giacometti sculpture brought in $104.3 million). Yesterday's sale achieved a stunning $335.5 million in total. The Evening Sale portion of the Brody Collection also became the highest total for a single-owner sale offered at Christies New York, surpassing the landmark sale of the Collection of Victor and Sally Ganz sale in 1997. The 27 lots from the Brody Collection achieved $224.2 million.

Marc Porter, Chairman of Christie's Americas, commented: "This was a stellar night for Christie's and for the art market. The sale was led by exceptional prices for works by Pablo Picasso, Alberto Giacometti and Henri Matisse from the Brody Collection, one of the greatest private collections to come to market. In addition, we witnessed great depth of bidding and strong results for important works from other American and European collections, including additional paintings by Picasso and works by Giacometti and Pierre-Auguste Renoir. We are honored to have been entrusted with so many remarkable works this season, and we are delighted to have delivered such positive results, including three new world auction records for Picasso, Georges Braque, and Jean-François Raffaelli."

Tags: art market, auction record, Christies, Giacometti, Henri Matisse, modern art, most expensive art, Pablo Picasso, Picasso, world record

Patek Philippe Pocket Watch Sells for $5 Million, Sets New World Record

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches, Auctions

A Patek Philippe Yellow Gold Calibre 89 pocket watch, the world's most complex timepiece as mentioned by my colleague Ariel Adams last month, just sold for a world record price of CHF 5,120,000, or $5.068 million at Antiquorum's 35th Anniversary Sale in Geneva. "The incredible result realized for the Calibre 89 in our 35th anniversary auction indicates that the market for the most complicated and important watches in the world remains exceptionally strong," notes Antiquorum Chairman Robert Maron. "We are extremely honored to have sold this exceptional and unique timepiece for the second time in Antiquorum's history and are thrilled that we have once again achieved a world record price at auction." With a staggering 33 complications, the watch weighs nearly 2.5 lbs. and has an 18k yellow gold case. It was made to honor the 150th anniversary of the famed Swiss watchmaker.

Tags: Antiquorum, Geneva, Patek Philippe, PatekPhilippe, pocket watch, PocketWatch, world record, WorldRecord

ICAP Leopard Yacht Breaks Transatlantic Speed Record

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Yachts & Sailing, Sports

The 100-ft. ICAP Leopard racing yacht is officially the fastest sailboat on the water having just set a just new transatlantic speed record. The Leopard sailed at an average speed of 15.5 knots, and a top speed of 37.4 knots, to make the 2,925 nautical mile crossing from New York to Cornwall, UK, in seven days, 19 hours and 21 minutes. The record broken by the Leopard, for a monohull sailing craft - i.e. a proper yacht, not a catamaran - with power-assisted winches, was previously held by the 246-ft. superyacht Phocea, which sailed the course in eight days, three hours and 29 minutes. One of the most stylish and technologically advanced yachts ever to be launched, Farr Yacht Design provided the Leopard's basic naval architecture and construction engineering, with styling and interiors by Ken Freivokh. The yacht is available for charter for up to 20 guests at a base rate of £10,000 or about $17,000 per day, including champagne.

[via Duncan Quinn]

Tags: racing, sailing, world record, WorldRecord, yacht

$14 Million Rolls-Royce on Offer in Museum Sale Could Be World's Most Expensive Car

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos, Auctions

Back in May we reported that a 1957 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa had sold at auction for $12 million, setting a new world record and becoming the de facto most expensive car in the world. Now that record is quite possibly about to be shattered by a bespoke, one-of-a-kind 1934 Rolls-Royce Phantom II 40/50 HP Continental "All-Weather Convertible" custom made for an Indian Maharaja. The incredible car (above), known as the "Star of India", is being sold off by famed Rolls-Royce collector Hans-Günther Zach, who's liquidating his private museum dedicated to the marque in Germany. It's expected to fetch as much as €10 million or $14 million, beating the Ferrari by a wide margin. The Star is just one of classic and collectible 24 Rolls-Royces Zach is accepting bids for until Sept. 15th.

[via JamesList]

Check out a video of the Star of India after the jump.

Tags: Ferrari, Germany, museum, Rolls-Royce, world record, WorldRecord, worlds most expensive, WorldsMostExpensive

Continue reading “$14 Million Rolls-Royce on Offer in Museum Sale Could Be World's Most Expensive Car”

'57 Ferrari Sells for $12 Million, Sets New World Record

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos, Auctions

The ultra-rare 1957 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa (which my colleague Noah Joseph wrote about back in February) just set a new world record for the most expensive motor car ever to be sold at auction, achieving a final price of €9,020,000 or about $12.2 million at RM Auctions' annual Leggenda e Passione event in Italy. The beautiful Scaglietti-designed "pontoon-fender" 250 TR was one of only 22 made. One of the most instantly recognizable cars in Ferrari's history, it's highly coveted by collectors - Ralph Lauren owns two of them.

"The historical significance of this car attracted a bidding war as collectors from around the world - both in the room and on the telephone – competed to secure one of the most alluring and iconic of all Ferrari racing cars," said Max Girardo, Managing Director of RM Europe. "The eyes of the world were watching today's sale as cars of this quality are so rarely offered to the market. The quality and the provenance of the Testa Rossa speaks for itself and the price we achieved today is testament to that."

Gallery: 1957 Ferrari 250 TR #0714TR

Tags: Ferrari, Italy, Ralph Lauren, RalphLauren, RM Auctions, RmAuctions, world record, WorldRecord

Cigar Roller Doubles Own Record: 142 Feet

by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Cigars

Cut and light a double corona, and you're likely to draw comments about size, compensation and the like. So, imagine how the locals at your smoke shop would react to Jose Castelar's latest creation. He just set the world cigar rolling record (his fourth), doubling his last one. The result was a cigar 142 feet long.

The world record holder smoked his last record breaking cigar – 67 feet long – in 2005. At the time, he promised to continue breaking records ... and four years later, he's come through in style.

What's next? Castelar wants to roll a cigar the length of Malecon, Havana's six-mile seaside promenade.

The Cuban cigar roller, interestingly, limits himself to one cigar a day. What he does not say, however, is how long it is.

Source

Tags: cigar, cigars, cuba, cuban, guinness book of world records, guinness world record, GuinnessBookOfWorldRecords, GuinnessWorldRecord, havana, rolling, tobacco, tobacco industry, TobaccoIndustry, world record, world records, WorldRecord, worldrecordholder, WorldRecords

Parade of Ferraris Sets New World Record

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos, Events

Here's a fun traffic jam to be a part of: a group of 385 Ferraris parading down the Silverstone circuit in England. It happened just a week or so ago on June 9th as part of a celebration to mark the company's anniversary year. Just a few of the models present were a 250 California Spider, a 275GTB/C, FXX, F40, F50 and an Enzo. The total value of all the Ferraris involved is estimated to be more than $118.4 million.

For the event the cars traveled slowly over a 2 mile course, made sure to stay within 2 car lengths of each other, and were counted both at the beginning and at the end. A representative from Guinness World Records certified the event as a new world record and presented Ferrari officials with a certificate.

What? No certificates for the individual owners/drivers? Bummer.

Source

Tags: anniversary, breaking, england, ferrari, ferraris, guinness, parade, record, record-breaking, silverstone, world record, WorldRecord

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