T-shirts, so called due to their ‘T’ shape, were originally considered undergarments. Nowadays, of course, these ubiquitous shirts are commonly used to express the wearer’s taste in art or music, their political views or their fondness for bad jokes. While T-shirts are usually relatively cheap, sometimes they become collector’s items and enter the ranks of the most expensive T-shirts in the world.

(Via Vintage Vantage.)

Run-D.M.C. “My Adidas” T-shirt – up to $13,000

This T-shirt was produced as a promotional item for a Run-D.M.C. concert in the early 80s. Because of the rarity of 80s hip hop tees, especially Run-D.M.C. shirts, and the group’s legendary partnership with Adidas, this shirt has become something of a collector’s item. The back of the shirt features a joint Adidas/Run-D.M.C. “My Adidas” logo.

John Lennon “Home” T-shirt – $16,400

This shirt was originally given to Lennon by Richard Ross, owner of the now-defunct Home restaurant, frequented by Lennon and Yoko Ono, in New York’s Upper East Side. He wore it for several shows and it became such an iconic part of his image that reproductions are available to this day, despite the restaurant’s closure.

Hanes/UNICEF 1996 Olympics T-shirt – $42,000

In the days leading up to the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia, Hanes and UNICEF partnered up to raise funds for Olympic Aid-Atlanta, an organization dedicated to helping children in war torn countries, by auctioning T-shirts. The daily auctions raised nearly $1 million for the charitably organization and the highest bid came on the final day of the auctions.

UNICEF Cargo Flight – $300,000

UNICEF has been selling t-shirts for some time now to raise awareness of those in need. UNICEF has a line of 12 t-shirts, Good Shirts, starting at $18US and end up at $1,000. Sales from these expensive t-shirts collect money for a variety of causes aimed to fund everything from mosquito nets, energy biscuits, de-worming medication and even cargo flights from Denmark to Kenya, and are available through Threadless.

The Most Expensive T-Shirt, Superlative Luxury – $400,000
In January 2012 a new expensive shirt designed in London by Superlative Luxury arrived. The current most expensive t-shirt in the world is created using renewable sources of energy like solar and wind power with almost 100% less C02 production when you compare the manufacturing process to traditional t-shirt production.

Superlative Luxury’s most expensive t-shirt in the world features a special spherical pattern exalted with sixteen certified diamonds. Eight of which are 1ct white diamonds, the other eight are extremely rare and hard to find black diamonds, each over 1ct.

Batman has become one of the most popular comic book characters of all time since his creation over 70 years ago. This success may be due to the fact that, unlike most costumed crime fighters, Batman has no superhuman powers; he relies on his extraordinary detective skills, peak physique and an array of high-tech gadgets to defeat his enemies.

Of course, 70 years of continuous publication have made certain early issues particularly valuable. These are the most expensive Batman comics of all time.

Batman #1 (Spring 1940) – $359,000

Despite being the first comic to feature Batman in its title, Batman #1 is not the first appearance of the caped crusader. A hero is defined by his adversaries, however, and this historical comic featured the first appearances of two of Batman’s most enduring foes—the Joker and Catwoman. The former is, of course, the dark knight’s most iconic nemesis while the latter has been Batman’s enemy, ally and lover over the years.

Detective Comics #27 (May 1939) – $1,380,000

Batman made his debut in this issue of the pulp-inspired comic magazine after which National Publications later took its name—DC Comics. The Batman of these days was, however, a bit darker than the Batman with which most readers are familiar. This Batman, as originally conceived by artist Bob Kane and developed (uncredited) by writer Bill Finger, had no qualms about taking the lives of the petty criminals he fought. It wasn’t until the introduction of Robin almost a year later that Batman began to lighten up on Gotham’s criminals and leave them breathing.

A pair of designer sunglasses can easily become one of the most expensive accessories in your wardrobe. With sunglasses priced in the thousands and even hundreds of thousands, there’s evidence aplenty that a good designer will never lack for work.

Louis Vuitton Evasion – $1,200

The omnipresent LV rears its fashionable head again. In this case, their Damier motif is feature on the wide temples of these titanium frames. The sunglasses come with a Damier graphite case.

Chrome Hearts Kufannaw I – $1,350

Chrome Hearts are known for their stylish sunglasses featuring fleur-de-lis, dagger and floral cross designs. The rims are made of titanium decorated with sterling silver and the temples are made from exotic wood.

Moss Lipow sunglasses – up to $3,800

A pair of Moss Lipow sunglasses

New York artist Moss Lipow may not have been trained in the design of eyewear, but that hasn’t stopped him from producing a variety of uniquely eccentric sunglasses. One of those designs, framed in ostrich and alligator leather and priced at $3,800, has become one of the most expensive pairs of sunglasses in the world. Lipow, a former student of NYU’s film school, has a broad visual arts background and can reasonably claim to have the largest collection of vintage 20th century eyewear in the world; his collection includes over 3,000 different frames. For the most part, his inspiration comes from early rock n’ rollers and that preference can easily be seen in his favorite piece from his collection—a pair of Buddy Holly style frames from the 50s that he used to wear regularly.

Luxuriator Style 23 – $65,000

Buffalo ivory temples and 132 diamonds set in 18k gold frames set this pair of luxury sunglasses apart. The fact that one of those diamonds weighs in at 2 carats and accents the right lens only adds to the appeal of these designer sungasses.

Dolce & Gabanna DG2027B – $383,609

Completely blowing those pricey frames out of the water, Dolce and Gabanna recently released a pair of sunglasses whose price easily overshadowed that of Lipow’s $3,800 shades. The brown-tinted shades are framed in gold and appear to have the brand’s logo written on the arms—in diamonds.

Like any historical work, first edition books can fetch enormous sums when sold at auction. This is especially true of those books written by influential authors, scientists and other extraordinary thinkers. The most expensive books in the world are the works of seminal masters whose legacies are all but impossible to ignore.

Ptolemy’s Cosmography – $4 million

This atlast is based on the work of the second-century Greek mathematician, geographer and astronemer, Ptolemy. Printed in 1477, only two copies are held by private collectors today. Atlases presented a unique challenge for early printers, as each map had to be etched into a printing plate by hand, precisely copying the original sources which were often over a thousand years old.

William Shakespeare’s First Folio – $5.1 million

Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories & Tragedies, a first edition collection of the bard’s plays, was the most expensive book sold at auction in 2006. The book was published in 1623, seven years after Shakespeare’s death, and contains a dozen plays that have never been reprinted, as well as many that are considered classics today. The original printing issued 750 copies of the book and perhaps a third of these still exist today, many of them incomplete. With its original price of twenty shillings per copy, the book has undergone a remarkable price increase. It was a literary custom and common practice for readers to make revisions, additions and annotations to original books and manuscripts and this piece is no exception, with many notes giving insight into the book’s readership.

The book was auctioned by Dr. Williams’ Library, a London library that contains a remarkable collection of first editions and manuscripts. It was said that the auction, carried out by Sotheby’s Auction House, would secure the finances of the library for the near future.

James Audubon’s Birds of America – $11 million

The most expensive printed book on record is James Audobon’s “Birds of America,” which sold in 2000 for $8.8 million. A second copy was sold in 2010 for a staggering $11 million. Audobon is a noted illustrator who pioneered much of early wildlife research, and the book’s dimensions reflect his attention to detail. Each original copy of this book measures 3 feet by 2 feet, because Audubon wanted to paint the birds in life size. His work vastly increased popular awareness of the breadth of species in our world, and is still very highly regarded today for its accuracy and poignant detail.

Leonardo Da Vinci’s Codex Leicester – $30.8 million

This notebook filled with original drawings, notes and sketches was sold to Microsoft founder Bill Gates in 1994. The manuscript takes its name from Thomas Coke who purchased it in 1717, decades before he was created Earl of Leicester. In the Codex, Da Vinci devotes his attention to such topics as the movement of water and the luminosity of the moon.

Gates didn’t keep the manuscript to himself, either. He had the contents scanned and distributed as a screensaver with Microsoft Plus! for Windows 95.

Nothing says “Merry Christmas!” like a Christmas tree. Every few years, it seems, the world’s most expensive Christmas tree is outdecked, outjingled and outpriced by the most expensive Christmas tree in the world.

Soo Kee Jewellery Diamond Christmas Tree, 2007
US $1,005,000

Bugis Junction, a shopping mall in Singapore, may just have had the merriest Christmas in the world in 2007.

Soo Kee Jewellery produced the expensive tree, decking it with 21,798 diamonds (913 carats total), 3,762 crystal beads and 456 lights. The tree is nearly 20 feet tall and weighs in at over 7,000 pounds. Just remember that Christmas isn’t about how much money you can afford to spend decking the halls and giving gifts. That’s what they’ve been telling me, anyway.

Ginza Tanaka 24k gold Christmas Tree, 2008
US $1.6 million

This golden tree is adorned with 240 jewels—diamonds and strings of pearls included—and weighs in at 46 pounds total. That’s a far cry from Soo Kee Jewellery’s 7,000-pound, 20-foot Christmas tree. The gold tree was on display at the Ginza Tanaka jewelry shop in Shinsaibashi, Osaka throughout the 2008 holiday season.

Emirates Palace Christmas Tree, 2010
US $11.4 million

In 2010, the merriest Christmas goes to patrons of the Emirates Palace hotel in Abu Dhabi, as their extravagant tree has smashed the previous record. While decked with over $11 million in jewelry from Style Gallery, the tree itself is merely a 13-foot faux evergreen. The jewels include 181 diamonds, pearls, emeralds, sapphires and other precious stones. This is certainly a fitting decoration for one of the most expensive hotels in the world.

England’s long and storied history has produced one of the most widely spoken languages in the world, various masterful literary works and some equally masterful pieces of furniture.

The Harrington Commode—no, not that kind of commode; it’s a chest of drawers—broke a record for English furniture when it was sold at a Sotheby’s in London auction in late 2010. The chest is thought to have been crafted around 1770 by London cabinet maker Thomas Chippendale, whose Rococo and Neoclassical works informed the style of the period. The most expensive piece of English furniture is made of gilt-lacquered fustic, rosewood and tulipwood mounted with brass.

The chest sold for £3,793,250—just under US $6 million. That’s ove three times its estimate and £1 million more than the holder of the previous record, another of Chippendale’s works.

Some of the earliest pottery has been discovered in China, dating back to 9000 BC, and ceramic goods from the region can be traced back to the dynasties under which they were created. In fact, the first porcelain is believed to have been created under the Han dynasty from 202 BC to 220 AD. As China’s history is rich with beautiful ceramic art, it’s no surprise that the most expensive vases in the world are Chinese.

Ming dynasty vase – over US $10 million

The Ming dynasty ruled China from 1368 to 1644. That era in Chinese history saw the creation of a startling amount of carved lacquerwares, glazed porcelain wares, embroidered silks and works of art in a variety of other materials. The Empire of the Great Ming also produced a great number of forgeries designed to part unsuspecting purchasers from their wealth. This was such a problem, in fact, that guides were printed to help detect such forgery. We can be sure, then, that this vase is quite authentic.

Hailing from the time of Hongwu, the founder of the Ming dynasty, the expensive vase was most recently purchased at auction by Steve Wynn. The Las Vegas casino owner and insatiable art collector is often criticized by the art community for paying high prices for second-rate pieces, but this purchase is certainly an exception. The 14th century vase is decorated in copper red scrolling flowers and is, well preserved as it is, quite rare.

Mr. Wynn purchased the expensive vase at the Christie’s Imperial Sale in Hong Kong for 78,520,000 Hong Kong dollars. Rather than keep it locked away in his private collection, however, he returned the vase to China by donating it to a Macau museum.

Qianlong vase – over US $80 million

The Qing dynasty succeeded the Ming dynasty and ruled China until 1911. The Qianlong Emperor became the fifth emperor of the Qing dynasty in 1736 and, during his time in power, imperial supervisor Tang Ying authored an illustrated memoir called “Twenty Illustrations of the Manufacture of Porcelain.”

This 18th-century porcelain vase was inherited by a mother and son who, if reports are to be believed, have gone into hiding due to the £12 million in taxes they will be expected to pay after the vase, only expected to sell for £1.2 million, reached an amazing £53 million at auction.

The buyer was a wealthy Chinese industrialist and collector of antiquities.

In 2011, Fox’s premiere musical dramedy is going to the Super Bowl. Glee, in its second season, will be celebrating the most important day in American football with their most expensive episode ever.

While it was already rumored that the Glee cast would be performing Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” for their post-Super Bowl episode, it has been confirmed to EW.com that the song will be performed as a mash-up with another, unannounced song. The episode, revolving around coach Sue Sylvester’s cheerleading regionals and the local football championship, will also feature songs by Katy Perry, the Black Eyed Peas and Lady Antebellum. The “Thriller” mash-up will be performed during the game’s half-time.

The exact dollar amount is unavailable, but it is known that GM will be sponsoring the episode.

For the fashionista whose designer coats are made drab by pedestrian hangers, there is a solution. The most expensive hangers in the world aren’t just pricey—they’re made specifically for those who are tuned in to the world of fashion.

These Cityscape Coat Hangers, designed by Christopher Jarratt, are made from high quality birch plywood and feature a water-based finish to make sure they last. While the range of designs has expanded since the line was introduced in 2004, the original Cityscape hangers depicted five of the world’s top fashion and design meccas—London, New York, Paris, Tokyo and Milan.

These luxury coat hangers are priced at $460.

If someone were to say, “I just bought a Toto,” you might think they’d purchased a little black Terrier and named it after the Wizard of Oz costar. They could, on the other hand, be the proud owner of a luxurious new commode. That technological marvel is just the first on our list of the most expensive toilets in the world.

Toto Neorest 600 – $5,000

What more do you need, when doing your business, than your standard lavatory offers? Toto’s most expensive toilet, the Neorest 600, has a wide range of features to answer that question. For starters, the lid automatically opens whenever you approach the toilet. As soon as you rise from your state of the art porcelain throne, it automatically engages its Power Catalytic Air Purifier function. Six seconds after you’re out of range of the toilet’s sensor zone, it will automatically flush and close both the lid and the seat.

For those functions that aren’t automatic, there’s a wireless remote control. A button-press can open, close or warm the seat, change the water temperature, perform a powerful “Cyclone flush” instead of the automatic light flush or control the Washlet functions you’ll use to tidy yourself up after using the expensive toilet.

“Dagobert” Wooden Toilet Throne by Herbeau – $14,123

For a commode that really puts the “throne” in “porcelain throne,” look no further than this magnificent, five-foot-tall latrine. The solid ash toilet is named after King Dagobert, the last ruler of the Merovingian dynasty in 8th Century France. As such, His Majesty’s Royal Privy plays “Le Bon Roi Dagobert” (“The Good King Dagobert”) when the lid is lifted. When you’ve finished your business, the pull chain flushes the toilet and rings a bell to let your attendants know their services are needed.

The Dagobert also includes both a candleholder and an ashtray.

Hang Fung Gold Toilet – around $5 million

This 24k gold toilet is a feature of Hang Fung jeweler’s solid gold bathroom in Hong Kong. The company had the toilet made when gold was merely $200 per ounce and planned to melt it down if gold ever reached $1,000 per ounce. When the price of gold neared the $1,000 mark in early 2008, however, the company stated that they would not have it melted down. One ton of the golden bathroom accessories surrounding the toilet would be melted down instead.

Moon River Art Park Toilet – $750,000

A toilet hidden in a cave in Shanghai’s Moon River Art Park cost 5 million yuan to build. The cave is manmade and decked out like a grotto. While entry to the park costs 30 yuan, using the toilet is free. It may be difficult to get in, though. Toilet cleaners reported people waiting in line up to two hours when the toilet was first opened in 2005.

International Space Station Toilet – $19 million

What may just be the most expensive toilet ever built isn’t the world’s most expensive toilet. That’s because it’s being launched into space! The toilet system NASA had built by Russia was delivered to the international Space Station in November 2008. The system, the same as the one in place on the Russian side of the station, recycles urine into water. It will replace a toilet system that has broken twice in 2008.

A movie poster collection may be anything from an extension of another hobby to a sign of serious passion for film history. One buyer may be willing to pay $10 or $20 for an original “Fellowship of the Ring” one-sheet while another pays $47,000 for one of the few remaining “Grand Hotel” posters. With the latter type of collector in mind, we turn to the most expensive movie posters in the world.

“Metropolis” – $690,000

A private collector acquired this expensive movie poster at auction from the Austrian National Library in Vienna in 2005. Only three other copies of the poster are known to have survived to the current day—one in the Museum of Modern Art in New York, another in a private collection and a second copy in the Austrian National Library. The expensive poster was created to promote Fritz Lang’s 1927 science fiction masterpiece, “Metropolis.”

The German film, set in the year 2026, dealt with the schism between two societal castes in the film’s titular city—the wealthy thinkers and planners, and the underground working class. The film cost roughly $14 million to make, adjusted for inflation, and was the most expensive silent movie at the time of its release. Sadly, much of the original footage has been lost and it cannot be viewed in its intended form.

“The Bride of Frankenstein” – estimated at $700,000

Heritage Auctions expects to sell this teaser one-sheet, the only surviving poster of its kind, at their Beverly Hills Signature Movie Poster Auction in November, 2010. The poster comes from the Collection of Todd Feiertag, likely the largest collection of vintage horror movie posters of all time.

“The Bride of Frankenstein” is the sequel to the original 1931 “Frankenstein,” starring Boris Karloff as Frankenstein’s monster. In the film, the monster coerces his humbled creator into creating another monster to serve as his mate. The film cost just under $400,000 to produce, or around $6 million in today’s currency.

If you’re remodeling your mansion and want your floor to have all the elegance of a royal palace, it would be hard to think of a tile more suitable than Pietra Firma’s LuxTouch, the most expensive tile in the world.

Pietra Firma takes floor tiling to new heights with this black marble creation. Each tile is inlaid with 95 brilliant cut diamonds in a sumptuous flower petal pattern surrounding a rich, black agate circle. Each corner is inlaid with abalone shell and mother of pearl, creating a stunning overall effect. Pietra Firma recommends walking barefoot on these luxurious tiles, as the diamonds are slightly raised for maximum tactile enjoyment.

The LuxTouch tiles are a limited creation and will only be used in five projects in the world. If diamonds aren’t your thing, Pietra Firma offers a variety of other precious stones to cater to your tastes—as they should, considering the price of the tiles. Every ten square feet of LuxTouch tiles costs $1 million.

Byzantine emperor Justinian I wearing Tyrian purple.

Modern science has almost eliminated the demand for the most expensive paint in the world. In fact, its main usage in the modern era is to restore the works of antiquity. Still, what artist wouldn’t sell his or her right arm to work with genuine Tyrian purple?

Tyrian purple is produced by the purple dye murex, a kind of sea snail, and a single garment dyed with the pigment required the milking or crushing of twelve thousand snails. As such, it was extraordinarily expensive and wearing a Tyrian purple garment was a sign of incredible wealth. Also called imperial purple, the luxurious dye was used in garments worn by the emperors and kings of classical antiquity, including Alexander the Great, the Ptolemaic kings and the emperors of Rome.

Today, genuine Tyrian purple retains its high price. A mere gram of Tyrian purple may cost in excess of $3,725.

Many people read comic books growing up as kids, but a certain few retain their passion and become meticulous collectors of expensive comic books. Other people think of comic books as juvenile superhero fantasies, but the sophisticated storytelling and artwork of modern comic books and graphic novels is changing that perception. The most expensive comic books in the world, however, will inevitably be the earliest and most historic examples of the medium.

Any serious comic book collector can tell you that the world’s most expensive comic book is DC’s Action Comics #1 (1938). Written by Jerry Siegel and illustrated by Joe Shuster, this book contained our first 12-page glimpse of the iconic superhero, Superman. One may wonder why this comic would outsell, say, the first appearance of Spider-Man, especially considering the success of the Spider-Man movie franchise and the box office flop that marked Superman’s return to Hollywood in 2006. The answer lies not in the fact that Action Comics #1 contains the first appearance of Superman, but that it contains the first appearance of the modern superhero.

All of the stereotypical devices of the superhero genre are combined for the first time in this issue; superpowers, secret identities, pseudo-scientific origins and, yes, even tights. Superman was the amalgamation of Greek myth with Flash Gordan and just a smattering of everyday life. Ultimately, it was the same combination that we still see today, to some extent, in the immensely successful Batman, X-Men and Iron Man franchises.

A copy of Action Comics #1 was sold by ComicConnect.com in March, 2010 for $1.5 million. Alongside the Superman story, the book included ten other features, such as Tex Thompson and Zatara, Master Magician.

Action Comics #1 may lose its place at the top of the pile, however, if this special ashcan edition of Flash Comics #1 sells for its asking price. That’s a big “if,” however, as the asking price is $5 million.

So what makes this comic so special? As the story goes, publishers Fawcett Comics and All American Comics scrambled to publish ashcan editions of “Flash Comics” in order to secure the copyright. All American, one of the three companies that eventually merged to form DC Comics, won the race and published 104 issues of Flash Comics, starring the Flash.

Interestingly enough, Fawcett’s Flash Comics (retitled Whizz Comics) debuted Captain Thunder (renamed Captain Marvel), a character later awarded to DC in a copyright infringement suit based on his similarities to Superman.

Maybe you have the right clothes and the right jeep or SUV, but that plain black spare tire cover just isn’t going to cut it. It doesn’t say enough about you as a person and it certainly didn’t cost enough. No, you need the most expensive spare tire cover in the world.

That’s where celebrated artist Damien Hirst comes in, as his spin painted wheel cover is as costly as it gets. The cover, offered by Other Criteria, is made of stainless steel and high impact plastic, and the painted surface is protected from the sun by UV laminate. Of course, each of these bespoke spare tire covers is made to fit one of the varieties of 4×4 tire used by off-road vehicles.

The Damien Hirst Stainless Steel 4×4 Wheel Cover is priced at £900 (US $1,377).

Sometimes a product is the most expensive because it’s a technical marvel. Sometimes the price comes from embellishment with gold, gems and other precious minerals. Other times, though, the merit is entirely in the price tag.

Such is the case, it seems, with “Les 4 Mondes,” which is likely the most expensive coloring book in the world.

Hailing from luxury house Hermes, famous for their scarves and other premium apparel, the costly coloring book features twenty-four designs printed on a mere twelve pages. The 15” x 11” book is featured among Hermes’ baby gifts, although it is marked “for kids and adults.”

“Les 4 Mondes” is priced at $130. Of course, you’ll want to find a set of expensive crayons to go with the book.

And try to stay within the lines, will ya?

One major draw of the miniature wargaming tradition, from which the modern role-playing game evolved, was the collection of masses of miniature units, siege engines and single figures. Those minis came in handy for early Dungeons and Dragons players, as the original game system was a variation of the Chainmail wargame. While miniatures became an optional component of D&D for a time, with the release of the third and fourth editions of the game by Wizards of the Coast, as well as a line of pre-painted plastic miniatures, miniatures are once again an integral part of the D&D experience.

Huge Gold Dragon – $40

Introduced in the Giants of Legends set—the first to include huge figures—along with the Huge Red Dragon below, the Huge Gold Dragon is an excellent example of the skill of Wizards of the Coast’s sculptors and painters. As a “good” dragon, however, its utility in the game is limited—players just don’t fight good creatures as often as their sinister counterparts.

Huge Red Dragon – $55

A true D&D staple, the red dragon has probably graced the covers of more books than any other monstrous creature in the game. It certainly helps that this figure is almost as stunning as the Huge Gold Dragon.

Colossal Red Dragon – $350

This amazing miniature, if that word still applies, was released as part of the Icons line of sculpts of the game’s most terrifying, iconic and, above all, enormous baddies. Colossal Red isn’t just large, though; he’s also menacingly posed and exceptionally well painted.

Snowball – $350+

Snowball is a bit of an oddity. This miniature was distributed to Wizards of the Coast employees over the holidays in 2007. As such, it’s a very limited item and the exact number produced is unknown. Snowball is a beholder, one of the game’s most bizarre and unique monsters, rendered in a translucent white plastic to represent a very D&D-ish sort of holiday cheer.

Scarves, without doubt, owe their global popularity to their wide variety of uses. A scarf can keep you warm on a cold day or it can be used to wipe the sweat from your face on a hot day. They can be used to keep dust and insects out of your mouth while you’re riding a horse. They may be used to communicate the religion you practice, the university you attend or the sports team you support. Of course, they are also very fashionable.

In 1837, saddlemaker Thierry Hermès founded his company. One hundred years later, Hermès produced their first scarves. Today, Hermès scarves are among the most expensive scarves in the world.

Hermès scarves have been considered traditional heirlooms in France. Their scarves were made from raw Chinese silk spun into a tough fabric and individually screen-printed with designs that sometimes took years to compose. The company still focuses on producing quality, handcrafted goods to this day.

The cheapest of these luxury scarves commands a price of $260. A Hermès dip-dyed giant silk scarf, on the other hand, is priced at $720.

Filipino chef Angelito Araneta, Jr. specializes in extravagant foods to be used during courtship and marriage proposals. In 2009, he created a $2,500 “carat” cake coated completely in gold flake and topped with diamonds. In 2010, he created a dish that looked somewhat more, well, edible—the most expensive sushi in the world.

Each of the five pieces on this sushi plate is covered with a leaf of edible gold and garnished with a .2-carat African diamond. The plate was presented at a Milanan restaurant in June.

The dish was valued at 91,800 pesos, or just under $2,000.

Nothing says luxury like lazing the hours away in a tub that costs more than a lot of houses. Those looking for such a tub, however, have a few more options than they used to. If you’re not happy with plain porcelain, you can purchase a tub made from fine materials or hi-tech gadgets.

Water Games Technologies’ Red Diamond bathtub – $47,200

(via bornrich.org)

Designed by Aldo Puglielli, this bright red tub is big enough for two people. That’s just the beginning of the tub’s laundry list of features, however. It also includes a console framed in gold—42 grams of 18-karat gold, to be exact—and Swarovski crystals. The console controls two waterproof HDTVs that remain hidden when not in use. Among the tub’s other features are a massage function, multicolored lighting, a hand-held shower unit, automatic disinfection and even a Swarovski-coated Champagne holder. At $47,200, however, the Red Diamond bathtub is not for the faint of wallet.

Kallista Archeo Copper Bathtub – $67,557

Made of solid copper, this tub is hand-crafted by the very people who refurbished Lady Liberty’s torch. Over five feet long and two-and-a-half feet wide, the tub is spacious enough to comfortably accommodate just about anyone. The fluted faucet and hand-held shower unit are designed with the same aesthetic quality as the rest of the tub, featuring a finely engraved starfish-on-seashell knob.

Baldi malachite bathtub – $222,000

This boat-shaped tub, designed by Luca Bojola is made from turqoise malachite that is perfectly complemented by its ornate, 24k gold-plated feet.

Baldi Rock Crystal bathtub – $790,310

Also designed by Luca Bojola, the first of these three-person bathtubs was created in 2008 and shown at that year’s Salone de Mobile. TThat tub was carved from a single piece of Amazonian rock crystal measuring over 8 feet in diameter and sold for over $850,000. This second tub was created for Harrods and, as the exteriors of both tubs were left rough, is as unique as the first. Baldi even offers a rock crystal basin to complement the exquisite bathtub.

Tattoos have had a number of uses throughout human history. A tattoo may be spiritual in nature or simply aesthetic; it may even mark the bearer as part of a particular gang. The most expensive tattoo in the world, however, may be the first to display the bearer’s wealth so well.

The tattoo worn by South African model and Shimansky brand ambassador Minki van der Westhuizen wasn’t a tattoo in the traditional sense, as no ink was involved in its creation. Why nitpick, though, about someone who spent 8 hours having 612 Shimansky Ideal Cut .5 carat diamonds attached to her skin? Shimansky used a water based adhesive to affix the diamonds to the model, but only temporarily. Eventually, the formula had to be dissolved off Westhuizen’s skin.

The world’s most expensive tattoo is valued at 7.2 million South African rands, or around 924,000 US dollars, and the luxury jeweler has considered making similar tattoos available at any of their eight South African or four international locations.

The vast majority of the pricey items featured on this site are made with costly materials such as gold or diamonds, and the most expensive stove in the world is no exception. Unlike many of those goods, however, this stove was a work of art before it received the gold treatment.

Whether you’re heating your soup or heating your home, a wood-burning stove like the Iron Dog 05 Huraxdax can be of service. The word Huraxdax is Bavarian for “decampment of joy” and you’ll certainly feel that joy has broken camp on its way to see you as the Iron Dog 05 begins to heat up to nearly 1,000 square feet of your humble abode. Best of all, the stove’s degree of efficiency is rated at 82%.

The stove is two-and-a-half feet tall and was designed by sculptor Joseph Michael Neustifter, an artist whose traditional Bavarian works grace the walls of over 80 churches. Each stove takes approximately two months to produce.

The Huraxdax stove is available in cast iron, silver and gold. The gold version of the stove weighs in at 260 kilograms and is priced in excess of $4 million.

What kind of artist works with a hunting knife? Ask Mark Evans, the pioneer whose work has been called “leather sculpting.” That work will soon adorn the walls of one Russian billionaire’s mansion as the most expensive wallpaper in the world.

Evans works by etching the leather down to the suede with a number of bladed tools of different sizes, from a large hunting knife to several sculpting knives. The results are photorealistic depictions of animals, the crucifixion and even the celebrated “Fight of the Year” between Doug Jones and Muhammed Ali.

Evans’ leather etchings will cover the walls of two rooms in a mansion in Moscow. The unnamed billionaire’s wallpaper will cost $2.71 million, or around $23,675 per square meter.

(via RiaNovosti)

The Miss Russia Pageant has only been around since 1993 and, since then, it has produced one Miss Universe and two winners of Miss World (one of whom was, unfortunately, later dethroned). Now, however, the pageant has a new claim to fame—the most expensive beauty pageant crown in the world.

The new Miss Russia crown was unveiled at Imperial Park Hotel & SPA, just outside of Moscow, and will be bestowed upon the pageant’s 2010 winner after she is announced on March 8th. Created by the Yuvelirny Teatr jewelry house, the exquisite crown is made of 18k white gold adorned with 2,358 diamonds totaling 62 carats and fourteen pearls, the foremost of which is an enormous 19 mm.

While this crown is claimed to be the most expensive in the world, its exact value remains unrevealed.

Giacomo Casanova, the world’s greatest lover, may have been Venetian, but it was the French government who, in early 2010, paid top dollar for the licentious libertine’s manuscript.

Casanova wrote of his adventures from 1789 to his death in 1798, during which time he was employed as the librarian to Count Waldstein in the Castle of Dux, Bohemia. The manuscript, “Histoire de mi vie” or “History of my Life,” allegedly details his conquest over more than 100 women—at least one of which was a nun—and several men. Unfortunately, the general public has only seen censored and otherwise altered versions of the account.

The 3,700 manuscript was acquired by the Brockhaus family in 1820 and survived the bombing of Leipzig in World War II. It was smuggled out of Germany on a US military truck in 1945 and published fifteen years later.

The French National Library purchased the cultural artifact for a cool €7 million—over US $9.4 million—making it the most expensive written manuscript in the world.

By Dave Klemencic and Jeremy Harris

Paintings are often highly sought after due to their broad appeal and identifiability. They’re relatively easy to transport and widely available in a variety of price levels. Sculptures, on the other hand, have a tendency to fetch much higher prices initially, due primarily to the workload involved in their creation and the significantly higher price of materials. Gold, bronze and marble are much more difficult to obtain, transport and work with than the materials favored by the world’s painters. The heyday of creative sculpting existed in the Greek and Roman empires, and then as now served primarily religious and memorial functions. These works are seldom traded on the open market due to the grip with which museums and religious institutions hold them.

Pablo Picasso – “Tête de femme (Dora Maar)” – $29.1 million

Pable Picasso’s most expensive sculpture is an abstract representation of French photographer, painter and poet Dora Maar, whose relationship with Picasso lasted from 1936 to 1943. Created in 1941, the bust is 31.5 inches tall and cast in bronze. It achieved its record-breaking price at a Sotheby’s auction in 2007.

Constantin Brancusi – “Madame L.R. (Portrait de Mme L.R.)” – 36.8 million

Brancusi was a member of the modernist art movement, which took a marked turn from the styles and fields of study of its predecessors. Favoring minimalism to representation, his pieces, while often pleasing to look at, serve more a conceptual purpose then a literary or narrative one. A student of the literal and highly lauded Auguste Rodin, Brancusi’s pieces lack the emotional content one often searches for in works of art. Madame L.R. was sculpted circa 1914-1917 and was sold at Christie’s auction of the Yves Saint Laurent collection of Art in 2009.

”The Guennol Lioness” – $57.2 million

This Mesopotamian statue of an anthropomorphic lion is 5,000 years old and likely depicts an Elamite deity or other venerated figure. It was discovered near present-day Baghdad in the early 1800s by Sir Leonard Woolley. It was most recently sold in a Sotheby’s auction in late 2007 and was, for a short time, the most expensive sculpture ever sold. It was carved from limestone and stands just over 3 inches tall.

Damien Hirst – “For the love of God” – $100 million

The most modern sculpture on this list, “For the love of God” was created in 2007. The work was inspired by an Aztec turquoise skull and was based on a European skull thought to be at least 200 years old. It’s cast from platinum and covered in 8,601 pavé-set diamonds totaling 1,106.18 carats. The teeth came from the original skull. “For the love of God” was sold in mid-2007 and is the most expensive work by a living artist.

Alberto Giacometti – “L’Homme qui marche I” (“Walking Man 1”) – $104.3 million

This piece is considered to be the culmination of the Swiss sculptor’s work, which started small and gradually became taller and thinner. This 6-foot-tall bronze sculpture was sold in February 2010 and became not just the most expensive sculpture ever sold but the most expensive work of art ever sold at auction.

(via theartwolf.com)

HBO’s latest attempt to recapture the magic that made The Sopranos a hit may just be the most expensive television show in the world.

According to The New York Post, the pilot episode for Boardwalk Empire has set HBO back $50 million—around five times the price of Lost’s two-hour pilot episode, formerly thought to be the world’s most expensive television episode.

Boardwalk Empire fuses the period style that made AMC’s Mad Men popular with the gangster drama that propelled Sopranos to the top. It will star Steve Buscemi as politician and gangster Enoch “Nucky” Johnson, who reigned over Atlantic City in the 1920s. The series was created by Buscemi’s fellow Sopranos alum Terence Winter and is produced by none other than Martin Scorsese.

Boardwalk Empire is set to debut in late 2010 with a 12-episode season.

Iconic pop artist Andy Warhol strove for a unique and trendsetting look—even going so far as to commission mismatched footwear with patches sewn onto the right shoe. Then, of course, there’s the famous wig he began wearing in the mid-1960s.

While the silver-grey wig was originally intended to cover up his receding hairline, it became an integral part of the Andy Warhol look. In 2006, almost twenty years after Warhol’s death, the wig was sold at a Christie’s auction along with a few other items formerly owned by Warhol. The wig even had Warhol’s toupee tape still attached to its interior.

The wig sold for $10,800, making it one of the most expensive wigs in the world.

Other Warhol memorabilia sold at the auction included a 1977 photo of Muhammed Ali, signed by Warhol, and a 1975 Polaroid of Mick Jagger. The photos sold at $19,200 and $15,600, respectively.

While reed instruments had been popular in Asia for centuries, the first harmonica wasn’t produced until 1821. Hohner Musikinstrumente, once the world’s most prominent manufacturer of harmonicas, was founded less than forty years later. In the 1930s, the company awarded Pope Pius XI with the most expensive harmonica in the world.

Pius XI was a scholarly pope who abhorred racism and often spoke out against Communism and Nazism. His greatest achievement, however, was the signing of the Lateral Treaty with Italy in 1929, which established Vatican City as an independent state.

The harmonica given to Pius XI by Hohner had brass reeds and a solid gold casing encrusted with jewels and ivory. The material cost of the harmonica is unknown but, as a papal artifact, one could easily call it “priceless.”

A Hohner harmonica

People have been practicing chandlery for over 5,000 years, but a truly impressive candle still comes along every now and then. Such is the case with the “Ultimate Luxury Candle,” the most expensive candle in the world.

The Ultimate Luxury Candle by Luxury Soy Candles lives up to its name with both its fragrance, Champagne Noir Soy, and its embellishment—a Diamond Bow Necklace designed by Bucci Jewelry & Design. The necklace is adorned with 2.23 carats of G color, VS brilliant diamonds—thirty-eight in total—set in 14k white gold.

The candle is packaged in a black box with a white satin bow. It can be purchased exclusively at Welcome Home Candles for just under $5,000.