Rolex, according to BusinessWeek, is one of the world’s 100 most valuable brands. The Swiss company’s timepieces are almost synonymous with wealth and status, but Rolex is curiously absent from the list of the world’s top ten most expensive watches. That’s why we’ve decided to let you know about the most expensive Rolex watches in the world.

The most expensive Rolex ever sold at auction was a “Paul Newman” Rolex Oyster Cosmograph “Daytona” sold at a Sotheby’s event in June, 2003. This prototype wristwatch, featuring a red dial and black sub-dials, was produced in 1979. It sold for £210,000—around US $350,000.

Rumors persist regarding a Rolex sold at Selfridges in London for a fantastic price of £8 million—over US $15 million—but they seem to be rumors only.

How much would you pay for a tablespoon of dirt? Before you answer, you might want to ask about the quality of the dirt, what nutrients a hungry plant might extract from it. Those, as the world’s most expensive dirt will attest, are the wrong questions to ask. No, you need to know where it’s been.

Sold in a coin-shaped, commemorative format, the eminently salable sod comes from the now defunct Yankee Stadium. Originally purchased from Beam Clay, provider of turf for “The House that Ruth Built” since 1952, the exceptional bit of New York Yankees memorabilia was used in the very last game played there on September 21st, 2008—when the Yankees beat the Baltimore Orioles 7-3.

The dirt was then pressed into coins under the watchful eyes of Steiner Sports Marketing authenticators and can be purchased in framed sets like the pictured “Yankee Stadium Final Season Game Used Photomint” sold by Highland Mint for $89.95.

By contrast, Beam Clay sells unused dirt by the ton for $75.

If anyone ever offered you “ABC” gum in elementary school, then you’ve probably had the distinctly repulsive experience of holding a sopping wet piece of Already Been Chewed bubble gum. Would you believe that the world’s most expensive bubble gum is exactly that?

The expensive chewing gum was part of a minor eBay trend in 2004 wherein sellers would claim that their offering had been chewed by none other than bubble gum pop star Britney Spears. As can be expecting, most listings would include a photo and a story of how the seller came to possess so prestigious an item as a gob of discarded chewing gum. Typically, the gum sold for between $50 and $100.

One seller’s offering, however, managed to reach a final price of $14,000. He didn’t likely get to keep the money for the most expensive chewing gum in the world, however—he drove the price up by bidding himself.

Starting in 2011, J. R. R. Tolkien fans across the globe will be able to see two of the world’s most expensive Tolkien books in person. GTC AG, a Swiss company, has recently acquired both books and is planning an exhibition that will bring them to the general public.

In early December, GTC AG acquired a signed copy of “The Hobbit” from Peter Harrington’s for over $78,000. Little more than two weeks later, they announced the acquisition of an even more expensive set of books—a signed first edition set of the Lord of the Rings trilogy dedicated, in Elvish no less, to Elaine Griffith, “The Queen of the Hobbits.” Griffith, a student of Tolkien’s, earned that title by convincing him to seek publication for The Hobbit.

Also acquired in that auction was a lot of Pauline Baynes’ original art. Baynes was Tolkien’s favorite illustrator and passed away last August at the age of 85.

GTC Roadshow’s 2011 exhibition, thought to be the largest collection of Tolkien material ever assembled, will coincide with the release of the upcoming live action film. The Hobbit, directed by Guillermo Del Toro (Hellboy, Pan’s Labyrinth) and produced by Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson, is scheduled for a December 2011 release.

1959 No. 1 Barbie
The first Barbie dolls were introduced by Mattel, Inc. in 1959. Produced in Japan, their clothing was hand-stitched by home workers. Creator Ruth Handler based them on a German doll called Bild Lilli, which was itself based on a comic strip character. Since then, of course, the Barbie doll has become a [...]

Cigar tobacco is grown in many places throughout the Americas and Caribbean, but certain cigars manufactured in Cuba are widely considered the best cigars in the world. Sometimes, a cigar is just a cigar. As expensive cigars are symbols of wealth and success, the world’s most expensive cigars may hold far more value than their [...]

Originally released in 1952 as a collection of body parts and accessories that could be attached to a real potato (or many other fruits and vegetables), Mr. Potato Head has become one of the most widely recognized toy brands in the US. It was more than ten years before a plastic potato body was added [...]

Watch collecting may be one of the most expensive hobbies in the world, but it’s also one of the most rewarding. Many antique timepieces are a testament to the brilliance of early and modern innovators.
Vacherin Constantin’s Tour de l’Ile – $1.5 million
Swiss watchmaker Vacheron Constantin marked its 250th anniversary in 2005 with the world’s most [...]

Have you ever heard of The Quarrymen? No? Well, it may shock you to find out that that a vanity record pressed by this group is worth something like £100,000 ($200,000 USD). Even more surprising, the world’s most expensive record is a single—a cover of Buddy Holly’s “That’ll Be the Day.”

If you’re wondering how [...]

Talal Khouri, a Dubai-based stockbroker, made history recently when he became the owner of the world’s most expensive license plate. He won the expensive license plate after placing the winning bid during an auction to benefit individuals with special needs. Oddly, the expensive license plate displayed the number five. You would think the most expensive [...]

Audi’s Auto Union Type C pedal car just took a back seat as Hot Wheels unveiled the world’s most expensive toy car. What makes this car more expensive than any other toy car? Well, it could be all the diamonds.
To commemorate their 40th anniversary, as well as their 4 billionth car, Hot Wheels commissioned jeweler [...]

You probably know that the advent of the web has caused a steady decline in newspaper circulation. Eventually, printed broadsheets may become a thing of the past entirely, relegated to museums and rare book libraries. In that case, certain newspaper copies may command exceedingly high prices for their historical value.
For now, though, it’s the stamps [...]

How would you like to gain a piece of television and fashion history while helping out children with learning difficulties? Bid on one of the most expensive sweaters and you may be able to do just that.
Erinn Cosby, one of Bill Cosby’s four daughters, is auctioning off three of her famous father’s notorious sweaters “just [...]

In 1981, select English consumers were introduced to Cadbury’s Wispa bar. In 1983, it was released nationally in the UK. Twelve years later, Cadbury launched the caramel-filled Wispa Gold. In 2003, the Wispa brand was discontinued due to declining sales.
In 2009, a special edition of Wispa Gold—covered in actual gold—is being sold for £961.48 (US [...]

If you’re looking for a guitar pick, there’s no shortage of different shapes, styles and materials available for you to choose from. Customized picks have been prevalent since the days when Rick Nielsen of Cheap Trick would throw hundreds of them out into the audience. In fact, most famous guitarists have their own custom guitar [...]

Getting the autograph of your favorite celebrity can be a thrilling experience for most. For serious philographers—autograph collectors—living celebrities’ John Hancocks are just the tip of the iceberg. For these collectors, the most valuable autographs are those of deceased historical figures. Still more valuable are those same signatures decorating handwritten documents and, especially, personal letters. [...]

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 [...]

Ever wonder what someone does with a mathematics degree other than teaching math? Richard Garfield, while studying combinatorial mathematics at the University of Pennsylvania, decided to apply his arithmetic skills to game design. He earned his PhD in 1993, the same year role-playing game publisher Wizards of the Coast first published a card game of [...]

Parker Brothers’ famous game of economics, Monopoly, has been called “the most played board game in the world.” It’s certainly a believable title when you consider that, according to Hasbro, the game has been played by over 750 million people since Parker Brothers originally published it in 1935.
Monopoly is actually based on a game patented [...]

If you balk at dropping $40 on a Transformers toy for your kid this Christmas, then you’ll be happy to know that the world’s most expensive toy robot wasn’t made for retail. In order to bring more exposure to one of their flagship toy lines, Japanese toymakers Bandai teamed up with well-known jewelers Ginza Tanaka. [...]

The Luger, more correctly known as the Parabellum-Pistole, is a semi-automatic pistol design patented by Georg Luger in 1898 and manufactured by DWM (Deutsche Waffen- und Munitionsfabriken Aktien-Gesellschaft) in 1900. Originally designed for 7.65×22mm Parabellum cartridges, US Army trials in 1906 demanded a semi-automatic pistol with a larger caliber. DWM’s submission, a Luger adapted to [...]

Beanie Babies may have dropped out of the spotlight since their heyday in the late 90s, but that doesn’t mean they’ve disappeared entirely. While he nearly discontinued the line in 1999, Ty Warner was persuaded by popular demand to continue producing Beanie Babies. The formula that made Beanie Babies so popular was that each doll [...]

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 [...]

Dice have come in many different shapes and sizes over the year, particularly those used in war games and the role-playing games that followed them. From the gold-plated six-sided die to the colossal and somewhat awkward 100-sided die, there have always been special dice for gaming enthusiasts to drool over.

The smallest and most expensive [...]

PEZ may be one of the most iconic candies of the modern era. Invented in 1927 by Viennese confectioner Eduard Hass III, the first PEZ flavor was peppermint. In fact, the name PEZ is derived from the German word Pfefferminze, meaning “peppermint.” The most remarkable aspect of PEZ candy, though, is the PEZ dispenser. These [...]