It took 10 years for Japanese jeweler Mikimoto to find just the right pearls for this necklace. The 18-inch-long strand is composed of 27 perfectly matched, perfectly round White South Sea pearls (extremely rare AAA quality cultured pearls 15.06 x 17.24 mm in diameter) and bears a “heart-stopping” luster, Mikimoto says.

The South Sea White cultured pearl is distinguished from all other pearls by its magnificent, satiny luster. MIKIMOTO South Sea White cultured pearls have a subdued, opalescent appearance which changes slightly under different light conditions.

This spectacular piece is complemented by a gorgeous art deco oval clasp with 11.92 carats of diamonds. It’s on sale for $1 million and available for a limited time at MIKIMOTO New York.

The Saudi government is planning four new cities, in its bid to diversify the economy and increase employment opportunities, has encouraged growth in the non-oil industrial sector.

The mega project was revealed in 2005 by Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the king of Saudi Arabia. As designed, the cities will have a total of four times the geographic area of Hong Kong, three times the population of Dubai, and an economic output equal to Singapore’s.

The coastal King Abdullah Economy City (abbreviated as KAEC; pronounced CAKE – Arabic: مدينة الملك عبدالله اللإقتصادية‎) is designed to house two million in an area twice the size of Hong Kong.

Entirely funded by domestic and foreign private investors, this is the only one of the four planned cities that is currently under construction.
With a total development area of 173 km² (66.8 sq mi), the city is located along the coast of the Red Sea, around 100 km north of Jeddah, the commercial hub of the kingdom.

The city will be the largest transportation and logistics hub in the Middle East and will be approximately an hour away from the holy Islamic cities of Mecca and Medina by car and an hour away of the 12 Middle Eastern capital cities by plane.

The city will be divided into six main components: Industrial Zone, Sea Port, Residential Areas, Sea Resort, Educational Zone, and a Central Business District (Find out more details on Wikipedia).

The total cost of the city is $26.6 billion. The first stage of the city is planned to be completed in 2010, while the whole city is going to be fully completed by 2020.

The city will help diversify the oil-based economy of the kingdom by bringing direct foreign and domestic investments. Based on initial forecasts, the project and its several components will create up to 500,000 employment opportunities for the youthful population of the country, where 60% of the population is under 15. (Source CNN)

The Frozen Haute Chocolate at the Serendipity-3 restaurant in New York has taken the cake, according to Guinness World Records, as the most expensive dessert in the world.

One year ago, the dessert emporium teamed up with jeweler Euphoria New York to create the “Frrrr-ozen Haute Chocolate” a $25,000 chocolate sundae.

The dessert is made from a blend of 28 cocoas from all around the world and contains five grams of edible 23-karat gold. It is topped with whipped cream, more gold and a side of La Madeline au Truffle from Knipschildt Chocolatier, which sells for $2,600 a pound.

The whole mass is served in a goblet surrounded with a crown made, of course, of gold. And diamonds. If that is not enough, the spoon is gold, too.
It even comes with souvenirs, an 18K gold bracelet with a carat’s worth of diamonds that rests at the base of the goblet and a gold spoon set with white and chocolate-colored diamonds.

Joe Calderone, a spokesman for the restaurant, said the lead time for an order is two weeks. “Everything is created for the order,” he explained. “The truffle has to be flown in from France; we order the cocoas from around the world; we have the gold flown in from Switzerland, so it takes time to put it together.”

Sounds delicious ? And now the glamorous side of the story

A week after the announcement of its new record-holding dessert, the four-star restaurant Serendipity 3 shut its doors due to pest infestations (roaches, two types of flies, and mice).

Health inspectors also found standing water in the two-story restaurant’s basement. The landmark was closed after failing two health inspections in one month, according to a report from the Associated Pres.

A Japanese boy looks at a 10 cm (4 inch) model of Japan’s rocket-powered boy Astro Boy encrusted with diamonds, rubies and emeralds worth about 100 million yen ($828,720) displayed at a Tokyo department store April 7, 2003.

Artist Osamu Tezuka, considered the father of Japan’s animation or “manga” industry, created Astro Boy as a serialised comic strip in 1951 and set his character’s birthday far in the future-April 7, 2003.

Set in futuristic Metro City, “Astro Boy” tells the story of a young robot created by a scientist to replace the son he has lost. Unable to fulfill the grieving father’s expectations, the robot embarks on a journey before he returns to save the city and reconcile with the man who had rejected him.

Summit Entertainment plans to distribute Imagi Studios’ computer-animated feature “Astro Boy” worldwide in 2009.

Hong Kong real estate tycoon Joseph Lau is one of the lucky few who ordered a Dreamliner VVIP in 2007 for $153 Million USD.

He will have a 2400 square foot luxury cabin fully equipped with a loft, vaulted ceilings, video wall displays, modern appliances, and elegant furniture.

Its fully equipped with bars, kitchens, dining rooms, and beds for a comfortable night of sleep.