A 300-bottle collection of Chateau Lafite Rothschild has sold for almost $540,000 in Hong Kong, setting a world record price for a single wine lot auctioned this year.

The collection spanning 1981 to 2005 was knocked down for HK$4.2 million ($539,250) at Christie’s two-day Autumn wine sale.

The record price, below a HK$4.5 million pre-sale estimate, was “the highest value lot achieved at any wine auction worldwide this year,” Christie’s said.

Among the hundreds of lots on offer at Christie’s September wine auction in Hong Kong, there’s one in particular that will appeal to more than just wine lovers.

The winning bid for Lot No. 519 will receive a lunch date with Scarlett Johansson and six bottles of 100-year-old Moët et Chandon champagne packed in a special Louis Vuitton leather chest.

The lot is estimated to be worth 380,000 to 500,000 Hong Kong dollars (US$48,700 to $64,100). The proceeds of the sale will go to the Nature Conservancy in China.

A handbag that once belonged to former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher was sold for £25,000 at auction at Christie’s in London Monday.

Thatcher frequently used the black Asprey bag on important occasions, such as summits with then US president Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev during her 1979-1990 premiership.

The former leader dubbed the “Iron Lady” donated the bag to her Conservative Party’s ex-lawmaker and author Jeffrey Archer for a charity auction.

Premium hotel group JW Marriott is to team up with a host of top-end brands to boost its services for luxury-loving guests, it has announced.

The new partnerships with nutrition, culinary, art, culture, accessories and wellness brands were designed to deliver a deeper luxury guest experience said JW Marriott.

Among the names will be leading auction house Christie’s, which is to provide “What Not to Miss Guides” at some of the hotels, as well as curating new exhibitions inside properties, beginning with an exclusive preview of unseen photos of the Beatles at the London Grosvenor House hotel on June 10.

A dazzling pearl and diamond tiara once owned by a celebrated member of Britain’s de Rothschild empire on Wednesday sold at a London auction for £1,161,250.

The bejewelled item belonged to Hannah de Rothschild, whom was at one time the richest woman in Britain and whom went on to marry dashing aristocrat and future prime minister the Earl of Rosebery.

Three pieces of jewellery owned by the countess of Rosebery were sold at Wednesday’s “Important Jewel Sale” at Christie’s auction house.

A series of auctions of high-end goods from fine wine to Imperial Chinese ceramics goes into full swing this weekend in Hong Kong, as the city challenges the dominance of New York and London.

The multi-million-dollar auctions are looking to cash in on the vast wealth of China’s growing number of millionaires keen to show off their newly-made cash.

Christie’s six-day Spring sale kicks off Friday with more than 2,700 lots, including a rare Patek Philippe watch and several pieces of contemporary art, that the house expects to rake in about HK$2.4 billion ($308 million).