Harrods department store announced on Thursday it had joined with Swiss refiner Produits Artistiques Metaux Precieux to offer gold bars weighing 12.5kg.

Harrods, established in 1834, is the first London shop to offer gold in-store. The bars are being kept in a miniature vault on the lower ground floor.

The price of gold has soared in recent weeks as the dollar weakens, reaching another record high of US$1,063.60 an ounce (28.3g) on Thursday.

In his collection entitled Rough Diamond, designer Lee Broom transforms vintage furniture in its original condition into Design Art with light.

Club Chair (above) is a traditional Chesterfield that has been spectacularly transformed with fairground jewel light bulbs.

Luminaire Bergère (below) is a one-of-a-kind unfinished Parisian relic that displays the juxtaposition of old and new.

Many of the world’s regions have switched places in the UBS rankings as currencies fluctuated in the wake of the financial crisis.

UBS Bank used to rank London the most expensive city in the world - but it has now plummeted to the 22nd spot. All in just one year.

In the 2009 list, Oslo has been crowned the most expensive city in the world, followed by Zurich and Copenhagen.

For her latest ad campaign, Victoria Beckham has chosen the St Stephens Gardens in Westminister London for let models swing in unison on the doorstep of Central London Townhouses.

Shot in one take and co-directed by Mat Jerrett and Beckham herself, the short video is entitled Swings and also shows Victoria in a small cameo with her profile visible in the last few seconds wearing an elegant piece of her new collection.

Beckham’s Fall 2009 fabulous dress collection is stylish but timeless with classically-inspired pieces. It will be available at Bergdorf Goodman.

A gold-coated Cadbury’s Wispa chocolate bar could be the most expensive in the world - with a price tag of £961.48 ($1,630).

The special edition bar goes on sale as Cadbury relaunches the Wispa Gold after a massive Facebook campaign to bring it back.

The chocolate went back into production last month following a huge drive on the online networking site.

Jaguar has officially taken the wraps off the 2010 XJ in London that goes on sale in December 2009, with deliveries starting in early 2010.

The 2010 Jaguar XJ continues to build on the success of XK and XF. The new large sports sedan will be available in both standard and long wheelbase.

The long wheelbase model offers a more spacious environment for rear-seat passengers with an extra five inches of legroom.