Boucheron khai trương một gian hàng ở Thượng Hải, họ mời 30 người giàu nhất thành phố đến dự một bữa ăn kiểu Pháp với 10 lượt phục vụ và kéo dài bốn tiếng đồng hồ. Thương hiệu này vẫn chưa có kế hoạch mở rộng thị trường tới Việt Nam, tuy nhiên giới nhà giàu vẫn có cơ hội sở hữu chúng khi có dịp đi ra nước ngoài.

Ra đời trong thời cực thịnh của Đệ nhị đế chế (1852-1870), Boucheron ngay từ đầu đã chọn cho mình một vị trí đắc địa trên quảng trường Vendôme xa xỉ. Sự khôn ngoan này đem đến cho Boucheron những cơ hội vàng để tiếp cận giới hàng gia. Nhưng nó cũng đòi hỏi thương hiệu deluxe này những nỗ lực không ngừng để có thể giữ chân khách hàng thời thượng và duy trì danh tiếng lẫy lừng của những kiệt tác trang sức thuộc hàng thế-giới-chỉ-có-một của mình.

Boucheron, ở số 26 Vendôme, để chứng kiến những giai thoại đẹp tựa truyện cổ tích, được viết lên cho chính mình. Giai thoại kể rằng năm 1928, hoàng tử Ấn Độ Bhupinder Sighm vì say mê kỹ nghệ chế tác và sự táo bạo khác người của nhà Boucheron, đã vượt biển mang theo kho báu quý hiếm của mình. Trong sau chiếc rương sắt cũ kĩ mà vị hoàng thân này lặn lội mang tới nhà Boucheron là 7571 viên kim cương với tổng trọng lượng 566.61 carat, 1432 viên lục bảo ngọc hiếm bậc nhất thiên hạ, trọng lượng 7800 carat. Tất nhiên ngoài ra còn có vô vàn những viên đá quý và sapphire khác. Boucheron đã không phụ lòng vị hoàng tử đáng kính. 149 mẫu kim hoàn độc bản đã ra đời để được lưu truyền như những bảo vật tượng trưng cho quyền lực, tước bậc, sự tinh xảo.

Khó ai có thể kìm lòng trước những thiết kế hoa mỹ này

Năm 1930, một lần nữa huyền thoại lại được gõ cửa bởi một huyền thoại. Lần này người mà Boucheron đón tiếp là ông hoàng giàu sụ vùng Trung Đông, Riza Shah Pahlavi, còn nhiệm vụ được giao là kiểm định kho báu lớn bậc nhất thế giới của người đàn ông quyền lực này. Những thứ mà Louis Boucheron đã kiểm định tới giờ vẫn là một bí mật. Nhưng người ta đồn đại rằng, đằng sau cánh cửa già nua và nặng nề của kho báu là hàng chục rương hòm đựng báu vật, hàng trăm viên lục bảo ngọc, không dưới 50.000 viên đá quý và hai viên kim cương hồng lớn nhất thế giới.

Đồn đại đúng hay không vẫn chỉ là đồn đại. Điều duy nhất giới kim hoàn có thể khẳng định chắc chắn đó là Boucheron mới đủ tín nhiệm để giới hoàng thân quốc thích gửi gắm việc thẩm định giá trị của những bảo vật của họ.

Boucheron luôn hãnh diện với những món trang sức chẳng giống ai

Diễn viên Kristin Davis của Sex in the city rất ưa chuộng dòng trang sức xa xỉ này

Trang sức Boucheron với những kiểu dáng và chất liệu xa xỉ

Ai đã tìm đến Boucheron một lần, ắt sẽ phải quay lại số 26 Vendome lần hai, lần ba. Lý do duy nhất là vì Boucheron quá quyến rũ. Và bởi sự quyến rũ ấy mà thương hiệu này có thừa những vị khách quý tộc trung thành và hào phóng. Một trong những cái tên đó là quý bà đến từ tân lục địa Walter Burns. Trong vòng 19 năm, từ 1982 đến 1911, quý bà xa hoa này đã đặt cả thảy 34 món đồ nữ trang đỉnh cao ở Boucheron, trong số này có chiếc mũ miện đính hoàn toàn bằng kim cương và đá lục bảo ngọc quý hiếm được đặt hàng năm 1904.

Mỗi lần trang sức Boucheron xuất hiện trên sàn đấu giá là một lần người ta phải kinh ngạc, bởi độ tinh xảo trong kĩ nghệ chế tác, độ quý hiếm vào bậc nhất của những viên đá, những tên tuổi đã từng sở hữu nó và bởi cái giá cao ngất ngưởng dành cho nó. Những ví dụ minh chứng cho điều này có món đồ hồi môn của quý bà Mary Ethel và ghim cài áo của nữ bá tước Paiva. Món đồ hồi môn nọ đã được bán đấu giá ở mức $1,5 triệu vào năm 2005 tại nhà đấu giá Christies. Hai năm sau, tại nhà Sotheby’s, chiếc ghim cài áo đã đạt kỷ lục mới. Với tâm điểm là viên kim cương vàng nặng đến 100 carat, nó được trả giá gần 2,4 triệu euro.

Một số các sản phẩm khác của Boucheron. Ở Việt Nam, Boucheron được biết đến nhiều hơn qua các sản phẩm nước hoa mang hương thơm đặc biệt

Nhân tố đưa Boucheron lên đỉnh cao danh vọng không chỉ là những khách hàng giàu có và đầy quyền lực đó. Thứ khẳng định đẳng cấp cho Boucheron chính là những sản phẩm không thể tinh xảo và hoàn mỹ hơn. Hơn 150 năm về trước, Boucheron đã được ông tổ Frédric Boucheron kiến tạo con đường đi riêng biệt: lấy niềm đam mê thiên nhiên và vẻ đẹp huyền bí phương Đông làm cảm hứng để cho ra đời những trang sức xa hoa nhất.

Tại Boucheron luôn có một đội quân chuyên săn tìm và tuyển lọc những viên đá quý hiếm và đắt đỏ bậc nhất thế giới. Cũng ở chốn này, mọi bí quyết được gọt giũa và đưa nó thăng hoa với các ý tưởng táo bạo khác người. Thế nên, Boucheron luôn hãnh diện với những món trang sức chẳng giống ai: một con ếch, chiếc nhẫn hình con rắn, bông tai giọt nước, hoặc ve cài áo với những bông hoa muôn sắc.

Vào năm ngoái, Vertu Boucheron 150 làm hoàn toàn bằng vàng được Boucheron cho ra đời nhân dịp kỷ niệm sinh nhật lần thứ 150. Theo Boucheron, họ đã phải mất 1.000 giờ để tạo hình, 700 giờ đánh bóng và hơn 500 giờ để hoàn thiện chú dế đặc biệt này. Những chú dế Vertu có giá từ 2.600 bảng cho tới 1 triệu bảng.

Cách đây một năm, tại lễ mừng sinh nhật Boucheron tròn 150 tuổi, bộ sưu tập Enchanteur gồm bảy món đồ trang sức tương ứng với bảy chủ đề gắn bó bấy lâu nay với Boucheron: Diệu kỳ, Khoái lạc, Tò mò, Huyền bí, Tham lam, Hiểm nguy, Táo bạo đã khiến cả thế giới kim hoàn phải ngưỡng mộ. Để có bộ sưu tập huyền thoại này, ngoài công nghệ săn tìm những viên đá quý trên thế giới, những nghệ sĩ kim hoàn đích thực của Boucheron đã phải bỏ ra hơn 12.000 giờ sáng tạo để truyền cái hồn và sự quyến rũ vào đó. Cái giá cho một trong bảy món đồ nữ trang thời thượng này vì thế cũng không hề rẻ: từ 1-3 triệu Euro.

Thế nhưng chưa kịp đi một vòng các vùng đất giàu có Moscow, Tokyo, London, Hongkong, Dubai, Côte d’Azur như dự định thì ba trong số bảy món nữ trang này đã được đặt mua. Với mỗi món đồ thượng hạng Boucheron đưa ra, nếu không đặt mua ngay, bạn sẽ chẳng có cơ hội được chiêm ngưỡng nó trong đời, dù bạn có là tỷ phú hay ông hoàng.

Một số sản phẩm khác:

Dây đeo cổ đặc biệt xa xỉ

Các sản phẩm nhẫn

London auctioneer Sotheby’s has announced a mid-June Indian art auction, which will bring to the market an assortment of works by leading Modern and Contemporary Indian artists as well as rare Indian Miniatures. The 86 pieces are expected to bring in the region of £1.2 million.

One of the more high profile items on sale would be Day Dreaming, by Jogen Chowdhury. Dating from 1979, Day Dreaming is a continuation of a series of works that Chowdhury produced between 1968 and 1976, entitled Reminiscences of a Dream, and was created using a mix of ink and pastels.

Another highlight is an untitled painting by Manjit Bawa, and is expected to fetch £70,000-100,000. Bawa’s work questions the dynamics of the relationship between humans and the animal world and the icons and myths of both.

The sale will also offer a selection of works by Contemporary Indian artists such as Rashid Rana and Abir Karmakar.

May 19, 2009
2 Disputed Indian Wampum Belts Pulled From Auction

By JAMES BARRON
Sotheby’s has removed two ceremonial Indian wampum belts from an auction scheduled for Wednesday following complaints by the Onondaga nation that the belts were part of their cultural heritage and should be returned.

Sotheby’s issued a statement on Monday saying that the estate of a collector that had consigned the belts had decided to withdraw them “in order to review the information presented” by the Onondaga.

The statement also said the decision to take the belts out of the Wednesday sale had been made “pending further discussion with the Haudenosaunee Standing Committee.” The Haudenosaunee is a confederacy that includes the Onondaga and five other nations.

Sotheby’s had estimated that one of the belts would sell for $15,000 to $20,000 and the other would go for $20,000 to $30,000.

Onondaga leaders had threatened to attend the auction and stand silently in protest as the bidding progressed.

They had sent Sotheby’s a package of letters from Indian leaders and scholars last week describing the two items and outlining their objections to the sale. One expert said the two belts were probably made between 1760 and 1820.

Wampum belts “represent our sacred history, the founding principles of our laws and life-ways and the importance of agreements that we have made between nations,” Christine G. Abrams, a member of the Haudenosaunee Standing Committee, said in a letter to Sotheby’s. “Wampum belts are our legal documents and records, which also combine sacred knowledge, forming the basis of our identity today.”

Shannon Keller O’Loughlin, a lawyer for the Onondaga nation, said the Onondaga considered the belts community property that were never owned by any one person, and that no Onondaga had ever had the authority to sell or transfer them. “Therefore,” she wrote in a letter to Sotheby’s last week, “these belts were originally taken out of these communities without proper ‘title.’ ”

How that happened remains a mystery, according to the letters the Haudenosaunee sent Sotheby’s.

“It is not clear how or why these two wampum belts were removed from native ownership,” wrote Margaret M. Bruchac, the coordinator of Native American studies at the University of Connecticut’s Avery Point campus in Groton.

Both belts were once in the collection of the Museum of the American Indian, a forerunner of the National Museum of the American Indian in Lower Manhattan, and Ms. O’Loughlin said the Museum of the American Indian had “deaccessioned” them. Deaccession is a term used by museums to describe the process of taking items out of their collections and make them available for sale or exchange.

Sotheby’s said the belts had come from a collection belonging to Herbert G. Wellington Jr., the chairman of an old-line stock brokerage firm before his death in 2005.

Mr. Wellington’s collection included objects from a number of North American tribes and was exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1983.

Sotheby’s said the representatives of the estate declined to talk about the dispute.

Ms. O’Loughlin also questioned whether the deaccessioning had been done properly. That issue was investigated in the 1970s by the state attorney general at the time, Louis J. Lefkowitz.

A trustee of the Museum of the American Indian, the anthropologist Edmund Carpenter, had complained that art dealers were permitted to “go shopping” for American Indian rarities at a museum warehouse in the Bronx.

Copyright 2009 The New York Times Company

By George Soros
Published by Financial Times

In the past, whenever the financial system came close to a breakdown, the authorities rode to the rescue and prevented it from going over the brink. That is what I expected in 2008 but that is not what happened. On Monday September 15, Lehman Brothers, the US investment bank, was allowed to go into bankruptcy without proper preparation. It was a game-changing event with catastrophic consequences.

For a start, the price of credit default swaps, a form of insurance against companies defaulting on debt, went through the roof as investors took cover. AIG, the insurance giant, was carrying a large short position in CDS and faced imminent default. By the next day Hank Paulson, then US Treasury secretary, had to reverse himself and come to the rescue of AIG.

But worse was to come. Lehman was one of the main market-makers in commercial paper and a large issuer of these short-term obligations to boot. Reserve Primary, an independent money market fund, held Lehman paper and, since it had no deep pocket to turn to, it had to “break the buck” – stop redeeming its shares at par. That caused panic among depositors: by Thursday a run on money market funds was in full swing.

The panic then spread to the stock market. The financial system suffered cardiac arrest and had to be put on artificial life support.

How could Lehman have been left to go under? The responsibility lies squarely with the financial authorities, notably the Treasury and the Federal Reserve. The claim that they lacked the necessary legal powers is a lame excuse. In an emergency they could and should have done whatever was necessary to prevent the system from collapsing. That is what they have done on other occasions. The fact is, they allowed it to happen.

On a deeper level, too, credit default swaps played a critical role in Lehman’s demise. My explanation is controversial and all three steps of my argument will take the reader to unfamiliar ground.

First, there is an asymmetry in the risk/reward ratio between being long or short in the stock market. (Being long means owning a stock, being short means selling a stock one does not own.) Being long has unlimited potential on the upside but limited exposure on the downside. Being short is the reverse. The asymmetry manifests itself in the following way: losing on a long position reduces one’s risk exposure while losing on a short position increases it. As a result, one can be more patient being long and wrong than being short and wrong. The asymmetry serves to discourage the short-selling of stocks.

The second step is to understand credit default swaps and to recognise that the CDS market offers a convenient way of shorting bonds. In that market the asymmetry in risk/reward works in the opposite way to stocks. Going short on bonds by buying a CDS contract carries limited risk but unlimited profit potential; by contrast, selling credit default swaps offers limited profits but practically unlimited risks.

The asymmetry encourages speculating on the short side, which in turn exerts a downward pressure on the underlying bonds. When an adverse development is expected, the negative effect can become overwhelming because CDS tend to be priced as warrants, not as options: people buy them not because they expect an eventual default but because they expect the CDS to appreciate during the lifetime of the contract.

No arbitrage can correct the mispricing. That can be clearly seen in US and UK government bonds, whose actual price is much higher than that implied by CDS. These asymmetries are difficult to reconcile with the efficient market hypothesis, the notion that securities prices accurately reflect all known information.

The third step is to recognise reflexivity – that is to say, the mispricing of financial instruments can affect the fundamentals that market prices are supposed to reflect. Nowhere is this phenomenon more pronounced than in the case of financial institutions, whose ability to do business is dependent on confidence and trust. That means that “bear raids” to drive down the share prices of these institutions can be self-validating. That is in direct contradiction to the efficient market hypothesis.

Putting these three considerations together leads to the conclusion that Lehman, AIG and other financial institutions were destroyed by bear raids in which the shorting of stocks and buying of CDS amplified and reinforced each other. Unlimited shorting was made possible by the 2007 abolition of the uptick rule (which hindered bear raids by allowing short-selling only when prices were rising). The unlimited selling of bonds was facilitated by the CDS market. Together, the two made a lethal combination.

That is what AIG, one of the most successful insurance companies in the world, failed to understand. Its business was selling insurance and, when it saw a seriously mispriced risk, it went to town insuring it, in the belief that diversifying risk reduces it. It expected to make a fortune in the long run but it was destroyed in short order.

My argument raises some interesting questions. What would have happened if the uptick rule on shorting shares had been kept, in effect, but “naked” short-selling (where the vendor has not borrowed the stock in advance) and speculating in CDS had both been outlawed? The bankruptcy of Lehman might have been avoided but what would have happened to the asset super-bubble? One can only conjecture. My guess is that the bubble would have been deflated more slowly, with less catastrophic results, but that the after-effects would have lingered longer. It would have resembled more the Japanese experience than what is happening now.

What is the proper role of shortselling? Undoubtedly it gives markets greater depth and continuity, making them more resilient, but it is not without dangers. As bear raids can be self-validating, they ought to be kept under control. If the efficient market hypothesis were valid, there would be an a priori reason for imposing no constraints. As it is, both the uptick rule and allowing short-selling only when it is covered by borrowed stock are useful pragmatic measures that seem to work well without any clear-cut theoretical justification.

What about credit default swaps? Here I take a more radical view than most people. The prevailing view is that they ought to be traded on regulated exchanges. I believe they are toxic and should be used only by prescription. They could be used to insure actual bonds but – in light of their asymmetric character – not to speculate against countries or companies.

CDS are not, however, the only synthetic financial instruments that have proved toxic. The same applies to the slicing and dicing of collateralised debt obligations and to the portfolio insurance contracts that caused the stock market crash of 1987, to mention only two that have done a lot of damage. The issuance of stock is closely regulated by authorities such as the Securities and Exchange Commission; why not the issuance of derivatives and other synthetic instruments? The role of reflexivity and the asymmetries identified earlier ought to prompt a rejection of the efficient market hypothesis and a thorough reconsideration of the regulatory regime.

Now that the bankruptcy of Lehman has had the same shock effect on the behaviour of consumers and businesses as the bank failures of the 1930s, the problems facing the administration of President Barack Obama are even greater than those that confronted Franklin D. Roosevelt. Total credit outstanding was 160 per cent of gross domestic product in 1929 and rose to 260 per cent in 1932; we entered the crash of 2008 at 365 per cent and the ratio is bound to rise to 500 per cent. This is without taking into account the pervasive use of derivatives, which was absent in the 1930s but immensely complicates the current situation. On the positive side, we have the experience of the 1930s and the prescriptions of John Maynard Keynes to draw on.

The bursting of bubbles causes credit contraction, the forced liquidation of assets, deflation and wealth destruction that may reach catastrophic proportions. In a deflationary environment, the weight of accumulated debt can sink the banking system and push the economy into depression. That is what needs to be prevented at all costs.

It can be done – by creating money to offset the contraction of credit, recapitalising the banking system and writing off or down the accumulated debt in an orderly manner. They require radical and unorthodox policy measures. For best results, the three processes should be combined.

If these measures were successful and credit started to expand, deflationary pressures would be replaced by the spectre of inflation and the authorities would have to drain the excess money supply from the economy almost as fast as they had pumped it in. There is no way to escape from a far-fromequilibrium situation – global deflation and depression – except by first inducing its opposite and then reducing it.

To prevent the US economy from sliding into a depression, Mr Obama must implement a radical and comprehensive set of policies. Alongside the welladvanced fiscal stimulus package, these should include a system-wide and compulsory recapitalisation of the banking system and a thorough overhaul of the mortgage system – reducing the cost of mortgages and foreclosures.

Energy policy could also play an important role in counteracting both depression and deflation. The American consumer can no longer act as the motor of the global economy. Alternative energy and developments that produce energy savings could serve as a new motor, but only if the price of conventional fuels is kept high enough to justify investing in those activities. That would involve putting a floor under the price of fossil fuels by imposing a price on carbon emissions and import duties on oil to keep the domestic price above, say, $70 per barrel.

Finally, the international financial system must be reformed. Far from providing a level playing field, the current system favours the countries in control of the international financial institutions, notably the US, to the detriment of nations at the periphery. The periphery countries have been subject to the market discipline dictated by the Washington consensus but the US was exempt from it.

How unfair the system is has been revealed by a crisis that originated in the US yet is doing more damage to the periphery. Assistance is needed to protect the financial systems of periphery countries, including trade finance, something that will require large contingency funds available at little notice for brief periods of time. Periphery governments will also need long-term financing to enable them to engage in counter-cyclical fiscal policies.

In addition, banking regulations need to be internationally co-ordinated. Market regulations should be global as well. National governments also need to co-ordinate their macroeconomic policies in order to avoid wide currency swings and other disruption.

This is a condensed, almost shorthand account of what needs to be done to turn the global economy around. It should give a sense of how difficult a task it is.

“A Colossal Failure Of Common Sense – The Inside Story Of The Collapse Of Lehman Brothers.” Published July 2009.

By Lindsay Pollock and Philip Boroff

May 6 (Bloomberg) — The art market flunked a stress test last night as Sotheby’s posted its lowest total for a New York Impressionist and modern art auction since November 2001. The top two lots, by Picasso and Alberto Giacometti, failed to sell.

The $61.4 million total was about a quarter of the tally of a year ago and well below the auction house’s low estimate of $81.5 million. Picasso’s robin-egg blue portrait of the artist’s daughter and a bronze cat by Swiss sculptor Giacometti had each been estimated to fetch up to $24 million.

“They took a big hit in terms of credibility by not selling those two pieces,” said Andrea Crane of Gagosian Gallery. “Those estimates were way too aggressive.”

A packed crowd couldn’t mask the mood. Yawns and raised eyebrows littered the suited and Louboutin-shod spectators, as Sotheby’s had its smallest tally for the category since the $33.1 million two months after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

“It wasn’t a good thing for the auction houses,” said Paul Gray of Chicago’s Richard Gray Gallery. “It will make it more difficult to attract high-end pictures.”

The Picasso was offered by William Achenbaum, a New York real-estate developer and chairman of Gansevoort Hotel Group, according to a dealer with knowledge of the collector’s holdings, who declined to be named. Achenbaum was an investor with Bernard Madoff’s $65 billion Ponzi scheme, according to a filing in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court. A call to Achenbaum’s office last week for comment on the Picasso was not returned.

‘Moving Target’

Simon Shaw, Sotheby’s head of Impressionist and modern art, said prices are “a moving target” for modern artworks. Last night’s sale total was about half the high estimate of $118.8 million.

Hours before the sale, Sotheby’s corporate credit rating was downgraded to BB-, or non-investment grade, by Standard & Poor’s Rating Services. Sotheby’s business will remain depressed for the next 12 months, Standard & Poor’s said.

Still, the auction had its highlights. Almost 81 percent of the lots found buyers, most for art priced less than $4 million. Impressionist art with lower estimates outperformed pricier modern works.

“We re-priced our classic Impressionist work and the market responded,” said Shaw.

Three Impressionist works once owned by collectors Henry and Louisine Havemeyer and lent to New York’s Metropolitan Museum drew multiple bids. Dealer David Nahmad bought Claude Monet’s 1872 French landscape with a sailboat on the Seine river for $3.5 million.

‘Back to Reality’

“Now we go back to reality,” Nahmad said. “No more speculation.”

Nahmad was the under-bidder on a black-and-white painting by the geometry-obsessed Dutch painter Piet Mondrian. The spare, 1934 “Composition in Black and White, with Double Lines,” fetched $9.3 million, cruising past a $5 million high estimate.

(Estimates do not include buyer’s premium, which is 25 percent on the first $50,000, 20 percent up to $1 million and 12 percent above $1 million.)

Tamara de Lempicka, a painter some dealers scoff at as decorative and not historically important, was another strong performer. Four de Lempicka paintings from the collection of German fashion designer Wolfgang Joop sold for a total of $13.8 million, with three ranking in the top 10 prices for the evening.

Lempicka’s portraits, dating from the 1920s and 1930s Art Deco era, are stylized images of red-lipped divas. Lempicka collectors have included performers Barbra Streisand and Madonna.

Cabaret Singer

A sultry portrait of English cabaret singer Marjorie Ferry wrapped in white toga-like drape fetched $4.9 million, an auction record for the artist.

Last year, Sotheby’s and Christie’s International announced they were phasing out the practice of guaranteeing a seller a minimum price regardless of a sale’s outcome, to improve profitability.

Sotheby’s Chief Executive Officer William Ruprecht said at the auction it was the company’s most profitable Impressionist sale in 12 months.

“There’s a lot more coming in than going out,” he said. He declined to comment about the credit downgrade.

“I think the market is very strong for a recession,” said John Bloomberg, a Park City, Utah-based skier and former hedge fund manager, who bid unsuccessfully for several Impressionist pieces. Bloomberg is no relation to Michael Bloomberg, the majority owner of Bloomberg LP.

Contemporary Test

Christie’s offers about 50 lots tonight, estimated to fetch between $94.9 million and $134.6 million. Both auction houses face a bigger test next week when they sell contemporary and postwar art, the category that underpinned the boom of the last five years.

The slumping market and absence of guarantees meant owners were less willing to part with top-notch goods.

The unsold Picasso last night was a squat 1938 portrait of the artist’s two-year-old blond daughter, Maya, the offspring of a liaison with his mistress Marie-Therese Walter. A clue to the failure: Sotheby’s condition report revealed the canvas had a patched hole. Also, the painting has awkward proportions, paring a child’s body and an adult’s face.

This is a story about wishful thinking, and people who have more money than sense – it’s the story of how people who wanted bragging rights for having the “most special” bottle of wine were conned by the Bernie Madoff of wine purveyors, a German by the name of Hardy Rodenstock.

Hardy fooled almost everyone, because those who could afford to spend $150,000 and up on a single bottle of wine wanted to believe that 200 years after the fact, he’d discovered a “secret stash” of perfectly kept wines that had been in Thomas Jefferson’s Paris collection. And like most con artists, Hardy wasn’t satisfied with the first big fraud. He kept “finding” things, and selling them to eager collectors who would then take their over-priced treasures to wine tastings where the point wasn’t so much to find good wines as to show off.

I know something about wine. I’ve had a few well-aged Ports and Sauternes. And it’s a pleasure. But these people turned it into a competition. Not that I’m criticizing, but it became clear from Wallace’s well-crafted story that, for most of these wine buyers, the price tags on the bottles mattered as much as the taste of the contents. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

The Billionaire’s Vinegar doesn’t so much chase down Hardy Rodenstock as it explores the world of obsessed wine collectors. A bottle of 1787 Chateau Lafite Bordeau sets the story in motion, and gives Wallace an opportunity to discern the why and how of the rare-wine collecting subculture. The fact that Hardy Rodenstock was elusive and hard to pin down in his fraudulent activities just adds more depth to the story. This was a riveting story, and I highly recommend the book.

As for animal lovers, there’s nothing to worry about here. I do not recall a single animal making an appearance in this book, which means it is 100% SAFE for animal lovers. Enjoy — preferably with a glass of “the bargain of the week” from your favorite wine merchant.

Zapewne kazdy z was nie raz kupowal lub sprzedawal cos na allegro. T shirt z Abercrombie, czy bluze Gapa, lub sprzet RTV, ktory czesto jest tanszy niz w Media Markt, czy Saturnie. Pewnie tez zwrociliscie uwage na smieszne aukcje, badz zawrotne ceny za jakis “badziew”, oszustwa, np. moj kolega zamowil buty, przelal pieniadze i… nikt nie odbieral jego telefonow, nie odpisywal na maile, jedynie pokazywaly sie negatywne komentarze na jego koncie. Dla mnie allegro, jest swietna sprawa mozna np. pozbyc sie starych ciuchow, i jak wczesniej pisalem kupic rzeczy, ktorych nie ma w sklepach bo ktos sprowadzil je ze Stanow, lub jest to po prostu duzo tansze. Polecamy rowniez nasze ciuchy nazwa uzytkownika dosyc prosta bo… jazwiecki, tylko uwaga jedziemy z cenami ostro!

http://allegro.pl/show_user.php?search=jazwiecki

Dzisiaj chcemy wam pokazac najzabawniejsze i najciekawsze aukcje, ktore zwrocily nasza uwage na allegro

Enjoy & Good fun …

Na poczatek klasyka gatunku Porno: Rocco Invades Poland, Cena 50 zl !

INFORMACJE O PRODUKCIE
• Zobaczcie na własne oczy jak Rocco podrywa i ostro tresuje polskie dziewczyny prosto z ulicy.
• Niektóre z nich to młode, świeże warszawskie studentki.
• Absolutnie konieczna pozycja dla miłośników Rocco Siffrediego
• 3 Oryginalne Polskie scenariusze.
• Film trwa 140 min..

http://allegro.pl/item611037100_sexshop_com_pl_hit_rocco_podbija_polske_dvd.html

Jako drugie to :Wiersz na ZAmówienie 18-te URodziny, Cena 5 zl za sztuke !

Na tej aukcji proponuję zakup indywidualnego wiersza, dedykowanego na 18-te urodziny czyli dzień, kiedy młody człowiek staje się wedle prawa dorosły. Aby to było możliwe, jest mi potrzebne trochę danych, na podstawie których powstaną zabawne rymowanki dla adresata wiersza (cena na aukcji to cena 1 zwrotki).

Dzień dziś nastał uroczysty,
Obiad już zjedzony mamy,
Wiersza sens jest oczywisty,
Zaraz sobie poczytamy.

http://allegro.pl/item609806278_wiersz_na_zamowienie_18_te_urodziny.html#gallery

Jako trzecie: SZTUCZNA KUPA JAK PRAWDZIWA na odjechany prezent!!, Cena 9,99 zl

Jeśli chcesz komuś sprawić żart, zwłaszcza gdy go odwiedzisz z psem, musisz ją kupić!!! Wygląda jak prawdziwa, ale nie śmierdzi. Fantastyczny prezent tylko!!! dla kogoś kto zna się na żartach. Sprawdź!!!

http://allegro.pl/item612655542_sztuczna_kupa_jak_prawdziwa_na_odjechany_prezent.html#gallery

Jako czwarte i ostatnie, tym razem : Zniesmaczony gadający wibrator na prezent, Cena 39 zl !

ZNIESMACZONY GADAJĄCY WIBRATOR

Złośliwa mina i 3 zniechęcające do miłości frazy, to znaki charakterystyczne
wibratora.

http://allegro.pl/item611457157_zniesmaczony_gadajacy_wibrator_na_prezent.html#gallery

Pozdrawiamy tych naciagaczy z Lublina

DOHA, KOMPAS.com — Sebuah karpet yang didesain untuk menghias makam Nabi Muhammad SAW di Madinah terjual 5,4585 juta dollar AS atau seharga Rp 82,5 miliar dalam sebuah lelang di Qatar. Tidak hanya nilai sejarah yang membuat karpet tersebut bernilai tinggi. Karpet yang sudah berusia 150 tahun itu juga dihiasi ratusan batu-batuan mahal seperti intan, safir, rubi, dan emerald. Karpet itu dikenal dengan nama Karpet Mutiara dari Baroda (Pearl Carpet of Baroda) karena banyaknya mutiara yang dipakai untuk menghiasnya. Diperkirakan, dua juta batu mutiara digunakan yang diambil dari perairan Teluk Persia. Selama ini, karpet yang dibuat tahun 1860-an tersebut dikenal sebagai hadiah dari Maharaja Baroda dari India untuk dipasang di makam Nabi Muhammad. Namun, karpet tersebut tidak jadi dibawa ke Arab Saudi karena sang raja keburu meninggal. Akhirnya karpet hanya disimpan keluarga raja. Karpet tersebut sempat dipamerkan dalam Delhi Exhibition pada tahun 1902. Kemudian disimpan di Monaco. Pada tahun 1985, karpet itu juga dipamerkan di New York. Balai lelang Sotheby’s selaku penyelenggara lelang sebenarnya berharap karpet tersebut dapat terjual minimal 20 juta dollar AS. Namun, penawaran perdana 5,5 juta dollar AS tak menarik minat pelelang. Lelang Kamis (19/3) kemarin dibuka dengan nilai 4,5 juta dollar AS yang diikuti tiga penawar. Penawaran tertinggi berhenti pada angka 5,4585 juta dollar AS termasuk komisi dan biaya lelang. Namun, Shoteby’s belum bersedia mengumumkan pemenang lelang tersebut. Dengan banyaknya batuan mahal yang menghiasnya, karpet tersebut mungkin tak akan digelar di lantai, tapi lebih cocok sebagai hiasan dinding. WAH

Sabah Gazetesi’nin ünlü yazarı Adalet Cingöz, Sotheby müzayedesinin perde arkasını yazdı. Aaşağıda Sayın Adalet Cingöz’ün haberi Sabah gazetesinden alıntıdır. Sbah gazetesine doğruyu yayınladığı için teşekkür ederiz kerşke tüm medyamız gerçeklere eğilerek, bizlere yanlış haberler vermeseler!
“Meğer Türkler, Sotheby’s’de güzelce birbirlerini ağırlamış

Adalet Cingöz
07.03.2009

Sotheby’s mezatında Türk alıcıların yoğunluğu gözlerden kaçmadı. Belli başlı yerli galericiler Londra’daydı. İstanbul’da ise Beyaz Müzayede yapıldı ve orada da çekişmeli anlar yaşandı..

Sotheby’s mezatı esnasında telefonla gerçekleştirdiğim canlı bağlantılar neticesinde edindiğim bilgilere göre hiç yabancı alıcı yokmuş! Aşağı yukarı 70 kişilik müzayede mekânında ancak iki İngiliz tespit edilmiş! Bu şimdi şu mu demek oluyor? “Çağdaş Türk sanatı Batıya açılamadı.” Ya da, “Çağdaş Türk sanatında Türkün Türk’ten başka dostu yoktur.” Müzayede sırasında salonda bulunan Türkler arasında Çiğdem Simavi, Zeynep Fadıllıoğlu, Galeri X-ist’in sahipleri Kerimcan Güleryüz ve Dario Beşkenazi, Galeri Elipsis’in sahibesi Sinem Yörük, Galerist’in sahibi Murat Pilevneli vardı. Mübin Orhon’lardan birini koleksiyoner Emin Hitay telefon aracılığıyla alırken, S Concept’in sahibesi Sabiha Kurtulmuş, Bedri Baykam ve Mübin Orhon’un bir eserini telefonla birisi adına almış. Telefonla bütün bu bilgileri edinirken, İstanbul’daki Beyaz Müzayede’de gerilimli anlara tanık oldum. Alaeddin Aksoy’un Zümrüt-ü Anka adlı eseri için Barboros Çağa ve telefondaki alıcı arasında yaşanan rekabet Beyaz Müzayede’deki herkesi bir film izlermişcesine heyecanlandırdı.

ÇAĞA’NIN SABRI TAŞINCA
Bir ara öyle ki soluksuz bir şekilde olan biteni seyreden müzayede konukları, salonu terk eden Barbaros Çağa’yı adeta bir rock konserindeymişçesine bis yapması için geri dönmesini ister gibi alkış tutarak çağırdılar. Sonuçta mutlu son! Alaadin Aksoy’un eseri müzayede izleyicilerinden de destek alan ve esere 60 bin TL sayan Barbaros Çağa’nın oldu. Mezattaki tüm eserlerin satılması ise sanat dünyasını pek şaşırttı. “

LÜTFEN SİZ DE YORUMLARINIZI BİLDİRİN.

Emotion-Life                

The cracks occurred in capitalist system has broken out with great crisis this time. Artist Yücel Dönmez, who thinks artist should not be silent for current issues, presented interesting works that question capitalism and global justice in his exhibition in art gallery of Nazım Hikmet  Cultural Centre, Taksim- İstanbul.

While the paintings, which was done by Dönmez’s self developed technique and fashion, are accepted as the right combinations that are firstly transferred from Turkey and Islam countries to contemporary art world, painter’s new works with conceptual quality has its place in Modern Art as a protest art. 

Credit cards which were used by Donmez with causing him great crises were transformed to visual performance.  He emphasized utilizing Jesus in the works with credit cards that Capitalism is a new religion and it has a place over the religion …

CAPITALISM AND RELIGION…

While capitalists mention by using religion that everything comes from God and people has to appreciate their situation, people with beliefs who face with only fatalism has begun to convert their beliefs to money…

Even they faced with the situations that earthquakes and natural disasters occurred in global world were described as a punishment of God… When these environments were evaluated, it was appeared how they are using religion for their benefits…

Now world is filled by people who adore to money, by companies who do not see anything other than money and by politicians who use religion for money laundry…

This situation has showed diffusion that Capitalism has covered everything on the planet like a new religion…

Money can help people or carry them into stress or depression…

While people were sacrificed to God in old religions, nowadays people have began to sacrifice themselves to money…

Big businessmen can end their life by putting a bullet in their heads because of the crises they got in…

People, who go mad because of lack of money, can kill themselves and their families…

While beliefs protect people from sin; capitalism which has come over the religious beliefs force people to sin because of the money… Sharing, respect to human rights disappeared and even history is deviated because of benefits and money…

Even the special days that was introduced by consumption economy has got the capital on the forefront and dye people eyes with money- indexed presents and entertainments…

Even with the money that was spent for nonsense presents only in Valentines Day maybe half of poor people can feed on for days…

Those poor people do not do anything other than pray to God, however capitalism machinery keeps working, poor people are forgotten and problems are put back on shelves with the artificial agenda…

The relaxing and therapeutic function of art has not been taken into consideration, even art is between the wheels of Capitalism, and you and we clubs have been composed by the adaptation to function of capitalist system…

In the past, some people became homeless because of their alcohol and other addictions, however today some people that are crushed under the wheels of capitalism has begun to join into these homeless people…

The thesis that suggest communism will provide equality among people did not survive. It was emphasized that capitalism is the best system in the world and whole levels were disappeared with Capitalism, now there are huge differences between upper and lower levels…

The system which has taken the control on gambling has begun to gamble on societies…

While in the past beliefs were on forefront now money is on the forefront and this situation emphasize that money has come over the beliefs…

GLOBAL JUSTICE

Other topic that was performed in Yucel Donmez’s exhibition is global justice…

The artist who make equal scale of justice with gun and bullet, placed statute of liberty in America onto scales…

The performance exhibits obviously that justice is in the control of forces and money, display drama of people who was killed unfairly.

While some of the art specialists indicate that Modern Art has begun to new period with the new works of Dönmez, they suggest by breaking new ground with his conceptual art work in 1970s, he will carry today’s faults to next generations with his Protest art works…

Independent News Man. Discrimination for journalist in world and Turkey...

The artist claimed that he will continue to surprise field of art with his new Protest work in near future…

Exhibition that has continued in Nazım Hikmet Cultural Centre, Taksim- İstanbul will end at 7^th of March and exhibition will be open to visitors with appointment in the artist’s studio in Kadıköy.  

You can write to yuc111@aol.com email address about the exhibition.

.. so hurry up to Sotheby’s to  buy the ideal present for your beloved…

Lucio Fontana’s “Concetto Spaziale” (Lot 6, estimate £5m-7m) is part of the Contemporary Art sale at Sotheby’s, London, on February 5th

Buyers much more cautious at New York sales

The financial crisis is taking its toll on the art world. The prestigious and high-profile Modern and Impressionist Art sales in New York were very disappointing. Moreover they suggest very difficult times ahead. The results recorded by Sotheby’s and Christie’s from 3 to 6 November 2008 are way below the auctioneers’ expectations proving that even the ultra top-end of the market is now impacted by the crisis. After these sales, the Art Market Confidence Index took a substantial nose-dive. Pessimism appears to have overtaken the market and more than two thirds of the players anticipate price contractions. In August, only 20% anticipated such a strong market depression during the autumn months.

This indicator only confirms a trend that was already clearly visible. Price adjustments have been substantial. To guarantee sales, auctioneers have had to convince sellers to adjust their reserve prices. As a result a large majority of last week’s sales were negotiated below low estimates and the bought-in rate was high. At Sotheby’s, on 3 November, 45 of the 70 lots presented found buyers generating a total revenue of $223.8m, compared with a total anticipated revenue (calculated on low estimates) of $338m. Major works by Cézanne, Van Gogh, Matisse, Monet and Modigliani were bought in. Nevertheless, new records were generated for two rare works, one by Kasimir Malevitch ($53.5m) and the other by Edvard Munch ($34m). 24 hours after Barack Obama’s election victory, the first salvo of evening sales at Christie’s confirmed the lacklustre results generated by Sotheby’s: The first sales at the auction house owned by François Pinault tallied $47m compared with a total of $103m anticipated on low estimates. Among the big-name works that did not sell: a key painting by Edouard Manet (est. $12-18m) and an important work by Mark Rothko (est. $20-30m). The following day, the second session of the sale vaporised any illusions of a recovery: 44% of the 82 lots presented were bought-in, and the net result of the entire sale was $146.7m compared with a low estimate forecast of $240.7m.

As the IMF announces that the developed economies can expect a 0.3% contraction of their combined GDP (the first such contraction since 1945), on the art market…. we now know roughly what to expect. The market has apparently not learned the lessons of history. Enveloped in a speculative bubble for at least three years, a worst-case meltdown scenario now looks inevitable… the bad results posted over recent days will serve as a barometer for the market as a whole and it is highly likely that between now and 2010 we will see an average price drop of 30 to 40%, taking valuations back to 2003-2004 levels. Locomotive of the speculative bubble over the last 4 years, contemporary art is the next segment of the market to be exposed to the fire of this new reality… on 11 and 12 November. 

L’Antitrust ha deciso di avviare un’istruttoria per verificare se alcuni comportamenti delle filiali italiane delle case d’asta Christie’s International, Sotheby’s e Anca (Associazione nazionale delle case d’asta) possano costituire un’intesa restrittiva della concorrenza. Il procedimento è stato avviato alla luce di una segnalazione della Guardia di finanza relativa a presunti comportamenti anticoncorrenziali nel mercato dei servizi di vendita all’asta di beni e oggetti d’arte di valore ordinario. Dalla segnalazione, riferisce l’Antitrust, sembrerebbe emergere che il livello delle commissioni fissate dalle case d’asta Christie’s Italia e Sotheby’s Italia per il venditore e per l’acquirente sia la conseguenza di un coordinamento delle rispettive strategie commerciali, nonché possibili accordi di portata più generale, che vedrebbero coinvolti una pluralità di operatori del settore (con particolare riguardo alla commissione applicata al venditore), tutti associati all’Anca. L’associazione potrebbe, poi, aver svolto un ruolo di coordinamento delle condotte dei propri aderenti in relazione alle commissioni corrisposte dai venditori in caso di aggiudicazione. Il procedimento dovrà concludersi entro il 12 novembre del prossimo anno.

Fonte: http://www.ilgiornale.it/a.pic1?ID=296948

L’Antitrust ha deciso di avviare un’istruttoria per verificare se alcuni comportamenti delle filiali italiane delle case d’asta Christie’s International, Sotheby’s e Anca (Associazione nazionale delle case d’asta) possano costituire un’intesa restrittiva della concorrenza. Il procedimento è stato avviato alla luce di una segnalazione della Guardia di finanza relativa a presunti comportamenti anticoncorrenziali nel mercato dei servizi di vendita all’asta di beni e oggetti d’arte di valore ordinario. Dalla segnalazione, riferisce l’Antitrust, sembrerebbe emergere che il livello delle commissioni fissate dalle case d’asta Christie’s Italia e Sotheby’s Italia per il venditore e per l’acquirente sia la conseguenza di un coordinamento delle rispettive strategie commerciali, nonché possibili accordi di portata più generale, che vedrebbero coinvolti una pluralità di operatori del settore (con particolare riguardo alla commissione applicata al venditore), tutti associati all’Anca. L’associazione potrebbe, poi, aver svolto un ruolo di coordinamento delle condotte dei propri aderenti in relazione alle commissioni corrisposte dai venditori in caso di aggiudicazione. Il procedimento dovrà concludersi entro il 12 novembre del prossimo anno.

Fonte: http://www.ilgiornale.it/a.pic1?ID=296948

Londra, 16 settembre. “The Golden Calf” (il Vitello d’oro), la nuova  monumentale opera di Damien Hirst, è stato venduto all’asta per 10,3 milioni di sterline (circa 13 milioni di euro) da Sotheby’s. “The Golden Cald” consiste in un esemplare di vitello immerso nella formaldeide, incoronato da un cerchio d’oro massiccio, con le corna e gli zoccoli gettati nell’oro a 18 carati, incassato in un acciaio senza macchia e placcato in oro e scatola di vetro. Questo insolito lavoro unisce gli interessi dell’artista inglese riguardo la scienza, la religione, la bellezza  e la morte.

____________________________________________________________________________________

Come molte opere di Hirst, anche il Vitello d’Oro è comunque destinato alla scomparsa. Le sostanze come la formaldeide, infatti, non interrompono il processo di decomposizione, ma lo rallentano soltanto. Ciò porterà, prima o poi, alla disgregazione delle opere.

Damien Hirst, B. 1965 EPINEPHRINE 120,000 – 150,000 GBP HAMMER PRICE GBP£505,250

Many years ago, Damien Hirst traveled from his flat in the famous Barrier Block in Brixton and probably through Loughborough Junction on his way to the Camberwell College of Arts. Although this is a tentative association, it is still one that I am keen to latch onto!

Next week he will be holding one of largest sales of the year at Sotheby’s in New Bond Street, where his latest collection is expected to exceed GBP£65,000,000.

The auction which will commence on Monday ( 15.9.08 ) evening and will be continuing on Tuesday with two further sessions. The sale is an incredible feat of branded consumerism, Hirst’s style clearly defined with easily recognizable variations on his key themes which will no doubt fetch fortunes as some of the worlds richest collectors scramble for a piece of the action. Four of the works will be sold for charities including the Demelza, Hospice Care for Children, Survival International, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

The preview runs throughout Sunday 12-5 and Monday 9-12 am and is definitely worth visiting if you can make it.

Sotheby

Exhibition Highlights Video

Google Results

BBC

Hirst will subsequently be opening a gallery besides Sotheby’s.

- Damien Hirst, B. 1965 THE KINGDOM 4,000,000 – 6,000,000 GBP HAMMER PRICEGBP£9,561,250

Damien Hirst, B. 1965 THE GOLDEN CALF 8,000,000 – 12,000,000 GBP HAMMER PRICE £10,345,250

Session 1 realised GBP£70,545,100 + commission & VAT

Recently at an Easton, Md. Goodwill store, someone dropped off the painting depicted here. It was jumbled in with wooden spoons, cast off clothing, tattered books and dented pots and pans. But a sharp worker recognized the painting as being valuable, called attention, and it recently sold at Sotheby’s for $40,600.

The painting was the creation of Edouard Leon Cortes, a French Impressionist. His work is beautiful and this link shows more of his paintings.

Some unidentified person drove or walked to that thrift store, probably opened the trunk of their car and set off items they no longer needed or wanted. It is likely they did not recognize the value of the painting, nor did they understand that a masterpiece was in their possession. They failed to comprehend they were setting aside a treasure.

When I read this story, I immediately thought of the treasure we have in our lives when we possess the gift of the Holy Ghost, when we understand who Jesus is, and when we give Him the control of our being. It’s an amazing thing, and startling to consider.

Paul spoke about it in this way: “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.” II Corinthians 4:7

Amazing, for God hath said, “Let us make man in our image,” and so we are flesh and blood as was Jesus Christ, and within our earthy, mortal, decaying bodies dwells the almighty God. It is truly a wonder.

It is astonishing that we have a desire to do right, that we have faith to believe in the supernatural and that we understand in a small way–as through a glass darkly–the treasure with which we are conferred.

______________________________________________________________________________________
My other blog is here.