One country that has repeatedly been in news during the recession is India. Well, it had to be being the least affected by the economic hard times. Maybe it’s the good financial planning or special blessings from the many gods that reside here. Just so you know, Indians are known to spare nothing when it comes to pleasing their favorite God. And the one most popular is Lord Ganesha, indeed.

It is a common sight in India to see jewelers making and selling idols of gods made in gold and other precious stones. And now the famous diamond company Orra too joins the bandwagon but with a difference. Orra has given shape to Lord Ganesha a from 512 carat diamond.

This spectacular piece has been put for show in Pune. A very rare piece of jewel, the diamond used to make this idol was found in one of the Orra African factories by a foreigner. Apparently, the traveler was quite taken by the natural resemblance of the diamond to that of the Indian God. This idol is also being celebrated as the biggest Ganesh idol ever made from diamond. No word on pricing yet.

Via oneindia

Last year the world of business took notice. It said India was definitely Asia’s billionaire capital. Come 2009 and the global financial recession, and the top status was to be changed as seen in the Forbes’ billionaires list 2009. That said, the India billionaire club is far from affected. And why not, the previous figure of just 9 in 2004 has changed to 24 this year.

This boost has given a cool business idea to private wealth management module Morgan Stanley. The brand is all set to make a clientele out of these Richie Richs of India in a private investment club. The qualifying factor will be a minimum investible surplus of $1 billion.

The Indian rep of Morgan Stanley, Himanshu Bhagat claims that since India is the second fastest growing economy in the world, the number of billionaries here is going to rise. So, the club will allow them to enjoy customised and separately-managed accounts from Morgan Stanley as well as a multi-asset portfolio that shall comprise equity, debt, structured notes, private equity and so on. This service will be launched on September 16 amidst a lot of pomp and show. At the start, it will accept a dozen members only. This shall make India the fifth country after the USA, UK, Hong Kong and Singapore to have this exclusive club.

Via reuters

Hans-Günther Zach is not a new name for Rolls-Royce loyalists. Well, for those of you who aren’t let us tell you that this man is famous for his own museum that is dedicated to the well-known marque in Main, Germany. And now he is planning to sell off his entire collection  including the very famous Star of India. This is a one of its kind vintage 1934 Phanton II 40/50 HP Continental ‘All-Weather Convertible’ that was custom made for the Maharaja of Rajkot.

The car is tOuted as the most expensive in the world as it would fetch nothing less than €10 million. Zach is accpeting bids all through September for his other cars too that include 24 Rolls-Royces, 3 Bentleys and a 1926 Rolls-Royce 40/50 HP I Open Tourer that was put togethe for the Maharaja of Nanpara; this one is better known as the Aluminum Sculpture wing to his highly polished aluminum body and chassis.

You would say that Zach was truly taken over by the Indian fetish for Rolls-Royce. Well, you won’t be wrong for there is a third car too that belonged to the Maharajah of Rewa. Called the Hunting Car, it is a Phantom II Cabriolet. Again, Zach is also selling a 1920 40/50 Silver Ghost Coupé de Ville made for Jean Hennessy.

Via jameslist

Paris Hilton is all set to conquer the hearts of gaming fans in India. Reliance Mobile has just got together with game developer Gameloft of France to  create a special Paris Hilton game for its subscribers. The hotel heiress who is a big rage the world over is not really a big celeb in India, but looks like as if things will change once this venture goes on board.

The concept mobile game will let you take a rare peek inside the star studded world that Paris Hilton is known to live in. They are planning to call it Paris Hilton’s Diamond Quest and it will involve urging the player to hop aboard the celeb’s private jet and travel to the hottest cities across the world trying to find the rarest of precious stones.

Again, the first launch game will come with a lot of razzmatazz like many photos of Paris in her stunning jewelry and sexy outfits. By the way, you can also see snaps of her pooch Tinkerbell. Insiders reveal that the game’s ready and waiting for a grand launch. We have no doubts about the success of this gaming adventure.

Via newsblaze

The concept of Swarovski crystal studded mag was first introduced in September 2007 when the British Harper’s Bazaar consumer magazine decided to give the readers an extra perk of luxury. Well, none complained. So, once again the same marketing strategy will be applied by Harper’s Bazaar India magazine which is really the baby from the marriage between US-based Heart Corporation and the India Today Group.

The initial print will run 18,000 copies all festooned with glittering Swarovski crystals. We hear 3,000 of these have been decorated with 48-flat-back Swarovski elements in different shapes and sizes. The remaining flaunt 24-flat-back crystals.

Bollywood beauty Kareena Kapoor will be seen on the cover flaunting her newly acquired size ‘0′ physique. The limited edition mag will ear ‘Made with Crystallized -Swarovski Elements’ label. The country manager of Swarovski Elements, Sanjay Sharma, is happy to see the creative adventure the two brands have taken on together. Well, we agree. This will be one-of-a-kind reading experience with beautiful crystals for company. Go grab a copy!

Via fiber2fashion

This space pays tribute to all random opulent thingamajigs and taking a customary call on this, today we would like to introduce you with the world’s most expensive necktie that got unveiled in 2003. No, the news is not stale as it has made up to the headlines with the recent update. Designed by Satya Paul and the Suashish Diamond Group, the silk base of the tie carried by Salman Khan comes festooned with 261 diamonds weighing 77 carats and 150 grams of gold and was valued at Rs1 crore in 2003. Lately, a revision in its cost has happened and it is being discovered that the cost of the necktie has now risen to Rs10 million or $220,000. Gawd, I wonder if ordinary folks besides celebrities and industry moguls can afford to buy one or would they find themselves restricted to window shopping? Well, if you ask me then spending this many such creations may seem a routine for people with big pockets but I would like to go with a plain silk tie with a diamond chip layering or gold lining.

Via WallStreetFighter

The level of impatience or let me correct myself, the loyalty of the Indians for their “Bapu” doesn’t let those letters stay there for a long. As a result of this, the storyline today is that the Indian government has bought those letters from British auction house Christie’s through ICCR and presented it to the local NGO the Navjivan Trust.

To enhance your knowledge further, these letters were written by Mahatma Gandhi, 19 days prior to his assassination on 11 January 1948 . The bottomline says it all.

All eyeballs here: The letters were are bought for $ 37,500 (Rs1500,000).

It seems the born rich attitude of the Gen X needs to be polished with the evolving treasures equipping the minds of the elite class. There have been talks about luxurious products viz. painting worth $2.1 million, Charlie Chaplin’s elite camera, Crystal-made museum, most expensive house in US, World’s most-expensive hotel , even lavish dog house that invited eyeballs.

But a lad called Amit Malhotra, resident of Ludhiana in India seems to have a big heart that he borrowed money to meet his luxurious needs. Yes, this crazy guy has spent Rs1.5 million ($32,000) for getting a mobile number (9780000000).

True, the hunt for getting an exotic number that even enters into deaf ears is years old but the big deal about this number is it has become most-expensive mobile number ever sold in India. I hope you are well-introduced with the world’s most expensive mobile number “666 6666″ that generated the sales of $2.7 million in Qatar.

Amit chased this opportunity at the auction scheduled by Hutch. It wasn’t an easy race for the owner of the most-expensive mobile number in India but his mania for the luring number invited the monetary support from his friends, relatives, acquaintances and incumbents.