English Summary
A car for 600 million
Ferrari, Lamborghini? These brands today are no longer comparable with the products of another Italian sportscar manufacturer – at least in terms of price. The well-off and collectors rather go for a Pagani Zonda, moreover a Pagani Huayra, which entered production last year. The
cream of society, or those who want to mix with the super rich, buy a dream car for 600 million forints. The business, founded in 1992, was the idea of Argentinian-born engineer Horatio Pagani. He’s an associate of five times Formula 1 world champion Juan Manuel Fangio, whose 1954 racing car recently became the world’s most expensive auctioned vehicle, selling for the reasonable amount of 6.63 billion forints. Wealthy collectors can also turn their dreams into reality in a car showroom in the Hungarian capital, since now – naturally – you can get a Pagani in Budapest.
The Big Watch Collection
Experts have named the watch The Mona Lisa which is made from gold and crystal and is estimated to be worth thirty million dollars. The Israeli Arsene Lupin – The media gave this name to the French born Naaman Diller, an infamous burglar who carried out a huge watch robbery. The name refers to a character from a well known novel that details the exploits of an elegant criminal. Diller succeeded in stealing the most valuable hoard of jewellery that has ever been stolen. The comparison might not look surprising knowing the fact that Paris has recently delivered 40 valuable watches back to Israel from the 106 pieces that were taken by Diller from the L.A. Mayer Museum of Islamic Art in Jerusalem in 1983. Now that these pieces have been recovered there are only ten watches unaccounted for from the loot that was estimated to be worth more than fifty million dollars. The loot did not only contain wristwatches but also small pendulums and stop watches.
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The details of the sensational robbery, which had remained a mystery for the past 25 years, have finally been discovered. When the investigation into the robbery begun Diller was the chief suspect, however after some time the Israeli authorities followed other leads. They made little progress and it was thought that the identity of the perpetrator of this crime would remain a mystery. That was until 2006 when a watchmaker based in Tel Aviv received a tip off regarding an anonymous American Lady who was selling dozens of watches from the stolen collection. The jeweller contacted the aggrieved Jerusalem Museum, who decided to act with discretion and repurchase the precious works of art for 40 thousand dollars. Amongst the pieces bought back by the museum was the most expensive and most precious watch from the collection. This particular watch was created in the 18th century by the French Craftsman Abraham Louis Breguet for his very special client Queen Marie Antoinette. Experts have named the watch The Mona Lisa, it is made from gold and crystal and is estimated to be worth thirty million dollars. Other pieces that were bought back by the museum include a Breguet masterpiece dating from 1813 and known as Sympatique and a pistol shaped watch that originates from the same period. The collection was left as inheritance by Sir David Lionel Salomens, the first Jewish Mayor of London who was elected in 1855. The valuable heirlooms were passed onto his daughter who in turn donated them to The L.A. Mayer Museum, of which she was the founder. The museum was named
after the daughter’s professor of Islamic studies. Despite the museum’s promise of discretion, upon receiving the stolen goods they contacted the police. The Israeli authorities were assisted by American officers in their investigation. The anonymous seller was identified as Nili Somrat, Diller’s
widower. Diller died of cancer in 2004, on his deathbed he revealed the details of the burglary to his wife. Diller also revealed the whereabouts of the bounty which had been hidden in various bank treasuries in France and America. He bequeathed the valuables to his wife who decided to sell them. She kept a few pieces from the collection in her Los Angeles home which was later searched by the police.
Porcelain jewellery
Both the production of jewellery and the manufacture of porcelain can look back on centuries of traditions in Hungary. However, the creation of porcelain jewellery has so far mostly remained in
the hands of specialist galleries. The Hollóház Porcelain Manufactory has declared its aim of starting to produce spectacular costume jewellery, which will combine quality porcelain, fashion and variety, and which will revisit the traditions and, starting from there, create items of jewellery for the modern woman. When someone buys this jewellery they are purchasing a creation which is a worthy accessory for their clothing. The idea is for the jewellery to be in the reach of everyone, in the form of an accessory befitting any costume. Porcelain constitutes an outstanding basic material for jewellery production, and like precious metals it conceals within itself craftsmanship, the noble material ensuring both value and tradition. The great advantage of porcelain is its plasticity and the fact that it can be decorated, thus with its use jewellery can be created to match many types of taste. Furthermore, the cost of basic porcelain is much lower than precious metal, yet its notional value is on the same level. Diké is a costume jewellery brand which attracts those seeking traditional values as well as people responsive to new ideas, people for whom, instead of a material comforts and the endless chasing after trends, aesthetic considerations and traditional values are more important.
