World’s Top 10 Most Expensive Watches

1. Baume & Mercier

William Baume Flying Tourbillion
Price: $75,000*

This new edition of the William Baume Tourbillion has a “flying tourbillion,”—a tourbillion held in place on only one side rather than on the top and bottom—black dial, and black alligator strap. The tourbillion escapement is in the 9 o’clock position and a small seconds display at 6 o’clock. It has a 52-hour power reserve. This timepiece is limited to 10 editions worldwide. Baume & Mercier is owned by Swiss luxury goods giant Compagnie Financière Richemont.

2. Tag Heuer

Monaco V4
Price: $80,000

Tag Heuer, which is owned by French luxury conglomerate Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, used cars as a model for rethinking watches’ mechanical movement and engineered the world’s first and only belt-driven timepiece. This design is more shock-resistant and requires less maintenance because of the belts and micro ball bearings, according to the company. The Monaco V4 has a platinum case and alligator leather strap. Only 150 pieces were manufactured.

3. JeanRichard

Paramount Tourbillion Linear Power Reserve
Price: $128,000

This unique tourbillion watch from independent Swiss watchmaker JeanRichard uses a linear indicator for the 72-hour power reserve. It has an 18 carat white gold case and rubber covered alligator strap.

4. Glashütte Original

Julius Assmann 4 in white gold
Price: $161,000

Glashütte Original introduced this piece for the Assmann edition in 2007. It can be worn as a wristwatch or pocket watch and features a unique retrograde hour display and tourbillion. The watch is also offered in red gold and rose gold ($145,000). More information is available through Tourbillion Boutiques in New York, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles. Based in the former East Germany, Glashütte Original is one of the few watchmakers that uses its own proprietary movements. It is owned by Switzerland’s Swatch Group.

5. Porsche Design

Indicator P´6910 in rose gold
Price: $225,000

Made of about 800 individual parts and developed by 12 engineers and watchmakers, the Porsche Design Indicator P´6910 is the world’s first chronograph with a mechanical-digital stopwatch function display. It can record up to 9 hours and 59 minutes. In 2008 the Indicator, available in three design variants, was presented in rose gold with PVD coated titanium.

6. Panerai

L’Astronomo Luminor Tourbillion 1950 Equation of Time in rose gold
Price: $235,000

Recently presented at the 2010 Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie in Geneva as a tribute to Galileo Galilei, the L’Astronomo will be made in a limited number of about 30. While ordering the piece, clients must specify their hometown, which is engraved on the back near a rotating sky chart of the city. The dial also displays the sunrise and sunset times of the chosen city. Panerai is owned by Richemont.

7. Breitling

Grande Complication
Price: $280,716

Unveiled at Baselworld 2010, this pocket watch has a perpetual calendar that displays the date, day, month, leap years, and moon phases and a minute repeater that strikes the hours, quarters, and minutes on demand. It comprises almost 700 parts. The case, made of 18 carat yellow gold, features an engraving of Walter Owen Bentley, founder of Bentley Motors, one of Breitling’s partners.

8. IWC

Grande Complication
Price: $318,000

IWC first launched the Grande Complication about 20 years ago. It combines a perpetual calendar with moon phase, minute repeater, and chronograph with an automatic movement. This version has a platinum case and bracelet. The Richemont-owned IWC recently redesigned it in a Portuguese-style case ($220,567). A total of 50 pieces are produced annually.

9. Concord

C1 Tourbillion Gravity
Price: $320,000

One of the unique features of this watch, which has an 18 carat white gold case, is the seconds display on the side of the tourbillion carriage. The C1 Tourbillion Gravity also features a flyback chronograph and 84-hour power reserve and is water resistant to 30 meters. Although founded in Biel, Switzerland, in 1908, Concord today is owned by Movado Group, which is based in Paramus, N.J.

10. Montblanc

Grand Tourbillion Heures Mysterieuses in platinum
Price: $365,750

Although once known primarily for its signature fountain pens, Richemont-owned Montblanc in recent years has transformed its brand into that of a jeweler and watchmaker. Its most expensive watch is the Grand Tourbillion Heures Mysterieuses in platinum, of which only one has been made so far. This tourbillion is also available in 18 carat white gold (in photo), limited to eight pieces at $319,000 each. The 18 carat red gold version, also limited to eight pieces, is $302,500.

World’s Most Colorful Chinatowns

1. Singapore

Singapore’s Chinatown, once home to the first Chinese settlers in what’s now a heavily Westernized city-state, is one of its few distinctly Asian neighborhoods. The enclave was home to the area’s earliest Chinese settlers. Several of its institutions, such as the Heritage Centre, Food Street, and Night Market, preserve the culture of its original inhabitants, while some areas of the district are designated national heritage sites. Many historic buildings remain as relics of the past, as well as to complement the otherwise modern landscape.

2. Melbourne

Melbourne boasts the oldest Chinatown in the world, established during Victoria’s Gold Rush in 1854. Catch the world’s longest Chinese dragon– the Millennium Dai Loong Dragon tops 100 meters — in action as it is brought to life by 200 people during the Chinese New Year parade.

3. Kuala Lumpur

The capital of Malaysia was actually founded by Chinese tin prospectors in the 1850s, who played a pivotal role in the city’s transformation from a jungle settlement to a center for the tin mining industry. The Chinese remain the city’s dominant ethnic group and control a large proportion of the country’s commerce. Chinatown, known locally as Petaling Street or Jalan Petaling, is famous for its food stalls and night market, where shoppers can load up on fresh produce and counterfeit DVDs, watches and purses (don’t forget to haggle).

4. Georgetown, Penang, Malaysia

Arriving in Georgetown, Penang, off the west coast of Malaysia after a long journey from Thailand, you may almost think that you accidentally traveled all the way to China. The city’s Chinatown is one of the largest and best preserved in the world, with everyday sights and sounds reminiscent of a small city in China. Most residents are descended from Chinese immigrants who arrived in Penang during the colonial era and made their fortunes as traders and shopkeepers. Many of their original shops are still intact today.

5. Toronto

In the most ethnically diverse city in the world, residents have their pick of seven Chinatowns. The city’s main Chinatown was formed in the late 1960s, when many businesses in the original Chinatown were forced to move. Since the 1980s, the Greater Toronto Area’s Chinese community has migrated to the suburbs of Scarborough, Mississauga, Richmond Hill, Markham, and North York, where shopping centers are reminiscent of Hong Kong’s malls and street stalls.

6. New York

New York’s first Chinese residents began arriving in Manhattan’s Lower East Side in the late 19th century to escape discriminatory measures on the West Coast. In the 1980s, the neighborhood eclipsed San Francisco’s as the largest Chinatown outside Asia. But don’t overlook the city’s other Chinese enclaves – in Elmhurst and Flushing in Queens, and along Avenue U and 8th Avenue in Brooklyn. In fact, Flushing’s Chinatown has now surpassed Manhattan’s in size.

7. Vancouver

There’s a reason this city has been nicknamed “Hongcouver.” In the years leading up to Hong Kong’s 1997 handover to China, waves of wealthy immigrants flooded the city. The mayor, Sam Sullivan, even speaks Cantonese. Vancouver’s Chinatown dates back to the early 20th century, although recent arrivals have headed for the suburb of Richmond, where many of the Chinese restaurants are considered the best outside of Hong Kong.

8. San Francisco

The city’s Chinese New Year parade, an annual event since the 1860s, is the largest Asian cultural celebration outside of Asia. Chinatown may seem like a tacky tourist trap, but one cannot ignore the history and significance of one of the world’s best-known Chinese quarters, once the stomping grounds of Sun Yat-Sen and Amy Tan. The original enclave, built in the 1850s by settlers who had arrived during the gold rush and railroad days, would be the world’s oldest had it not been destroyed in the 1906 earthquake. Since the 1960s, much of the city’s Chinese community has moved into the Sunset and Richmond districts, while newer immigrants often settle in the suburbs around the Bay Area.

9. Yokohama, Japan

Yokohama Chinatown is the largest throughout Asia, in developing the environment when the Port of Yokohama was opened to foreign trade in 1859 because many of the Chinese traders and settled here. The roads and streets of Chinatown is marked by nine flashy colors, but the gate was found at all.

10. Bangkok, Thailand

Bangkok Chinatown is famous just as Yaowarat or Sampeng, after the strolling nearby, Bangkok’s Chinatown is as old as the city itself. In the late 1700s, as a young Bangkok city expanded, Chinese merchants were asked to move. They settled here near the river where they have since that time will be quick to this point. The tourists will be fast to show the “Traimit Wat temple”, which the largest houses gold Buddha, weighing in more than five tons. Do not miss the great shopping opportunities, especially the items on display in the old Chinese pharmacy.

World’s Friendliest Countries

1. Ireland

Centuries of turmoil, conquest, famine and subsequent immigration  have certainly taken their toll on the Irish: it’s left them with a deliciously dark sense of humour and a welcoming attitude towards strangers. That famous ability of the Irish to find craic (fun times) in boom or bust times means you’re always in for a treat.

2. Samoa

What’s this? Samoa reckons they have ‘the world’s friendliest people’? Hmmm, trouble is there’s no ratifying body for such a claim, meaning the Samoans have to contend with the challenge of Fiji, which also self-applies the title. Though readers can rest assured that Samoa harbours lovely and warm people.

3. United States

Blamed for the coming of World War III, the Anti-Christ, Bon Jovi, Tom Cruise, Michael Jackson, rampant street crime and noise pollution through overloud talking, Americans just take it all in their stride. Americans may be patriotic and love their country but they’ll invariably welcome you and help you get the best out of the United States.

4. Malawi

Whereas other African nations are beset by tribal war and fighting, Malawians describe themselves as ‘the friendliest people in Africa. Anyone who’s visited will know that the rare (for Africa) cohesion of the country’s ethnic groups is solid evidence for this, as is the people’s propensity to welcome you into their homes as well as their nation.

5. Fiji

Fijians have got plenty to smile about lush islands, kaleidoscopic reefs, cobalt sea, a wealth of marine life, world-class diving, romantic coastlines, awesome cuisine and they love to spread the love around. Fijians have a rep for helping all travellers feel welcome, thereby allowing you to uncover the best from this sprawling group of islands.

6. Indonesia

It’s hard to make generalisations about a country that contains so many different cultures still, a cliché you’ll hear often is that Indonesian people greet foreigners with open arms. Fact is they do, but the media limelight is stolen by the knack of their law-enforcement officers for welcoming drug dealers and bomb makers in an altogether different ritual.

7. Vietnam

Vietnam’s another country inextricably caught up in Western images and stereotypes: napalm death; tormented American soldiers; assassins hiding in the rice fields. But Vietnam put all that behind it a long time ago and is now on a drive to become the new ‘Asian’ tiger economy.

8. Thailand

Southeast Asia’s most-visited country is bound to offer up a welter of stereotypes and clichès. Here are some of them: dazzling islands and beaches; lush and balmy weather; great shopping and great food; the ‘France of Asia’. The Thai people’s gracious hospitality does indeed take some beating.

9. Scotland

Scotland’s becoming the destination for visitors to the British Isles, winning out over London. The Scots have survived English invasion, brutal weather and the pain of having the world’s worst goalkeepers. This fighting spirit against insurmountable odds has left them with an extroverted, buoyant demeanour and a blackly humorous nationalism.

10. Turkey

It’s a shame that for such a long time the Western world’s image of Turkey revolved around the drug-smuggling film Midnight Express. Thankfully, we can report the Turkish people actually have an unsurpassed reputation for hospitality. With their heavenly cuisine, dreamy coastline and historical sites, the Turks know there’s no reason to be secretive.

World’s Countries With Fastest Trains

1. Japan

Train: JR-Maglev MLX01
Speed: 361 mph
Capacity: Experimental

Japan is the world leader when it comes to high-speed trains, opening the world’s first modern high-speed rail in 1964. The Japanese first made a breakthrough in the field when they introduced the first series of the Tokaido Shinkansen “bullet trains,” which could reach a top speed of 130 mph. The early bullet trains carried more than 100 million passengers in just the first three years. Today, the trains are still operating on the world’s busiest rail line, carrying 378,000 passengers a day. Maglev trains have also been developed in Japan since the 1970s. The government has approved plans for a $112.4 billion project to build a Maglev train line between Tokyo, Nagoya, and Osaka, with a completion date of 2027. These planned high-speed trains are expected to cut the current travel time between Tokyo and Osaka from two hours and 18 minutes on the Shinkansen to just over an hour. Currently, the experimental JR-Maglev MLXO1 is considered the world’s fastest train, with a top speed of 361 mph in a test run in 2003.

2. France

Train: TGV V150
Speed: 357 mph
Capacity: Experimental

France sped ahead of the rest of Europe in the race to build the first fully functioning high-speed rail network.
The first Alstom developed TGV trains hit the tracks in 1981, with service between Paris and Lyon. Since then, the network has expanded to service 150 destinations within France and neighboring countries. Limited to a speed of up to 200 mph during normal service, the experimental TGV V150 hit a record speed of 357 mph in 2007—making it the second fastest train in the world. TGV’s high-speed technology is used in national trains in many European countries including the U.K., Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany. Last month, French train maker Alstom signed a preliminary deal to build a high-speed rail line in Iraq linking the cities of Baghdad and Basra.

3. China

Train: CRH380AL
Speed: 302 mph
Capacity: 600 passengers

China has the world’s longest high-speed rail network with more than 6,000 miles of routes in service.
It also boasts the longest high-speed rail route, with the opening of its Beijing-Shanghai line earlier this month. The 819-mile route was made using 60 million cubic meters of concrete, twice the amount used in the Three Gorges Dam. While the CRH380AL trains operate at a speed of 186 mph, the train hit a record speed of 302 mph in a test run. China’s first high-speed line, which opened in 2007, saw 40.6 million passengers travel on it in just the first two years. The government hopes to stretch China’s rapidly growing high-speed network to 28,000 miles by the end of 2015.

4. Germany

Train: Transrapid TR-07
Speed: 270.3 mph
Capacity: Experimental

Germany is a nation that has been at the forefront of high-speed rail technology. It’s home to Siemens, the world’s largest manufacturer of high-speed trains. German companies Siemens and ThyssenKrupp have developed the Transrapid system, high-speed monorail trains operating on magnetic levitation (Maglev) technology, that can reach speeds of 311 mph. In 2004, the Shanghai Maglev train in China was the first commercial Transrapid train to carry passengers, hitting speeds of 267 mph. Although the magnetic levitation trains are developed in Germany, they have never been used commercially in the country. The technology has faced several setbacks, including high costs and a crash that killed 25 people during a test run in 2006. Instead, the InterCityExpress (ICE) system has been adopted nationwide since 1991. These high-speed trains hit speeds of 199 mph and connect German cities with cities in Switzerland, Austria, Belgium and the Netherlands. An ICE train disaster near the German village of Eschede in 1998 is considered the world’s deadliest high-speed rail accident, leading to the deaths of 101 people.

5. Spain

Train: AVE Class 103
Speed: 251 mph
Capacity: 404 passengers

Spain has the longest high-speed rail network in Europe, with 3,433 miles of tracks. With six high-speed train lines and several under construction, the Spanish government aims to have 90 percent of its population within 31 miles of a high-speed station by 2020. The country’s fastest trains are the AVE series, which is manufactured by several train makers, including Siemens, Alstom and Bombardier. The Siemens-made AVE Class 103 train began commercial service in 2007, and hit a record speed of 251 mph during a test run between Madrid and Zaragoza. The maximum top speed for commercial trains in Spain is limited to 186 mph for passenger safety. The euro-zone debt crisis and Portugal’s austerity plan have halted a major expansion plan, which would have linked Spain’s capital Madrid with Lisbon in Portugal. The high-speed train link would have cut travel time between the two cities to two hours and 45 minutes instead of the current nine hours.

6. Italy

Train: ETR 500 Frecciarossa
Top Speed: 225 mph
Capacity: 590 passengers

One of the early pioneers of European high-speed rail technology, Italy is home to Europe’s first high-speed train line. The Florence-Rome high-speed line made history when more than half of its entire length—the first 86 miles from Rome to Citta della Pieve—opened in 1977. Trains on the track reached a maximum speed of 160 mph. Since then, the country’s high-speed rail network has grown substantially, with high-speed lines reaching as far north as Torino to as far south as Napoli. The Italian-made ETR 500 is the fastest train series in the country, with its ETR 500 Y1 model hitting speeds of up to 225 mph in 2009 on a trip between Florence and Bologna. Not everyone is happy with the progress, however. Earlier this month, more than 200 people were injured in a rally against the construction of a planned 36-mile tunnel in the northern Susa valley that would cut three hours off the current seven-hour train journey between Paris and Milan. Protesters say the high-speed line will ruin the area and its construction could release harmful chemicals.

7. United Kingdom

Train: Eurostar 3313/14
Top Speed: 208 mph
Capacity: 750 passengers

The Eurostar has changed the way Western Europeans travel. Since it began operations in 1994, the London-based high-speed rail network connects England with cities in France and Belgium via an underground tunnel in the English Channel, often referred to as the “Chunnel.” With 27 trains and links to more than 100 destinations across Europe, the network marked its 100 millionth passenger in August 2009. The rail line carries passengers at speeds of up to 186 mph. The Eurostar 3313/14 broke a British rail record set in 1979 by reaching speeds of 208 mph in 2003. The rail network was recently taken to court by French train-maker Alstom over its decision to give a $600 million contract for 10 new trains to German builder Siemens. However, a U.K. court rejected the application to have the contract suspended. Alstom is the world’s second biggest train maker and the supplier of all existing Eurostar trains.

8. South Korea

Train: KTX-I
Top Speed: 190 mph
Capacity: 965

South Korea’s high-speed rail network, known as Korea Train eXpress (KTX), carries more than 100,000 passengers a day on its two lines. In April 2010, a record 178,584 people used the country’s high-speed rail network. After 12 years of construction, the first high-speed line was opened in 2004, slashing travel time from the capital Seoul to the port city of Busan to two hours and 40 minutes, half the time it took previously. The travel time between the two cities was reduced by a further 22 minutes when a second line was opened.
The impact of high-speed rail has been felt by the domestic airline industry, which has seen its capacity shrink by more than 30 percent between 2003 and 2007. Although the introduction of low-cost air carriers in the country has helped demand for air travel grow again, passenger levels are still below what they used to be before high-speed rail was introduced.

9. Taiwan

Train: THSR 700T
Top Speed: 186 mph
Capacity: 989 passengers

Taiwan’s high-speed rail project, which cost a total of $18 billion, is one the world’s largest privately funded rail construction plans. The country’s THSR 700T trains have cut travel time from 4.5 hours to 90 minutes on the 214-mile route from the northern capital of Taipei to the southern city of Kaohsiung. The 30 high-speed trains, which began operations in 2007, are based on the Japanese 700 Series Shinkansen “bullet train” model. A record 36.9 million passengers rode the trains in 2010, a 14 percent increase from the year before. The country’s high-speed rail system has been making headlines recently after the government said the network might not last more than 10 years because of sinking land caused by the overuse of groundwater. Last month, the government said it would cap deep groundwater wells that threaten the structural base of the high-speed system.

10. Russia

Train: Siemens Velaro RUS
Top Speed: 175 mph
Capacity: 600 passengers

Russia’s fastest high-speed train runs on the Moscow-St. Petersburg line, and made its debut in December 2009. The German-built Velaro RUS trains, also known as the Sapsan, have cut the travel time for the 401-mile route from eight hours to three hours and 45 minutes. The 10-car passenger trains operate at a maximum speed of 155 mph, but hit a speed record of 175 mph during trials in 2009. The eight high-speed trains are worth nearly $1 billion. Russia is eager to expand its high-speed rail network ahead of hosting the 2018 FIFA World Cup. The country has invited foreign investors to bid on development contracts for new lines that will link its cities.

Here we compiled a list of the countries with world’s fastest trains based on the maximum speed measured in miles per hour (mph). We’ve included record speeds hit during trial runs on electric and magnetic levitation (Maglev) trains, as well as those of experimental models. The numbers are based on a series of publicly available reports, as well as information from organizations such as the Railway Gazette International and the Center for Asia Pacific Aviation.

World's Most Livable Cities

Four of Australia’s capital cities have been named among the world’s most livable. Melbourne outperformed 140 rivals to receive the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Global Livability Survey gong for a second year in a row.

Here is a list of all 10 most livable cities in the world.

1. Melbourne is the most livable city in the world with a perfect score of 97.5 per cent.

2. The Viennese Christmas Market is a favourite for tourists and residents in the Austrian capital, named the second most livable city.

3. Vancouver, Canada, a seasoned performer in the rankings, claimed third spot.

4. The Toronto city skyline gives a hint as to why the Canadian city came in fourth.

5. Canada’s third city in the top ten was Calgary, down to number five. Here, City of Calgary firefighters wear their cowboy duds as they wait on standby at the Calgary Stampede in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

6. Adelaide rocketed three places to join sixth thanks to above infrastructure improvements.

7. Sydney dropped one place to seventh position despite an unchanged score.

8. Finland’s capital Helsinki made livability at eighth rankings. Pictured are the city’s monument and cathedral.

9. Perth was the fourth Australian city in the top ten, coming in at ninth, down one place from last year. Pictured is the Fremont’s fisher mans harbour and Perth city behind.

10. New Zealand’s Auckland rounded out the top ten.