Need some extraordinary holiday shopping ideas? The exhibit “Worth Its Weight: Gold From The Ground Up“ just opened at The Museum of American Finance, showing the ways gold has influenced our everyday lives from the American Gold Rush days to the present, along with its more unexpected uses (like the 18 karat gold Monopoly set, above). Worth Its Weight showcases hundreds of objects from over forty public and private collections.
- CARTERSVILLE, Ga., Dec. 6, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ - Master jeweler Sidney Mobell was featured at Tellus Science Museum on Saturday December 6 during the opening reception of Jeweled Objects.
- Artist Sidney Mobell created this gold and jewel-encrusted Monopoly set in 1988. Following strict guidelines put forth from Parker Brothers, the game's manufacturer, he used 24-karat gold and 165.
MARKED: Sydney Mobell 18k, Italy, 750. WEIGHT: 9.1 grams.Gemstones have not been graded for color and clarity,and tested for clarity and color enhancement, unless stated otherwise. Watches are guaranteed to be in running order, if described as such, at the time of listing only.
The exhibit is divided into three sections: history, everyday usage, and gold as objects of beauty, with treasured objects from the Tiffany & Co. archives, along with a display by jewelry designer Marla Aaron. In a connecting room you will find The Midas Touch of Sydney Mobell, well known for his unusual and quirky gold and jeweled luxury items.
The Museum of American Finance opened its doors at 48 Wall Street in the space that was formerly used as the banking hall in the historic Bank of New York building. It was built in 1928 on land used by the bank since 1797.
Here are some of the highlights from this new exhibit:
Mining artifacts from the California Gold Rush, including miner’s pan, miner’s candlestick, eating utensils and pepperbox gun are displayed below a detailed timeline:
The world’s first gold coin: the King of Lydia gold stater, circa 564-550 BC:
At 662 oz., the Kellogg & Humbert gold ingot is the third largest bar from the SS Central America shipwreck, which was a 280 foot steamer known as the Ship of Gold. The ship sank in a hurricane in 1857, along with more than 420 passengers and 30,000 pounds of gold. It is said that this contributed to the Panic of 1857:
A full set of gold alloy dentures, circa 1800, which is on loan from the National Museum of Dentistry. A rarely displayed collection of “12 Caesar’s” gold coins, which is on loan from Thomas Tesoriero:
A cabaret service, c.1905-1906 from the Tiffany & Co. Archives crafted of 18 karat gold, citrines, and nephrite jade. This set was owned by William Fox, founder of Fox Film Corporation, which is now Twentieth Century Fox. This is the first time this set has been exhibited in public:
A gold and opal Cigarette Case on loan from the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution. The case features the portrait of Tsar Nicholas in the gem stone:
Below is a World War II Victory Charm Bracelet, c. 1944 on loan from the Tiffany & Co. Archives. Due to wartime constraints, the bracelet and charms are made of 14 karat gold, which is a lower karat than typically used for luxury jewelry. On the bracelet you will see the charms of the Statue of Liberty, an airplane, the Victory sign, St. Christopher, and the U.S. Navy anchor:
A gold box once owned by Elizabeth Taylor, which is on loan from the Tiffany & Co. Archives:
Below, Sidney Mobell stands in front of seventeen of the luxury objects he designed. Mr. Mobell designed hundreds of jeweled objects during his thirty years as a jewelry shop owner in San Francisco’s Fairmont Hotel. In 2002, Mr. Mobell donated nineteen of his jeweled creations to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History in memory of his late wife, Ronni.
Some of the objects on display by Mobell are a 10 gallon garbage can made of 24 karat gold and set with 457 precious and semi-precious stones, including 208 rubies, 164 sapphires, 18 emeralds and seven diamonds; an 18 karat solid gold pacifier with 8 round-cut diamonds; a mailbox plated with 24 karat gold and studded with 137 sapphires, 100 rubies, 25 diamonds and 10 emeralds and a gold and jewel encrusted shovel with three historic coins, just to name a few – all on loan from the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution.
A 14 karat gold Nokia cell phone encrusted with 39 diamonds, 21 rubies and 212 sapphires by Sidney Mobell:
A 14 karat sold gold mousetrap with diamond cheese wedge by Sidney Mobell:
Gold and jewel encrusted gumball machine by Sidney Mobell:
Last but not least, a gold and jewel encrusted toilet seat, which is on display next to the Museum restrooms:
“Worth Its Weight: Gold From the Ground Up” is sponsored by Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak and Sidney Mobell, with additional support from the International Precious Metals Institute (IPMI), Van Eck Gold Funds, and Loomis. The Museum of American Finance is an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution. Inspired by the Stock Market Crash of 1987, it is our nation’s only independent public museum dedicated to preserving, exhibiting and teaching about the history of American finance. The exhibit will be on view through December 2016, located at 48 Wall Street.
Next, check out the Gold ATM on 57th Street and learn more about Wall Street here. Get in touch with the author at AFineLyne.
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SIGN UP NOWGIFT ITIf you still want to experience other strategy/intelligence games and you have the money to buy real works of art, in the following we propose sets of chess, monopoly and Backgammon.
Chess Set
Renowned French artist and master of jewelry, Bernard Maquin created the Royal Diamond Chess set in 2005 bringing the game of chess to a whole new level. Noted for its ability to combine fine art, jewelry, and the classic game of chess, this is one of the most expensive chess sets in the world.
Thirty craftsmen, under the direction of Maquin spent over 4500 hours creating the expensive chess set. The work was done all by hand and when it was completed, the artists used 1168.75 grams of 14 carat white gold, and approximately 9900 black and white diamonds, bringing the total weight to 186.09 carats and the total cost to $500,000.
This posh chess set is part of the Charles Hollander Collection, one of the most respected names in the diamond industry. And you just know you are looking at a piece from the Hollander collection when you see a game doubling as a diamond studded work of art.
But if you thought the Hollander set would make your chess game bling-bling, then you haven’t seen the most expensive chess set in the world yet. This label goes to the Jewel Royale Chess Set from Britain. Boodles, a British custom jewelry company commissioned its production.
Valued at over £5 million ($9.8m USD), this single chess set is the most expensive and exquisite game set of any kind in the world. Constructed of gold and platinum, it contains diamonds, emeralds, rubies, pearls and sapphires. The king piece alone weighs 165.2 grams of 18 carat yellow gold and has a spiraling mid-section graced by 73 rubies and 146 diamonds.
Interestingly, there will be a limited number of replica sets selling for about £20,000 ($26,700 USD). Book and film script adaptations featuring The Jewel Royale Chess Set, with the title of “Checkmate”, are being worked on by an un-known, award winning British writer. Whether it’s a comedy or a thriller, promotional and merchandising opportunities are sure to be huge!
The production of the Jewel Royale is nearly complete, and when suitable sponsors are confirmed, a celebrity chess tournament is slated to happen using the most expensive chess set in the world.
Monopoly Set
Parker Brothers’ famous game of economics, Monopoly, has been called “the most played board game in the world. It’s certainly a believable title when you consider that, according to Hasbro, the game has been played by over 750 million people since Parker Brothers originally published it in 1935.
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Monopoly is actually based on a game patented by Elizabeth J. Magie in 1906. The Quaker woman hoped to use The Landlord’s Game to explain Henry George’s single tax theory. Despite Magie’s original and renewed patents of the game, several versions of the game were created in the years before the game was published by Parker Brothers. The name Monopoly was first applied to the game in 1910 when a shortened version called “Auction Monopoly,” eliminating the Georgist elements of the game, became popular.
In 1933, Charles Darrow copyrighted his own version of the game, simply called Monopoly, and began shopping for publishers. Despite having rejected Magie’s original Landlord’s Game twice and Darrow’s Monopoly once, Parker Brothers eventually elected to publish the game n 1935. Despite having gone so far as to acquire Magie’s patent, as well as a lengthy lawsuit from 1976 to 1985 over the rights to the game, Parker Brothers doesn’t acknowledge the history of the game prior to Charles Darrow’s version. In spite of the game’s complex history, the most expensive Monopoly game is not a rare, antique board. That is not to say that there are no prized old editions of the game.
One particularly rare version, the fascist edition of Monopoli published in 1940s Italy, may have some value to collectors. This version was not published by Parker Brothers and was created to circumvent the fascist trade laws of Italy’s government at the time. The exact value of this version, however, is unknown.
The most expensive Monopoly set, though, is a more recent creation. Instead, it’s a special board created by jeweler Sidney Mobell. It was crafted with rubies, diamonds, sapphires and 23k gold. Even the dice are encrusted with diamonds. This expensive Monopoly set is worth $2 million USD and has been certified by Guinness World Records as the most expensive Monopoly set in the world.
Backgammon Set
Fans of Backgammon, we’ve got Geoffrey Parker here to bring you an elegant and exquisite Backgammon game set which will knock you off your chair. Since 1958, Geoffrey Parker has been creating some of the most luxurious gifts and game sets until today, for a clientele that includes fabled figures, casinos, corporations and many more. The most expensive poker set in the world, priced at a staggering $7.5 million, was his creation, and now he has revealed the most expensive Backgammon game set in the world.
Having dealt with a huge array of challenges to design and craft Backgammon sets for a number of aficionados and champions, Geoffrey Parker is now bringing forth a rather different, exotic approach to the business. Reportedly featuring a tournament sized board decked in Alligator / Stingray, the game set boasts with an Alligator playing field, Shagreen points and a solid 18-carat gold stones set, each one including a 1-carat diamond.
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In addition to these parts, the manufacturer has also provided a diamond set doubling cube, whose numbers have been crafted from diamonds, carefully placed on the 18-carat white gold base. The dice themselves have also been crafted from 18-carat white gold, each one adorned with 27 diamonds.
If closed, the game set measures 605 mm in length, 375 mm in width and 85 mm in thickness. It was fully hand-crafted by Parker’s artists. It is available, alongside other exquisite games and sets, on the GiftVault website, bearing a price tag of $387,890.