Dazzling jewellery from the collection of Greek shipping heiress Christina Onassis is to go under the hammer in London on June 11, auction house Christie's told AFP on Friday, April 18th.

China became the world's biggest producer of gold last year, overtaking South Africa which held top spot for 100 years, the independent precious metals consultancy GFMS said here on Wednesday.

Besides the hefty five or even six-digit price tags, the prominent presence of mobile phone brand Vertu at the world's largest watch show in Basel seemed somewhat out of place.

Top jewellers De Beers and Swarovski on Thursday opened flagship stores in Tokyo in a bid to lure customers in the highly lucrative but increasingly saturated Japanese luxury market.

The estate of Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, the legendary German soprano who died in 2006, went under the hammer here this week, raising much more than expected for two children's charities, the Vienna-based auction house Dorotheum said Friday March 14th.

Gold prices topped 1,000 dollars for the first time and oil futures rocketed to a record high 111 dollars this week as the dollar plunged to all-time lows against the euro.

If it succeeds in its lofty aims, the first shop in Palermo showcasing goods from businesses who refuse to pay Mafia extortion fees will eventually be forced out of business.

Sales of a bracelet will go towards a U.N. fund to combat violence against women under a plan announced on Tuesday by the United Nations, the Avon cosmetics company and movie star Reese Witherspoon. Avon Products Inc.

Sales of a bracelet will go towards a U.N. fund to combat violence against women under a plan announced on Tuesday by the United Nations, the Avon cosmetics company and movie star Reese Witherspoon.

US authorities raided dozens of stores in New York's Chinatown Tuesday in a crackdown on counterfeit goods that yielded fake watches, bags and perfumes with a street value of one million dollars.

The estate of Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, the legendary German soprano who died in 2006, will go under hammer here next month, with the proceeds to go to charity, the Vienna-based auction house Dorotheum said Thursday February 21th.

The price of platinum soared on Thursday past 2,000 dollars an ounce to a record as power shortages affected mining production in South Africa, the biggest supplier of the white precious metal, traders said.

The price of platinum soared to a record high near 2,000 dollars here on Tuesday February 12th as the precious metal was swept higher by persistent supply concerns in top producer South Africa.

The price of platinum struck an historic high nearing 1,900 dollars here Monday on supply disruptions caused by power shortages in South Africa, the white metal's biggest producer, traders said.

De Beers, the world's biggest diamond company, said Friday February 8th its 2007 sales fell three percent to 6.84 billion dollars (4.71 billion euros) and flagged a "high level of uncertainty" about its business this year.