At the beginning of November a platinum corkscrew was unveiled by cutlery and tableware maker Sveid. The company's latest creation for the super-rich has the option to be bought with a solid platinum finger grip. With a price tag of €50,000 the item is surely only for the richest of show-offs at the dinner table, but the acquisition of the corkscrew does also entitle the buyer to be registered in Sveid's owners' list.

The Patek Philippe International Collection of watches arrived in Blackpool for the first time during November. The exceptional watch collection contains some of the world's rarest timepieces, including a platinum watch worth £100,000. The Patek Philippe watchmaking company holds the record for all of the top 20 most expensive watches ever bought at auction, the Blackpool Citizen reports. The collection on display in Blackpool was on show at jewellers Leonard Dews' Church Street store at the beginning of November. The arrival of the watches at the store was part of Leonard Dews' 130th anniversary celebrations.

It was announced in November that some historic and extraordinary jewellery items will be appearing at auction at Sotheby's in New York in December. On December 4th, the renowned auction house will be exhibiting a variety of rare items, including some seminal Cartier masterpieces in platinum. Among the items will be the Diamond Bandeau, created by Cartier in Paris in 1912, which is estimated to be worth between $150,000 and $200,000. Offered to the auction from a distinguished private family collection, the Diamond Bandeau "illustrates how Cartier designers were influenced by leading Parisienne fashion houses at the turn-of-the-century and perfected the art of platinum and diamond embroidery", explains Sotheby's.

Cartier's platinum collection has remained an integral part of the jeweller's collections and it is still producing top platinum jewellery items today. The International Herald Tribune has commented on Cartier's Inde Mysterieuse collection which was introduced in September. At the centre of this new collection was a platinum and diamond neckpiece "anchored by a 63.66-carat pear-cut diamond", demonstrating the timeless beauty of platinum jewellery.

Also during November, Novell launched a major advertising offensive to promote its new platinum wedding band and engagement ring styles. Platinum jewellery has become increasingly popular over recent years and is now a major market for bridal wear. Whereas yellow gold had previously been the most popular choice, there is now a huge bridal market for white metals such as platinum.

Jewellers in the US are looking forward to a bumper holiday season this year, if figures released by the National Retail Federation (NRF) are correct. Holiday sales are expected to rise by four per cent in the US this year compared to the previous year, the NRF reports, with luxury retailers such as jewellers anticipated to do particularly well. "Luxury retailers once again appear to be a bright spot as their customers have demonstrated the ability to maintain high levels of spending," the organisation said in its report. The NRF predicts holiday sales, which are those that occur in the months of November and December, will reach $474.5 billion in the US this year.

Meanwhile Japanese jeweller, Nagahori, has developed a new Christmas present for the super-rich: a platinum and diamond golf putter and golf ball. The 500 gram Platinum 900 putter head is adorned with white and pink diamonds and was displayed in Tokyo near the end of November.

Ÿ Adfero Ltd