All that glitters...

The news is grabbing my attention. First the Large Hadron Collider, and now...


Yesterday, on the very same day that Lehman Brothers collapsed, and our financial future became even rockier than it was the day before, the contemporary art world made history with Damien Hirst’s sale at Sotheby’s of an entire body of new work. Work sold at auction by the artist. Not the usual route -- where pieces sell first through a gallery and might later arrive at auction via collectors who'd like to off-load.

He who dares wins: Marketing and spin paid off for Damien Hirst.

Many pieces achieved prices way above their estimates. So, while investors have lost confidence in property, they feel bullish about contemporary art.

And if you had several million sloshing around -- would you throw it away on property, risk it on the stock market, stash it in a bank that might go bust, or gamble on freshly minted art?

If gold prices had not risen to their current heights, I might have withdrawn my savings and invested in glittering ore. The thought really did cross my mind. Not Krugerrands, and certainly not gold bars, but either...

The Gold Toy Lamp by Ryan McElhinney (though not real gold)...


Or a ring by Solange Azagury-Partridge (definitely real gold)...


So I could take my worth wherever I go...