Oh, this isn't going to help the relations between Boston and New York. Over the weekend thieves in Attleboro, Massachusetts stole up to $2 million in gold, gems and other valuables including some of the New York Giants Super Bowl rings from a jewelry manufacturer. The thieves disabled the alarm system at E.A. Dion, then cut a hole in the roof and managed to lift a 1,000-pound safe out. The rings, which were manufactured by the company and designed by Tiffany and Co. are white gold set with 1.5 carats of diamonds and valued at $25,000 . Luckily the players and coaches received their rings last month.

Boston is my favorite place to spend the fourth of July but finding a great spot to view the fireworks and hear the concert on the Esplenade can be challenging if you don't have a local friend with a great roof deck. The Liberty Hotel, once the Charles Street Jail, offers a a one-of-a-kind way to experience Boston's Fourth of July celebrations. Their Independence Day Perfect View package comes with up to four seats on the Community Boating Dock for the Boston Pops! performance and Charles River fireworks display,dinner for up to four people at Clink, the hotel restaurant, and Veuve Clicquot champagne and dessert at turndown. Prices start at 1,515 per night with a two-night minimum booking.

Most people see bottle service with VIP treatment at a hot club in a big city a special treat and a perk of being able to afford spendy bottles of booze. But one Boston official disagrees and is cracking down on the clubs that offer bottle service to their clients. His argument? That the price of the bottle causes patrons to feel they have to down the whole thing before the night is over which, consequently, steps on the toes of the "happy hour" law of a two-drink max per patron. Club owners and VIP's agree that it is an important part of high-end establishments. Personally, I've only seen people partake in bottle service -- and typically there are more than enough people at the table to help decrease individuals portions.

More real estate auction news, this time from Boston where two condo buildings will be auctioned off in the next two months: the Broadluxe, a loft project in the Financial District near the waterfront, and The Modern, at the fringes of the South End will be holding separate auctions.

This isn't the first time we've seen a condo auction in Boston, we reported on one back in 2006, but since then the market has shifted lower and the condo boom has turned into a condo bust for some of the projects.

The Modern is home to 25 units on the fringe of the popular South End, a trendy neighborhood that borders some less desirable areas. Fifteen of the units in the building have been sold but the remaining ten will be auctioned off on May 18. The minimum prices the developers will accept for many of the units are in the mid- to high $300,000 range.

The Broadluxe was seized in a foreclosure last summer by TD Banknorth. The developer of the Broadluxe ran out of money and the Boston Globe says that the project is now the subject of several lawsuits between and among contractors and other principals. Now the project located on Broad Street is nearly completed and all of the building's 44 units will be auctioned in early June.

It's not all bad news in Boston, some buildings such as The Clarendon, at the corner of Clarendon and Stuart streets, are selling well. In these tough times the buildings that are located in unassailable neighborhoods continue to move but projects in less hot areas have been suffering.

The Colonnade Hotel in Boston is taking advantage of the current stock market volatility with their Bull and Bears package which gives guests a discount depending on the stock market trend of the day. The package, which is available Sunday through Thursday gives guests 20 percent off their stay if the market goes down, or 10 percent if the market goes up. The package is designed for the business traveler and includes a double occupancy room, in-room breakfast, high speed Internet access, an overnight shoeshine and parking. Rates start around $300 and the hotel does have a great feature for summer, it's one of the only hotels in the area with a rooftop pool.

For the next couple of weeks we will be checking out some homes in the most expensive zip codes in the United States, up today, 02114. This zip code is in the Beacon Hill area of Boston, Massachusetts has a median price of $2,070,000 and an appreciation rate of 271% since 1990. In this part of Boston, you are paying for history, convenience and also for the picturesque beauty of the area.

Today's selection is a townhouse located near Charles Street, Beacon Hill's main drag which is backed with antique stores, small cozy restaurants and small gourmet grocery stores. This four-bedroom home has a bottom floor with a sitting room, kitchen, and a classic shuttered bay windo. The second floor includes a southern-orientated music room with s its own wood burning fireplace. The second floor also features the formal living room with moldings and hardwood floors. The master suite is on the third floor and has a marble vanity, his and her sinks, and a dual shower as well as a separate office/dressing room with built in shelving. The au-pair suite is on the lower level and has a living/kitchen area that could be converted to a media room. This home is listed at $4.25 million.

While not as dramatic perhaps as other city skylines, Boston's view from above has its own charms. Experience them with the new Fly Above Boston package from Hilton hotels. The package is available through five different Hilton and Doubletree hotels in the Boston area and includes an overnight stay, transportation to the Aquarium for pick up, then a helicopter ride above Boston and an 11 Lighthouse tour for two followed by dinner for two at a hilltop golf club overlooking Boston. The package starts at $1,600 per couple.

Homes like this in Boston don't come on the market too often. This stately brick townhouse is located on Beacon Street opposite the Public Garden. The home was built in 1846 for former Secretary of the Navy Benjamin Crowninshield and must have been the height of fashion and luxury at the time. The home went through a major renovation in 1990. The renovation seems to have included the large kitchen that has French doors opening out onto the garden. Other features include a library, a billiard room with a wet bar, a dining room with a dumb waiter and a caterer's kitchen. The top floor includes a large modern gym that includes a hot tub and steam shower. There is also a roof deck with great Back Bay skyline views.The listing says that there is outdoor parking on a private street. This might mean some major parking hassles in the winter, but what you are paying for here are all the vintage details, the curlicued plaster medallions on the ceiling, nine Tiffany-designed stained glass windows and some of the most gorgeous woodwork I have ever seen. The staircase alone is worthy of poetry and those tufted velvet built-in seats next to the huge fireplace are so evocative of the time period this house was built in that they seem to be part of an oil painting.. There are five bedrooms total and ten fireplaces. There are some strange quirks, too, such as a rather coffin-like bathtub. But with an old beauty of a house like this, you have to embrace the quirks. It is listed at $6.9 million.

The spa condo concept comes to Boston with the announcement that the exhale mind body spa will open its newest Boston location at the new residential project known as 45 Province. The full-service, 138-unit luxury condominium project is located at 45 Province St. between Boston's Downtown Crossing Shopping District and the Boston Common. The building's amenities include a multi-level gym and a 40-foot indoor/outdoor lap pool, a rooftop meditation garden, a parlor with a library, a lounge and screening room, a dining room with a catering kitchen, a concierge and a restaurant. The residences start at a 993-foot one bedroom up to a 2,610-square-foot three-bedroom and prices start at $724,000. The building is set to be completed in 2009.

[via Boston Business Journal]

A reader sent us a tip for this jewelry store, Persona Jewelry which has three stores in Boston in the lobbies of three of the city's finest hotels, The Taj, The Ritz-Carlton and the Hotel Commonwealth) as well as in the Pierre in New York City. The store is an interesting mix of high-end and more modestly priced pieces by designers such as Alexis Bittar, Stephan Blake and Gurhan. The in house jeweler and owner, Gary Shteyman, also creates custom pieces. There are also estate pieces by Van Cleef & Arpels, Bulgari, and Cartier. The glittering piece shown here is an 18K white gold bracelet set with 91.83 carats of multicolored sapphires. It sells for $23,585.

[Thanks, Vadim]

Ah Beacon Hill, arguably Boston's most charming neighborhood, a hilly little enclave of brick townhouses and cobblestone streets. Today's home is a five-story townhome with a long history (it was constructed in 1827). It is located on the sunny side of Chestnut Street (trust me, in the winter months this is vitally important). It was renovated in 2000. Because it is an older Beacon Hill townhome it's narrow but the ceilings are high and it does have an elevator. The three-bedroom home has a guest suite, a study with a terrace that gives you a rooftop view over the surrounding homes and your own brick courtyard. It is listed at $5.4 million.

I've already reported on two new LEED certified neighborhood developments, here comes news of a third. Fan Pier in Boston will be a $3 billion development that spreads across nine city blocks and will be home to residential, commercial, hotel and retail space. The Fallon Company recently broke ground on Fan Pier's first office building. It is the second building to be constructed at Fan Pier, following the striking design of the new Institute of Contemporary Art. One Fan Pier Boulevard, will be a new 18-story office building.

Fan Pier's next building will be a 20-story, 175-guestroom luxury hotel with 100 residential units, many with terraces overlooking the harbor. There will be nine new buildings in total as well as public parks and an improved harbor walk. There will also be a 96-slip deep water yacht marina that will be able to host megayachts. The project is expected to completed during the next four years.

What's green about this one? News on that has been slow in coming. There are lots of public parks planned and it will have excellent access to public transportation but while the developers are promising a sustainable neighborhood they have not offered up a lot of specifics to the public yet.

After seeing the success of the Red-Sox-themed charity wines, a couple of ex-Boston Bruins have decided they want wines too. The three Longball Vineyards wines, Manny Being Merlot (Manny Ramirez), Schilling Schardonnay (Kurt Schilling) and CaberKnuckle (Tim Wakefield) have helped raise money for the players' favorite charities. Boston Bruins icons Cam Neely and Ray Bourque are creating the Hat Trick Vineyards label with the same company, Charity Wines, to launch CamBernet and Bourque Merlot. The wines will be produced by California's Selby Winery and the profits will benefits Cam Neely Foundation for Cancer Care, the Celebrities for Charity Foundation (Bourque's charity of choice) and the Boston Bruins Foundation. The Red Sox wines sells for $12 each and the hockey wines are expected to be in the $10 to $13 range. The wines will be available starting in November.

No, that's not a misspelling of one of my favorite whiskeys, the mountain-like building shown here is The Macallen, a sloping new condo complex near the Broadway Red Line station in South Boston. The building's unique design helps it dominate the nearby railroad tracks on one side (and catch a view of the Boston skyline) while letting it fit in with the low-rise brick buildings on Dorchester Avenue on another side. The brick and bronze building is the work of architecture firm Office dA , a partnership of Nader Tehrani and Monica Ponce de Leon, one of whom teaches at Harvard, the other at MIT. This building is a series of dramatic angles offering a variety of differently shaped units. Standard condo amenities like a health club, a pool and indoor parking are included. The Macallen is also one of the greenest buildings in Boston and is expected to, according to the Boston Globe, achieve a gold LEEDS rating . The building is home to 150 condos ranging in price from $550,000 up to $2.1 million, with 30 units reserved for affordable housing.

Today's estate takes us to Beacon Hill, one of Boston's most expensive neighborhoods. The home is located on Mt. Vernon Place very close to the State House. The five-bedroom home was built in 1833 and has a corner location which gets more sunlight than other homes in the area because it has three-sided window exposure. The home has four levels which can be reached by staircase or elevator. Details include a formal dining room with a mural, a walled garden, a circular playroom and a fitness center with a spa bath. The home also has parking for two cars which doesn't sound like a big deal unless you have ever tried to find parking in this area (it's perhaps the toughest place to find parking in the city). It is listed at $16.5 million. After the jump, it's all classic and stately until you get to the bathroom.