clipped from: www.cnn.com 
The human skull is encrusted with more than 8,600 diamonds.
LONDON, England (Reuters) -- Damien Hirst, former BritArt bad boy whose works infuriate and inspire in equal measure, did it again on Friday with a diamond-encrusted platinum cast of a human skull priced at a cool $98 million.
The skull, cast from a 35-year-old 18th-century European male, is coated with 8,601 diamonds, including a large pink diamond worth more than $8 million in the center of its forehead.
"I hope this work gives people hope -- uplifting, take your breath away," he said in response to a question on what he expected the public to get from the skull.