The state of a country’s well-being says a lot about its prosperity and progress.

That’s why Gallup and Healthways team up to produce the annual “State of Global Well-Being Index,” which this year analyzed 135 world countries in five elements, including financial stability, social relationships, community safety, physical well-being, and sense of purpose (i.e. contributing to society).

The researchers culled results from over 133,000 surveys taken in 2013 and ranked the countries with the highest and lowest well-being in each element, as well as those who thrived in three or more categories.

Here are the countries with the highest and lowest well-being, with darker countries doing better:

Panama had by far the best well-being ranking in the world, with 61% of its population thriving in four of the five well-being elements. Gallup and Healthways researchers claimed that Panama's cultural positivity, relative political stability, and growing economy contributed to its high ranking.

But the Central American country was not thriving in terms of financial well-being, and struggled with a high poverty rate. Researchers noted this was especially prevalent for women and that ample work was needed to help women achieve financial stability on par with men.

Costa Rica followed Panama in a distant second place, with 44% of its population thriving in three or more elements, followed by Denmark, Austria, and Brazil rounding out the top five.

The U.S. came in #12 in the overall ranking, with high marks in social well-being and purpose.

Gallup noted that the Americas have the highest overall well-being among the world's regions: a full 33% of people surveyed were thriving in three or more of the five well-being areas.

Meanwhile, Syria and Afghanistan fell to the bottom of the ranking, with only about 1% of each of their populations thriving in at least three areas. Respondents in both of these countries were described as war-weary, with little certainty about their country's future.

Haiti (3%), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (5%), and Chad (5%) also made the bottom five.

For more details on the results and countries, you can read the full Gallup and Healthways survey results here.

The above map was made using an underlying file from thematicmapping.org.

SEE ALSO: The Most Affluent Town In Every State

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Some of the most influential business books are available for next to nothing (or even nothing) in the Amazon Kindle store.

For less than $5, you can gather timeless wisdom from classics like Dale Carnegie's "How to Win Friends and Influence People," build your economic background with world-changing texts like John Maynard Keynes' "The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money," and get insight from ancient texts like Marcus Aurelius's "Meditations."

A few modern classics, like Susan Cain's "Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking" are also available.

If you've got a Kindle and a few bucks to spare, it's time to get reading.

"The Art of War" (c. 6th century BC)

Price: $0.99

Sun Tzu's ancient Chinese military classic has become required reading for executives around the world.

Rick Wartzman, executive director of the Drucker Institute, writes in Forbes that the book's influence outside the battlefield is due to the focus on the fundamentals of management and competition. It explains how you can outlast an enemy that is more powerful through patience and a focus of energy.

Buy it here >>

"Meditations" (c. 170 - 180)

Price: $0.99

Marcus Aurelius was the great Roman emperor known as the "Philosopher King." His personal writings from the end of his life have been collected as "Meditations," and have remained relevant for almost two millennia.

Marcus' reflections offer timeless wisdom into the nature of human beings, as well as advice on how to maintain self-control and determination in the face of adversity.

Buy it here >>

"The Prince" (1532)

Price: $0.99

The Italian political theorist Machiavelli's most well-known work has inspired a wildly diverse group that includes Thomas Jefferson, Napoleon, and mobster John Gotti.

Machiavelli's outline for being a ruthless and manipulative leader has been interpreted in many different ways and remains controversial.

Buy it here >>

Scotland votes on its independence today, and regardless of where you stand, when all is said and done you may want to raise a glass.

If that's the case, your drink has to be scotch whisky — the native spirit of the country itself.

To help you with that process, Business Insider put together a list of award winning whiskys from the International Wine and Spirit Compeition. Distillers and winemakers have been holding that competition since 1969, so you're sure to learn a thing or two.

Glenfiddich 125th Anniversary Edition Single Malt Scotch Whisky

Producer: William Grant & Sons Distillers Ltd

Judge's Tasting Notes:"Complex nose with ripe fruits and a fine oaky spiciness. A nice malty and biscuity texture, some pleasant barley sugars. A gentle smokiness in the end."

Source: IWSC

Glenfiddich Malt Master Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky

Producer: William Grant & Sons Distillers Ltd

Judge's Tasting Notes:"Poached pears and citrus fruit. Concentrated sweetness with toffee cream, honey and sweet buttery caramel. Great fruity vanilla spice in the mouth and a lovely fruity finish." 

Source: IWSC

Old Particular Craigellachie Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky 17YO

Producer: Douglas Laing & Co Ltd

Judge's Tasting Notes:"Very attractive nose rich spice and toffee on a wonderfully mature backing. Big floral wave pushes all the character in front. Very attractive oak. Warm and mellow in the mouth with rich fruit, coffee and hints of light smoke. Vanilla and cinnamon with polished oak. Long, complex, mature finish."

Source: IWSC

When you were a child, fall meant new school gear to start the season off fresh.

It's a little different for adults — no Trapper Keepers or freshly sharpened pencils — but freshness is still absolutely required.

To help you get set for the season, Business Insider put together a list of items that will put you in the right mind (and body) to start anew.

We want you to look, feel, and think sharp, so this isn't just about the clothes, people.

It's about the gentleman.

Bomber jacket

Bomber jackets have that ultimate cool-guy vibe to them, and they are the rare style that has been all over the runway that also fits in your closet.

Get a great bomber jacket here for $570, or a cheaper alternative for $188 here.

Some dressed-up fall footwear

We're told that this autumn it's all about boots — Chukkas, Chelseas, and Oxfords (the pair pictured is from Paul Evans). 

And as it gets colder (but not too cold and snowy) it's a good time to pick up some suede shoes. You can even design your own pair at Awl & Sundry.

Read more about fall shoe trends here.

A leather portfolio

Unless you want to lose everything, definitely invest in a work bag.

Although messenger bags have been popular the past few years, we recommend you get a portfolio instead. Messenger straps can crinkle your shirt and suit — and no one wants to look disheveled at a meeting.

You can get yourself a black leather portfolio from 3.1 Philip for $750 here at OWEN's online shop.

But if you must get a messenger bag, here's a cheaper option for $188.

Gold is an incredibly expensive substance.

But many things are worth more than their weight in gold.

Ranging from foods to creams to gems to things the average person can't fathom, we pulled together a list of 19 of the most expensive items in the world.

Think we missed something? Let us know in the comments.

19. White Truffles

Cost: Up to $5 per gram or $2,000 per pound

What you do with it: This seasonal mushroom can be shaved over pasta, steak, eggs, and rice and infused in oil to sprinkle on almost anything.

18. Saffron

Cost: $11.13 per gram or $5,040 per pound

What you do with it: Saffron is a flowering plant that can be used in natural remedies for everything from depression to menstrual cycles.

17. Iranian Beluga Caviar

Cost: $35 per gram or $1,000 per ounce

What you do with it: Also known as "almas," these costly fish eggs are eaten cold and in small bites as an appetizer and on unsalted crackers or bread.

The penthouse where convicted Ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff once lived has sold again for $14.5 million, Page Six reports.

According to the report, the apartment was sold to Lawrence Benenson, who runs a real estate investment and development firm. 

Douglas Elliman had the listing.

In December 2008, Madoff was arrested for securities fraud. For a few months, he was allowed to remain under house arrest in the lavish apartment. 

He was ultimately sentenced to 150 years in federal prison for orchestrating the largest financial fraud in history. He's currently serving his term in a federal facility in Butner, North Carolina.

The apartment looks airy and bright.

The living room offers views of the Chrysler building. It also leads to a landscaped terrace.

The living room also features a fireplace.

If you live in New York City, chances are you use the subway system daily. Love them or hate them, New York's subway cars are an iconic symbol of the city. But have you ever wondered how those cars came to be? 

We did, so we decided to take a trip (via subway, of course, as well as Metro-North rail) up to Yonkers, New York, to the Kawasaki Rail Car Manufacturing Facility, where many of New York's subway cars are completed and readied for service. What we found gave us a new perspective on the way we get to work every morning.

Kawasaki has been making heavy rail cars since 1906. Their Yonkers factory recently celebrated its 25th anniversary. Why Yonkers? An initial contract with the Port Authority for PATH trains stipulated that cars had to have final assembly done within a 25-mile radius of the Statue of Liberty. The building also used to be a Port Authority building.

Rolling stock makes up 10% of Kawaski's manufacturing, which includes commuter rail, high speed rail, light rail, and heavy rail. At this site, they do final assembly of brand new cars, as well refurbish older ones.

Kawasaki is the second largest manufacturer of train cars, owning 23.5% of the passenger rail market, just behind Bombardier with 30.1%. The third largest competitor is Siemens. Subway cars are built on contract from various authorities. The Yonkers plant has built and overhauled cars for the Port Authority, LIRR, PATH, SEPTA, and others.

Since 1994, the photographer Catherine Chalmers has been documenting nature's food chains by photographing animals of progressively larger size eating each other as they work their way up the trophic ladder.

While the idea for the project initially horrified her, Chalmers felt compelled to document food chains because it's something that's necessary to the world and largely ignored by humans.

"Humans have tried to remove ourselves from the food chain," she told us, "but it is the food chain that we rely on."

Chalmers has shared a number of photos from her project here, and you can see more on her website. The work was recently featured on Slate's Behold photo blog.

For the project, Chalmers did a three-step food chain. She started in the insect world with caterpillars, which are herbivores. She fed them a tomato.

When Chalmers began the project, the internet was hardly as robust as it is today. She contacted the Natural History Museum for a biological catalog to obtain the live insects.

Caterpillars are basically long digestive tubes, Chalmers said. After they fill themselves with as much as they can eat, they go to sleep.

Chalmers had to keep switching out caterpillars because they got full so quickly.

Chalmers next obtained praying mantis eggs. When they hatched, she had approximately 200 praying mantises that were about the size of mosquitoes. She had to separate them quickly so they wouldn't eat each other.

Praying mantises are happy to eat anything, in fact. They starting munching right away on the caterpillars, which are a common food for mantises.

The food caterpillars ate prior to becoming mantis prey determined what their insides looked like. In alternate photographs, Chalmers fed them yellow peppers or tobacco leaves, turning their insides yellow and brown respectively.

Chalmers got very attached to her insects. She said one of the most difficult parts of the project was selecting which caterpillars and praying mantises would get eaten.

The last stage in Chalmers' food chain was supposed to be a tarantula. While she bred a Mexican redknee tarantula, she had difficulty getting it to feed on the praying mantis. Tarantulas are finicky creatures, capable of not eating for months at a time.

In addition, while fully mature tarantulas can take out most praying mantises, mature praying mantises are capable of killing tarantulas. To that end, she had to ensure the life cycle of her mantises and tarantula intersected so the mantises would get eaten. It was a difficult task.

After trying for months, Chalmers decided to try an Indonesian breed of frogs, which will eat anything in front of them.

Praying mantises always think of themselves as the top predator. Because of that, they have no fear climbing on top of the much larger frog.

It didn't turn out well for the mantis.

Most animals like to take a nap after eating.

After the insect project, Chalmers moved on to mammals. Her first target: mice.

"They're nature's 'Cheerios.' Everyone eats them," Chalmers said. "When rodent populations crash, animal populations crash along with them."

Creating a balanced food chain is extremely difficult. Even though the mice had multiple predators (tarantula, snake, etc), they bred so fast the predators couldn't keep up with how many mice were being born.

SEE ALSO: The 20 Best New Pictures Of Nature From Around The World

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A wave of innovation is driving a dramatic shift in the way we make payments.

In this presentation, we highlight the most important trends fueling the changes: the rise of payment apps, mobile registers, e-commerce, and the decline of cash and checks. We also show where the payments industry is headed. Many of the slides are based on charts exclusive to BI Intelligence. 

BI Intelligence is a research and analysis service focused on mobile computing, digital media, payments, and e-commerce. Only subscribers can download the individual charts and datasets in Excel, along with the PowerPoint and PDF versions of this deck. Please sign up for a free trial here.

This deck is downloadable as a PPT for BI Intelligence members. Click below for a free trial.

Please sign up for your free 14-day trial by clicking here.

San Francisco's taxis have taken a hit from apps like Uber, Sidecar, and Lyft, and now the city has the numbers to prove it.

Last week, San Francisco's Municipal Transportation Agency released a report: in the last 15 months, cab use in the city has fallen by 65%. 

According to SFMTA's Taxis and Accessible Services director Kate Toran, who compiled the report, the average San Francisco taxi now makes 504 trips a month. In March 2012, the average taxi made about 1,424 trips a month.

The decrease in San Francisco's taxis can be attributed to services like Uber, Sidecar, and Lyft, which all operate in the city. "There's been a real reduction," Toran said to the SFMTA board of directors. "But obviously this doesn't tell the whole story. Part of the story is we don't have hard data yet from the [transportation network companies'] side to really analyze the full impact on the streets and our air quality." 

Last week, I went to a YouTube stars convention of sorts called INTOUR.

It featured a dozen or so internet celebrities that have millions of followers on YouTube and other social media platforms. 

It also featured the fans of all of these internet stars. Screaming, teenage girl fans, who were in tears by the end of the day because they were so emotionally overwhelmed. It felt like a new wave of Beatlemania, but this time, it was all caught on Instagram.

We put together a slideshow of photos from the fans perspectives so you could see what it looked and felt like to be a part of this new wave of celebrity.

There was a ton of excitement entering the Pasadena Convention Center.

Everyone got their meet and greet cards.

Everyone tried to answer this question fairly.

German pharmaceutical and chemical giant Merck announced today that it has agreed to buy Sigma-Aldrich, a US life sciences company for $17 billion. Merck will pay $140 per share in cash - a 37% premium to Friday closing price of $102.37.

This type of transaction is not a first for Sigma-Aldrich. As the name suggests, it was formed when Sigma Chemical Company and Aldrich Chemical Company merged in 1975. The combined publicly-traded company has acquired at least six other biochemical and research companies since 2001.

However, Sigma-Aldrich isn't exactly a household name outside of St. Louis, Missouri.

In presentations given in May and June, Sigma-Aldrich detailed the scope of its operations and revenue. 

Sigma-Aldrich is a chemical behemoth, and it manufacturers over 50,000 products.

Its customers know it for its various brands.

It has nearly 10,000 employees and its products are primarily used for research.

There are plenty of benefits to living in big cities like New York and San Francisco. 

But do they really offer the highest quality of life?

Residential resource company Livability recently released its annual list of the 100 best places to live in the US, looking at factors like access to schools, hospitals, and infrastructure; affordability and income; and how residents take advantage of those opportunities. (You can read the complete methodology here.)

Livability looked at more than 2,000 small- to mid-size cities in the US, with populations ranging from 20,000 to 350,000, to compile its ranking.

20. Eugene, Oregon

Located near the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, Eugene is an outdoorsy city with tons of water sports and a health-conscious attitude. The city is also home to the University of Oregon and has numerous performing arts and cultural venues.

Population: 156,222

Median Household Income: $41,525

Median Home Price: $244,600

Source: Livability.com

19. Rockville, Maryland

Rockville is a wealthy city on the outskirts of Washington, D.C. It is home to bio-medical and technology companies, with a 100,000-square-foot library and a popular town square.

Population: 60,960

Median Household Income: $97,667

Median Home Price: $481,700

Source: Livability.com

18. Salt Lake City

Salt Lake City offers a ton of recreational activities for residents, thanks to its proximity to the mountains and ski resorts. The University of Utah lends a lot to the city's culture. 

Population: 186,740

Median Household Income: $44,510

Median Home Price: $240,600

Source: Livability.com

Six seconds may not seem like a lot of time. 

But for the stars of Vine, six seconds is more than enough time to create clever videos with their own plot lines and surprise endings.

And for the creators who have amassed huge followings on the network, it can be relatively easy to partner with advertisers who will cut them a big check just for mentioning brand names or re-Vining sponsored videos. Some Vine stars — many of them teens and young twenty-somethings — can even make a living off of creating six-second videos. 

Niche, a startup that helps brands partner with popular social media creators, helped us compile a list of the best up-and-coming Vine stars out there. We're rounding up some of their most entertaining Vines here. 

Alli Fitz (or AlliCatt, as she's known online) is an Ohio college student whose Vines have gotten her promotions with Coke, MTV, and Universal Music.

Vine Embed:
https://vine.co/v/OaEVAQxEH5D/embed/simple
Width: 800px
Height: 600px

(AlliCattt, 2 million followers)

Josh Darnit is a San Diego-based Vine star with more than 1.6 million followers. His adorable — and hilarious — kids often steal the spotlight in his Vines.

Vine Embed:
https://vine.co/v/OBPHQqFOQZU/embed/simple
Width: 800px
Height: 600px

(Josh Darnit, 1.6 million followers)

David Lopez is a southern California-based Viner with more than 3.5 million fans. He's friends with Josh Darnit, and Josh's adorable son Evan also often makes appearances.

Vine Embed:
https://vine.co/v/MTUh5F9bWVg/embed/simple
Width: 800px
Height: 600px

(David Lopez, 3.5 million followers)

There are 24 new fall shows coming to network TV this fall and even more coming to cable.

It can be overwhelming to decide what's worth watching, so we narrowed down the picks to ten shows worth checking out across the networks, cable, and online.

Here's what you should tune into.

"Madam Secretary" (CBS)

Premieres: Sun., Sept. 21 at 8:30 p.m.

What it's about: Téa Leoni stars as the new White House Secretary of State who steps in after the previous one died in a suspicious plane crash.

Why you should watch: Initialreviews have been mixed; however, it sounds like there's potential for the series to be a mix between "The West Wing" and "The Good Wife" mixed with "Scandal." Writer Barbara Hall has previously worked on "Judging Amy."

Watch the trailer.

"Selfie" (ABC)

Premieres: Tues., Sept. 30 at 8 p.m.

What it's about: The modern version of "My Fair Lady," follows Karen Gillan ("Doctor Who") as a self-absorbed social media addict, Eliza Dooley, who asks a co-worker, Henry (John Cho), to rebrand her after she realizes she has no friends in real life.

Why you should watch: While the concept sounds gag inducing and a little outdated (Time considered the term a buzzword two years ago) the ABC comedy is actually good. We previewed the show at an event with an audience where it was well received. The chemistry between Cho and Gillan makes this show worthwhile. Everything that perturbs you about Gillan's character is reflected by Henry and it turns out he has a few quirks that could be straightened out by Dooley as well.

The main problem here is that the show’s marketing could use some rebranding. The initial trailer is alienating to a general audience who may get offended by a "vapid, social media obsessed narcissist." ABC pulled it from public viewing on YouTube after it was first released. 

Watch the trailer.

"The Flash" (The CW)

Premieres: Tues., Oct. 7 at 8 p.m. 

What it's about: The series will focus on the origin story of how Barry Allen turns into the Flash, the DC superhero with lightning speed.

Why you should watch: The series received a lot of praise from fans when it debuted earlier this year at San Diego Comic-Con. If you're a fan of the CW's other comic book series, "Arrow," you'll enjoy crossover moments between both shows along with a hint of the Flash's main villain in the season premiere.

Watch the trailer.

If you told Ukrainian photographer Valeriya Myronenko six months ago that Donbass, the region in eastern Ukraine where she grew up, would erupt in a war, she wouldn’t believe you. Now, with conflict raging between Ukraine and multiple separatist movements, it has become apparent that the unthinkable has come true for Myronenko.

Myronenko, who now lives in Toronto, stayed with her family in Donbass for four months this past spring and summer and witnessed the region deteriorating firsthand, she tells Business Insider.

“All the conflict unraveled before my eyes,” Myronenko says. “It was incredible to watch how fast things can go from civilization to something crazy and burned down.”

At various points over the last year, Myronenko was in Donbass, photographing the local culture and people in an effort to “document a reality that I felt would soon disappear.” Looking back, she now sees foreshadowing of the conflict in the photos of her neighbors and countrymen.

Myronenko shared photos from her project, called "Donbass I and II," with us here. You can see more at her website.

Myronenko grew up in Alchevsk, a small city in Donbass. It is near Luhansk, the capital of the province and one of the centers of fighting in eastern Ukraine. The area is heavily industrial.

While there are plenty of young people in Donbass, most try to leave as soon as they are able because the only career prospects are in a mine or a factory. The result has been a rapidly greying population.

"The people that are better at school leave for Kiev or bigger cities. There is a huge outflow of young people from Donbass," says Myronenko. This is the interior of the OJSC Steel & Iron Works. It is the economic core of the area, if you can believe it.

The endlessly flexible Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an absolutely astounding aircraft that can adapt to any challenge thrown its way. 

Designed against the backdrop of the Korean War, the C-130 celebrated the 60th anniversary of its first flight in August. Despite its age, the plane's airframe continues to be adapted and upgraded for novel uses across the full spectrum of the US military. 

From humanitarian rescue to paratrooper airdrops to gunship-type functions, the C-130 airframe is a marvel of ingenuity and versatility.

Even at 60-years-old, the aircraft continues to function as a key tool in the military's arsenal. 

The YC-130 prototype flew for the first time on August 23, 1954. Since that first flight, the C-130 has grown to support a variety of missions around the world.

The aircraft can land on, and takeoff from, even the most uneven runways.

The US Air Force and Air National Guard have their own variant of the plane, the LC-130, that has been outfitted with skis to allow for Arctic and Antarctic support operations.

There's nothing more entertaining than watching a group of "four drunk bros" barrel into your basement sweets shop on a Saturday afternoon and ask, "Do you guys have Vodka Red Bull cupcakes?" says Prohibition Bakery co-owner Leslie Feinberg.

Her business partner and chef, Brooke Siem, corrects her: "Four drunk girls." Post-brunch.

The Lower East Side's Prohibition Bakery began making its original alcohol-infused cupcakes in 2011, and flavors like Old Fashioned, Sangria, and Pretzels and Beer have been flying off the shelves ever since. Made using a novel technique of inserting liquor post-baking, so the alcohol doesn't burn off, the cupcakes have been a hit with big-league clients like Google and HBO.

And yes, you need to show an I.D. to purchase a cupcake. Virgin flavors are available for the under-21 crowd.

We included Prohibition Bakery on a recent list of the 28 Coolest Small Businesses In New York City, and we couldn't stop daydreaming about their sweet and boozy concoctions. Our journalistic integrity compelled us to investigate the matter further.

Welcome to Prohibition Bakery, the boozy cupcakery located on New York's Lower East Side. It could easily pass for a speakeasy from ground level on Clinton Street, with its nondescript storefront and low lighting.

Inside, you're greeted by the founders of New York's original alcohol cupcake company. Leslie Feinberg, a bartender, and Brooke Siem, a chef, met on a Birthright trip years ago and became close friends when Siem would end her shifts at the restaurant with a couple beers at Feinberg's bar.

Their first boozy cupcake was born from a request by one of Siem's friends, who wanted a Cosmo-tasting cake for her bachelorette party. "I didn't know the first thing about making a Cosmo," Siem admits. The pair put their heads together and whipped up something magical.

Watches don’t have to be dripping in diamonds or date back to the 17th century to be worth millions of dollars.

Though it hasn’t even been around for 20 years, the Roger Dubuis watch brand has become well-known for its craftsmanship as well as prices that soar into the seven-digit range.

The latest star watch from Roger Dubuis is the 2013 Excalibur Quatuor— the silicon watch has four sprung balances, requires 2,400 hours to build, and is the result of 7 years of research. 

The cost? $1.1 million, making it one of the most expensive watches in the world.

One of the reasons the Excalibur Quatuor is so expensive is that it moves away from a traditional watch “complication” known as the tourbillon that has been lauded by watch manufacturers for its aesthetic beauty. The tourbillon mechanism improves the time-telling accuracy of a watch and is typically found on the face of expensive brands who want to show off the craftsmanship of the piece.

Instead, Roger Dubuis and movement development designer Gregory Bruttin created four sprung balances for the Excalibur Quatuor. A balance spring or balance wheel is not new in watch manufacturing, but what Dubuis and Bruttin did differently was to have not one, but four balances that work in tandem for unprecedented accuracy.

The balances are each set at 45 degree angles and work in pairs to continuously factor in gravity. The watch’s balances are so precise, in fact, that they can even account for the wearer’s movement. 

The sound of the watch is also unique. Each balance pulses four times per second, and no two balances oscillate simultaneously. That means instead of the classic ticking of the watch, it sounds more akin to the whirring of a machine.

The watch itself is made of 590 distinct parts and has a 40-hour power reserve function that is so high-tech, the company has applied for a patent.

Silicon was used for the entire watch case because of it’s low weight and durability. It is four times harder than steel, yet uniquely weighs much less. Despite the rather large watch face of the Excalibur Quatuor (48 milimeter), it would still weigh less that your standard gold watch.

And like anything worth having, the silicon version of the Excalibur Quatuor is extremely limited edition. Only three silicon Excalibur Quatuor watches exist in the world, complete with a hand-stitched alligator strap and silicon buckle. 

That $1.1 million price tag now makes a whole lot more sense.

DON'T MISS: 10 Incredible New Watches To Add To Your Collection

SEE ALSO: This Wrist Watch Has 876 Parts And Costs $2.5 Million

DON'T FORGET: Follow Business Insider's Life on Facebook!

Join the conversation about this story »

Thanks in part to its proximity to nearly every major tech company you could think of, Stanford University has become a sort of incubator for Silicon Valley itself. 

Some of tech's most important figures have attended classes here, from Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard to Marissa Mayer and Peter Thiel. 

But Stanford's campus is also known for being a great place to launch a new company, with top-notch engineering and business programs, an extensive alumni network, and even university-affiliated accelerator programs. Most of the Valley's most successful companies have some roots here, including Google, Sun Microsystems, Cisco, and Yahoo.

It makes sense that the California school was named the Best College In America. 

We've highlighted some of the most successful startups to be born on Stanford's campus in the last two decades. 

Instagram cofounders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger met through the Stanford alumni network.

After graduating in 2006 with a degree in management science and engineering, Kevin Systrom started developing a location-based photo-sharing app. When he realized he needed a cofounder, he turned to the Stanford network and found Mike Krieger, a Brazilian native who graduated with a degree in symbolic systems two years after Systrom. 

"When people say that college isn’t worthwhile and paying all this money isn’t worthwhile, I really disagree," Systrom said to Forbes. "I think those experiences and those classes that may not necessarily seem applicable in the moment end up coming back to you time and time again."

Systrom and Krieger sold Instagram to Facebook for $1 billion in April of 2012.

Trulia cofounders Pete Flint and Sami Inkinen met during class at the Graduate School of Business.

Flint and Inkinen were inspired to create Trulia when they saw how difficult it was to find a place to live in Palo Alto. They developed their real estate aggregation site during two semesters in Stanford's competitive "Startup Garage" class.

The Monday after graduation, they had lined up meetings with several VCs interested in funding their company. 

As of June 2014, Trulia had 54 million monthly active users. Trulia was bought by Zillow for $3.5 billion in July. 

The idea for StubHub came out of a business plan competition at Stanford.

Eric Baker and Jeff Fluhr met in a class at Stanford's Graduate School of Business. After sharing stories of the problems they had had selling event tickets online, they entered a competition with the business plan for a company they called needaticket.com. After the plan made the final round, they pulled out of the competition, and in 2000, Fluhr dropped out of school to work on the company full-time.

Baker and Fluhr used Stanford computer labs and classrooms to build their site, now a major player in secondary ticket sales for sports and entertainment events.

The company was bought by eBay for $300 million in 2007.