The most expensive ... of 2014

No matter how you look at it, 2014 was a record-breaking year for luxury goods. High-end real estate prices continued to soar, while collectibles like art, watches and cars remained a safe haven where the super rich put their money.

Throughout the year, records were set, and sometimes broken, and it seemed like no category—from cupcakes to motorcycles—was immune to higher prices and luxury treatment.

Amid all this, the debate raged on about whether this boom will persist or pop like a bubble.

Click ahead to see some of the items that won the title of the "most expensive" ever sold.

—By CNBC's Amanda Weindel
Posted 16 Dec. 2014

(Pictured here: This 25-acre, 35,000-square-foot Beverly Hills, California, estate won the title of "most expensive real estate listing of 2014" when it entered the market this November at $195 million.)

An 18-acre beachfront property in East Hampton, New York, became the most expensive single-family home ever sold in April for a staggering $147 million. The house wasn't even listed on the public market, but was quietly purchased by hedge-funder Barry Rosenstein, founder of Jana Partners.

Copper Beech, a 51-acre waterfront estate in Greenwich, Connecticut, sold for $120 million in April. That was well below the original $190 million asking price, but at the time of the sale it was crowned the most expensive single-family home ever sold until the East Hamptons' sale outpaced it.

The former mansion of socialite Suzanne Saperstein, known as Fleur de Lys, in California sold for a reported $102 million in March. The owner remains anonymous, but Los Angeles media reports suggest that Michael Milken may have been the buyer.

This bronze sculpture of a woman on a chariot by Alberto Giacometti topped the art auction charts this year with a sale price of $101 million, including commissions at Sotheby's.

The buyer was later revealed to be Steve Cohen, the hedge fund billionaire whose previous firm SAC Capital settled criminal insider trading charges for $1.8 billion last year.

Barnett Newman's "Black Fire 1," which is basically a black-and-tan canvas, sold for $84.2 million at Christie's Post-War and Contemporary Art auction this spring. That was nearly twice the previous record for the artist.

Andy Warhol's "Triple Elvis" sold for $81.9 million at Christie's Post-War and Contemporary Art auction this fall.

The buyer remains unknown, but the seller was Germany's WestSpiel casino group.

A 52-year-old Ferrari smashed records for the most expensive car ever sold at auction.

The 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO was sold for $38 million, with auction fees, by Bonhams at this year's Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance.

This rare 1964 Ferrari 275 GTB/ C Speciale sold for $26.4 million at auction. RM Auctions featured the vehicle, one of only three built, at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance this summer.

Bonhams sold another rare Ferrari this summer at auction. A 1954 Ferrari 375 Plus Spider sold for $18.3 million, making it the most expensive racing Ferrari ever sold at a public auction.

The famed British Guiana One-Cent Black on Magenta stamp became the most expensive ever sold at $9.5 million.

The stamp is the only known surviving one-cent stamp of the entire 1856 issue produced in Georgetown, British Guiana.

In 2015, we may see the first $1 million motorcycle.

In February, Denmark-based motorcycle maker Lauge Jensen introduced us to Goldfinger. This 24-carat gold-plated bike is also covered with 250 small diamonds that total more than 7 carats. It was shown at special events in Monaco and Dubai, and was quickly snatched up by a private buyer for $850,000.

This year also brought cupcake fanatics the first three-figured dessert.

Le Dolci bakery in Toronto created a $900 cupcake for a customer who wanted to purchase "something special" for his wife's 40th birthday. Now the public can buy this cupcake, which is made from an exotic list of ingredients including 24-karat gold flakes, an edible gold-painted branch and sea salt from France.

A gold pocket watch made by Patek Philippe fetched $24 million at auction this fall. It surpassed Sotheby's auction estimates of $15.5 million. The seller and buyer chose to remain anonymous.

Despite protests across Hong Kong, auctions prices this fall still rose in the collectible wine sector.

Sotheby's sold 114 bottles of Romanee-Conti, a burgundy vintage wine for $1.6 million. That number beat the previous record of just more than $1 million for a lot sold in New York in 2006, and it breaks down to $14,000 a bottle or $1,700 per glass.