Guinness Records for jigsaw puzzles

Guinness-recognized puzzles
jigsaws feature a number of times in the Guinness book of Records. Here is a summary for you:

Most pieces: The 551,232-piece, 48-foot, 8.64-inch by 76-foot, 1.38-inch puzzle was completed by 1,600 University of Economics of Ho Chi Minh City students at Phu Tho Stadium in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, Sept. 24, 2011. It had 3,132 sections, each containing 176 pieces. The puzzle depicted a lotus flower with six petals.

Largest: The 21,600-piece puzzle measured 58,435.1 square feet. That's roughly the size of a small strip mall. Devised by Great East Asia Surveyors & Consultants Co. Ltd., it was put together by 777 people at the former Kai Tak airport in Hong Kong and was completed Nov. 3, 2002. Each piece measured no more than about 20 square inches.

Smallest commercially available (1,000 or more pieces): This 1,000-piece, 7.17-inch by 10.12-inch jigsaw puzzle is manufactured by Standard Project Limited, which produces Tomax puzzles in Hong Kong. It was measured in Hong Kong on Dec. 12, 2009. The miniature puzzles were already launched the year before and depict various designs, with images ranging from landmarks to famous works of art.

Smallest commercially available (500-1,000 pieces): This 500-piece, 8.27- by 11.65-inch puzzle depicting Machu Picchu is available from Tomax. It was deemed the record Feb. 3, 2010, in Hong Kong.

Largest collection: Georgina Gil-Lacuna has 1,028 different puzzle sets in Tagaytay City, Philippines. She has been collecting puzzles for more than 26 years. Her largest is 18,000 pieces. The record was set Nov. 29, 2012.

Most expensive: A hand-crafted, 467-piece wooden jigsaw puzzle custom made by Rachel Page Elliott sold for $27,000 at a charity art auction to benefit the Golden Retriever Foundation, a non-profit organization, at the Eisenhower Conference Centre on Sept. 28, 2005, in Gettysburg, Pa. Many pieces are cut in unique designs of birds, cats, horses and golden retrievers in various poses.

Largest spherical: This puzzle depicting a Winnie the Pooh scene has a 15-foot, 7.8-inch circumference and was made by Unima Industrial (HK) Ltd. in Hong Kong. It was displayed and measured at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre on Jan. 10, 2005.
Source: Guinness World Records