Richard Gere, the esteemed actor and passionate innkeeper of the Bedford Post, has been named the 2011 Ambassador of Relais & Châteaux.
The charming eight-bedroom Bedford Post, located about an hour north of New York City, owned by Gere, his wife Carey Lowell and their business partner Russell Hernandez, is a new addition to the Relais & Châteaux family.
He succeeds the author Douglas Kennedy in 2009, and the wine grower and actress Carole Bouquet in 2010.
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Japanese jewelry maker Ginza Tanaka has put on sale a 2011 calendar made of 6 kilograms of pure gold featuring popular Dutch rabbit character Miffy.
The calendar measuring 64 centimeters by 40 centimeters is on sale at eight outlets of the company as well as online.
The special solid gold Miffy calendar celebrates the “Year of the Rabbit 2011†and is on sale for a whopping 55 million yen ($655,000).
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Bottega Veneta has partnered with the Swiss watch giant Girard Perregaux to produce its first watch, the BVX.
The unisex watch features a dark, brushed-titanium curved case with a brown face and a cigar-colored crocodile strap.
The BVX is $14,600 and will be exclusively available from Bottega Veneta’s stores next month.
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Versace Home has launched this chic Bubble Sofa. Quirky, comfy and very colorful the sofa can be upholstered in choice of fabric or leather.
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KLM announced a partnership with Dutch chef Jonnie Boer this week, adding yet another name to the roster of kitchen superstars providing our in-flight meals.
From December 1, business class passengers onboard the flag-carrier of the Netherlands will be able to enjoy traditional Dutch food designed by Boer, whose Restaurant de Librije is ranked as one of the best in the world.
Menu selections will be accompanied by wines selected by his wife Therese Boer and served on tableware created by Dutch designer Marcel Wanders.
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Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani has hosted a lavish housewarming party to show off his just-completed new skyscraper residence.
Some 80 of India’s rich and famous attended the party on Friday night at the 27-storey building, which dominates the Mumbai skyline.
Indian novelist Shobhaa De called the building – reported to be the world’s priciest private residence -“the Taj Mahal of the 21st century”.
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Cartier, the number one luxury jewelry brand in China, continues to ramp up its presence in the Asian country with the opening of yet another flagship on Friday.
The new store, which spans 900 square meters (9,687 square feet), is housed inside the Prince’s Building — an upscale shopping center in Hong Kong.
The three-story boutique replaces Cartier’s old store — opened in 1970 — that was located on the ground floor of the same building.
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Italian fashion designer Giorgio Armani plans to tap the Chinese market with a new online store that opened Friday for Emporio Armani.
“In view of the increasing enthusiasm for online shopping and the growing importance of the Chinese market, I have decided to open an Emporio Armani online store in China,” Armani was quoted as saying in a statement.
“We have identified a significant group of consumers who will certainly appreciate this new approach to shopping, one that becomes more popular every day”.
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The 84th edition of the Neiman Marcus Christmas Book features one-of-a-kind gifts and experiences from a custom-edition Chevrolet Camaro to a private event by party planner-to-the-stars Colin Cowie.
The catalog presents an annual collection of fantasies for those with money to spare. Here’s a selection of the rare and unusual gifts in the Christmas Book:
An edible playhouse handcrafted of gourmet gingerbread and standing 6.6 feet high by 5.25 feet wide, decorated with thousands of signature cookies, lollipops, gum drops and sweets. ($15,000)
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Lagerfeld‘s women’s collection will be sold in about 250 Macy’s stores as well as online starting September 2011.
It is part of the American department store chain’s new initiative to launch a series of limited-edition designer collections for its Impulse range — geared towards younger, more fashion-forward customers — starting early next year.
The designer collections will rotate every two months and will start in February 2011 with Kinder Aggugini, a darling of the London fashion scene.
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Once again, Dior’s head fashion designer John Galliano is returning to The Claridge’s Hotel in London for the holidays with his Dior Christmas Tree.
For 2010, Galliano is creating a truly dazzling design, using the ocean as his muse for his “Under the Sea†Christmas tree.
Made of sparkling silver leaves, pink coral, sea horses, fish, anemones, starfish and jelly fish, this whimsical design is truly one of a kind.
Last year he designed an Asian-inspired tree (pictured below) that featured snow leopards, dragon flies and parrots among its baby blue, “frozen” branches.
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French mail-order catalog 3 Suisses has partnered with 3 high-fashion designers for its S/S 2011 collection in a bid to revamp its image from a traditional mass market retailer to that of a purveyor of stylish, avant-garde fashion.
Maria Luisa — the famous Parisian fashion buyer responsible for the collaboration between 3 Suisses and designers Charles Anastase, Natalia Brilli, Christian Wijnants and Bernard Willhelm this A/W 2010 season — has once again lent her stable of promising protégés to the French company.
Three of her vanguard designers have contributed haute pieces at bargain prices for spring/summer 2011 (ranging from 60- 150 euros or $80-200 USD).
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Longchamp has unveiled a new Facebook application that allows users to customize and share their own version of its iconic Le Pliage totebag.
Once exclusively available on Longchamp’s website, Facebook users who “like” the Parisian brand can now create their own bags without leaving Facebook.
The easy, four-step process asks shoppers to chose the model and size of their Le Pliage, customize them with longer straps or short handles, and select colors to produce a one-of-a-kind creation that they can share with their friends.
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The Classima collection by Baume & Mercier honors the traditional codes of Swiss watchmaking and at the same time exudes an amazingly contemporary feel.
Elegant and functional, these watches have easily transcended into modern men’s rigorously busy life.
Now, the brand unveils a Classima Automatic Jumping Hour Limited Edition men’s watch to add to the line mentioned.
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Mexican distiller Hacienda La Capilla, has unveiled a 1.3 litter tequila bottle called “The Diamond Sterling” on Monday.
The bottle, made of 2.3-kilogram layer of platinum and over 4,000 diamonds totaling 328 carats, is valued at around $3.5 million.
The bottle, designed by Fernando Altamirano, was seen during an interview with Reuters television in Mexico City.
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To celebrate the opening of the first Gap store in Italy, Italian luxury fashion house Valentino will unveil a limited edition women’s collection for GAP.
The seven-piece Valentino for Gap collection will launch at select boutiques worldwide on November 27, including Gap’s new Milan store on Corso Vittorio Emanuele, Gap’s London flagship on Oxford Street
The pieces will also be available at the high-end fashion boutiques Colette in Paris and Dover Street Market in London. It has not been slated for release in the US.
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Soon you’ll be able to pay $15 for a bottle of Glace Rare Iceberg Water taken straight from an iceberg in Greenland.
“It is so tasteless that it actually creates a taste,” according to Ron Stamp, the man behind Glace Rare Iceberg Water.
“There’s so many waters (on the market) and icebergs are the only water still on the planet that’s in its true, original form because it’s been frozen for millennia.
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The Australian mining magnate, Clive Palmer handed out over 10 million dollars worth of Christmas bonuses to his lucky staff.
55 Mercedes-Benz cars and 700 overseas holidays were handed out to the Townsville nickel refinery staff.
The staff that missed out on a holiday or car didn’t miss out entirely; Palmer spent $2 million on a Christmas party.
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Christian Dior wins bid for one of the most famous fashion images of all time: Richard Avedon’s 1955 photo “Dovima With Elephantsâ€.
According to WWD, the image of Dovima, dressed in a Dior evening gown at the Cirque d’Hiver, went for 841,000 euros, ($1,148,910).
This sale more than doubles Avedon’s previous auction record of $457,000 for “Marilyn Monroe, May 6, 1957, New York City,” set in 2008.
Los Angeles tuners, Platinum Motorsport, have given this Rolls Royce Ghost their own special touch.
Fortunately for Platinum Motorsport, their tuning kit for the luxury coupe actually accentuates the vehicle’s elegance instead of downplaying it to a ridiculous level.
The vehicle’s body had been gifted with a matt black finish, which really offers an interesting view of the Ghost’s sculpted lines.
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Oprah Winfrey is eyeing up an $68million USD mega-mansion – one of the costliest homes in the United States.
The media mogul is said to have inspected the sprawling Old Frick Estate in the ulta-exclustive suburb of Alpine in New Jersey according to The New York Post.
The 30,300 square foot, five-storey English-manor style property boasts 19 bathrooms and 12 bedrooms.
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