Monthly Archives: December 2008

The World’s Top Luxury Houses

The World’s Top Luxury Houses

The latest volume in teNeues’ tantalizing Luxury series is entitled Luxury Houses: Top of the World. and focuses on the most select residences around the world.

With stunning settings, sumptuous materials, sophisticated architectural detailing and interiors, these truly are homes to die for. Each house offers a unique perspective on what’s possible if both money and taste abound.

luxury houses top of the world book

Lavishly illustrated with an array of stunning photographs, this book is sure to inspire luxury touches in even the humblest of dwellings. Price: $60
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Asia-Pacific Boating awarded Best Yachting Magazine

Asia-Pacific Boating magazine, the most widely-read regional yachting magazine launched in 1976, has been recognised as Best Boat Media for 2008 at the first-ever Indian Boating Awards, which were held on December 14, 2008, in conjunction with the Boat India show in Cochin, India.

Asia-Pacific Boating features stories and news on yachting, marine lifestyles and design, plus reviews of the latest and greatest boats on the market.

Published in Hong Kong and distributed directly to high net worth individuals, boat owners and yacht clubs throughout greater China and Southeast Asia, Asia-Pacific Boating has become a well-recognised brand name in its 33-year history.
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De Beers Amulets Collection

DeBeers creates another legend to enhance the mystique of its diamonds, this one featuring benevolent spirits who lived in the stars—until the most mischevious of them played a prank that brought them all crashing to earth as diamonds.

The Amulets Collection draws its inspiration directly from De Beers’ native Africa. It highlights each spirit, from Gugu-Juju, spirit of the dance and the prankster mentioned previously, to Nema-Gala, the spirit of laughter.

A wide range of pendants are available each representing different purposes and are available from De Beers stores worldwide. Prices start from $6,000 – Via finejewelrynews.

Talon Air Launches New Serque Yacht

Talon Air, a provider of private jet charters since 2001, is expanding to the seas with the new 132-foot motor yacht, Serqué.

The six-stateroom vessel accommodates up to 13 guests and comes outfitted with two Yamaha watercraft, a 47-foot Intrepid sport motor yacht, and a six-person spa.

Serqué, which is scheduled to launch at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show in October, will spend winters chartering the Caribbean and summers exploring the Northeast.

Talon Air clients are granted the first opportunities to charter Serqué (priced from $85,000 per week) and can access her from the company’s facility in South Florida.

Source: Talonairjets.com

Talon Air Adds A $4 Million Sikorsky Helicopter To Fleet

Private Aviation Corporation Talon Air has added a new $4 Million Sikorsky helicopter to their current lineup.

The helicopter provides premium comfort and privacy for up to six passengers and two pilots in a “jet-like environment”.

The interior features plush first-class leather seats, amazing wood paneling surround the aircraft, and a 4.5-foot tall cabin with more headroom than a typical helicopter.
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Avantgarde Skeleton Collection by Gresso

After the Black Diamond collection and the White Diamonds collection, Gresso, the Russian company distinguished for its luxury high-tech articles, has introduced its limited edition Avantgarde Skeleton Collection.

As the name suggests it is a “skeleton” phone, inspired by the complicated Swiss Skeleton watches. The Gresso Avantgarde Skeleton follows the same principal and allows one to peer through a sapphire crystal display at the circuitry within.

The luxury phone has been made by employing the traditions of watchmaking and jewelry art, as well as achievements in aero-space technologies.
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Green Dreams on Madison Square: New York

New Yorkers are used to living amongst huge skyscrapers around Madison Square Park but they have probably never seen anything like this.

For his first New York building, Daniel Libeskind has proposed a 900+ foot, 54-story glass condo with dripping sky gardens. Libeskind’s creation would swoop up next to, and past, the 700-foot Met Life tower.

Initial designs show a glass-curtained tube with cutaways spiraling up and around the façade to reveal segments of terraced verdure, like cultivated patches on the side of a steep alpine slope.
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Mammoth Ivory table from Russia

Here is a nice, but pricey coffee table with a glass top and the legs carved from the premium-grade mammoth ivory.

This table measures 100 cm in diameter and about 80 cm high. The intricacy of carving is truly amazing! It was all done by hand with a set of conventional tools. The table is up for sale for $300,000.

With international trade in elephant ivory closed down, trade in mammoth ivory has emerged as virtually the only alternative acceptable to the international market. Since mammoth ivory is actually fossil ivory, there are no bans for its importing or exporting.
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LED outdoor walkway by MINIMIS

CATWALK is a modular, LED-illuminated outdoor & indoor walkway system. A more dramatic way to welcome guests to your front door, restaurant, bar, casino, or café.

In daylight the modular steel and white polycarbonate structure has a clean rectilinear profile and resembles raised stepping stones over water, and acts as a clean white canvas for dappled sunlight.

At night, CATWALK is self-illuminated by low power-sipping LED lights creating a dramatic, shimmering ribbon of light with a subtle interplay of focused and diffused points of light.
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Swiss Angular Momentum’s Sculpture Collection jewellery watches

Renowned for their creativity and innovative design, Swiss watchmaker Angular Momentum offer timepieces that are individual works of art.

One of the amazing collections from Angular Momentum is the Sculpture Collection which features hand sculptured timepieces in silver, gold and platinum.

The watch above is entitled the Oriental Blossom Time Cushion and is hand sculptured and engraved using 18 karat gold. All over the watch, 100 full cut diamonds add an amazing sparkle and a pear shaped padparadscha sitting proudly in the middle pointing at the digital time display.
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Bang & Olufsen BeoCom 2 Telephone

Bang and Olufsen is well known for producing high end products like telephones and other electronic devices. The Danish company is all set to launch its cordless phone- the ‘BeoCom 2’, in Korea soon.

Crafted from a single piece of aluminium, it sits naturally in the hand, while its gentle curve matches the shape of the human face.

Coming in six different colors including white, blue, yellow, grey, black and natural aluminum, the BeoCom 2 is available for 1,790,000 wons ($1,350)

Hideaway Island House by Frank Macchia

On the Sunshine Coast of Noosa in Queensland, Australia, renowned architect Frank Macchia has designed a masterpiece getaway. Nestled in a spot known as Hideaway Island, this retreat is a total recluse, without compromising on style, luxury and technology.

The ground level is totally dedicated to easy living. The heated pool and water features meander from the entry to the river emphasizing the indoor-outdoor symbioses.

The sprawling lounge, kitchen and dining areas all capture stunning river views, which in turn invite immediate relaxation.
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Snail caviar! The new gourmet frontier

Fed up with accompanying your smoked salmon with mere eggs from Russian sturgeon? Then snail caviar could be for you.

It may sound like a challenge to the taste buds, but the salty, pink-white delicacy could be gracing hundreds of French tables this Christmas.

After years of research, which has included creating a reproduction room where 60,000 snails laid eggs to produce 200kg for the world market, De Jaeger has unveiled its delicacy.
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Versace hotel to refrigerate beach

Versace, the renowned fashion house, is to create the world’s first refrigerated beach so that hotel guests can walk comfortably across the sand on scorching days, reports The Australian.

The beach will be next to the the new Palazzo Versace hotel which is being built in Dubai where summer temperatures average 40C and can reach 50C. The swimming pool will be refrigerated and there are also proposals to install giant blowers to waft a gentle breeze over the beach.

The 10-storey hotel will have 213 rooms, several with their own internal swimming pools, plus 169 apartments. Fifteen more such hotels are planned.
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Aquariva Super Yacht by Riva

The amalgamation of rugged spirit and tasteful sophistication appears to be at the heart of Italian yacht maker Riva’s latest motorboat Aquariva.

The Riva Aquariva Super is Riva’s latest version of their Aquariva yacht stemming from the legendary Aquarama yacht launched in 1962. The Italian motorboat maker will be debuting its newest luxurious creation this weekend at the New York Boat Show opening.

Priced at about $944,000, the Aquariva Super pictured above is a 33-footer combining elegant and sinuous lines, precious woods and supreme attention to detail in carpentry, chrome, lacquer-work, leather, and fittings.
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Five star luxury for dogs

On December 15 a luxury hotel for dogs is set to open in Freising, near the southern German city of Munich. According to the owners, the “Canis Resort” promises dogs “a feeling of pure luxury” with an “organic feel-good atmosphere.”

So-called “Dog Lodges” can house up to five dogs at any one time and have their own enclosed grassy outdoor area. If the animals fancy stretching their legs a bit more, then they have a further 350 square metres of land at their disposal.

Their personal carer, or “Dog-Sitter”, who pampers them 24 hours a day, takes them to the field, where they can run and jump and play to their hearts’ content.
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Vuitton Brings Back Sprouse

Marc Jacobs and Louis Vuitton are paying homage to Stephen Sprouse with a new line of handbags showcasing the designers’ pop art/grafitti style.

Jacobs took two iconic Sprouse motifs – the graffiti and the rose – and interpreted them in Day-Glo shades of pink, green and orange over the Monogram print.

The motifs are featured on Vuitton’s Keepall, Speedy and Neverfull bag styles, as well as basketball sneaker boots, pumps, sunglasses, headbands and wristbands, and small leather goods like wallets and coin purses.
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LVMH Buys Montaudon Champagne

Most people buy a few bottles of bubbly for Christmas; Bernard Arnault has bought himself another champagne brand !

The Moet Hennessy wines and spirits unit of LVMH, the world’s biggest luxury goods group, has bought the Montaudon champagne house for an undisclosed amount, LVMH said on Friday.

The acquisition brings to eight, the number of top-level champagne labels in the stable of LVMH. Montaudon will team up with LVMH’s existing portfolio of champagne brands: Dom Perignon, Moet & Chandon, Veuve Clicquot, Ponsardin, Krug, Ruinart and Mercier.
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Marion Cotillard for Lady Dior

Here’s is a sneak peek of the first of four Christian Dior Ads featuring Oscar-winning French actress Marion Cotillard.

“Perched on top of the Eiffel Tower, its intricate metalwork echoing the canework pattern on the iconic tote, Cotillard posed for photographer Peter Lindbergh wearing an enigmatic expression — and a sexy black number by John Galliano from the spring collection.”

The spots are the first in a four-part series, with Paris being only the first city and chapter. Further details about her next adventure, and what precious cargo she’s carrying, are to be revealed on a forthcoming The campaign will run twice a year.

Wittelsbach diamond breaks world records

Christie’s on Wednesday sold an extremely rare, 17th century fancy deep grayish-blue diamond for $24.3 million, a world record price for any diamond or jewelry sold at auction in London.

The 35.56-ct. Wittelsbach diamond was once owned by King Philip IV of Spain, who purchased for his daughter, Margarita Teresa, for her engagement to Leopold I of Austria in 1664. It was mined in India and owned by the same private collector since 1964.

The price for Wittelsbach topped the previous record of $16.5 million for a 100ct diamond in 1995 in Geneva.

Armani unsuccessfully explored Hermes deal

Armani

Giorgio Armani explored a merger with French luxury group Hermes but without success, the Italian designer told Bloomberg, adding he planned to keep control of his fashion empire as long as he stays healthy.

Mr. Armani, who is in his 70s and one of Milan’s long-established names, was quoted in an interview with the news agency as saying a merger with Hermes would have united the companies’ strengths in clothes and accessories.

“(A deal) could have been something fantastic,” Mr. Armani said in the interview published on Friday. “Hermes has such class, such prestige.”

Armani
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