Monthly Archives: March 2009

Sarkozy’s Love of Luxury Gets Him In Trouble Again

President Nicolas Sarkozy and his wife Carla have provoked an outcry in France by spending the weekend at the El Tamarindo Beach and Golf Resorts in a one bedroom villa owned by a millionaire friend of Mexico‘s President Felipe Calderón.

The vast holiday home came complete with private pool, outdoor Jacuzzi and the service of a butler, personal cook and maid.

It is currently high season at the resort, with the villa costing $3,500 plus 17 per cent taxes and obligatory 10 per cent service charges – making a total of just over $4,300.


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Deposit On Villa Leopolda To Be Donated To Charity

The rumor and gossip about billionaire widow Lily Safra’s notoriously high maintenance Villa Leopolda seems never to end.

Back in August we reported that Russian billionaire Mikail Prokhorov was the mysterious purchaser of the lavish home in Villefranche-sur-Mer which was on the market for a record price of 390 million euros.

Then came a report in early January of 2009 in The Londoner’s Diary that stated The Widow Safra’s trophy estate had, in fact, not been sold.


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Carla Bruni’s bed

“Luxury as excellence, luxury as exclusivity, luxury as beauty, luxury as extravagance, luxury as satisfaction of our wishes.”

These words represent the soul of Vicenza fair, an International Luxury Exhibition that takes place in Italy on March.

This year visitors can find, and a lucky one could also buy, a delicious pink bed, that belonged to a famous and very chic woman: the Italian model, Carla Bruni.


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Now Vending – The Luxury Automat

Designed by Mari Balestrazzi, the Semi-Automatic is a vending machine designed for the Morgans Hotel Group.

The design deals with the idea of a hotel gift shop, but instead of selling souveniers like a gift shop, or soda and candy like a vending machine, it sells a variety of luxe items curated by Kim Walker, the hotel group’s creative director.

The unique products range from 24-karat gold handcuffs from Kiki de Montparnasse, luxury cars for rent (a Rolls Royce Silver Shadow or 2000 Bentley Azure convertible), Fred Flare heart sunglasses, a 14-karat gold necklace by Kiel Mead, and Atari classics for Playstation.


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The World’s Most Expensive Tongue

Gennaro Pelliccia is the owner of the the world’s most valuable tongue, insured for £10million ($22 million).

He is a coffee taste-tester and an unnamed group of underwriters at Lloyd’s, the world’s oldest and biggest insurance market, will pay out if he, the chief taster at Costa Coffee in the UK, loses his mastery.

Mr Pelliccia,  Costa’s Italian Master of Coffee, is responsible for ensuring the quality of the 108 million cups of Costa coffee that are drunk in Britain each year, and John Derkach, managing director of Costa Coffee, said that he was a “vital element” of the company’s business.


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Gianni Versace Designed Tiara Goes For Auction

On March 23rd, online jewelry retailer Bidz.com will auction off a gold and diamond tiara designed by the late Gianni Versace to benefit the Aid for AIDS charity, with an opening bid of $699,000 US Dollars.

The one-of-a-kind tiara, which contains over 1,200 diamonds and is worth an estimated $3 million, has been worn by celebrities including Madonna, Amber Valletta and Donatella Versace.

The Versace Tiara, also known as the Tiara, won the prestigious De Beers Diamonds International Award in 1995.


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Lewis Hamilton Denies Superyacht Reports

F1 racer Lewis Hamilton has been stirring rumors of buying a Sunseeker 90 Yacht which is being finished in Portland, Dorset.

They said he was painting the 90-foot yacht black and silver silver to match his McLaren racer. The Sun even has a picture of the sleek black ship.

But Hamilton, on the contrary, seems to be denying all reports of having bought the Super Yacht worth £5million ($7million).


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Nidecker Swarovski-studded snowboards

Two leading Swiss and Austrian companies have collaborated with the University of Art and Design Lausanne to exhibit original and offbeat snowboards at the 2008 Milan Furniture Fair.

Students studying Industrial Design and Visual Communication were able to “customise” snowboards manufactured by Nidecker by graphically inlaying Swarovski crystals.

The snowboards are made available in varied patterns to match individual taste. No word on the price yet.

Tea Bag Lights Up your Night

Designer Wonsik Chae from south korea has created “lighting bag”, a light which imitates (you can’t drink it) the form of a tea bag !

If you put the Lighting Bag in a cup of chemical intermediate, the tea bag will burst into flames, and then the cup is lighting.

“Consisting of a cup filled with a chemical intermediate and a bag containing fluorescent molecules the light works through a catalyst of this chemical reaction.”

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Gresso Lady Diamond

There seems to be quite a few luxury mobile phones hitting the mobile arena lately, one would think there isn’t an economic downturn going on.

The latest from the house of Gresso is the Lady Diamond luxury phone, which looks to be aimed straight at trendy women. The design takes its inspiration from the Swiss skeleton watches.

The phone features the same design as all of Gresso’s phones, case of the phone is made of titanium coated in magenta diamond colored ceramic which makes it scratch proof.
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Harrods Will Fly You to Your Superyacht in Style

Air Harrods, the high-end private aviation program run by the world famous London luxury depot, is partnering with Watkins Yacht Management to provide air and concierge support via helicopter and corporate jet to the superyacht set.

The two firms will provide a streamlined and ultra-stylish luxury travel experience for those embarking on a luxurious private ocean voyage.

Transfers to the yachts will now start at the owner, charterer or guests own front door. The seamless incorporation of limousines, flights and/or helicopter transfers to and from the vessels will be overseen by Harrods highly-trained staff.


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Seawater Vertical Farm

Italian architectural firm Studiomobile have developed an interesting new vertical farm concept.

The seawater vertical farm uses seawater to cool and humidify greenhouses and to convert sufficient humidity back in to fresh water to irrigate the crops.

The project has been presented in dubai where there is an absence of fresh water and local cultivations, a problem of urban transport and a high soil value, making this concept a feasible one.

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Infiniti Essence: tradition into the future

Presented this week at the Geneva Motor Show, the Infiniti Essence is a celebration of the firm’s 20th anniversary but also an inspiring exploration into the brand’s future in terms of design and eco-friendly technologies.

The car in fact is a high-performance, petrol/electric hybrid 4.7-meters long coupe with rear-wheel drive, powered by a system that combines a twin-turbocharged version of Infiniti’s familiar 3.7-liter V6 engine producing 440HP with a new a type of electric motor, called 3D Motor that provides 160HP and draws power from a compact lithium-ion battery pack in the boot area. The two motors can work independently or together.

“An Essence owner is characterised by his or her fearless self confidence; he or she is an intellectual hero rather than just a successful money maker” said Francois Bancon, General Manager.


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Hermes Arceau Moonphase Retrograde pocket watch

A pocket watch is undeniable the gentleman’s most classic accessory that survived the passed decades, even centuries of fashion development.

Hermes adds that old fashion classical feel with this 18kt gold pocket watch with 43.5 mm casing, suspended from a leather strap that doesn’t take away from it, as do many chains.

Completely with moonphases to keep track of all those New moons and crescents as the days tick by.
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New Gresso Skeleton Gold

Only two months after announcing the first handsets from its Avantgarde Skeleton Collection, Gresso has now unveiled the Skeleton Gold phone.

Not too different from the Avantgarde Skeleton, the Gresso Skeleton Gold is, obviously, dressed in more gold.

Its 23 functional keys are “executed of 18k gold”, while its QVGA screen is protected by hand-polished 42k sapphire glass, which is inspired by complicated swiss skeleton watches.
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BMW-designed PC case

BMW DesignworksUSA, an independently operated studio owned by the BMW Group, in collaboration with Thermaltake, creates a futuristic PC case for games and cars lovers.

Presented at the CEBIT in Hanover (March 3-8, 2009), the BMW-designed PC case is titled “Level 10” and looks like a chassis with its computer’s individual components mounted in separate compartments and attached onto a central base.

Prince Charles named world’s best dressed man

Britain’s Prince Charles has beaten off competition from US President Barack Obama to be named the world’s best dressed man by Esquire magazine.

“He is perfectly turned out in a double-breasted suit. Admirably, the prince keeps his wardrobe in appropriate style: we’re told he has a room laid out like a tailor’s shop,” the men’s magazine said.

Prince Charles, 60, keeps it simple and has worn suits by Saville Row tailors Gieves and Hawkes, complete with pocket handkerchief and silk tie, for years. Esquire said he was “always incredibly well dressed”.