Archive for Luxuries
08.16.09
Posted in Luxuries at 2:14 am by Samantha Whittel
by Samantha Whittel
I’ve said it before, a men’s watch is the single most important accessory a man can own. It is an essential style element. As you might have guessed, I am acutely aware of these type of details. I’ve simply noticed too many casual watches coming into work and formal settings. It screams cheap/sloppy, and so do I. I urge all of you who wear your multi-function sport watches with your suits and other formal attire to pick up something a little more classy.
First Consider Your Lifestyle. I do suggest having a couple of different watches for both work and play if your lifestyle merits it or you simply like having variety. When buying a dressier watch however, you should choose something that is classic; really lasting. I’m not as concerned about sporty/technical watches since they have a tendency to be less expensive–such as those made by Nike, Casio and the like. And let me be honest, there’s nothing stylish about them anyway – they are just about function. Now if you have a sporty watch like the Omega Seamaster, that’s a different story. Can we say James Bond 007?
And just to clarify, if your watch has a night vision feature, it measures distances or calculates altitude, has a built in compass, a rubber strap, or has a digital display, it is the absolute wrong wristwatch to wear to a more formal occasion be it the office or a formal event, etc.
Here is a list of things to consider when looking for your watch. A Stainless-Steel Bracelet: Stainless steel is more practical than leather and is certainly more durable. It’s dressy enough to be worn with a business suit yet casual enough for other events and occasions. Not only is it versatile, but it’s waterproof to boot. You could always go for gold if you wanted to drop some serious cash, but be careful since it might give an unfavorable impression.
The Face: Another thing that gets me when it comes to watches is the size of the watch face relative to the wrist that’s wearing it. On bigger men a standard watch face can end up looking like a ladies watch. Watch makers are continually coming out with watches that have larger than standard faces. In fact, it has become quite a trend. I personally love bigger watch faces whether you’re a big guy or not, it’s a great look. On another note, even Paris Hilton has been spotted wearing an oversize 47MM Jacob & Co. watch, so it’s even a great look for women as long as the watch has some pink, yellow, white or diamonds on it.
Water Resistance: It’s a great feature if you shower or swim with your watch on, but let’s be honest, who really does that? I like Because if you get caught in the rain or get your watch accidentally wet, you don’t have to worry. And by the way, water resistant can mean several things so be sure to ask to what degree the watch really is resistant. Some watches will resist moisture from accidental splashing, rain, sweat, etc. which everyone would agree at least that level of moisture resistance is most definitely needed. Others will resist moisture up to certain depths of water such as 50 or 100 meters which is great for divers. An example of this is the Graham Chronofighter Diver’s watch.
The Color of the Face and Strap: There is a trend to have dials and straps in exciting colors. Take for example the Jacob & Co. brand watches. There is no end to the amount of colors on the face band and casing. When building a classic wardrobe stick to the neutral colors that you know will blend and look appropriate in a business or formal setting. Save the trendy colors for a second or third watch for pleasure events or travel if you must.
About the Author:
Samantha Whittel grew up in Manhattan, New York. She and her husband of 12 years and two energetic children now live in AlbaNew York, New York. She collects
Breitling Navitimer and other
replica watches .
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04.13.09
Posted in Luxuries at 8:22 am by Princess
A hard core chocolate freak that I am, trust me to list at least 25 reasons to establish the fact that chocolate is better than a man! But now, I don’t want to misuse your precious time by listing all of them as I have better things to enlighten you about. Voila, here’s the most luxurious manifestation of this rich, dark and satisfying yet sinful edible stuff. The Royal Collection from Cocoa Gourmet with gold, silver and diamonds will unfailingly captivate your senses and spirit. A royal treat for eyes too before you pop them one by one to relish the texture of Swiss ganache in your mouth! Priced at just $1,250, this collection contains 12 masterpieces in all. To be more precise, fours 22 carat Gold chocolates, four pure silver chocolates and four sweet Diamond ones. More than what you actually need to opulently tantalize you taste buds.
And if you are worried about the edibility of the precious metals like gold and silver or even the dazzling rocks, then lemme tell you that they are absolutely safe for your gastro tracks and are also certified as per international food industry standards.
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04.07.09
Posted in Luxuries, Unique at 6:13 am by Princess
In Lewis Carroll’s ‘Through the Looking-Glass,’ sequel to the acclaimed ‘Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland,’ Alice wonders what’s on the other side of the mirror and goes through to find out. But, when Yasmin Sethi created his chess set based on this, he made us wonder what kind of magic is on the inside of his head, but unlike Alice, we are still left wondering. Wonderful is an understatement when describing his transparent chess set, because this innovative design would impress even David Blaine and Chris Angel. Even professional crowd shockers like them would have had a hard time coming up with a concept this amazing. So what is all the fuss about you say? Well imagine picking up a piece from a group of opaque cylinders, and placing it on square, and then walla! the cylinder becomes transparent, with a pattern inside it. You pick up other cylinders and place them on other squares, and each time they turn transparent upon contact, with each one revealing a pattern within. After a while, you realize that the patterns are the pieces of the game of chess, and then you intuitively arrange the board.
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04.01.09
Posted in Luxuries at 8:13 am by Princess
It isn’t only the revealing, sensual fashion like the Triumph Luxurious Diamond Thong that can grab attention by getting coated with dazzling rocks. Even the most sober form of clothing, the all-covered abaya falls prey to the glitter of diamonds. This traditional form of Islamic dress gets dressy as World famous British couture designer Bruce Oldfield has pimped it with 4,668 diamonds along with of 359.7 grams of white gold. Teaming up with Crosley Diamonds of London, they have managed to create the World’s Most Expensive Abaya. Expected to be sold for a whopping £175,000 ($350,000) at The Gulf Luxury Trade Fair the following month, the amount will be donated to a global relief charity, Islamic Relief. The lady in picture, sashaying in this bejeweled abaya, is none other then the renowned electronic violinist and former model Linzi Stoppard.
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02.07.09
Posted in Luxuries at 8:14 pm by Luxor
When Daniel Day-Lewis took a break from acting in 1999 to spend some time learning to be a cobbler (talk about your actorly clichés), the maestro he reportedly apprenticed himself to was Florence’s Stefano Bemer. It’s not hard to see why. Bemer, who once worked at Gucci, is a master cobbler, and he goes to great lengths to make truly individual shoes: He’s been known to twist his own linen cord for stitching soles, and to use some unusual dyes—such as red wine—to color his leathers. Bemer also uses a wide range of skins, including toad and camel, so the only limit to what you can get is your imagination. Well, that and your budget. Bemer’s bespoke shoes, which take about three months to turn around, start at $2,000, but he also makes some equally unusual ready-to-wear items. Of course, if casual alligator shoes with rubber soles aren’t your thing, custom kicks may be worth the wait.
Time to make: 40 hours total over three months
Price: From $2,000
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01.29.09
Posted in Luxuries at 8:23 pm by Luxor
A blue diamond of 13.39 cts. became the most important color diamond sold at auction anywhere in the world during the past 10 years, according to Christie’s. Offered at auction house’s in Geneva location on Wednesday, it achieved a world record price of $8.9 million.
“This impressive result is due to the scarcity of colored diamonds on the market, and to the great demand from collectors around the world for exceptional artworks and jewels that is currently dominating the auction world,” said François Curiel, chairman of Christie’s Europe and auctioneer of the sale.
The auction took in nearly $48.3 million, with 11 lots fetching more than a million dollars. Other big sellers included the following:
* An emerald colored diamond and pearl necklace for $5.6 million.
* An emerald colored diamond and pearl pendent, $4.4 million.
* A colored diamond necklace, $3.1 million.
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12.08.08
Posted in Luxuries at 4:30 pm by Luxor
This jazzed Porsche 911 is from Russia. The filthy rich owner definitely has tons of cash strewn around to load it with 40 pounds of the pure gold. It seems only Porsche wasn’t enough for the guy hence he got it decked up to look like it is covered with golden plates
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10.18.08
Posted in Luxuries at 7:19 am by Luxor
Gresso’s Avantgarde Collection luxury phones with black diamonds was sold for 30000 Euros, limited to only 50 people in the world. Now, here comes the latest luxurious White Diamonds Collection from the Russian based mobile phone manufacturer. The new collection includes two new mobiles called Gresso White Diamonds and Gresso Royal White Diamonds. The new White Diamonds Collection features inherit hand-assembled body panels made out of 200-year old African blackwood, keyboards with base plate made of titanium and stainless steel battery cover with a magnetic lock plus leather and gold decoration. Besides, the new phones feature displays covered by 42K sapphire crystal glass, keys made out of 18K gold and as a signature feature – all the numbers on the keypad are laser-cut in Roman style. The Gresso Royal White Diamonds is the more expensive one of the two and will be available in limited edition of 200 units only. All of its 23 gold keys are crowned with a total of 2.53K of white diamonds.
If you think that its technology takes a backseat, you must rethink again. Beneath their respective hoods lie Windows Mobile 6, a 2-megapixel camera, tri-band GSM support, and a microSD memory slot.
This luxury collection will be priced at 33000 euros (approx. $52,000_
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10.13.08
Posted in Luxuries at 7:29 pm by Luxor
I’ll have to admit that I’m not really good at playing chess. Well, I just don’t like to think which step I’d choose. Anyway, Chess which was invented thousands of years ago is a wonderful board game! A lot of people consider it to be the ‘king’ of board games, and up till now it still attracts people from all over the world, regardless of their age. In the past chess was mainly played by courtiers; nowadays everybody may enjoy this privilege. For the players of today, Bonhams has managed to collect some incredibly important pieces to be sold. It was scheduled to be sold in London and dedicated to the world of Chess and Board Games, Chess sets from almost every continent will be offered for sale. The rarest and the priciest of the lot is the ivory inlaid Backgammon and Chess Board from Northern Italy (dated to circa 1500). Estimated at £8,000-12,000 ($16,000 – 24,000), this set might have been a game for an aristocratic personality belonging to Italian Renaissance.
Moving east wards, it’s the fine quality Chinese Export Gaming Table from Canton, circa 1830, that is mounted on a tripod base. Quoted for £4,000-6,000 and expertly carved with dragons’ heads, the figures move on lacquered and gilt chess board that is richly inlaid with mother of pearl.
An 18th century Islamic ivory chess set, stained red and green and decorated with gilding, contains abstract pieces as the Koran forbids figures to be reproduced. I’m sure some Sheik from Middle East won’t bat an eyelid before picking it up for just £4,000-6,000.
Rightly said, Chess is undeniably making a luxurious comeback.
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09.25.08
Posted in Luxuries at 8:04 am by Luxor
If you’re fortunate enough to have a thousand or so bottles of good wine lying around, then you likely also have the money to drop on this monster. This Walk-In Wine Cellar Vault at Bar Cigars & Brew with brushed aluminum exterior accommodates about 1,500 bottles. The big unit has been prepared to cater to the desires of the sophisticated collector, without the complications that usually associated with making custom-made cellars. The wine vault boasts a computer panel inventory system, Wine Mate cooling system for best temperature & humidity, redwood racks, decanting table with diamond storage bins, hanging rack for stem wine glasses, and glass windows. Each unit is hand built to order. To pay off for all these features, this huge Walk-In Wine Cellar Vault comes for a cool $27,995.
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