Filed under: Men’s Style

The designer Yael Sonia is open about the fact that many of her jewelry and accessory designs are inspired by classic children’s toys. This inspiration is particularly evident in her “Perpetual Motion” line of products that each have an enhanced sense of visual interest and charm through the presence of a continually shifting component in the items. In this case, Yael Sonia takes a men’s staple accessory and adds a caged orb to the look.

These are the “Solo” men’s cuff links. Crafted from 18k white gold, each cubic cuff link is constructed like a cage for a perfectly rounded light purple amethyst gem stone. The whole point is that the spherical stone has room to jostle around a bit - perpetually moving with your actions. The result is an innately satisfying addition to what can normally be stale business attire. Yael Sonia products are available in her boutique shop located on Madison Avenue in New York City. Retail price for these white gold “Solo” cuff links is $3,072.

Ariel Adams publishes the watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Yael Sonia “Solo” Designer White Gold Men’s Cuff Links originally appeared on Luxist on Tue, 31 Mar 2009 11:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Wheels, Auctions, Charity

Want to get your hands on a Ducati Monster and benefit a good cause? Get out your British pounds and head to eBay’s UK site. Ducati has donated three Monsters and three Central Saint Martins MA Fashion students (Abigail Briggs, Charlotte La Roche, and Laura Mackness) gave them unique graphics based on each of their graduate collections creating stylish one-of-kind motorcycles. The collaboration sprung from Puma’s sponsorship of the Central Saint Martins graduate fashion show at London Fashion Week. The show and the auction benefit the PUMA Central Saint Martins Bursary Award. The auctions end on April 5.

[via Fresh Moco]

Custom Ducati Monsters Up For Auction originally appeared on Luxist on Tue, 31 Mar 2009 09:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Safari Air, the green, luxury private jet charter service, is committed to reducing global warming by purchasing carbon offsets for each passenger mile. They have now announced an all-inclusive 21-day “Around the World Grand East Africa Safari” for…

WhyteGold.com, the online private members club, recently announced that it had developed the most advanced sign-up system on the internet to limit its intake on a strict by-invitation-only basis. BornRich has today discovered that WhyteGold members are…

No matter how much equipment is shoehorned into a cabin, or how much power an engine offers, there is always room for more. Bugatti has always earned appreciation for its limited edition, tuned Veyrons. We have seen the magnificent Bugatti Veyron Pur.

Perrelet, distinguished for its exclusive timepieces, has introduced its Maestro Edition musical watches housed in “The Tower” that has an iPod nano (8GB) dock with integrated remote plus speakers. The iPod Tower incorporates two Swisskubik watch…

Filed under: Timepieces

Of course people are talking about Michelle Obama’s choice of wardrobe for her official White House image located on the White House website. The attire while elegant, is distinctly modern and does not draw attention away from the face. Associated Press writer Caryn Rousseau reported on the photograph and commented on the first lady’s choice of accessories including her jewelry and wrist watch. For the photograph, Michelle Obama chose her steel Cartier Tank Francaise - a popular Cartier Tank watch that is tasteful and luxurious without being showy - a good choice for any First Lady. The watch comes in both male and female models with various levels of gilding.

Michelle Obama’s subtle yet sophisticated taste shows in her choice of wearing the undecorated version of the watch in steel, although the watch is available with gold and with diamond settings. The White House portrait of the first lady does not make the model of the watch clear, but the trained eye is easily able to pick up the recognizable timepiece. Cartier themselves expressed surprise and excitement over the picture as they had no idea she would be wearing the particular watch for the occasion.

Ariel Adams publishes the watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

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First Lady Michelle Obama Wears Cartier Watch For Official White House Portrait originally appeared on Luxist on Tue, 31 Mar 2009 22:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Known for delivering the ultimate in comfort, performance and style, the Caldera spas are a perfect way to feel better right away. The latest from the house is an all-new flagship spa called the Cantabria hot tub, which offers an exceptional…

Those busy in shopping for their D-day might (not if you are an Indian bride) want to take a look at another expensive wedding ensemble: the $1.5 million Peacock dress unveiled at the wedding expo held in Nanjing, capital of east China’s Jiangsu…

Harry Winston’s Opus 9 doesn’t go a full circle to tell you the time. The linear driven watch tracks the time in a unique movement with diamonds, not merely added to accentuate the luxury design, but as the functional element of time-telling. Two..

Filed under: Estates

Beautiful Baledmund is a country house over looking Pitlochry in Highland Perthshire, Scotland. The home is on 15 acres that include a staff house, gardens and a tennis court. The main home is an 11-bedroom country home which predates the Victorian era and was once the home of a Georgian laird. It has a formal dining room, billiard room, and drawing room as well as more informal living space in the older wing of the home. The home’s positioning offers picture-perfect views over the Scottish highland landscape. It is listed at £1,700,000.

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Continue reading Baledmund, Estate of the Day

Baledmund, Estate of the Day originally appeared on Luxist on Tue, 31 Mar 2009 13:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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McIntosh, well known for producing ultra-luxury home entertainment solutions, is now celebrating 60 years of audio excellence with a special limited edition set. The company has now announced the availability of its hotly awaited versions of two…

Canadian rye whisky doesn’t quite have the prestige of its Scotch cousin, but it still has its moments. One such moment happened at the 2007 Kentucky Derby, when the attending Queen Elizabeth II was presented with the world’s most expensive Canadian whisky.
“Canadian whisky” refers to any whisky that is mashed, distilled and aged at least […]

Filed under: Timepieces

Take away some of the incredible glitz in new watch designs at Basel and you find some truly handsome and unique watches like this German Otium Triangulator - a company founded on the concept that each watch it makes will not display time in the traditional manner. Using a modified Swiss ETA manually-wound 6497-1 movement, Otium is able to place three subdials to tell the time (hours, minutes, and seconds) against a perlage polished dial. Design influence is classic race cars, but with an emphasis on luxury. I’d day that the best modern car to pair with watch with is the Dutch car maker Spyker, who has a similar use of colors, perlage, polishing and finely milled metal. While difficult to tell in this image, the three subdials are actually raised a bit like small portholes, really reminiscent of early race car technology and style. The actual layout of the dials is meant to resemble speedometers and accompanying gauges such as a tachometer.

With a 42mm wide stainless steel case and sapphire crystal (top and bottom), the Triangulator watch is available with white or black colored subdials and brown or black Louisiana crocodile straps. The crown has been oriented in a “lefty position” which might make it difficult to manually wind while still on your wrist, unless of course you wear your watch on your right hand. Overall the keen attention to detail and simple good looks of this Otium watch make it a winner in my book.

Ariel Adams publishes the watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Otium Trigulateur Watch originally appeared on Luxist on Tue, 31 Mar 2009 12:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Handbags

The Junior Drake Women’s Giselle Heidi Medium Satchel is a well designed addition to any closet.

This classic looking bag is a perfect investment piece; it’s likely to come back and back into style. The elegantly arched braiding make the bag feminine and pretty, even in soft brown leather.

The braided belt-like double straps are affixed to the bag with brushed brass hardware, giving it a somewhat country western feel. This bag would be great with your cowboy boots, and at 18″W x 9″H x 6.5″D will carry everything you need for a day at the ranch.

We also like the durable look it has; we wouldn’t be afraid to get this bag a little dirty — it would probably just add character.

The Junior Drake Women’s Giselle Heidi Medium Satchel is available from Bloomingdales for $458.

Junior Drake Giselle Heidi Medium Satchel, Handbag of the Day originally appeared on Luxist on Tue, 31 Mar 2009 17:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Bourbon whiskey, like Champagne, is named after the region from which it comes—Bourbon, Kentucky. Unlike Champagne, however, Bourbon’s production isn’t limited to its home region. While it is still made primarily in Kentucky, Bourbon can be distilled anywhere in the US.
Currently, the most expensive Bourbon is the 16 year old A. H. Hirsch Reserve. This […]

Filed under: Wine

For years getting onto the mailing lists for Napa Valley’s big fruit bomb cult Cabernet Sauvignons has been no easy feat. You practically have to sell your soul to get your paws on Screaming Eagle or some of the other wines with the limited allocation and the highest reputations. But now, as Bloomberg’s Elin McCoy puts it: the recession is making room for you. Those on the lists are dumping their allocations to save money and only purchasing from a few select favorites. Even restaurants are paring back their usual bottle grabs because the clientele is staying away from the deep end of the wine list.

If you believe in the long-term value of these wines now might be the time to grab a few and cellar them. Currently those who flip their allocations aren’t finding a hot market for the wine but if you can hold onto them for a few years and the name brands regain their value you might have a nice investment on your hands.

Is Now The Time To Buy Screaming Eagle? originally appeared on Luxist on Mon, 30 Mar 2009 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Having a flip-down kitchen LCD TV in your kitchen is a great way to add zing to the heart of your home. Enter the Luxurite kitchen TV, which comes equipped with an integrated DVD player. The flip-down TV’s DVD system with the USB Port and 3-in-1…

Filed under: Timepieces

Teased for a while on his website (mentioned here), Christophe Claret just released the new limited edition of 63 pieces DualTow watch. Each piece is customizable by the buyer. Meaning you can have it in a series of colors and materials, which comes with spending probably around $300,000 or more on the watch. To customize the watch, you enter the DualTow Configurator on the website and select from the options (it is fun, do check it out). There are a few interesting complications in this highly unique watch. First, a few facts about the timepiece itself. The watch is 42.75mm wide by 48.2mm tall. The lugs move to wrap around your wrist, while large sapphire crystals cover the front and rear of the watch, while smaller crystals provide for side view into the movement. The dial of the watch is skeletonized, with cut jewels (that match other trim colors of the watch) around the periphery of the dial. The case is available in white or rose gold, platinum, or PVD coated titanium.

The manually wound movement is an ultra complex tourbillon with mono-pusher chronograph consisting of 582 parts alone, and with 73 jewels. The tourbillon rests in the lower part of the dial, while the planetary gear based 12 hour chronograph resides in the top portion of the case. The planetary gear used for the chronograph is similar to a column wheel. Then there is the “DualTow” portion of the watch used to tell the time. It is really much like a “5 minute clock” in the sense that the time is digitally displayed to the nearest five minutes. The minute and hours are placed on two rubber belts (in many color options) that are pulled by the movement. It is a clever concept for such a watch. The person wearing it probably has no need for the precision of ‘to the minute’ accuracy - but if they do, they can always use the chronograph. One little touch I like is that the arms used to hold up the time windows that go over the belt are angled in the fashion that the hands in almost every watch ad are placed - which is for and optimal symmetrical look and a sense of uplifting optimism. Available soon, price will depend on the options.

Ariel Adams publishes the watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

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Christophe Claret DualTow Limited Edition Watch Revealed originally appeared on Luxist on Mon, 30 Mar 2009 12:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Apparel

Vega Wang has had fashion lines in ranges from very expensive (her Vera Wang line) to discount (Simply Vera for Kohl’s) but it’s her mid-range line that is in trouble. WWD reports that Wang is taking a fresh look at her contemporary Lavender label after major department stores Bergdorf Goodman and Saks Fifth Avenue appear to have dropped the line for spring and Neiman Marcus has reduced the number of stores that will stock the line of dresses and casual wear. Wang has said that the line was ” in some cases overpriced for the landscape of contemporary” and that she is rethinking the line. As the retail world continues to shake out it seems that lines such as this which tread the lower edge of luxury are particularly vulnerable.

Vera Wang Rethinking Lavender Label originally appeared on Luxist on Mon, 30 Mar 2009 18:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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