The easiest way for an established brand to grow their sales is to diversify and expand their portfolio of products they offer. But you rarely come across a brand diversifying into a totally unrelated field. Louis Vuitton, the French fashion house plans to do just that. LV, as they are popularly known, plans to design, produce and market a designer stationery collection. It could encourage people to write with a pen on paper more often. Writing manually is an endangered art form. No one bothers to improve their hand writing today.
Louis Vuitton is primarily known for their chic leather bags, several ranges of iPad and laptop cases trendy sunglasses, encyclopedia and tea trunks, fashionable jewelry line and stylish timepieces. Whatever they create, they always bring a certain stylish charm to their products and designs. LVMH has grown into the largest fashion and luxury conglomerate with the largest network and reach globally. Many of the family owned luxury brands in Europe with a long history have become part of the group. The closest the group has come to paper, reading and writing is when they released a book named Louis Vuitton: Art, Fashion and Architecture.
Baccarat is the renowned maker of luxury crystal glassware. The French glassmaker is always striving to design a wine glass that enhances the experience of drinking wine. They do regular research and development to achieve the perfect balance between alcohol and the grape. Their new glass has a design that hopes to revolutionize the wine drinking experience. The glass has a tulip shape and a flat wide base. The chimney is vertical that prevents the alcohol from overpowering the aroma of wine when the glass is swirled. There is a scientific basis to the design and has been developed to retain the subtlety in the vintages.
The large scale swirling movement of the wine glass oxidizes the wine and burns off the delicate aromas. This new design prevents, or definitely limits the process. The glass was launched in France earlier this year and was launched in China and Hong Kong last month. François Mainetti, the glass maker’s General Manager for Greater China during the launch event explained the revolutionary design of the glass was meant to reveal the wine. He likened the balance between alcohol and the aroma to yin and yang in Chinese philosophy. He used the simile to stress the importance of the balance. Taking the simile forward he explained that it is like a balance between fire and water.
It was raining bags at a recent Bonhams auction conducted at London’s Knightsbridge on the 16th of May. And there were no ordinary bags for a private collection of 64 Hermès bags that managed to fetch a whopping £562,750 which is around $890,000. The total had well surpassed its estimated pre-auction price which was calculated to only half of the total price realized at the auction.
The Bonhams auction garnered a lot of attention and the auction room was packed to the bits. Bids were pouring in from the telephone and also online. The reason behind this attention at the auction was the exquisite collection of bags Hermès Bags which date back to the 1950s. The most recent ones were from the 2008 collection. The collection included the ‘Kelly’, ‘Birkins’ and other smaller ‘Constance’ bags.
The Hermès Auction
The top of the list was a 2008 Hermès Dark Brown Matt Crocodile Birkin bag which fetched a staggering £37,250 which was around $58,816. You would be surprised to know that the estimate price of this bag was only £8,000-£12,000. Birkin bags are actually a tribute to British actress Jane Birkin who expressed her desire to Hermès chairman, Jean-Louis Dumas, that she wanted a leather bag that could be used over the weekends and thus came into being the Birkin bags. Crocodile bags have always been in vogue and very recently fashionista, diva, singer and mother of four designed a crocodile luxury handbag for the Selfridge’s winter collection. She is herself a proud owner of over a 100 Hermès bags which cost around £1.5 million.
It’s luxury galore at London’s May Fair. On your next trip to London, when you check in at the May Fair Suites every little thing will be taken care off. The May Fair is known to look after its guest in style and how. The hotel exudes luxury splendidly and it’s not just the rooms, the food or the other amenities that the hotel provides its guests with but it is also the bathrooms that will impress the guests and will leave them all spellbound. Guests will be pampered at this hotel which has so far hosted everyone from celebrities’ superstars, millionaires and billionaires, politicians. Well, the list is long.
We have earlier reported about the May Fair hotels’ luxury toilets. The latest addition to this hotel is a super luxurious bathroom. The recently unveiled Ebony suite at the hotel which is spread around 110 square meters has integrated a bathroom that is worth £50K. The bathroom is not at all ordinary and besides boasting of elegant and sophisticated interiors it also makes use of some superior technology. With its extraordinary features and unique designs it will touted to become the most expensive loo in the city.
Read on if you wish to know how exactly what Mayfair’s Ebony Suites Loo has to offer you.
London’s Most Expensive Bathroom at May Fair
A plush bathroom is a part of the Ebony Suite which will cost you £2000 a night. The suite also is no less and has a kitchenette, separate guest room and a 67 square meter Lounge with a four seater dinning table. The private terrace is also impressive and is spread across 34 square meters. The terrace is adorned with a dark wood setting and is largely decorated with ivory and metallic shades.
Bill Gates is in the news again and this time it has nothing to do with the launch of a new software or the millions that get deposited in his bank account every month. Not long ago, when Bill Gates had just founded Microsoft with Paul Gates, he had purchased a Porsche, a brand of car that he has been associated with for a long time now. It was in 1979 that he purchased the Porsche 911 Turbo that is now up for auction in Austria. We still don’t know as to how the car ended up in Austria after Bill Gates gave up its ownership in the 1990s. The car is estimated to fetch a pre- auction price of around € 39,000-€50,000 which will make it $55,500-$71,000 in the Dollar range. The car will come under the hammer on 6th June.
It’s not been long since a Bill Gates estate was in news. It was in winter that he flew with his family to Florida and paid a whopping $600,000 to rent a home in Wellington, Florida. It was a house of a millionaire. Located at the plush Fairlane Court the house exudes luxury and was elaborately furnished for the family of the world’s richest man. For long everyone went gaga over the property which was 7,352 square feet. A massive amount of space we say for a family comprising of three children and a millionaire husband and wife. It was his daughter, Jennifer’s interest in jumping horses that Bill Gates is said to have rented this property. The Wellington Home was also listed for sale at a staggering $12.999 million.
Anyway, let’s turn our attention back to Mr. Gates car which is up for auctions at the Dorotheum. It is said that when he owned this car he indulged in a number of shenanigans and often got into trouble. Let’s have a look at the Porsche Turbo 911 and its long association with Bill Gates.
It’s official now. The city that never sleeps has its own most expensive apartment. Sold for a whopping $ 90 million, the apartment now has sent New York’s real estate market in a tizzy. Soaring high in New York’s Manhattan area, which is one the most populated borough and the city’s cultural, commercial and financial centre, the apartment occupies the 89th and the 90th floor and gives a splendid view of the Central Park. The building is an imposing structure and is about a 1000 feet high way above its neighbouring buildings that together form the famous Manhattan skyline.
It’s proximity to Central Park and the Carnegie theatre and hall will let its buyer savour the best of New York’s spirit. Located at 157 West and 57th Street, One 57 is still under construction. However, it’s still a secret as to who had bought this sprawling 10,923 square feet condo in New York’s most sought after locality. Rumours have been doing the rounds that a Russian has bought the apartment but it has been largely denied. However, it will be a foreign buyer for over the years there has been a number of Chinese, Brazilians Ukrainians and Russians are the latest entrants in New York’s real estate market. They have shown keen interest in New York’s most expensive and plush properties.
Released in 1969 Abbey Road was the last album that the legendary soft rock band Beatles recorded together. It became a runaway hit with tracks like “Something” and “Her Majesty” ruling the roost for many years. Along with the smashing hits recorded for the album it was actually the album cover that became a legend in itself. It’s a simple image of the four band members Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr crossing a traffic signal at Abbey Road, London. However, that image managed to garner enough attention from around the around the world. And continues to do so even after four decades after when it was first released. The rare picture of the four legends will be auctioned at Bloomsbury London on the 22nd of May and is estimated to fetch around £10 K. The only difference will be that the picture in question will have the Beatles walking backwards on Abbey Road.
Read on if you wish to know more about this legendary picture and the details of the auction.
The Beatles Backwards
It was only in a ten minute shoot that this masterpiece was clicked. It was actually a sketched idea of McCartney that led to this photo shoot. The picture was clicked outside EMI Studios on a zebra crossing at Abbey Road, which was soon to become a tourist spot in the coming years. It is also said that Abbey Road was recently given a Grade II listed status for the importance attached to it. One can still find people traversing the zebra crossing just to relive the moment.
During the photo shoot, the Fabulous four were asked to cross the road while the police man held the traffic. It is said that lain Macmillan took the photograph by standing on a step leader. All this was done in ten minutes and he knew he had clicked a masterpiece. The original image shows “Let it Be” John Lennon leading the gang followed by followed by Ringo Starr, Paul McCartney, who by the way is barefoot, and George Harrison at the end of the tail. For the shoot everyone except Harrison are wearing suits designed by Tommy Nutter. In the image to be auctioned the four have maintained their positions but are walking in the opposite direction. And also in the newly realised image Paul McCartney is actually wearing shoes.
It’s Aston Martin galore at Bonhams. This auction season Bonhams is preparing itself to auction a collection of historic Aston Martin cars and their valuable parts. It is at the Aston Martin Works Service Sale that everyone is invited. To be held in the home city of Aston Martin in Newport Pagnell, Bucks on the 19th of May a series of fifty Aston Martin cars have been listed for the auction. These cars include the 1952 Aston Martin DB2 Vantage Sports Saloon the 2005 Aston Martin DB9 Volante. Here’s a look at what’s in store for you at the Aston Martin Bonhams auction.
The Aston Martin Collection to be auctioned by Bonhams
The oldest Aston Martin to be sold at the auction will be the 1952 Aston Martin DB2 Saloon and the Aston Martin DB2 Vantage Sports Saloon. The Aston Martin DB2 Saloon is expected to fetch a price of $130,000-$160,000 and is considered to be the fastest sports car of its time. With a registration number of ZV 6697 the car was owned by someone in the Republic of Ireland. It has an engine capacity of 2.6 litres which has been developed several times before it appeared at the auction list for Bonhams.
Auctions have become really global and the final prices achieved often surprise the experts as items get sold for even over nine times the pre sales estimates. Antiquorum held a very successful auction on May 13 for Important Modern & Vintage Timepieces. There were a total of 469 modern and vintage timepieces that attracted lively bidding from bidders in the room as well as on the phone and the net. The participants came from all over the world including from Hong Kong, Taiwan, The Russian Federation, Germany, the United States as well as Switzerland.
Julien Schaerer, Managing Director, Antiquorum Geneva was very happy with the result and said that there was a clear demand for timepieces of the highest quality produced by the recognized and respected brands. The Patek Philippe World Time with guilloche dial sold for an impressive 1,190,500 CHF, over twice is low estimate. A Rolex Submariner that belonged to former Mossad Director, Isser Harel also saw some aggressive bidding. It ultimately went to an American bidder who was participating on phone, for a staggering CHF 248,500 which was nearly nine times the value of the pre sales estimate. It is clear now that the collectors are willing to pay big bucks for extremely rare and historically significant timepieces.
January 2013 will see the 57th inauguration of the President of the United States. It could be the return of the 44th President or we could be welcoming a new 45th President. Either way the celebrations will be on a grand scale in the nation’s capital. The pomp and the revelry on the occasion is not just spectacular but very infectious and most of us would like to be part of it. The JW Marriott Washington, DC will be at the center of all the celebrations as it is situated at 1331 Pennsylvania Avenue on 14th Street, NW. The luxury hotel is making elaborate arrangements for creating a luxury inaugural parade viewing gallery on its sky terrace on the 12th floor.
The gallery or the access to it will be part of a grand package which will be applicable to a group. The cost of the total celebratory package is $2.7 million. Don’t be put off by the high price tag as it is applicable for a group of 300 people who can create their own celebration over a four night period. The hotel’s 7,300 sq. ft. sky terrace, the viewing gallery gives guests premium views of Pennsylvania Avenue. Guests need not be worried about the cold in January on the sky terrace as the framed gallery will be heated. In fact the luxurious gallery will be outfitted with crystal chandeliers and 52 inch HDTVs.
