We've seen this once in Boston, now a Philadelphia-area jeweler is holding a scavenger hunt with a diamond ring as a prize. The Robbins Diamonds Dash pits teams from Philadelphia against each other searching for the prize, a Hearts On Fire diamond ring, valued at $20,000. This scavenger hunt has a tech twist, clues will be sent via text message and the teams can interact in the game by texting codes such as <hint> or <score> to receive help or standings. The event will be held Saturday, October 18. Teams gather at Thomas Paine Plaza at 10 a.m., the final clue will be given at 12:30 p.m and the afterparty starts at 2 p.m.. You can register your team online at the Robbins Diamonds Dash website. Happy hunting!
It's like a big rainbow disco ball! I love it, although honestly I don't think I'd ever have the guts to wear it. It's the Dita Shoulder Bag by Sonia Rykiel and it's made of luxe black calfskin suede that's studded with hundreds (even thousands maybe?) of multi-colored crystals. It also has chain handles (that seem to be all the rage lately) and it can widen to have more interior room via stylish snaps on both sides. Fully lined (in a subtle stripe pattern) with plenty of pockets and compartments. $3,045
Oh, the drudgery of the morning commute. You shuffle into the subway or bus station, or are methodically siphoned onto the gridlocked highway by a stoplight you've stared at for more hours of your life than any work of art. You find yourself surrounded by the half asleep, the angry, and the irritable uncaffeinated. You all glare at each other. Your mind fades in and out of your anxieties about the day, your dreams from the night before, and the state of the stock market.
One way to make the commute seem a little nicer? Try classical music. I recommend Vivaldi. Suddenly, listening to "The Four Seasons," your entrance onto the subway platform is grand and significant. The people all look more dignified, everyone moves in a subtle dance, and even the cars on street seem to be engaged in some kind of delightful comedy of manners.
You are in a movie, and this is your soundtrack. You feel more like you are exactly where you should be, and your mood brightens accordingly. Music also wakes up your synapses and makes you more alert. Even if you just zone out and let yourself get lost in the emotion of the music, when you get to wherever you're going, you'll feel refreshed.
It's just another easy way to make life more lux for cheap or free.
I've been writing about the plans for the Rocket Racing League for over three years but it looks like the new sports league is one step closer to reality. The Rocket Racing League, which seeks to create a Nascar in the sky with multiple races and up to 10 Rocket Racers taking to the sky on a closed circuit raceway, has been granted an Experimental Exhibition Certificate from the FAA for their next generation rocket racer. As Aero-News reports this is especially significant because it is the first time in the FAA's history that a production level rocket-powered aircraft has been cleared to perform exhibition flight demonstrations at over 20 venues across the U.S.
The Rocket Racing League has locked up a fancy sponsor, DKNY for men and their ship is called the DKNY Bridenstine Rocket Racer vehicle. It was built on a Velocity Aircraft airframe and equipped with a liquid oxygen and alcohol engine manufactured by Armadillo Aerospace. The league plans to hold a 2009 Exhibition season followed by the first official race season in 2010. The league will choose eight venues out of the possible 20 approved locations.
Will a thousand dollar bicycle get you to buy a multi-million dollar apartment? Probably not but it's an interesting incentive. The 211 Elizabeth building in Manhattan's Nolita area will offer custom bikes from A Black Bike, the first Dutch bike company based in NYC, to the owners of the 15 homes in the building. The bikes have the same new-meets-old sensibility as the building which features pre-war inspired layouts, wood-burning fireplaces and seven-foot black wood-framed windows and kitchens. The units in 211 Elizabeth are comparatively modest in size (which is also eco-friendly, less room to heat and cool). The one and two bedroom units top out at just over 2,000 square feet. Prices of available units range from $1.6 million to $3.9 million for a two-bedroom with a large terrace.
Usually I'm not a fan of recent homes in developments but this one in the Tanglewood area of Houston is rather charming, perhaps because of the current owner's use of modern art. The Tanglewood community is perhaps best known for being home to George H. W. Bush and has seen a boom in which many of the original homes in the neighborhoods have been replaced by newer modern homes like this one. This one was built in 2001 and has four bedrooms. It won me over with the elegant exterior, slate floors in some rooms, a brick wine room, plenty of built in shelfs and a lot that includes a tranquil pool area. It is listed at $4.8 million. Experience more lush living in luxury homes and mansions or see the stars living large with celebrity homes galleries at AOL Real Estate.
I haven't tried it yet but it's hard to miss the ads for Fragoli,a strawberry liqueur. The bottle is stuffed with small dark red strawberries suspended in the liqueur. The company promises that each pour, from first to last, will release an equivalent amount of little strawberries into each glass. The recommended drink is Fragoli and Prosecco in proportions similar to that of a Kir Royale. It sells for $35.99 in a package with a pair of Champagne flutes.
Recent reports revealed the sad news that legendary golfer Seve Ballesteros is suffering from a brain tumor. The news comes just around the time that a new watch that is a collaboration between Ballesteros and Jaermann & Stübi is set to come out. The watch case is forged from the golf clubs used by Seve Ballesteros to win the Chunichi Crowns Open in 1991. The one to nine irons he used on that occasion together with the Pitching Wedge and the Sand Wedge have been transformed into 50 watch cases for the "Seve Ballesteros" limited series. The "Seve Ballesteros" has an automatic movement and like the other Jaermann & Stübi golf watches, it has a mechanical golf counter complication to count the strokes per hole. The watch face and bezel are in Seve's favorite color, dark blue and the each watch is numbered with the golf club used for each case engraved on the back. The "Seve Ballesteros" model sells for 21,500 Swiss francs (around $19,000 US). A beautiful watch for one of golf's greats.
Shopping for vintage men's clothing has gotten a little easier now that eLuxury is in the men's vintage business. They have partnered with La Rosa Vintage Boutique of San Francisco, California to offer one-of-a-kind pieces that range from fashions you hoped you'd never see again like 1970s polyester shirts and leisure jackets to more classic sport coats, trench coats and some funky western shirts. My favorite pieces are the brocade dinner jackets and smoking jackets. You'll pay a bit more than you might if you were rummaging around a thrift store though. The brocade jacket shown above is $400 and they are charging $200 for some of their 1970s polyester shirts which seems rather ridiculous given that even their suitably toothsome model can't quite seem to pull those looks off.
To celebrate its 150th anniversary, Canadian Club has released a special limited edition 30 Year Reserve whisky, that boasts a "luscious oak character and a velvety texture with unsurpassed natural smoothness."
Having sampled it, we second that description. The company is releasing 3,000 bottles at $200 apiece, the first Canadian distiller to offer a product of this age and refinement.
Canadian Club obviously sounds very Canadian, but it actually got its start in Detroit, founded by grocer-turned-distiller Hiram Walker, who dubbed his whisky Walker's Club. When Prohibition reared its ugly head, Walker relocated his operation across the Detroit River to Ontario, where he soon established his own community, Walkerville.
Canadian Club has recently experienced something of resurgence thanks to the hit show Mad Men, wherein it's everyone's favorite character Don Draper's drink of choice.
John Pomp, a master of fine glass, lighting, and sculpture, utilized all three of his specialties to create this giant aquarium of light. Intrigued? You can see more of the Infinity Chandelier here on YouTube.
John Pomp runs a public access, educational, glassblowing facility in Brooklyn, New York called One Sixty Glass. He has designed an exclusive line for Tiffany & Co. and for Donna Karan, and created an installation at J. Crew's Rockefeller Center store in Manhattan.
Membership may have its privileges but, for the Platinum American Express cardholder, complimentary companion tickets on domestic flights won't be one of them anymore. Webflyer points out that effective Nov. 15, 2008, AmEx is discontinuing their Domestic Companion Airfare Program which let you book up to four complimentary companion tickets on qualifying domestic coach tickets. Cardmembers can still get complimentary companion tickets on full-fare international first or business class tickets when they are booked through the Platinum Travel Service. The card, which has a hefty annual fee of $450, still has a variety of beneifts including concierge service, airport lounge access and travel and hotel programs.
This beautiful Faberge creation from Princess Grace of Monaco's collection, which has not left Monaco in over 30 years, was unveiled today at the Consulate General of Monaco in New York City.
Thanks to Prince Albert II, who inherited the piece in 2005, the Imperial Blue Serpent Clock Egg will be traveling to Cleveland, Ohio, where it will be on display with six other Faberge wonders in the Artistic Luxury exhibition at the Cleveland Museum of Art through January 2009.
The Imperial Blue Serpent Clock Egg was crafted in St. Petersburg in 1887, and presented by Alexander III to Maria Fyodorovna.
Gallery: The Unveiling of the Imperial Blue Serpent Egg
Here we have a pen for those who want a writing instrument that's top notch but still masculine and, most importantly, durable and functional enough for regular use. It's the SureFire Pen, from SureFire (of course), and among its list of features you'll find that it has a sleek, aerospace-grade aluminum body, a "virtually indestructible" stainless steel tip, and a tail cap that's designed to function as a window-breaker in an emergency. And how does it write? The SureFire pen is fully adjustable to accommodate almost any of your favorite ink cartridges, but to make things even easier it comes standard with its own easy flow cartridge featuring high-performance Schmidt® Technology.
A perfect gift for that hard-to-buy for guy on your holiday shopping list! $125
Like fellow watchmaker Jaeger Le Coultre, Audemars Piguet has come out with some showstopper jewelry pieces. There are two sets of matching 18K white gold and diamond watches and necklaces for women, the Coup de Theatre and Carnet de Bal. Both watches use the AP calibre 2046 movement with manual winding (18 jewels) that beats at a frequency of 21 600 vph and provides 42 hours power reserve. The Coup de Theatre pieces are shown on the left and features a brick like arrangement of diamonds punctuated by an exuberant spray of bezel set diamonds. The Carnet de Bal pieces are more of a floral comet with brilliant, marquise, pear and baguette diamonds including bezel set stones mounted on trailing strands of white gold accented with gold beads. Larger pictures are in the gallery below.
We've seen this once in Boston, now a Philadelphia-area jeweler is holding a scavenger hunt with a diamond ring as a prize. The Robbins Diamonds Dash pits teams from Philadelphia against each other searching for the prize, a Hearts On Fire diamond ring, valued at $20,000. This scavenger hunt has a tech twist, clues will be sent via text message and the teams can interact in the game by texting codes such as <hint> or <score> to receive help or standings. The event will be held Saturday, October 18. Teams gather at Thomas Paine Plaza at 10 a.m., the final clue will be given at 12:30 p.m and the afterparty starts at 2 p.m.. You can register your team online at the Robbins Diamonds Dash website. Happy hunting!
Oh, the drudgery of the morning commute. You shuffle into the subway or bus station, or are methodically siphoned onto the gridlocked highway by a stoplight you've stared at for more hours of your life than any work of art. You find yourself surrounded by the half asleep, the angry, and the irritable uncaffeinated. You all glare at each other. Your mind fades in and out of your anxieties about the day, your dreams from the night before, and the state of the stock market.
To celebrate its 150th anniversary, 
