Follow US
New York
$11 million bespoke aquatic complex
A New York based high-end aquarium and pond design firm, Okeanos Aquascaping lately earned a spot on the list of most exclusive holiday gifts with their backyard pool-and-aquarium complex. Starting at $11 million the water complex design features a 30-foot-by-60-foot freshwater swimming pool that shares two of its walls with a massive glass saltwater aquarium. With such a thing by your side, your swimming partners would be eels, angelfishes etc. The best part here is one can even view the aquarium from outside the pool for it stretches from the floor of the pool to 15 feet above its surface. The aquarium is reported to be the Okeanos’ largest, and the pool will be the first undertaking of its kind by the company’s new division, Okeanos Swim.
The major factor in the component list is the actual use of chemical-free water in the pool which the makers have achieved by combining proprietary handmade filtration and water-flow systems. Their innovative method ensures that the water is, at all times, free from harmful bacteria and organic matter without the use of conventional chemicals like chlorine. The aquatic complex is available to one Robb Report reader, who must provide the land on which it will be built. Routine maintenance fees and the cost of sustaining marine life are not included in the price of the gift.
Titanic Artifacts Up for Sale
If you are one of those who are fond of art collectibles, then here is a think which you must grab. The sunken ship is finally going to bring joy for some with the auction of more than 5,500 artifacts recovered from the wreckage. All the collectibles will be sold as a single lot to commemorate the 100th anniversary of sinking of the Titanic as it took off for its maiden excursion.
The art piece is available at Guernsey- an auction house in New York in the auction that will be held on April 1. The trove consists of fine china, ship fittings, and parts of the hull and the belongings of the passengers including their perfumes. As per Premier Exhibitions Inc., the entire value is round about $189 million, which is not surprising to anybody. The results of the auction though will be awaited till April 15, the very day when the Titanic collapsed after hitting an iceberg.
Gold- plated eL Masterpiece Chandelier
Daniel Libeskind, New York’s well-known architect has created the limited-edition eL Masterpiece chandelier in association with the Austrian lighting company Zumtobel. The stupendous 350 pound chandelier is roughly nine feet tall and two-and-a-half feet wide. An incandescent, cutting-edged, curiously shaped chandelier, the eL Masterpiece has a highly-polished stainless steel exterior and a stainless-and-23-carat-gold-plated-leaf interior. Its beauty lies in the seven color scenarios, for which 1,680 specially designed LED modules have been used.
Set it up wirelessly via a special iPas app that activates individual built-in mechanisms attached to each module. The magnanimous idea behind the various color scenarios is to portray the cosmic light that fills the universe. Behind this cosmic idea, there is some science involved as well which was derived from a complex algorithm developed by astrophysicist Dr. Noam Libeskind, (son of Daniel) from the Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam. State-of-the-art simulations were run by Dr. Libeskind and that’s the story behind one billion years being compressed into a single second so that eL Masterpiece lights up this history of the cosmos in 14 seconds.
Cartier Rotonde Minute Repeater Flying Tourbillon
The first minute repeater is live by Cartier. The minute repeater is on display at New York, it is called as the Cartier Rotonde Minute Repeater Flying Tourbillon. This is a Limited Edition collection with 50 pieces crafted in rose gold and 50 pieces in titanium. Entirely developed in-house, the Rotonde has a case measuring 45mm and sapphire crystals to adorn the beauty. For practicality sake Cartier has even designed this watch to be water resistant upto 30 meters. Now that is seriously cool. It is approximately priced at $288,200 in titanium and $295000 in pink gold. And we think the price is quite reasonable for the kind of superior mechanism used by Cartier.
The Rotonde features an incredible caliber 9402 MC that uses 447 pieces to produce a minute repeater with a sound level of an incredible 68 decibels in titanium and 63 when composed of rose gold. The movement is the Swiss manual-wind Cartier in-house caliber 9402MC with 47 jewels. 20 of these watches can be produced per year by Cartier. It comes to no surprise now that Cartier took 4 years to roll out the Rotonde, their first minute repeater and it doesn’t disappoint one bit.
Porsche Speedster Art Car
Porsche and New Yorker graffiti artist Miguel Paredes’s alliance has come up with an astonishing piece of art. He has tailored the 2011 Porsche 911 Speedster Art Car with an elaborate artwork of Japanese geisha on the hood of the car. The piece is inspired by Porsche masterpiece comes with vibrant colors and patterns for which Paredes is best known for. The Art Car will be limited to a special edition of just 356 units. This particular car is no. 176 out of the 356 units.
Elizabeth Taylor’s collection sets a world record
The most famed Hollywood siren “Elizabeth Taylor” who died at the age of 79 and had a line of seven husbands during her glamorous life. She is a well known personality for her fondness for jewelry. A huge pearl which was once worn by European royalty and later came in the hands of Elizabeth Taylor was sold for a record price of $11.84 million at a blockbuster auction in New York. Hailed as “La Peregrina,” the pearl was bought for Taylor by her actor husband Richard Burton in 1969. The pearl now adorns a Cartier necklace and was sent to Christie’s where it was estimated to fetch $2-3 million. The Elizabeth Taylor Diamond, a 33.29 carat a cut-cornered rectangular-cut diamond set in platinum ring and given to her by Richard Burton in 1968 also stole the show. It was expected to fetch $2.5 million-$3.5 million but it finally went under the hammer for $8,818,500.
Charlie Chaplin’s iconic black hat to be auctioned soon
Charlie Chaplin is one name that is familiar to everyone residing in any corner of the world. At Sotheby’s New York is all set to put Charlie Chaplin’s first signature bowler hat under the hammer. First seen in the silent film called the Tramp the iconic hat has been around since 1909. The hat is estimated to fetch up to $24,000 whenever auctions commence.
As per a spokesperson for Sotheby’s, Chaplin wore it when he was in England and when he toured America. Other items on sale include a gift that Chaplin made to actor Bert Bailey, along with a note of provenance.
Celeb Weight Loss: Jennifer Hudson, Kirstie Alley, Jonah Hill
A lot of pressure is there in Hollywood to get thin. A person will talk to you later, but will look and judge you by your appearance first and that to between movies, photo shoots and red carpets, appearance is pretty much everything. Many A-list celebrities have decided to make a choice to lose the weight and get healthy; not just to please Hollywood, but for themselves.
According to MSN’s Wonderwall Jennifer Hudson has been one of those celebs that aren’t afraid to let the world know that she struggled with her weight and did something about it. She became the new face of Weight Watchers and lost 80 pounds since appearing on American Idol. Kirstie Alley is another star whose weight is constantly fluctuating. Since getting into shape during her stint on Dancing With the Stars Kirstie has reportedly lost 100 pounds and was even seen strutting down the catwalk at the Zang Toi show during New York Fashion Week.
Luxury Property Demand Outstrips Supply in London & Manhattan
According to real-estate broker Savills Plc, the number of London houses and apartments that sold for more than 5 million pounds rose 31 percent to 262 in the nine months through September. Over in Manhattan, the supply of apartments for sale over 5 million dollars, reached the lowest level for an October since 2007. As Shari Scharfer-Rollins, SVP at the Corcoran Group brokerage puts it: “Inventory is down and demand is up.”
Christie’s recent State of the International Luxury Market report suggested that scarcity of property was driving up luxury real estate prices, particularly in top cities such as London, Paris, Hong Kong, New York and Beverley Hills. The report also went on to muse that sellers worldwide have adapted to a new reality in luxury housing and are beginning to accept that their residence is not going to command the same price that it might have in 2007.
The 1 billion pound development is home to apartments ranging from £7 “” £136 million pounds each, which are according to Mr. Candy, attracting interest from buyer’s currently experiencing instability in home markets. We have a lot of viewings going on from any country that has got economic or political turmoil.
Property agency Knight Frank recently revealed research suggesting that Chinese buyers benefited from a 24 percent purchasing power discount based on the Yuan-sterling forex rate between the peak of the prime London housing market in March 2008 and October 2011.
Chinese luxury home buyers were said to be leading a legion of “cash-rich non-UK investors” in search of up market London homes, with demand driven by currency exchange rates that produce discounts of up to a quarter on purchase prices. A similar tale unfolds across the pond in Manhattan, as Ms. Scharfer-Rollins confirms: “The dollar is weak and I think foreign buyers find that they can get more in New York City as an investment than they used to be able to.”
The Porsche Design Tower
According to the Knight Frank Wealth Report 2011, unequivocally that even in a capricious world economy, there are a few things that do not change. John Styles, head of fund management at Knight Frank Investors, says confidence is returning, and direct investment into residential and commercial real estate is the most favored option.
The venture’s first proposed project will feature a 57-story ultra-luxury tower called The Porsche Design Tower, complete with a sky garage, in Sunny Isles Beach. This tower will showcase a one-of-a-kind robotic parking system, allowing owners to park their vehicles in sky garages directly next to their units. It’s a first for Florida, but not so much for New York City.
The sky garage has already become a lucrative amenity in Manhattan. A lavish, 19-story building at 200 Eleventh Avenue is nicknamed ‘Sky Garage’ for the auto elevator that allows residents to drive in, hop the lift and park their cars on their own floors, right next to their town home. The units are two stories each, and if the owner has no car, he or she can use the garage space as storage or a studio.
Because a high profile person can drive right in without being seen in public, this building has drawn in many A-list celebrities; Nicole Kidman, Kelsey Grammer and Domenico Dolce of Dolce & Gabbana have already bought in. The space is 2,360 square feet, the private sky garage is 332 square feet, and as of this posting, the prices range from $6 million to $29 million for the two penthouses. All have been sold and a few are up for re-sale. This New York success is no doubt a major motivator for The Porsche Design Studio and Dezer Properties in Florida.
Units at the Porsche Design Tower will range from 3,800 to 9,500 square feet. More than one-half of the units feature a duplex layout, with the ocean-facing units including a private pool. Porsche Design Tower units are expected to range in price from $2.9 million to $9 million.
News & Updates
Recent News
Giorgio Armani designs...
Along with Jade Jagger designed houses, the Lodha Group has added new heights to the super luxury...
World’s First Invisible...
The world’s first invisible tower that is currently in its planning stage is somewhat a phallic crystalline...
Red Velvet cupcake topped...
Cupcake Gourmet and Warwick Jewelers have teamed up to offer a bit of boost to such couples with... Most Popular
Giorgio Armani...
Along with Jade Jagger designed houses, the Lodha Group has added new heights to the super luxury...
World’s...
The world’s first invisible tower that is currently in its planning stage is somewhat a phallic crystalline...
