On the afternoon of November 26, 1922, a small group descended a flight of 16 steps that led below ground to a plain stone-and-plaster wall bearing a seal.
At 120 feet, the 120SL is the grandest vessel in the Azimut Grande series, a line of 100-plus-foot planing yachts with which the Azimut-Benetti Group bridges the gap between custom and s
Pershing, a Ferretti Group subsidiary, may have moved away from the fast-and-furious powerboat market when it introduced the Pershing 108(+39.0721.956211,
Tilli Antonelli, who founded the Pershing yacht company in 1981, made a splash last April with the debut of the inaugural model from his new brand, Wider.
A descendant of the Savannah, Ga.–based manufacturer’s best-selling GIV line—which has more than 500 jets in operation—the Gulfstream G450 (912.965.3000,
Since mobile mp 3 players took over the world—namely Apple’s iPod, whose first-generation device launched in 2001—audiophiles have scoffed at the thought of a pocket player providing gen
In 2008, Australia-based financiers and audiophiles Murali Murugasu and David Payes brought together a dream team of designers and engineers to create a new standard for audio componentr
Danish audio wizard Peter Lyngdorf—inventor of two audio systems previously named Robb Report’s Best of the Best—has outdone himself with the Steinway Lyngdorf S-Series
Not since the 2008 release of Pioneer’s fabled Kuro Elite plasma TV has a display panel hit the market with such a refined picture as that of the new Elite LCD TV.
When Marwan Rizek, president of Cameo Kitchens and Fine Cabinetry, decided to update the front display at the company’s Toronto showroom, he resolved to fill it with the kitchen of tomor
Last year’s arrival of Bisazza Bagno, a new bath division from the Italian mosaics company Bisazza, introduced unprecedented artistry to the room that needed it most.
Since its founding in 1979, Fraenkel Gallery in San Francisco has featured virtually everyone in the photographic pantheon, from Eugène Atget to Diane Arbus to Walker Evans.
Few art galleries can claim a continuous history under the same name for nearly two centuries. Yet C.G. Boerner has been purveying prints and drawings by the Old Masters since 1826.
The Aventador LP 700-4 is as ferocious as its namesake, a Spanish bull that performed in a notoriously violent fight in the early 1990s. It is big and imposing and no gentle giant.
With a 560 hp v-10 engine snitched from the Lamborghini Gallardo, a top speed of 199 mph, and a zero-to-60-mph time of just a sniff over 3.5 seconds, the Audi R8 GT
The four-door, six-seat TLC Icon FJ44 made the Best of the Best list last year for its refreshing take on the Toyota Land Cruiser and for its purposeful design.
The first Shelby Mustang G.T.350 (model years 1965 and 1966) expressed a purity of purpose unmatched by later models. It was nearly race-ready off the showroom floor.
Morgan motor company was founded in 1909 in England as a maker of three-wheeled vehicles that it called "cyclecars." Not until 1936 did the company produce its first four-wheeler, and ev
In an age of paddle-shift automatics, button-controlled suspension modes, shift-mapping software, and driver-tuned exhausts, the Ford Mustang Boss 302 Laguna Seca(
Ferrari purists seldom are followers of soft-top fashion, preferring the marque’s rigid berlinettas and their beautiful flowing forms to the canvas-roofed spiders.
Replete with style, speed, and a set of wings that stretch skyward, the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG coupe (the modern-day Gullwing) became one of the most coveted sports cars when it arrived i
Confederate motors has been building ambitiously designed, hand-assembled motorcycles since 1991, but for its latest creation, the Birmingham, Ala.–based manufacturer has introduced a ne
Since their introduction nearly 14 years ago, destination clubs have become popular with affluent travelers looking to vacation in, but not own, multimillion-dollar homes worldwide.
Los Angeles’s iconic Hotel Bel-Air—a woodsy, storybook getaway complete with resident swans—has been the preferred city retreat of Hollywood royalty for 65 years.
Built in 1822 as the home of British baronet Sir Charles Coote, Ballyfin Demesne was once Ireland’s most lavish Regency mansion, the centerpiece of a 614-acre estate of esplanades, parkl
A fixture on Wailea Beach for more than two decades, the Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea has long been the preferred hideaway of celebrities and VIPs on the Hawaiian island’s famed so
Unveiled last june in what designer Tom Weiskopf calls "one of most beautiful settings I have ever seen," the Castiglion del Bosco Golf Club(+39.0577.1913001,
A grand complication watch’s ability to fire the imagination is far more important to the wearer than any of its individual functions, which is why so many enthusiasts find Dominique Loi
At first glance, the unusual function of Le Temps Suspendu ($19,400 for the steel version shown), which is capable of stopping time on command, might seem less than practical.
The involvement in any project of Anita Porchet, the current sovereign of Swiss-watch enamelists, virtually guarantees a timepiece of superlative aesthetic quality; the underlying concep
Over the last few years, Giulio Papi has transformed the exclusive complicated versions of Audemars Piguet’s Millenary models into showcases for his personal passion: movement finishing.
In the last few years, the contemporary dress watch has evolved far beyond the classic shapes of the mid-20th century, incorporating modern diameters and slim profiles.
The multitude of world-time watches released over the last few months exhibit varying degrees of beauty and functionality, but one watch in particular seems to have been amply blessed wi
Parisian jeweler Van Cleef & Arpels has dramatically increased its influence in the watchmaking world over the past several years by introducing a series of decorative-arts timepiece
Like so many other great women’s timepieces, Louis Vuitton’s Tambour Lady Spin Time Joaillerie ($71,500) features a complicated mechanical display that first appeared on the men’s versio
While usually considered a traditional men’s brand, Girard-Perregaux repeatedly has proven adept at adding contemporary elements to its classical shapes to make them more appealing to wo
Unlike so many of Patek Philippe’s men’s watches, the brand’s latest series of women’s complicated timepieces will spend more time on their owners’ wrists than in their safes—or at least
In all likelihood, the wearer will never set or even try to read the time on her Cartier Tutti Frutti Secret Watch (price available upon request), part of the brand’s 16-piece Mille et U
With his fall 2012 collection, Tom Ford makes it clear that his stylish suits are not just for fashion-conscious gentlemen and A-list celebrities: He can dress just about any man with on
One of the world’s most luxurious knitwear brands, Brunello Cucinelli has raised the bar even higher with a new collection of down-lined cashmere sweaters.
It is not easy to make a statement—at least, not a good one—with a man’s belt, but David Yurman does just that with a series of inlaid buckles featuring gemstones such as agate and tiger
The revered Parisian footwear brand Berluti, established in 1895, has transformed into a full-fledged men’s luxury brand with its first show-stopping ready-to-wear collection.
Prada has captured the retro spirit of fall with an exceptional collection of bold, geometric twill neckties based on 1920s and ’30s designs ($215 each).
RLX Ralph Lauren has grown from a collection of stylish sports gear to a full-blown line of apparel and accessories designed to meet even professional athletes’ demands.
Old is new with Isaia’s richly textured topcoat. The company employs a 14th-century Tuscan method of processing wool to create the characteristic curls of its Casentino cloth.
With 11 sugarloaf-cut emeralds, 2,000 diamonds, and more than 18 months of work, Taiwanese designer Cindy Chao created this exquisite Equinox cuff (price upon request).
When Beverly Hills designer Martin Katz meets with a gem dealer, he typically asks, "What do you have that is weird and different?" Rather than seeking traditional sapphires, diamonds, a
The German jewelry house Hemmerle seems to know no boundaries when it comes to raw materials, freely mixing aluminum, wood, and lava stones with exceptional gemstones and diamonds.
Viren Bhagat has been called the JAR of India: Like JAR, the legendary yet elusive jewelry designer Joel Rosenthal of Paris, Bhagat produces very few pieces for a select group of buyers.
Leave it to a fashion house to see fine jewelry through a different lens: Without the constraints of a jewelry heritage, Chanel Fine Jewelry created a series of daring new designs with i
When Greg Kwiat took over as CEO of the storied vintage jeweler Fred Leighton two and a half years ago, he knew that keeping up the inventory of rare collectible jewelry would be a chall
Jack Row—a 26-year-old goldsmith in Birmingham, England—made his debut in the luxury pen market last year with Architect, a collection of fascinating intricacy and modernity.
The Asian decorative art of maki-e is an ancient one, involving intricate designs created from thin layers of gold dust (or other metallic powder) coated in lacquer from an urushi tree.
Chef Grant Achatz and Nick Kokonas, partners in the wildly experimental Chicago restaurant Alinea, devised an even more daring concept for Next, a shape-shifter whose menus are inspired
If there is proof that big things come in small packages, it is the Arturo Fuente Hemingway Short Story Maduro ($6.75), a diminutive figurado measuring only 4 inches in length, with a ri
One might wonder whether Highland Park could match the quality of its 40-year-old Orcadian Limited Edition Series 1968 Single Malt Scotch Whisky, which won last year’s Best of the Best t
Not since the 1977 launch of the Cent-Cinquantenaire that celebrated Grand Marnier’s 150th anniversary has there been a liqueur from the Marnier Lapostolle family of such depth and thoro
The Speyside Distillery owned by William Grant & Sons has released the second version of an incredible single malt: The Balvenie 40 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky Batch T
Japan is the second-largest producer of single-malt whiskey in the world; however, its whiskeys have only recently become known in America, primarily in the form of Suntory distillery’s
Russians invented vodka centuries ago, but the U.S. government only recognized the clear spirit (which was deemed odorless and tasteless) as a separate spirit category in 1951.
Since 1997, when Merry Edwards cofounded Merry Edwards Wines, she has focused her talents on perfecting that most persnickety of varietals, Pinot Noir.
From the ages of ancient Sumeria and classical Greece to the present day, human beings have treated wine as everything from a religious totem to an art form.
Though white wines of epic grace and beauty come from such regions as Alsace, the Rhône, Austria, Germany, California, and Oregon, nowhere does the Chardonnay grape develop the combinati
In an era when so many legendary wine labels belong to multinational corporations, Domaine Jean-Louis Chave stands apart, not only for the decadent beauty of its incomparable wines, but
The Haag family has been producing wines in the Middle Mosel region for 400 years, during which time the reputation of its wines and, for that matter, the prices have steadily grown.
Both practical and visionary, Joseph Krug founded Champagne Krug in Reims, France, in 1843 to pursue his dream of creating a perfect Champagne through meticulous blending of a range of o
In the early 1970s, when Denis Horgan acquired Leeuwin Estate, now one of Australia’s most important viticultural properties, there was not a vine in sight: It was a cattle ranch.
Although Calistoga is home to what is perhaps Napa Valley’s most fabled and historic vineyard, the region was only very recently approved by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau
Master sommelier Greg Harrington is among those pioneering members of his profession who, in the past decade, have transitioned from buying and pouring fine wine to making it themselves.
One of the first wines of note to emerge from the now-bustling Paso Robles region on California’s Central Coast was a wine called Isosceles, a Pauillac-style blend of Cabernet Sauvignon
Father-and-son winemaking team Alex and Paul Golitzin count among their ancestors Prince Lev Sergeyevich Golitsyn—a member of one of Russia’s most distinguished noble houses and the foun
Before embarking upon his own vinous enterprise, Robert Foley produced some 15 vintages for Pride Mountain Vineyards, one of the region’s most alluring labels.
Since 1859, the Gaja Winery in the Barbaresco region of Piedmont, Italy, has been committed to producing fine wines that express the highly individual characters of its vineyards’ varied
Perhaps one of the most significant events to occur at Maison Louis Jadot since its doors first opened in 1859 will occur at the end of this year, when, after more than four decades, win
There is little that can be said of Grange, Penfolds’ flagship wine, that has not already been repeated again and again in the commentaries of critics.
After struggling for years as a fiction writer, Jonathan Kellerman struck gold with When the Bough Breaks, the first of his novels starring Los Angeles psychologist-turned-detective Alex Delaware.
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