luxurylifestylenews.com

Cramer's 'Mad Money' Recap: Lapping Up Luxury

The first time I watched Jim Cramer's 'Mad Money' I spent the entire show waiting for him to keel over from a massive coronary. The frenetic delivery and ADD tempo of the show is something unique in the often dry realm of financial programming. If you haven't seen it yet I recommend tuning in.

Demand for diamonds is being fueled largely by economic growth in China and India. De Beers, which has about 80% market share in diamonds, is privately held. But, Anglo American is publicly traded and owns about 45% of De Beers.

... full text here.

Rockefeller's $3.9 Million Vase Highlights Asian Art Auctions

If the difference between the pre-auction estimated value and what it actually fetched at auction is eye popping, ponder this fact; in 1967 the vase was deemed to be worth US $200. When spread out evenly over that time period the vase accrued approximately US $102,626.31 per year.

A blue-and-white, 15th-century Chinese vase, which Laurance Rockefeller used as a lamp and Sotheby's Holdings Inc. valued at up to $400,000, sold last week for $3.9 million.

The vase was one of the highlights of the record- setting, Asian art auctions in New York. In six auctions over three days, Sotheby's and Christie's International totaled a record $52.9 million, with Chinese art sales making up half the figure.

Driving the market are newly wealthy Asian collectors, clamoring for a piece of their cultural heritage.

... full text via Bloomberg.com.

... PROPERTY FROM THE ESTATE OF LAURANCE S. ROCKEFELLER page at Sotheby's site. Click on "Lauch Minisite" to view highlights from the auction.

Luxury yachts to be built in Gulfport

Trinity Yachts will continue their expansion despite hurricane Katrina and create 500 new jobs in the process.

Due to the damages caused by Hurricane Katrina, plans are under way for the Gulfport facility to provide 100 housing units for displaced employees or subcontractors.

Trinity had two yachts nearly ready for delivery when the hurricane struck. One sustained minor damage. Workers stayed aboard the yachts and ran the engines to keep them headed into the wind as Katrina came ashore.

Trinity Yachts LLC is a privately held corporation specializing in custom yachts of aluminum or steel up to 400 feet.

... full text here.

... Trinity Yachts website.

The world’s most desirable mobile telephones

Many good images of the hand-crafting of the new Vertu mobiles via Classic Driver.com...

The company hand-assembles its worldwide production at a high-tech industrial building in Hampshire, south west of London. To see the manufacturing process (and the best automotive comparison would probably be the McLaren F1 that was built not so far away at Woking) you are reminded of either a modern F1 technical facility or a Swiss watch company. In fact the connections actually do run deep – staff at Vertu have spent time at Bentley Motors studying the fine processes that signify the term ‘hand-crafted’, as well as using the traditional Swiss watch making skills of precious-metal handling and finishing.

... text and images here.

Advertisement : eLUXURY

Luxury has landed

Lufthansa is tweaking its business model for the luxury seeker...

In December, the airline unveiled a new first-class terminal at the Frankfurt airport -- the busiest in continental Europe. There, passengers who pay premiums ranging from 2,500 to 4,500 euros ($3,125 to $5,625) above business-class fares can enjoy hours of pampering before their flights. In fact, they never have to interact with economy-class travelers in regular terminals.

And in July, the airline added a smaller first-class area to the Munich airport, which has had a direct flight from Charlotte since last year. Lufthansa also makes first-class facilities available to passengers in its ultra-loyalty program, meaning they fly 600,000 miles every two years.

... full text here.

Dell wraps itself in luxury

Via CNET.com...

Dell's new XPS brand is the premium product line the company promised to deliver back in June. A sleek XPS logo on top of a silver-and-white chassis with black accents distinguishes XPS products from Dell's consumer brands.

The XPS desktop PCs ship with dual-core Intel processors, Nvidia graphics cards, hard-disk drives with up to 1 terabyte of data storage, and enhanced networking capabilities.

... full text here.

... XPS page at Dell.com.

Visit Villa Paradiso The Newest Luxury Resort In The Island Of Nevis

Via Travel Video.tv...

Villa Paradiso is the newest luxury Abercrombie & Kent Destinations Resort and the latest villa development on the beautiful island of Nevis. The resort hosts spacious three and four bedroom villas, each with their own private waterfall pool and fabulous Caribbean ocean views. These Balinese inspired villas, created by world renowned designer Adam Tihany, blend seamlessly and naturally into the fantastic landscape. The hand-woven, palm frond roofs at Villa Paradiso mirror Nevis' landmark volcano, Mount Nevis Peak, while dramatic tropical foliage and winding paths combine to make Villa Paradiso a truly special resort.

Related links:

... full text here.

... official Villa Paradiso website.

... official Abercrombie & Kent website.

... Adam Tihany design info here.

Scandals Darken Fashion Scene in Italy

I think the title is in reference at least in some part to the recent Kate Moss cocaine scandal. It sounds like the designing elite is turning away from the more trashy threads (no pun intended) of fashion culture.

Earlier Monday Dolce & Gabbana showed their second line D&G collection aimed at the younger set. The all-whitedemure milkmaid blouses and fetching see-thru mini corset dresses tied together with feminine silk ribbons, underlined the current romantic mood of Italian fashion.

Even Roberto Cavalli, known for his slinky style, opted for the modern maiden, for his second line Just Cavalli collection also presented Monday. While tops were tight and sexy, and footwear towering platform sandals, the multicolored ruffled skirts which appeared throughout the collection spoke of innocent fun at the country fair. collection of pretty petticoat skirts,

I hope they don't go too far.

... full text here.

Millionaire Fair in Moscow strikes visitors' imagination with luxury

Via Pravda...

The Millionaire Fair was held for the first time in Amsterdam three years ago. It has won the reputation of one of the most respectable exhibitions devoted to the world of luxury. Organizers of the fair consider Russia to be a very perspective market for luxurious goods and therefore chose Moscow as a hosting city of the show in 2005. Over 200 prestigious companies and brands took place at the Millionaire Fair in Moscow, including Bvlgari, Bentley, BMW, Cartier, Fairline, Jaguar, Remy Martin, Mercedes, Mont Blanc, Porsche, Riva, Rolex, Sony, Starline, Wolford and many others.

... full text here.