swarovskis latest

The irresistible Crystal Dust Bangle is Swarovski’s new signature design to equal Stardust and Slake, crafted using Swarovski’s Crystal Rock technique. Lavishly encrusted with crystals of six different colours for six different bangles—gold, silver, rich blue, grey, black and dark multi-hued, the bangle has an on-trend spiral silhouette. The gold version has gold PVD metal capped ends, embellished with crystals, while the rich blue version has brilliant blue crystals for unparalleled sparkle with stainless steel capped ends.  The Crystal Dust style is also available in brilliantly glittering cuffs with an open-shank silhouette with stainless steel capped ends, embellished with crystals The clean design can be  worn alone as a finishing touch or layered with others.

sold gold toilet seat

The Guggenheim Museum in Manhattan has a brand new art installation that’s drawing in visitors like bee to honey: an eighteen carat solid gold toilet titled ‘America.’ The fully functional gold toilet has been created by the famed Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan, provocateur of the art world. This is Cattelan’s first work after nearly 12 years, and crowds are lining up outside the Guggenheim Museum in Manhattan, because this piece of art is free for the public to use. Cattelan has called it the “one-percent art for the ninety-nine percent.”  Though, of course, a security guard stands outside the toilet to ensure no one carries off bits and pieces of this interactive art piece!

burberrys see

In line with the see-now, buy-now argument that’s been brewing in high fashion circles for quite some time, Burberry has put on sale its entire September collection as soon as it was previewed on the London catwalk, days after Tom Ford and Tommy Hilfiger made similar moves in New York. This move had been in the making for some time, with the idea gaining momentum that the months of gap between viewing a collection and owning it is frustrating. The show was streamed online around the world, and was rich in historical references with heavy prints, military embroidery on jackets and ruffs inspired by Virginia Woolf’s epoch-spanning novel Orlando. The move to “buy now” is built upon doing away with the long held custom of displaying collections one season ahead. And now this change has pitted the more business-centric fashion weeks in London and New York against Milan and Paris, where luxury labels such as Dior and Chanel argue that instant gratification will disrupt the creative process. The path that high fashion takes from here will be an interesting thing to follow!

the iconic guide

The iconic guide for connoisseurs of fine dining has been finally launched in China to much fanfare. Lining up an array of winners from both luxury establishments and haunts for authentic traditional dishes, the China Michelin Guide follows in the wake of the Singapore edition and is the first of its kind in the country. There’s also a Seoul edition coming up soon, too. Covering the commercial hub of Shanghai, the guide awarded around 26 restaurants including a humble two-star establishment that is popular with local families, Canton 8, for quality cooking. The highest accolade by the guide, a three-star rating, was awarded to T’ang Court – a six table joint in the Langham hotel. The Cantonese restaurant is famous for dishes such as braised sea cucumber and Wagyu beef.

the spectacular 77

LG finally unveiled its 77-inch G6 flat-screen Signature Series 4K Ultra HD version at the CEDIA Expo 2016 this week. For a TV that is the biggest and grandest of LG’s new Signature series, you’d have  to shell out nothing less than $20,0000 but it’s absolutely worth the price. With even better brightness that supports the 4K UHD content with high dynamic range (HDR), 10-bit panels and processing, better colour rendering and the widest possible viewing angles known till date, this OLED packs in a great viewing experience. Another highlight is the G6’s new “picture on glass” design that incorporates a thin transparent border trim around the screen. What’s that for, you ask? Well, it actually makes the picture appear to be floating on a sheet of glass! With most players in the market focused on increasing brightness and providing bigger nit counts, LG lays emphasis on overall contrast for providing customers an engaging live home experience. The 77- inch model along with the other 2016 counterparts will feature with two HDR flavors – HDR 10 and Dolby Vision. Bet you can’t wait to get this one!

mandarin oriental tokyo

Mandarin Oriental, Tokyo is holding a new event, Kimono Week by Mandarin Oriental from 23 October –15 November 2016. The hotel will host activities themed on the iconic Japanese garment, the kimono, to celebrate Tokyo Kimono Week 2016, an annual festival held in Nihonbashi district, the birthplace of traditional Edo culture. Kimono Week will feature the Premium Kimono Stay, a two-night luxurious Oriental Suite package priced at JPY3.8 million, where guests receive a made-to-order kimono, created by Chiso, a 460-year-old shop that specializes in kyoyuzen dyeing, and which comes with an authentic belt and accessories for one person.  The package also includes dressing, styling, and photo shoot on the second night, along with a host of luxe beauty treatments, such as a facial treatment for one by French skin care brand Biologique Recherche, and other treatments by Margaret Dabbs, London. Other celebratory activities will include an on-sale orange-flavoured chocolate Kimono Cake designed in the motif of a kimono pattern from Bhutan, the “country of happiness”, a special Kimono afternoon tea served with Kimono Cake at the hotel’s Oriental Lounge, a Kimono exhibition in collaboration with Imagine Oneworld, which will display several one-of-a-kind kimonos from 23 October – 15 November 2016. To top it all, a Kimono photo contest will be held on Mandarin Oriental, Tokyo’s official Instagram account (MO_TOKYO) between 23 October -15 November. Entrants can participate by taking a photo that fits one of three keywords: “kimono”, “wa (Japanese tradition)”, and “Nihonbashi”, and posting it with the hashtag #TOKYO_KIMONO.The luxe Kimono stay package will be valid from 23 October 2016 – 23 October 2017. Bookings may be made until 31 July 2017. Enquiries can be made at motyo-reservations@mohg.com.

st petersburg

Consumers on website Cruise Critic have voted St Petersburg, the former imperial Russian city, as the best cruise destination round the world, based on its excellence in art, history and architecture. Cruise Critic’s first cruise destination awards have declared St Petersburg the winner based on consumer ratings submitted with reviews on the site. Paris was rated the best river cruise destination (that’s for the Seine, which is navigable by ocean-going vessels up to Rouen), while San Francisco took the title of best cruise destination in North America.

luxury market india

The latest report released by New World Wealth puts India among the top prospective markets for luxe brands worldwide, with as much as two-fold growth expected in this segment in the next 10 years. Various factors move in favour of India—the growing number of entrepreneurs, better education and a large English speaking population. The 10-year growth forecast for the country stands at 120 per cent. Other major contributing factors include strong growth forecast in the local financial services, IT, business process outsourcing, real estate, healthcare and media sectors. In particular, the cities of the future as given by the report are Pune, Hyderabad and Bengaluru. The other countries that feature high on the list of opportunity are Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Mauritius and China. “These markets are not yet fully developed and still offer strong opportunities for growth, especially in the luxury and wealth management space,” the report said.

baroque romance

Lovers and newlyweds can enjoy a tailor made experience at the Mandarin Oriental, Prague with a Baroque style romantic weekend set in the 18th century. The Baroque Romance package includes treats such as a horse-drawn carriage ride through the cobbled streets of old Prague—and you get to be dressed in Baroque costumes, too! With a welcoming glass of prosecco, there’s a whole list of things to have fun with—playing total dress up complete with costume, make-up and wigs, transforming yourself to Baroque novel–like characters. And then when you set off on your horse-drawn carriage tour of Prague, you are accompanied by a photographer to capture the best moments. The Baroque experience ends with a private, intimate dinner in the hotel’s Wine Cellar with a delicious sharing menu created by Executive Chef,Jiří Stift. A late check-out allows guests to enjoy a lazy morning and breakfast in the privacy of their suite, and you get round trip limousine services too. Interestingly, Mandarin Oriental, Prague was originally a Baroque-era monastery and is located in the centre of the city’s picturesque “Lesser Town” district. A Baroque Romance package is valid round the year and package rates start from EUR 3,472, based on double occupancy for two nights.

christies midseason

Christie’s Midseason auction of South Asian Modern and Contemporary Art on 14 September in New York released £3.8 million and was 72% sold by lots. The top ten lots of the sale all sold above $100,000 and mainly represented the elite of the Indian Modern Masters.  The auction was well attended by collectors from around the globe, underlining the ever growing interest in the category. Jehangir Sabavala’s The White Veni  which came top of the list, went for $3,792,400, while MF Husain’s Untitled (Horses) fetched $341,000. Man and Woman by Francis Newton Souza (1924-2002) fetched  $317,000 while Syed Haider Raza’s Punaraagman sold for $245,000. The top fifth place went to Bharti Kher’s Mother of Anything Possible, Anytime which fetched $209,000. Christie’s next auction for Indian Art will take place on 18 December in Mumbai, which will be the 4th consecutive December auction Christie’s will hold in India. Furthermore, the auction will mark the conclusion of Christie’s 250thanniversary celebrations, which started earlier this year.