A result of five years of development, the boutique British supercar company Noble showed off its latest ultra-quick coupé at the London Motor Show. The bespoke M600 came with a shiny black-red exterior and carbon fiber pushing out a maximum of 662 horses, with a power-to-weight ratio of 558 of those horses per tonne, allowing it to race past the 100km/h mark in 3.5 seconds. This ability comes from its 4.4-liter twin turbocharged V8, built by Yamaha if you can believe that, and perhaps more importantly, how lean and light its chassis is. This is the real believe it or not moment because the car weighs in at a mere 1,198kg. But speed and agility on the road is just one part of the experience. Noble is also trying to get cars into the eager hands of customers faster. To make this happen, they have a new partner in Super Veloce Racing (SVR), which will now serve as the company’s sole sales and servicing agent in UK and Europe. As an intermediary linking up customers with their future cars, SVR will help prospective owners to spec the models and characteristics they want and will ensure that vehicles remain in tip-top condition. In fact, it was the team at SVR who chose London as the platform for launch. Since its inception, Noble has been set on building its own kind of vehicle with performance quality well able to match many other larger companies out there. With SVR, we hope these inspiring cars find more and more deserving homes.

The largest gem-quality rough diamond to be found on Earth in over a century is coming to auction June 29. Sotheby’s London will present the huge tennis-ball sized gem—dubbed the Lesedi La Rona diamond—in a special stand-alone sale. Second in size only to the 3,106.75 Cullinan diamond (which was cut into nine pieces, two of which are part of the UK Crown Jewels) found in South Africa in 1905, the Lesedi La Rona is 1,109-carats and is thought to be up to 3 billion years old. It was excavated last year in Botswana by Canada’s Lucara Diamond mining company, and it’s name means “our light” in South Africa’s Tswana language. In addition to its epic size, Lesedi La Rona’s transparency is consistent with type IIa diamonds, a rare subgroup that comprises less than 2 percent of all gem diamonds—contributing to the diamond’s more than $70 million presale estimate.   Prior to the London sale, the Lesedi La Rona diamond will be on display May 7 at Sotheby’s New York.

Located at the heart of Singapore’s busy retail hub, Orchard Road is French jewelry house Boucheron’s new concept boutique – the Maison Boucheron. The store is found at the Takashimaya Department store and it is the second boutique to open in Singapore, with the current one being at Marina Bay Sands. Beyond the stunning jewelry that Boucheron is well known for, the boutique will also have a dedicated showcase for their comprehensive eyewear range. One of the focal points of this new boutique is its luminous setting, which was inspired by 26 Place Vendôme – the original historic boutique chosen by Frédéric Boucheron in 1893. The original boutique was positioned in a location where the sun would ensure the diamonds would dazzle from dawn till dusk. Taking that idea and applying it to a contemporary setting, the new one is swathed all over with white as its predominant color, and uses tastefully modern angular box-lightings for the ceiling, hung over the glass cases. Within those glass cases contains all of the iconic jewelry creations made with Boucheron’s design finesse. The sculptural Quatre, for example is one of those pieces taking center stage, as well as Boucheron’s collection of jeweled animals, and the symbolic serpentine jewelry – the Serpent Bohème. Other than jewelry, Boucheron’s exquisite timepieces feature too, like the Reflet watch and the new collection: Epure. A special order service will also be offered to keep with clients’ needs and desires.

The seriously playful Roland Iten Calibre R822 “Predator” mechanical belt buckle features four impressive complications. The “Predator” is designed, manufactured and assembled to ensure that all mechanisms are self-cleaning with no lubrication required. The white gold body with red gold accents is fully-diamond-set with 387 diamonds totalling 14.15 carats, while the platform is made from high-tech titanium. In true Roland Iten style, Roland conceived the Calibre R822 “Predator” calibre with wearer comfort in mind. To that end, the Predator’s ergonomic design allows the wearer to quickly change the leather strap for another to complement attire, insert the end of the leather strap in the buckle so that the double ardillion tang engages effortlessly with the holes in the leather strap, and easily tighten or loosen the leather strap with just one hand. Moreover, security pushers ensure against accidental release. Operating the Calibre R822 is a veritable tactile pleasure. The “Predator” offers a simple one-handed adjustment for two positions, e.g. driving/sitting (looser) or walking/sport (tighter). It is equipped with 16 (two rows of eight) self-cleaning track wheels that guide the ardillion slide precisely and securely, while a sprung ball bearing tensioner and dampener ensure smooth operation. A patented, in-line double ardillion enables the pins to have a smaller diameter than the holes in the strap. The equal weight distribution offers resistance-free operation, minimizes wear, and maximizes security. The Calibre R822 “Predator” dazzles thanks to 387 VVS1+ quality baguette-cut and round-cut diamonds which total 14.15 carats and adorn the buckle body. The Roland Iten Calibre R822 “Predator” quadruple complication belt buckle is a diamond-set model in an ultra-exclusive limited edition of just 3 pieces.

Developed for productivity on the go, the LapPad Mobile Desk ($90) offers the right amount of space and comfort to get things done, no matter where you might find yourself. The sleek ergonomic workstation is constructed from strong, durable Canadian poplar hardwood with CNC-milled ventilation holes in it, for absorbing and dispersing heat from your laptop, while pass-through ports ensure cables stay out of the way, when charging your gadgets.  Featuring two docks that can accommodate a tablet and smartphone, plus room to hold up to a 17-inch laptop, the desk also sports a built-in, full-size mouse pad and a handle that makes it easy to carry its whole weight of 3 lbs (1.36 kg) from one inspiring location to the next.

A man of both wit and humor, Salvatore Ferragamo often experimented with art and fashion in his work. This year, the Museo Salvatore Ferragamo in Florence celebrates his progressive ethos with “Across Art and Fashion”, an exhibition centered around his fascination with the 20th century avant-garde art movement. More notable works in the exhibition include “Fertility”, Getulio Alviani’s “Tensions” and Hussein Chalayan’s Remote Control Dress from the “Before Minus Now” Spring/Summer 2000 collection.

Since its debut in 2006, Van Cleef & Arpels’s Poetic Complications collection has been defined by the creative display of time using purpose-built complications. Who can forget the Lady Arpels Pont des Amoureux, which depicts a rendezvous between two lovers on a bridge using a bi-retrograde module? Or the Midnight Planetarium, whose dial reproduces the orbits of our solar system’s inner six planets, and their actual positions vis-à-vis each other? Indicating the time poetically continues this year with the Midnight Nuit Lumineuse, a time-only watch that, quite expectedly, does more than just that. The Midnight Nuit Lumineuse indicates the time with a single retrograde hand that sweeps from six to 12 o’clock. Design wise, the watch clearly means to evoke a nocturnal view of the heavens, beginning with a dial of aventurine that mimics the night sky. Upon this canvas, the maison has drawn a star chart showing various constellations through miniature painting and diamond setting. The most eye-catching among them is obviously Monoceros the unicorn, which appears as an array of six diamonds set in a detailed drawing at four o’clock. Actuating the pusher at eight o’clock brings the unicorn to life, as its six diamonds are each backlit by a single Light Emitting Diode (LED). The electricity powering these LEDs isn’t from a battery. Rather, the lighting module within the watch relies on piezoelectricity, which is generated by some materials when they are mechanically stressed. In this case, a cantilevered ceramic blade functions as the ‘turbine’ – pressing on the pusher makes it vibrate, and the physical deformation from its flexing to and fro generates the current to power the LEDs for around four seconds. According to Van Cleef & Arpels, the lighting system in the Midnight Nuit Lumineuse holds much potential for further development. The type and cut of the gemstone used, for example, will affect its color and brilliance. The specifics of the circuitry, on the other hand, will determine the brightness and number of LEDs used, and whether they can be flashed in any pattern or sequence. For now, the lighting module is the subject of a patent application for the maison.

Kate Middleton will be on the cover of Vogue UK’s 100th anniversary issue. This is major, because it’s the first time she’s ever posed for a magazine shoot. The photos, shot by British photographer Josh Olins show her in the Norfolk countryside looking very relaxed and down-to-earth. With her bold brows, sparkling smile and hair that is the envy of women around the world, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that these portraits are a work of art. The images have actually been hung in the National Portrait Gallery in London as part of the Vogue 100: A Century of Style exhibition. They’ll be on display until May 22. A total of eight photographs of the Duchess were selected to run for the glossy’s June issue, and while Vogue was unable to secure an interview with our favorite princess, it has given her an entirely new platform in which to grow her public profile. The media follows her every move, from the smallest trim of her bangs to her accessory choices, and while Kate has been seen on many a magazine cover, she’s never actually consented to any of them, much less posed for a shot. In fact the much beloved Duchess has kept firmly out of the limelight, granting only one interview for a documentary on the Queen’s 90th birthday and giving few speeches, doing so only when they are a matter of diplomacy or charity. She has yet to reach Princess Diana status, but this first cover puts her front and center as the rising star of the royal family.

Hakkasan Group, the worldwide hospitality company, is adding to its portfolio once again with its first venture into Mexico. Forming a partnership with resort operator and tourism developer Grupo Vidanta, the brand will be investing $150 million into new nightlife venues, restaurants, beach clubs and hotels at Vidanta Resorts over the next five years.  The second half of 2017 will see the opening of three brand new concepts including two restaurants and a beach club at Vidanta Los Cabos. In the evenings the daytime venue will turn into a club-restaurant-cabaret to keep the partying going into the night. Along with new concepts over the next five years, Hakkasan will also open a hotel with Grupo Vidanta.

Set in the residential area of Tomtebo (Umeå, Sweden), the Forest Sauna House is built using contemporary timber technology and 1,000-year-old Nordic building methods. The result is a cabin-like pavilion that blends in unobtrusively with the pastoral environment, inviting to contemplation. The 6,460 sq ft pavilion is adjacent to a residence dating from the late 1800s, and was constructed to provide extra space for swimming, boats and storage. A series of modular spaces make up the structure, which can sleep up to 10 people in its bunk-style interior. Guests get access to a laundry room, two bedrooms with bathrooms, a dining-entertaining space, a four-chamber sauna, and a boathouse. The walls have rough-sawn surfaces, both outside and inside, where the wood has been treated with linseed oil for preservation, or painted in tar glazed colors. An exterior deck made of pine heartwood features built-in seats, allowing the inhabitants to relax and enjoy absorbing views of the surrounding pine & spruce forest and the nearby Baltic Sea.