Chopard unveils new Silk Road collection of high jewelry

Chopard has unveiled its latest high jewelry collection Silk Road, an opulent delight that is even more special since it’s the result of collaboration between two special women: Chopard Co-President Caroline Scheufele and Chinese designer Guo Pei. The collection was presented in a runway show orchestrated by Chopard and Guo Pei, mixing high fashion and high jewelry. Featuring a rainbow of precious gems such as emeralds, rubies, diamonds and jade, the collection has several spectacular pieces. One of the most eye catching ones is an open necklace in blackened silver, white gold, and rubies. Sculptural necklaces made in the image of a flowering vine, collar, several strand choker and string of pearls with surprising color combinations of diamonds, emeralds, and Paraiba tourmalines mark the high jewelry collection. Show-stopping earrings featured carved jadeites, sapphires, and emeralds, and another colorful set boasts chalcedony, Spessartite garnets, rubellites, pink sapphires, topazs, tourmalines and tsavorites. The collection culminated with Pei’s haute couture wedding dress, complemented by a jewelry suite of aluminum, rose gold, and gems.

Louis Vuitton debuts its first ever smartwatch: Tambour Horizon

Finally, Louis Vuitton joined the ranks of luxury watchmakers offering smart watches—think Tag Heuer and Michael Kors— with the debut of their first-ever smartwatch, the Tambour Horizon this Tuesday. Developed in partnership with Google and Qualcomm, the Horizon uses the Android Wear 2.0 platform, as well as a number of other features that carry the characteristic Louis Vuitton touch. Marketed as a traveller’s watch, the Tambour Horizon features elements of the sleek look sported by the iconic Tambour that launched Louis Vuitton into the world of watchmaking 15 years ago. Looks like this is a symbolic way to announce their grand entry into a different sphere of watchmaking — subtly indicating that the classic and timeless can sit right beside the cutting edge. The Tambour Horizon features interchangeable strap system and customisable watch faces with exclusive flight-tracking and city-mapping functions as well. Available in three different designs—black, graphite and monogram, the Tambour Horizon features a 42mm stainless steel case and a 1.2” AMOLED touchscreen, as well as a sapphire glass case back, printed with the Louis Vuitton logo. It uses the Qualcomm® Snapdragon Wear 2100 platform, which makes it compatible with smartphones running Android 4.3/iOS 9 or higher. Louis Vuitton’s classy new smartwatch can be purchased either online or directly from the brand’s stores.

Six Senses set to open Ski Resort in Switzerland

Switzerland is all set to welcome guests at its first Six Senses Ski Resort by 2020—the Six Senses Crans Montana. Situated in the canton of Valais, just two hours from Geneva by car and train, the Six Senses resort will feature 47 guest rooms and suites and operate under a long-term management agreement. There are also 17 Six Senses residential units that are already available for purchase—these feature three-bedroom loft units and four-bedroom configurations which are being sold on-plan and marketed by Barnes. They have the special Crans-Montana provision that allows 13 of them to be bought by foreigners as second homes. Apparently, this is one of the last construction projects in Switzerland that is able to offer residences for sale to foreigners. The resort will feature two restaurants as well as a sun terrace and bar and retail space. Wellness offerings include a 22,000 square foot spa specializing in alpine treatments, gym and fitness studio, pool and suspended relaxation area. The spa will also include a dedicated area for children and teen treatments. The international hotel brand declares that sustainable construction will be their focus and recycled, local materials will be selected by the architect and design teams, with repurposed materials to be used in the manufacture of finishes including flooring, millwork and fabrics. A black water and grey water system are to be included into the infrastructure of the project ensuring that wastewater is not wasted, but reused within the building operations. Rainwater will also be collected for treatment and use.

Gold embossed, diamond-encrusted pumps at Leatherworld Dubai

This pair of gold-sprinkled pumps comes from a dazzling collection of handmade, gold embossed women’s shoes with diamond-encrusted heels—from Italian designer Antonio Vietri. Unveiled earlier this year at Leatherworld Middle East 2017, at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre, these pumps priced at AED 120,000—approximately $33,000 are something evry woman would love to own. Just last year, Vietri had caught the imagination of the world of leather aficianados with his unique golden loafers which had been priced at a whopping AED 300,000— $82,000. The new collection also features silk pumps embossed with gold or silver and buyers can customise them with pearls, Swarovski crystals, or diamonds, according to their preference.

Fancy spending $128,000 on a Star Wars Chess Set?

If you’re a Star Wars buff, there’s good news for you—you can actually put the entire Star Wars crew on a battlefield of your own, and wallow in luxury while you do it. We’re talking of this handcrafted gorgeous Star Wars themed chess set created by French luxury goods manufacturer S.T. Dupont, in commemoration of the film franchise’s 40th anniversary. The Star Wars 40th anniversary has brought forth many a unique creation from a Star Wars themed Sofa to a solid gold Darth Vader mask and even a Star Wars themed Special Edition Merc CLA! Joining the ranks of all those objects imbued with ‘The Force’ is this exquisite chess set which costs $128,000 and displays the timeless conflict of the dark side and the light side on a round chess board created from black obsidian (Darth ‘obsidious’, anyone? ). The board has a polished and matte finish and the Chess pieces are designed with gold elements in a fashion that evokes the unforgettable looks of everyone from Darth Vader and Han Solo to Princess Leia, Luke Skywalker and Chewbacca, among others. Meticulously hand-carved and engraved, the Empire pieces are made from nephrite jade from British Columbia while the Rebellion pieces are actually natural rock crystal quartz. The metal gold-plated rim of the checker board resembles the Death Star’s exterior design and the drawer pulls on the board feature the symbols of the two sides. Well what are you waiting for? Grab the Chess set from a galaxy far, far away, and May the Force Be with you!

A special teapot to celebrate 40th anniversary of Renault’s first F1 car!

Renault is celebrating the 40th anniversary of its very first F1 car with a completely unusual object: a special yellow teapot. You may well ask why. Renault made their F1 debut in 1977 with the RS01 which was the very first to use a turbocharged engine. Interestingly, the engine didn’t work very well and the RS01 often had to retire from the race with an engine failure and smoke pouring out of it. This led the team’s boss Ken Tyrrell to call it the “Yellow Teapot.” And so Team Renault are commemorating that auto-teapot with a real, stylish and sleek yellow teapot, which features the same color scheme as the original RS01. Many of its design elements too are a nod to the iconic F1 racecar. The spout is shaped like a F1 car’s nose, with the top resembling a cockpit. Priced at approximately $145, 40 of these teapots will be sold via the brand’s online stores.  The teapot will be used at Renault’s restaurant Atelier Renault.

Is Ferrari working on a crossover SUV?

Ferrari has long maintained its stand of never creating an SUV, but it seems like that could change very soon. Reportedly, a Ferrari SUV is in the works—a crossover codenamed F16X. According to reports, the vehicle will be built alongside the next-gen GTC4 Lusso with aluminum architecture, that it’ll be a high-riding soft-roader, and will feature rear suicide doors with no B-pillar. Plus it will have all-wheel drive, building on Ferrari’s experience with the FF and GTC4 Lusso. Under the hood will be a gasoline V8, possibly with a hybrid powertrain option. The Ferrari F16X is expected to be priced at a steep $342,000 at today’s exchange rates. And going by the buzz all over the internet, combined with Ferrari’s own long standing denial, they’ll probably be coming up with innovative terms to define the F16X, skipping the mundane “crossover” and “SUV” terminology altogether. We’re all eager to find out!

Weatable tech: a chairless chair that lets you sit wherever you want!

Swiss design house Sapetti has just come up with an intensely innovative design that they call the Chairless Chair. Touted as the first of their “wearable ergonomic mechatronic devices”, The Chairless Chair is a wearable exoskeleton for use by factory and assembly line workers.  This adjustable frame provides complete freedom of movement while standing and walking but when the worker squats, bends, or crouches, it stiffens into instant support.  Sapetti worked in partnership with the engineering firm Zuhlke at various automobile manufacturers like Audi, Daimler, BMW, Renault, and others to determine the most appropriate needs of their workers. The exoskeleton can be adjusted to fit varying heights and girths of people and is constructed mainly of engineering plastics like polyamide for durability and light weight.  The Chairless Chair is expected to prevent many physical problems associated with such intense labors so workers can stay on the job longer and be less likely to become injured. Now this is one piece of technology that has lots of potential to make the world a slightly better place!

Reebok Sock Runner Ultraknit

Check out these new sock-shoes from Reebok. Named the Reebok Sock Runner Ultraknit, these soch shoes get their inspiration from the Balenciaga Speed Trainer designed by Demna Gvasalia but sport a more exaggerated, knee-high profile. Featuring an upper constructed entirely of Reebok’s flexible Ultraknit material, the shoe rocks an all-black look with just a minimalist white foam sole that has been given a carbon fiber midsole for added cushioning and stability.  The only branding visible on it comes in the form of the logo on the white pull tabs. Priced at $250 this one sure is an eye catcher.