Kate Moss launches jewellery collaboration with Brazilian designer

Kate Moss will soon be launching her first limited-edition jewellery collection in collaboration with Brazilian designer Ara Vartanian. The collection consists of 18-karat gold, diamond and Brazilian gemstone rings, pendants, earrings and buckles, showcasing medieval symbols and motifs such as sickle moons, shields and mounted swords. The gems are set into Vartanian’s designs of diamond moons and stars, combined with Moss’s sense of stylish freedom and asymmetry, two glistening on one ear, worn with a simple garnet stone on the other. The pair first met in Sao Paolo years ago, when Kate visited Vartanian’s store to commission a tanzanite ring. Their common interest in the story of St George, patron saint of England who slayed the dragon led to the creation of one of the pendants that has an eye embroidered with black diamonds on the back for protection.

Bengal Tigers inspire Gucci’s new Spring Summer 17 collection

Bengal tigers roaming around the CG motif on shoes, handbags, clutches and accessories spell the new inspiration this season for Gucci’s Spring Summer 2017 collection. The campaign was shot in Alessandro Michele’s home city of Rome. The collection includes various other themes such as the Hollywood Forever spring/summer eyewear collection, defined as a ‘paean to the quirky shapes and flashy accents of the 70s.’ It’s beautiful and pop but also very sophisticated in a way… it’s an eclectic conversation between different inspirations, that at the end of the day becomes a different language. My idea of fashion was always that it wasn’t one story,” said Alessandro Michele about the collection.

Want a castle or mansion in Italy—for free?

The Italian government is distributing 103 Italian historic sites—castles, mansions and the like—all for free. If that sounds incredible, let’s tell you why. Italy wants “private and public buildings which are no longer used to be transformed into facilities for pilgrims, hikers, tourists, and cyclists.” The initiative is part of Italy’s Strategic Tourist Plan, an effort by the State Property Agency and Ministry of Cultural Heritage to ease the strain on the country’s major tourist destinations. So you get to choose from fortresses, ancient inns, monasteries farmhouses, castles on a cliff,  and even the Orsini-Odescalchi castle in Bracciano, Rome where Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes exchanged their vows. But to get your hands on them, you need to submit a proposal by June 26, with a thorough outline of the plan to turn the property into a functioning heritage site for tourists. Successful applicants will then be granted a nine-year lease for the property.

The Bentley Bentayga with tank tracks!

Actually, no, there is no tank tracks designed for the Bentley Bentayga yet—this is a creative digital rendering by Estonian artist Rain Prisk. Prisk is becoming famous over the globe for his striking digital renders of supercars and luxury vehicles imagined as rugged all-terrain machines that can survive the worst of the conditions. So you have this Bentayga has been rendered with tank tracks instead of wheels, through which it can also be used as a full-fledged snowmobile that you can use for a shelter even in the Artic! It also has a roof-mounted rack and auxiliary lighting for illuminating the darkest of the places, especially useful because this Bentayga doesn’t have headlights. The look is all-black with a few hints of chrome. Perhaps we could call this the perfect tank for those who cannot do without their luxury.

This Pokémon watch from RJ-Romain Jerome costs a quarter million dollars

Luxury Swiss watchmakers RJ-Romain Jerome  have created this one off Pokémon watch in collaboration with the Pokémon Company International. Titled ‘Tourbillon Pokémon’, this one-piece limited edition timepiece comes with a colorful hand-filled enamel dial showcasing a bevy of Pokémon characters. The center piece is the intricate tourbillon along with the lightning bolt-shaped tourbillon bridge and a Pikachu shaped oscillating weight. The watch comes in an all-black 48mm case and is paired with a black alligator strap that is enhanced with yellow and blue stitching. Prior to this, RJ-Romain Jerome had in the same partnership created the Pikachu Watch, which was a 20-piece limited edition timepiece that cost $20,000. This time, the one-off Tourbillon Pokémon comes with a price tag of $258,000.

Luxe tennis Balls and racket, made by Chanel

Yes, you heard that right. Chanel is creating tennis balls too, balls that sports the C’s logo and of course are supposed to be ridiculously expensive. The balls are a classy white and come cushioned in their very own leather bag, in sets of four. Chanel introduced them as part of its Spring Summer 2017 collection. Of course, since you would want a racket to go with the balls, Chanel has read your thoughts and created the SS17 collection’s tennis racket as well. You can have the balls in the leather bag for $450 and the racket for $1800. That sounds like the most fashionably sporty way to spend the summer.

Dynamiq builds first superyacht with Porsche DNA

Monegasque yacht builder Dynamiq recently unveiled its first superyacht in the new range developed in cooperation with Studio F.A. Porsche. The first model, a 35-meter GTT 115 Hybrid, is currently under construction at Dynamiq’s shipyard in Viareggio, Italy and will be presented at Monaco Yacht Show this September.  The new series of superyachts with Porsche DNA will range from 85 to 115 feet and blends racing-inspired performance with a fast-displacement, lightweight aluminium hull. Comfortable, high-speed cruising and transatlantic crossings are both easily achieved by these Grand Turismo Transatlantic superyachts. Each GTT yacht is easily customisable via Dynamiq’s online configurator. A limited edition of only seven GTT 115 yachts will be manufactured. Prices start from €11,900,000, with a production time of 15 months from the date of order.

Iceland is getting a volcano and earthquake museum!

Iceland will be opening the doors to a unique volcano and earthquake museum on June 1, offering simulated experiences of these phenomena which are commonplace in this country. Situated in Hvolsvöllur, a small scenic town in southern Iceland, near the capital Reykjavík, the Lava Centre will have three experience corridors dedicated to these simulations. While the Deformation Corridor will put you in an artificial earthquake—with harmless tremors produced by low-frequency sound waves—the Ash Corridor will see a volcanic-ash cloud, which is actually water and ultrasound waves, hovering above you. But the most magnificent of the lot is the Magma Corridor, where you experience an optical illusion of standing inside a tunnel, lava gushing all around! Talk about being in a live volcano! The Lava Centre will also have a hall overlooking not one but five of southern Iceland’s big volcanos and volcanic systems. Two of these, Hekla and Katla are due for eruption anytime and if you’re lucky to be there when they do, you can have a live view of the phenomenon from the museum terrace! Other features include a cinema hall for volcano documentaries, a 250-seater restaurant and a souvenir shop. Iceland seems to be the go-to destination this summer!

Keha Casa unveils flagship store in Bengaluru

Kekin Shah and Hameed Khan just unveiled their flagship Keha Casa store in Begaluru, marking their presence in the city. The visionaries who brought SICIS, the art mosaic brand from Italy to New Delhi in 2010 have created this new ‘experience centre’  that attempts to capture the “essence of luxury” in the bath and surfaces space. Keha Casa in Bengaluru is the brain-child of Kekin Shah, Hameed Khan and P.C. Mallappa, well-known entrepreneurs based out of Bengaluru and boasts the handiwork of architect Vikram Phadke. The sprawling 8000 sqft showroom gives visitors a sneak-peek into the lavish style prevalent in Europe. Designer Vinita Chaitanya added finishing touches with carefully selected soft furnishings, accessories and art.

atlantis the palm

Atlantis, The Palm and 104.8 Channel 4 together smashed the Guinness World Record for longest underwater live radio broadcast (unsupported) on Saturday, May 13. Radio host Stu Tolan broadcasted LIVE from the bottom of The Ambassador Lagoon at Atlantis for a total of 5 hours, 25 minutes and 25 seconds.  Submerged in the 11 million litre marine habitat at a depth of 2.9 metres, the record was broken in one of the top ten largest aquariums in the world at just over three million gallons. During the broadcast Stu was surrounded by 65,000 marine animals and fish including Black Tip Reef sharks, Stingrays, Snapper, Hammour, Giant Grouper, Zebra Sharks, and Arapaima, whilst guests watched with baited breath from the Lagoon’s 10 metres long and 70cm thick viewing pane. With the previous Guinness World Records title for the Longest underwater live radio broadcast (unsupported)totalling 4 hours, 43 minutes and 54 seconds, 104.8 Channel 4 and Atlantis went about beating the record by putting Stu in a ‘Sea Trek’ helmet to allow for breathing and a clear LIVE radio transmission from underwater. The helmet featured a “tri-view” lens and was designed to give Stu a clean, undistorted view of the lagoon. With the official Guinness World Records adjudicator verifying the record from the at the top of the lagoon, the rules stipulated that Stu had to broadcast LIVE and be fully submerged for the entire duration of the attempt. This required a total of 11 air scuba-tank changes to be made underwater, achieved seamlessly by the 6-man-strong dive-support team from The Lost Chambers Aquarium.