Maldives’s Jumeirah Vittaveli is celebrating its fifth anniversary with the unveiling of a lavish five-bedroom villa named the Royal Residence. The 38,000-square-foot complex has its own private stretch of beach and serves as an entirely self-sustaining resort-within-a-resort—complete with a dedicated restaurant, private butlers, two swimming pools, and a spa. The villa has space enough for 14 guests, with its main residence and two one-bedroom villas, along with a two-story guesthouse with its own separate pool. The most opulent sanctuary suite boasts its own living area, oversize soaking tub, and Hermès products. And if all this isn’t enough, guests at the Residence have direct access to windsurfing, stand-up paddleboarding, and deep-sea fishing—all just steps from the villa’s private beach. Plus, the villa comes with its own gorgeous boat-shaped deck for lazing around and looking out over the sea—and at night you get an astronomer guiding you to the wonders of the night sky.
As the Star Wars 40th anniversary approaches, all kinds of memorabilia are making an appearance, much to the fandom’s delight. And now comes this $10,000 Dewback Love Seat created by Tom Spina Designs, known for making custom Star Wars-themed furniture pieces for years. This 330-pound loveseat is part of a new spinoff of the design studio called Regal Robot. The sofa is shaped like a Dewback – a giant lizard from Tatooine first seen in “Star Wars: A New Hope” – and looks way too real for comfort, thanks to thousands of hand-detailed scales! It even comes with faux fur blankets along with matching pillows and cushions, and a pair of cup holders. It’s raining Star Wars all around.
Since Dubai likes to lay claim to the labels of largest, highest and other superlatives, there’s no wonder now that Lamborghini’s largest dealership has come up in Dubai. Spread over 19,000 square feet and standing three stories tall, the world’s largest Lamborghini showroom and service center is owned and operated by Al Jaziri Motors. The showroom was officially inaugurated by His Highness Sheikh Mansoor bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.
Volvo has hinted that there will be a new 20 series range of cars, to be positioned below the new 40 series range. The 20 Series range of vehicles is expected to take on the likes of the A family of vehicles from Mercedes-Benz, A3 family from Audi and 1 Series range of vehicles from BMW. There are also reports that this range will see heavy electrification work done in keeping with the Swedish automakers plans to have several electric cars in its range.
Apple and Nike are launching a new limited edition watch called the Apple Watch NikeLab. The watch comes with a “Light Bone/Black” sports band that has the NikeLab Innovation x Innovators logo stamped onto the pin, with the case in Space Grey. Earlier, the Apple Watch Nike+ model had been announced by the duo last year, and like its predecessor, this new Apple Watch NikeLab model also gets exclusive Nike+ watch faces. The watch will be available in 38mm and 42mm case sizes. It is a competent fitness watch that is waterproof to 50 meters and comes with a built-in heart rate monitor and GPS. What’s more, you can even store music on the watch itself and listen to it using a pair of wireless Bluetooth headphones like Apple’s own PowerBeats3 and BeatsX. Oh, and lest we forget, it comes with a plethora of travel apps too, such as City Mapper and Currency app. Now isn’t that the best of gizmo and fitness worlds!
DISTINCT DAZZLE | Inimitable pieces crafted from astounding materials are the latest must-have, such as this bangle featuring jewel-encrusted Scarab beetle wings
Unconventional is the way to be, especially when designer jewelry pieces are vying with each other for exquisiteness. So take your pick from inimitable, one-of-a-kind jewelry that features such unique, organic materials as ancient woolly mammoth tusks and fossilised dinosaur bone, volcanic rock, beetle wings, petrified wood and so much more. Here’s a selection of the most incredible kind of jewelry created by designers specialising in masterful use of earth-friendly materials.
Scarab Ring Fly by Bibi van der Velden
18-karat-gold scarab ring with preserved scarab beetle wings along with brown and white diamonds, priced $5,750
New York designer Bibi van der Velden trained in sculpture at Italy’s Florence Academy of Art and launched her outstanding jewelry line in 2005. Her genius lies in the creative use of recycled and organic materials like baroque pearls, 40,000-year-old mammoth ivory, preserved scarab beetle wings and even fossilised shark teeth. Her Scarab Collection features ear rings, bangles, rings and ear-cuffs, all crafted round actual, spectacular petrified beetle wings! This 18-karat-gold ring, called Scarab Ring Fly, features preserved scarab beetle wings along with brown and white diamonds, tsavorite, and orange and yellow sapphires. The genuine beetle wings radiate with iridescent blue/green tones. Priced at $5,750, this one is a must-have and sure to be an eye-catcher—provided you don’t get the heebie-jeebies with a creepy-crawly on your finger!
Dinosaur bone bracelet by Monique Péan
Fossilized dinosaur bone in 18-karat recycled white gold, paired with diamonds, tremolite and thomsonite, priced $25,775
Another designer from New York, Monique Péan creates dazzling pieces from earth-friendly, recycled materials and is best known for her inventive use of fossils, from ancient woolly mammoth tusks to petrified walrus ivory. The bracelet shown here makes use of fossilized dinosaur bone set in 18-karat recycled white gold. Paired with colorful thomsonite, tremolite, and sparkling white diamonds, this bracelet carried a price tag of $25,775.
Volcanic Rock bracelet by Federica Rettore
18 k gold bracelet featuring volcanic rock, petrified wood, and naturally striated Zebu horn, priced $9,500
Milan-based Federica Rettore has a special knack of putting together recycled, organic bits and pieces, which is evident from the myriad jaw-dropping materials used in this fascinating bracelet. This 18 k gold bracelet brings together colorful volcanic rock, petrified wood, and humanely collected, beautifully striated Zebu horn (go figure that one!)—all featured in a wicker-cut pattern and rose-gold accents. Priced at $9,500, this bracelet is a masterful piece of creativity and a sureshot conversation starter!
The latest addition to the Slim d’Hermès collection is curiously named GRRRRR! And that’s because it has the bear as its inspiration, and the face of a gruff bear on the dial. Showcased at BaselWorld 2017, the 39.5mm timepiece derives inspiration from a Hermès silk scarf designed by Alice Shirley and is a veritable work of art that’s crafted using the technique of enamelling. The features of the bear are painted on a white gold dial, using a miniature painting technique. The case is made of white gold and sapphire crystal and comes with burgundy alligator leather straps.
If you’re a die-hard Star Trek fan, and you’ve got truckloads of money, then this is just the thing for you. A 33-pound 24 K solid gold Darth Vader mask has been created by Japanese jeweler Tanaka Kikinzoku to mark the 40th anniversary of Star Wars, and will be available for purchase on ‘Star Wars Day’ – May the 4th. Kikinzoku has in the past created other gold commemorative pieces, including Lionel Messi’s left foot which went on sale for a hefty $5 million. What about the gold Darth Vader mask you ask? Well that’s up for grabs at 154 million Japanese yen, about $1.4 million. So get set for Star Wars Day, and may the force be with you!
Luxury yacht Numarine 32XP Explorer is all set to debut at this year’s Cannes Yachting Festival and Monaco Yacht Show. The 32.5 metre vessel has a steel hull and GRP superstructure. A three-deck displacement vessel with an 8-metre beam, it allows extraordinary interior volume at just under 300 GT. The design is by Numarine’s renowned Can Yalman, who styles all the yard’s boats, with naval architecture by Umberto Tagliavini. Powered by twin Cats, the vessel boasts a top speed of 14 knots, cruising at 12 knots, and a range of 3,000nm at an economical 9 knots. The yacht is expected to be delivered in late June or July.
The limited edition Tiempo Totti X Roma boots are Nike’s homage to AS Roma’s captain, playmaker and talisman, Francesco Totti and supposed to mirror the captain’s “glowing” abilities. Made from soft leather in gold, with a rose gold metallic sole, the boots also have a heel counter personalized with a “TOTTI” engraving and a contrasting Nike swoosh in black. Only 2, 500 of the luxury sneakers will be created in individually numbered pairs- 100 for each of his 25 professional seasons. And boots will officially be unveiled by none other than the man himself at the AS Roma store in Piazza San Lorenzo, Rome. The captain will also wear the boots during the upcoming Derby della Capitale against Lazio on April 30th.
