Bulgari just bagged the third world record for ultra-thin watchmaking with its latest creation: the Octo Finissimo Automatique. Weighing just 68g, the watch’s caliber BVL 138 Finissimo is a micro-rotor, self-winding movement only 2.23mm thick, at 36.60mm in diameter. Despite the ultra-thinness of the movement, it has a power reserve of 60 hours. The Bulgari Octo Finissimo Automatique carries a price tag of $13,000.
Julien de Casabianca is a French and Corsican visual artist with an unusual passion: he takes images of museum paintings and puts them up on nondescript, decrepit walls around streets corners. De Casablanca first began his work in Paris in the year 2014, and has since visited 40 cities in over 19 countries, implementing the Outings Project, his global initiative aimed at “bringing museum works to city walls.” And this year, he visited India, bringing museum works by Indian artists to decrepit walls and street corners. So you have a portrait of Prince Khurram (Emperor Shah Jahan) by artist Abu’l Hasan pasted in Goa, and a painting of Shah Jahan’s second son, Prince Shah Shuja, pasted in Mumbai, an image of the Hindu goddess Kali in her avatar as Mundamalini, vanquishing the demon Mahishasura—along with various other paintings of unnamed men and women. De Casabianca pasted nine paintings across Mumbai, Kochi and Goa as part of the Outings Project which seeks to bring art into the everyday lives of people. The Project invites participation from anyone who has access to a camera phone and a printer. In some cases, de Casabianca assists them with the printing of the artwork. Participants from a diverse range of countries, including Paraguay, Ukraine and Tasmania, have contributed to the project with photographs of paintings, which they have displayed on walls in their cities.
Nivim House in Goa has recently been crowned the first ‘Green Certified’ home in Goa, for bringing together luxurious living in sync with Nature. This family residence has been recognised globally for its contemporary design that incorporates nature seamlessly into the décor, including the remarkable feat of incorporating fourteen existing trees into the house design. The Nivim House also uses local materials in construction and utilizes recycled materials whenever possible, with rainwater harvesting and solar energy for heating. Gardens boast native species that require little to no water irrigation. The house boasts three bedrooms and a pool pavilion, with each of the bedrooms featuring sliding door walls that open onto courtyards, bringing the outdoors inside.
Volvo has announced that the S60 Polestar would be unveiled in India on April 14. The upcoming vehicle will be the first Polestar-edition to be launched in the country. The performance focused Polestar-badged vehicle also marks Volvo’s entry into the power segment, pitting it against the likes of Mercedes-Benz and BMW in India. The S60 Polestar edition will be powered by a 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbocharged and supercharged engine that generates a massive 346bhp of power and 470Nm of torque. The powerful engine comes mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission with an all-wheel drive system as standard. The electronic speed limiter restricts the top speed to 250kph while the 0-100kph sprint takes 4.7 seconds. The S60 also boats Active Dual Xenon headlights with headlight washers, adaptive cruise control, blind spot information system, collision warning system with full auto brake and a pedestrian and cyclist detection system.
Rolls Royce is celebrating British music’s most revered rock legends through a series of nine bespoke Wraiths. Titled ‘Inspired by British Music’, these cars have been created in collaboration with Rock music legends themselves. Each of the Wraith models honors an individual British rock legend – The Who’s lead signer Roger Daltrey CBE, Francis Rossi of Status Quo, Dame Shirley Bassey, Ronnie Wood of The Rolling Stones, Sir Ray Davies of The Kinks and Giles Martin, celebrated producer and son of songwriter Sir George Martin. The entire fleet of bespoke Wraiths will be sold later in 2017 through the brand’s European dealer network. What’s more, Rolls-Royce will be donating ‘a proportion’ of the value of each car to charities selected by the musicians who’ve designed them.
Boeing Business Jets will soon offer travellers the world’s largest passenger jet window with spectacular dimensions of 137cm x 45cm. Termed the SkyView Panoramic Window, these would be more than three times wider than a standard window and about 40 percent taller. Of course, they’d only be installed in the corporate jets, with as many as two pairs of the SkyView windows, directly facing each to be installed in a choice of locations aft of the wing. These windows are developed and produced by GKN Aerospace’s Fokker Technologies division and are made of acrylic, treated with abrasion proof -coating. To be launched in 2018, the SkyView Windows will be available for the BBJ, BBJ 2, and all three versions of the BBJ Max, including the new BBJ Max 7. Or if you’d like to have your existing aircraft retrofitted, you can go for that option too. Just need to wait until next year.
The India bound Q5 and the A5 Coupe were recently unveiled by Audi at the Bangkok Motor Show. With a host of fresh upgrades and features, the Q5 is available in both petrol and diesel engine options. The petrol version is powered by 2.0-litre TFSI engine that generates 249bhp of power, while the diesel gets a 2.0-litre TDI turbo engine that generates 188bhp of power. Both the engines come mated to seven-speed S-Tronic gearbox and Quattro AWD system as standard. The SUV also gets new LED headlights and LED taillamps, and the optional S-line exterior package offers 20-inch alloy wheels along with front and rear parking aid. As for the Audi A5 Coupe, it is powered by a 2.0-litre inline four petrol engine that generates 199bhp of power at 4,300rpm and 350Nm of torque at 1,500rpm. The powerful engine comes mated to 7 speed S-tronic automatic transmission with all-wheel drive. The A5 Coupe measures 4,626mm in length, 1,854mm wide, 1,372mm in height and has a wheelbase of 2,751mm.
Montblanc has roped in AB de Villiers, present captain of the South African One Day International Team, as its new brand ambassador for India and South Africa. The all-rounder captain will represent Montblanc across all categories including watches, writing instruments, men’s accessories and leather goods.
The classic Coco Mademoiselle perfume is being reinvented by Chanel into a travel-friendly purse avatar. Originally created in 2001, the Coco Mademoiselle now comes in a 0.25 fl. oz. spray bottle with a suede effect case that fits perfectly in the purse for a quick, heavenly whiff on the go. The fragrance opens with notes of orange, with a heart of rose and jasmine and a base of patchouli and vetiver. The limited edition perfume priced at $85 comes with a travel case, along with three additional refills.
The most futuristic yacht design you’d ever have seen is the Tetrahedron Super Yacht concept, which is not just imaginatively shaped like a pyramid, but also levitates on the water when travelling at high speeds! Brainchild of London based architect Jonathan Schwinge, this concept is a HYSWAS (Hydrofoil Small Waterplane Area Ship) superyacht and boasts of a multitude of sci-fi features. Its hull is comprised of a single vertical strut onto a single submerged torpedo hull. The vessel will lift out of the water at speed on side-mounted adjustable hydrofoils. What’s more, it would come equipped with an aviation style auto pilot feature to control difficult roll forces and maintain high speed, while handling pitch and heave. The above-water structure means that drag would be reduced to a minimum. Choppy oceans wouldn’t be able to deter it either, because slamming would be virtually eliminated through its design and controls. With all these features and the looks of an alien airship, we just can’t wait to see this one translated into reality.
