Watch Made Beyond Its Purpose

Nowadays, watchmakers are making watches beyond its purpose or usage. Only way to differentiate themselves from other watchmakers, each party will manufacture a watch to claim the title of the most complicated watchmaker.

Romain Jerome, a Geneva watchmaking house, has manufactured a watch that doesn't tell time. Now, why would you want to buy something that is called a watch but doesn't tell its time.

The watch is called Day&Night which has two tourbillons working in sequence, one during the 12-hour-day, and the other during the 12-hour-night. During the first twelve hours, only the Day tourbillon will move. It will stop moving after twelve hours and hand over the movement to the Night tourbillon. Selling price - US$300,000.

Just when I thought the first one was complicated, out comes another weird piece.

Manufactured by both Romain Jerome and Cabestan, only six pieces are out in the market. Wondering whether all six have been sold or still being displayed at retail shops.

This watch was made to pay homage to the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Antarctic and Arctic Oceans. The last piece, where tiny weeny parts of the Titanic ship were used, was to commemorate Titanic's shipwreck site i.e. 41° 43’ 55’’ N et 49° 56’ 45’’ W. Such a weird looking timepiece could easily fetch US$173,000.

This watch really makes sense to me now. You see the hour arm at last. François-Paul Journe's La Sonnerie Souveraine but surprisingly this watch has a grand sonnerie, or full strike, which sounds the hours and quarters at each quarter, and a petite sonnerie which sounds only the hour at the hour and the quarters at the quarters. It also has an extremely complicated minute repeater.

Selling price - US$544,000. This is crazy!







So by looking at those prices, I definitely can't afford any of it and can only dream about it. Even if I could have afford it, I may not put US$500,000 on my hand. Why? Because not many people will know what kind of brand are those .......... hehe

My aim is much lower - the Oris Williams F1 Team Chronograph 2008. Nothing unique on this model but it's an automatic winding chronograph that is big in size, 45mm in diameter.

Wondering what's the price in Malaysia?

The joke is that people on the street won't be able to differentiate whether your watch is originally authentic or not. Some friends mentioned that buying a fake one is just as good. The only thing you want to know is ............. simple ............. the time, that was the main purpose.

Reading: Watchmakers pushing the limits - International Herald Tribune
Tags: Watch, Watchmaker, Geneva Watchmaking House, Swiss Made, Swiss Watch, Romain Jerome, Day&Night, Titanic-DNA by Cabestan, Cabestan, François-Paul Journe, La Sonnerie Souveraine, Oris, Oris Williams F1 Team Chronograph 2008

Aston Martin DBS Watch

In a James Bond movie, the Aston Martin prestigious sports car manufacturer will sponsor certain accessories and even the sports car in filming the James Bond movie.

But will James Bond get to wear an Aston Martin watch in future James Bond movies?




Jaeger-LeCoultre, the renowned watchmaker based in Switzerland, has teamed up with Aston Martin to manufacture an out of this world luxury timepiece known as the Amvox2 DBS Transponder. Very cheap to invest (yeah, it's known as investment) - US$37,900. There are ready investors waiting for this watch to be retailed.

This Amvox2 watch is outstanding as it could be programmed to lock and unlock your car. Just give a soft press in between the numeric 8 and 9, your Aston Martin DBS car door will unlock. By pressing between numeric 3 and 4, you will lock your car door. FYI, the luxury watch's dial resembles the Aston Martin DBS dashboard.

Now the tricky part is this ........................... you have to own an Aston Martin DBS car .......... no point buying this watch and make it redundant. Talk about car lock, this is really good cool. Fit James Bond's style indeed.

Aston Martin has a close tie-up with the James Bond movies and even has the Aston Martin 007 accessories range for people to buy their stuff for collection purpose.

Who owns Aston Martin?
* David Richards, founder and chairman of Prodrive
* John Sinders, banker & car collector (Aston Martin of course)
* Investment Dar, a Kuwaiti company
* Adeem Investment, a Kuwaiti company
* Ford Motor Company (who sold 91.68% interest to the above four investors at a value of US$848 million in 2007)

Who owns Jaeger-LeCoultre?
* Cie. Financiere Richemont SA - a luxury jewellery, luxury watches and writing instruments manufacturer (see list of businesses)

Tags: Switzerland, James Bond, James Bond Movies, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Aston Martin, Aston Martin DBS, Amvox2 DBS Transponder, Luxury Watch, Timepiece, David Richards, Prodrive, John Sinders, Investment Dar, Adeem Investment, Ford Motor Company, Cie. Financiere Richemont SA

US$ Billion Dollar Home

The world will be seeing a gigantic house or maybe you call it a building or tower come year 2009 ....... whatever you think is right.

The building in question is called Antilla, the home of Mukesh Ambani, which stands 27 storeys. Does your home has a name for it? Crazy or what? It's not the headquarters of Reliance Industries Limited conglomerate of which Mukesh is the major substantial shareholder but purely his residence.

This home or house or building is located at Mumbai, India and will be ready for occupation in January 2009, if there's no delay. This building is designed by two renowned architectural firms, namely Perkins + Will and Hirsch Bedner Associates.

Uniqueness of this building, no two floors will have the same design.





He can afford it because he's the world's fifth richest fella. So, US$2 billion for this building is nothing at all.

His family comprising his wife and three children will live there. One person one floor? The mother have to call the children by phone to locate them ......... hehe

This is the lobby that comes with nine lifts. Mukesh intention is to use his home ...... I mean errrr the building to entertain his corporate clients and friends.

Wow, I seldom find Kuala Lumpur hotels with nine lifts and this is a house. How many people are expected to throng into this house ...... err building at one go?

This is the ballroom, with chandeliers covering the ceiling. Nothing is spared. This ballroom can fit hundreds of guests at one go. The kitchen is as big as the ballroom.

How can a home be without a home theather? He went one step further. He's putting in a full range cinema.

One of the levels - lap pool, jacuzzi, yoga room, dance studios, changing rooms for men and women, gyms and a solarium with a juice bar.

And when you expect soooooooooo many people to drop in to visit you, you need a large garage. Yeah, a garage that is 6 storeys on the first six levels of the building .......... I mean home.

The next I'm thinking of right now is - how many maids or staff is Mukesh going to employ to maintain this 'home'?

The maintenance cost could be as high as a full fledge hotel.

Really wish that I could enter this unique 'home' and see it for myself and get to be pampered as a VIP guest by the staff there. That's life!

But then, India has so many poor people on any given streets. Justifiable to have such a humonguous home for self pleasure?

Reading: Inside The World's First Billion-Dollar Home - Forbes
Tags: Antilla, Mukesh Ambani, Reliance Industries Limited, Mumbai, India, Architecture, Architectural Firm, Perkins + Will, Hirsch Bedner Associates, Billion Dollar Home

Housing for Super Rich Russians

The super rich Russians will be having an extra option of where to stay. An upcoming estate will house only 150 to 200 mansions (note that it's not a house or bungalow but a mansion). Each of these mansions will cost about £10m to £15m.

The developer, a Russian billionaire himself, Aras Agalarov will construct these mansions within an area of 340-hectare (850 acres) at Istra region just outside Moscow.

This estate haven will have the following built within the area:-
* roads with fir trees and white camomile flowers;
* 18-hole golf course;
* an exclusive private school;
* 14 artificial lakes and waterfall
* a spa and beach resort with imported white sand;
* minimum 2,000 square metres around your mansion;
* a salt-water swimming pool; and
* guaranteed right kind of neighbours.

Somehow, everything have its own pros and cons and the cons are:-
* potential buyers must have a personal interview with Agalaro;
* to sign a 30-page document agreeing to abide by Agalarov's own, at times eccentric, rules;
* forbidden from hanging out washing;
* forbidden from home improvement;
* forbidden from letting off fireworks; and
* all bodyguards will be banished to small houses on the edge of the community.

Most Russian billonaires could be having as many as five or six bodyguards. Imagine two hundred families moved in with that many boduguards, the whole estate could be occupied by 1,000 bodyguards. Could set up an army infantry within this estate haven.
Tags: Aras Agalarov, Russian Billionaire, Russian, Istra, Bodyguard

What You Can't Buy, Google Can

When you own a big private airplane, where do you park your airplane? As for John Travolta, he really need a big piece of land including a landing strip just behind his backyard to keep airplanes close to him.

Google's billionaires founders do not have a landing strip behind their backyard yet but their contacts are good enough to obtain permission to park at a federal-managed airport. The airport is only 7 minutes away from Google's headquarters.

Both Larry Page and Sergey Brin, get to park their private airplanes (which includes a Boeing 767 and two Gulfstream Vs) at the Moffett Field, an airport run by NASA that has been closed down. Only a helicopter operator and another airplane maker are using it currently.

You see, you just can't park your Boeing 767 anywhere you like as not all runways are built to withstand the weight/power of that plane. Rumour is that the Boeing 767 is purpose built to hold parties (wild or not, I'm not sure) that could hold about 180 people.

NASA has explained that Google could park their planes there owing to an unique agreement that allowed NASA to place scientific instruments and researchers on planes used by the Google founders and at the same time gets to collect scientific data on those flights. Partly to defray the cost of maintaining that runway too.

This type of arrangement is very similar to scenarios in Malaysia for those well-connected ones. And the above Google issue was exposed by a Californian blogger, Valleywag.
Tags: Google, Google Founders, Larry Page, Sergey Brin, NASA, Moffett Field, Boeing 767, Gulfstream V

Luxury Fish Bait for Fishing Trip

I do fancy luxury lifestyle at times, pampering oneself to those stuff that may cost you a bomb. I have known some rich friends who can just shop without looking at the price tag. Just put it at the counter and pay whatever the price quoted.

But when certain goods are overpriced, though I don't buy/use it, I will ridicule those stuff also.

I seldom go fishing but some friends do it quite often. Some will use ground worms (dug for it at their garden or some gardens). Some will get those tiny prawns. Some will go for a fake tiny fish. When rich people decide to go for fishing, they may go in their top class yacht with crews towing along, bringing their fishing rods and bait (hook it for them as well).

A company, MacDaddy's Fishing Lures, that specialises in fishing lure (so-called bait) decided to capture the rich men's market by producing various kinds of fishing lures.

To the extent, the company crafted a fishing lure that will make everybody's eyes popping out (burst out in fact) - weighing just over 3 pounds of glimmering gold (14-k and 18-k ) and platinum, encrusted with 100 carats of diamonds and rubies (4,753 stones to be exact). Just over 12 inches in length. It's called "The Million Dollar Lure".

Why that name? Because it will cost you US$1,000,000 for one stupid bait.

And the rich and famous will throw this fishing lure/bait down a river/pond/sea for the sake of their fishing hobby. This is really way way out. For those who do fish out there, I'm sure your bait did go missing sometimes, not once but a few times in one session.
Tags: MacDaddy's Fishing Lures, MacDaddy, Fishing Lures, Fish Bait, Bait, The Million Dollar Lure

Most Expensive Beer

Beer drinkers in Malaysia would have to fork out more money to buy beer/alcohol as the coming national budget in September 2007 would definitely increase the six tax on it.

However expensive, it won't be the price for US$39 for a pint of beer produced by Vielle Bon Secours served in a London bar, Bierdrome.But a New Zealander paid a staggering price of US$2,595 for a pint of beer in Hong Kong.
Tags: Most Expensive Beer, Beer, Luxury, Vielle Bon Secours, Bierdrome

Rich Man's Hobby - Beneath the Sea

Rich men (this is referring to multi-billionaires) have hobbies too. I have heard of one who likes polo so much that he brought in 8 thoroughbred horses from Argentina (the best). In a polo game, you need 8 players to play a game. In this way, he gets to enjoy his hobby with his pals who may not have the resources to get a horse.

Some prefer to have their own executive jets, some would prefer having a large property, some would go for exotic food in one night or go for a luxury holiday.

But I found an unusual hobby this time. Ever heard of people owning a submarine which was also used to entertain guests? Roman Abramovich could be interested in it too. There are a few luxury submarine makers which could meet the rich men's taste, namely U.S. Submarines (USA) and Exomos (UAE). Who are their customers? Both builders have to sign a "keep it a secret agreement" to ensure secrecy.

U.S. Submarine's ultimate sub is the Phoenix 1000 - ultimate personal transportation device, 65 meters (213 ft.) in length with 470 square meters (5000 sq. ft.) of interior space on 4 levels.

The CEO of Exomos said that a luxury submarine of a 10-passenger sub could costs up to $15 million (mid size - US$25 million). The submarine could be 3-story-tall with five staterooms, five bathrooms, two kitchens, a gym, a wine cellar and an observation portal measuring 30 feet long by 15 feet wide, or 9 meters long by 5 wide. It has a range of 3,000 nautical miles.
Reading: It's moved leagues beneath the sea - IHT

Tags: Submarine, Luxury Submarine, US Submarines, Exomos, Luxury, Lifestyle

Airbus A380

Airbus A380 - first flight opened to selected public, mainly reporters, travel critics, potential/existing airlines customers and cronies...hehe

Wondering which class are they showing us in this pictures.
This is definitely the Business Class. Would be very sure that the people in this section would have given a good rating. Most of the airlines would advertise how good are their First/Business classes, the sort of comfort, design, space or service available for their passengers. What about the Economy Class passengers? They didn't pay for their airfares?

The food selection should be nice especially when you are being watched on the first flight. Must keep their mouth 'shut'.
ah.........makes me sleepy now....yawnnnnn
Just as the first flight was being monitored by stakeholders, another A380 unit is being re-designed and re-decorated internally by a rich magnate. Imagine an A380 could fit in hundreds of passengers but this rich magnate was trying to cater this airplane for his entourage only.
First class furnitures & fittings! You won't feel the jet lag in this plane.
Really exclusive. Just like the Flying Palace that I was blogging about.

Tags: Airbus A380, A380, Travel, Aeroplane, Luxury

Luxury Airbus A380

This is the latest luxury plane that will be owned by a Middle East billionaire. This rich magnate will be a step above every other plane owners when this plane is out on the airport tarmac. These interior designs are being made on an Airbus A380.
The actual commercial Airbus A380 was made to fit 555 passengers. Imagine how big is this aircraft and this rich magnate is buying such an airplane for his own private usage.
A bar being put in place to serve guests' needs.

This Airbus has been given the nickname of The Flying Palace owing to its extensive interior designing and decorations said to cost US$150 million.
Its nicely decorated dining area.
Guests' living room area.
Various flat screen TVs being placed at strategic areas for the guests' entertainment.




Reading: Luxurious Interiors of Airbus A380 VIP ‘Flying Palace’ Unveiled
Reading: More Pics of $150 Million Airbus A380 Surface
Reading: Pimp my Jet: A mansion with wings

Tags: Airbus A380, Flying Palace, Lifestyle, Luxury, Middle East, Billionaire, Plane

Vladimir Putin's Plane

Vladimir Putin - the Russian supremo. The President's office has commissioned an Ilyushin 96-300 jet to be re-designed and re-fitted at a cost of £10m (approx. RM68m). At this rate, it has already been mentioned that it's a ludicrous price and even leaving the USA's VIP airplanes way behind.

Malaysia also will be getting their latest toy, an Airbus A319 Corporate jet. Bought at a price of between US$40m to US$45m and to be re-furbished at a cost of US$10m by Jet Aviation in Switzerland.

As for Putin's jet, a Bristol based company, Diamonite, has been awarded the contract.








Gold-plated taps and shower in the bathroom.
Silk-covered walls in the plane.
Upholstered leather seats equivalent to those leather seats in an Aston Martin car.

Reading: Firm to refit Putin's plane - BBC News
Reading: Putin's Plane - Luxist
Reading: Putin's Plane with a Midas Touch! - Luxury Launches

For more photos, click here.

Tags: Vladimir Putin, President, Russia, Ilyushin 96, Diamonite, Gold-Plated, Silk, Aston Martin, Luxury, Airbus A319, Jet Aviation

Most Expensive Private Island

Keen to have your own santuary of peace, where you can do whatever you like on that piece of land without getting any approvals from the authorities?

I received this piece of news that an island which is one of the Fijian islands is up for sale. Just an email won't make you believe it but when a real estate company has been appointed to sell it that means it's real. Luxury Real Estate, a Washington based company, is the appointed broker to sell off the island.

The island is called Vatu Vara or also known as "Hat Island" because of similar hat shape. An island which is 2 miles in diameter.
It's highest peak is about 1,030 feet and it has a beautiful aquamarine lagoon of pure tropical paradise.

If buy this island, you won't be alone as you will have a superstar neighbour as well. Mel Gibson's private island, Mayo Island, is about 32km east of this island.
One of the closest island is Monu Riki island which was the location for Tom Hank’s “Cast Away”.
Price tag of Vatu Vara: US$75,000,000. More details in Luxury Real Estate.
Tags: Island, Real Estate, Fiji, Most Expensive, Private Island, Luxury Real Estate, Vatu Vara, Hat Island

World's Most Expensive Handbag

After blogging about Louis Vutton's similarity of its handbag design with those found almost anywhere, Louis Vutton ("LV") has an ultimate handbag, the Louis Vutton Tribute Patchwork Handbag, that would be the ultimate collection as well.

The handbag comprise samples of 15 different Louis Vuitton handbags from the LV spring/summer and cruise lines, all of them rolled into one. Willing to pay as much as £23,484 (US$45,352) for a signature handbag?

The issue is any handbag is good enough to keep your personal stuff but why need to purchase one which is this expensive. (source: Luxist and Daily Mail)
Tags: Louis Vutton, LV, Handbag, Lifestyle, Luxury, Most Expensive

World's Priciest Homes

World's priciest homes:-
For a mere US$138 million, you can own a cozy 103-room English country home, with a panic room, marble driveways and helipads. Updown Court (left pic) in Windlesham, Surrey, has 23.5 hectares of gardens and woodlands, five pools, 22 marble bathrooms and more than 50,000 square feet of living space that comes with a bowling alley too.
2nd place: The Hala Ranch ('welcome' in Arabic), a 38.4-hectare property in Aspen, Colorado, owned by Prince Bandar bin Sultan bin Abdul Aziz, the former Saudi Arabian ambassador to the United States - a job that must pay well as the asking price is US$135 million. The 56,000-square-foot mansion has 15 bedrooms and 16 baths.

3rd place: Donald Trump's Maison de L'Amitie is up for sale at an asking price of US$125 million. He bought the estate, previously owned by health care executive Abe Gosman, in 2004 for US$41.25 million at a bankruptcy auction. The Palm Beach, Florida abode is adorned with 144.8 metres of ocean front.

Joint 4th place: At US$100 million each are Tranquility, in Lake Tahoe, Nevada, an 85-hectare estate owned by Tommy Hilfiger cofounder Joel Horowitz; and Waterfront Estate (left pic) in Istanbul, Turkey, which has a nearly 61-metre-long quay. (source: Forbes)

Tags: Lifestyle, Home, Priciest, Uptown Court, Hala Ranch, Maison de L'Amitie, Tranquility, Waterfront Estate