Innholdsfortegnelse for November 2018 i Robb Report

David Coggins David Coggins, who writes the fishing column for the magazine (“Spring Creeks and Smart Trout,” page 119), is the author of Men and Manners and the New York Times bestseller Men and Style. He has contributed to Condé Nast Traveler, the Wall Street Journal, and the Financial Times. He lives in Manhattan but is often found fly-fishing in the Catskills, in Montana, or near his family cabin in Wisconsin. He’s looking forward to bone-fishing on Long Island in the Bahamas next month. Julie L. Belcove Julie L. Belcove (“Private Eyes,” page 178) has written extensively about art and culture. Her work has appeared in the New Yorker, the New York Times, the Financial Times, WSJ., and Architectural Digest, among many other publications. She created W magazine’s annual Art…

No one knows the power of a logo better than Louis Vuitton. And this month, the house is letting you swap in your initials for its iconic Ls and Vs. The Now Yours program marks the first time that the brand’s men’s clothing and shoes—not just its bags and suitcases—can be customized. You’ll be able to pop into your nearest boutique and give your high-school varsity jacket a serious upgrade by adding playful, personalized patches to Louis Vuitton’s version. And while you’re at it, you can emblazon a collegiate cardigan or pair of the brand’s signature Run Away sneakers with your monogram. Eight weeks later, the chic exercise in personal branding will arrive at your door. STARTING NOVEMBER 1 LOUISVUITTON.COM…

Your Guide to Private Racetrack Clubs in the United States From coast to coast, members-only motorsports facilities are vying for pole position. robbreport.com/racetrackguide Out of Bounds Forget cross-country; cross-border skiing—that is, crossing international lines via skis—is the newest privilege on the slopes. Here, five ways to make it happen. robbreport.com/crossborderskiing Smoke Knack In Gran Patrón Smoky, aged tequila revives a technique to take on a scotch-like smokiness. robbreport.com/smokytequila Instagram @robbreport Facebook Facebook.com/robbreport Twitter @robbreport…

GIVEN THE UBIQUITY of denim in our wardrobes, it’s surprising how rarely we come across a truly great pair of jeans. But with the U.S. arrival of Atelier Notify (ateliernotify.com)—Paris’s sartorial expert on bespoke denim—the perpetual quest for indigo perfection takes an interesting new turn. The studio, which this fall opens outposts at Neiman Marcus’s NYC and Beverly Hills locations, doesn’t just tailor jeans to fit; it can create almost any conceivable type of wash, weight, and texture. Jeans, in fact, are anything but basic, says Maurice Ohayon, who applied his tailoring savoir faire to denim when he started Atelier Notify in 2003. What began as a small workshop experimenting with ways to improve and individualize denim has since grown into a bespoke business that makes custom jeans in every…

URWERK LOYALISTS, sit down and compose yourselves. What you’re witnessing is the UR-111C (urwerk.com ), not the end of all you hold dear. With its flowing modernist lines, the new wristwatch is a departure for the avant-garde brand, eschewing its well-known orbital satellite system for a totally new display that’s full of surprises. Chief among them: the absence of a traditional crown. In its place, a triple roller on the front edge of the watch displays hours and minutes on the sides, while a helix-shaped roller in the center moves a linear and retrograde minutes display. An additional digital seconds display on the top is both magnified and slightly distorted by some clever fiber optics. So far, the new indicators have incited all sorts of obsessive tactile play, which has…

LIKE EVERYTHING ELSE these days, it appears Salon Art + Design (thesalonny .com) is making a play for millennials. This month, the interiors fair—which has long held a reputation for midcenturymodern classics by old-guard luminaries like Jean Prouvé and Gio Ponti—is bringing a younger demographic of talent to its Park Avenue Armory show. Case in point: 38-year-old Dutch designer Reinier Bosch, whose high-polished Melting Series pieces look like beautiful puddles of precious metal. His elegant Dew bench dripping in bronze (shown above) is bound to be a highlight, as is the work of Alex Chinneck, who brings his beguiling sculpture to the show in the form of Growing Up Gets Me Down, a sinuous wooden grandfather clock that looks like a relic from Alice’s Wonderland. Both artists—thirty-somethings with impressive résumés—are…

IN 1937, Mercedes-Benz (mbusa.com) employed the most advanced technology of the time to build the 12-cylinder W 125 Rekordwagen, which reached a top speed of 268.9 mph the following year with Rudolf Caracciola behind the wheel. Nicknamed the Silver Arrow, the 736 hp racer was both functional and beautiful. In that spirit, the marque recently unveiled the EQ Silver Arrow concept, an all-electric single-seater that is both an homage to its record-breaking predecessor and a glimpse of things to come. “We created a new legend of the Silver Arrow for the next century,” says Mercedes-Benz chief design officer Gorden Wagener, who presented the concept car during this year’s Monterey Car Week. Like its inspiration, the show car employs a pure design and clean lines. But instead of metal, the body…

SKY-FRAME sky-frame.com Sky-Frame is the leading international supplier of frameless sliding window systems. The large, flush-fitted glass panels eliminate the boundary between the indoors and outdoors creating free-flowing living spaces. LUGANO DIAMONDS luganodiamonds.com A Collector’s Dream – Lugano Diamonds Blue Diamond Cuff. This architectural wonder is gorgeous as a cuff and equally stunning as a ring. A nine carat radiant cut blue diamond shines, surrounded by five carats of pink, yellow and blue diamonds and 33 carats of collection VS diamonds. OCEANCO builtbyoceanco.com Oceanco specializes in building bespoke yachts—each Oceanco epitomizes the owner’s perfect yacht. Three of their groundbreaking superyachts include Jubilee, the largest yacht ever built in the Netherlands at the time of her launch; Black Pearl, the largest 3-masted sailing yacht in the world; and DAR, with a…

THE SLEEK AND silver 118-foot motor yacht Sands was launched from the Italy-based Maiora shipyard this year, joining Camper & Nicholsons’s (camper andnicholsons.com) charter fleet in July. What makes this a fun—and possibly even savvy—choice are its two VIP staterooms on the main deck where a single master suite would normally be found. This of course means no haggling over who gets the master cabin—with two identical main-deck staterooms, everyone wins. Everyone who gets a stateroom, that is. For those who don’t make the cut, two double cabins and two twins reside belowdecks, meaning you and 11 friends or family members can vacation together while being catered to by five crew. With potential strong-arming set aside, you can spend more time using the yacht’s shaded top-deck bar, TV, long sofa,…

For as long as they’ve both existed, Ferrari and Aston Martin have done battle on racetracks and in auction rooms, and competed for space on the driveways of the wealthy and the bedroom walls of the teenaged. Now their rivalry has a new arena: the global stock markets. Ferrari listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2015, and Aston Martin has just made its long-awaited IPO—in London, of course. For once, Aston will be happy to sit in Ferrari’s slipstream. Prior to the Italian firm’s IPO, analysts tried to value it as they would a conventional carmaker. They decried the insistence of Ferrari’s late CEO Sergio Marchionne that it should be treated as a luxury-goods business and attract that sector’s vastly higher valuation multiples. They described the initial offer…

Paradise Valley is not a retirement community or an eccentric television show. It’s the scenic setting where the Yellowstone River flows beside green pastures between the Absaroka and Gallatin mountains. It’s worth the drive down Highway 89, from Livingston, Mont., all the way to Gardiner to the north entrance of Yellowstone National Park, which remains one of the United States’ truly great places. But if you drive too fast you’ll miss the white-gated entrance to DePuy Spring Creek, the angling mecca. The punctuation and pronunciation are difficult (duh-pew), and the fishing is just as hard. That’s because DePuy is a spring creek, with vivid, clear water that runs cold all year long. These streams—Silver Creek south of Ketchum, Ida., is another—derive their water from underground springs and are filled with…

The word new can be a loaded one when you work at the world’s oldest continually operating watch company. There was very little talk of newness at the recent launch of Vacheron Constantin’s Fiftysix collection held over a two-day period in London. There was a good deal of talk from company executives about tradition and the historical roots behind the design of the watch (a hint of protesting too much), which did not disguise the fact that many of the executives are new, as is the scope of the Fiftysix watch project and the reason behind it. Fiftysix, in fact, is an important transformational milestone for the company, whether Vacheron Constantin execs want to admit it or not. The trouble is younger buyers continue to favor sporty models over formal…

NO OTHER PART of England is more quintessentially English than the verdant furrows and brows of the South Downs that sweep the British coastline. In their expansive lap sits the magnificent country estate of Goodwood, home to the Duke and Duchess of Richmond. If you burrowed into Goodwood’s chalk-and-flint earth, the sediment would no doubt release into the salty air echoes of Elgar, cream teas, Churchill, cricket . . . centuries of keenly British traditions, with manicured parkland and velvet golf courses. Ingrained, too, in the soul of the estate is a rich seam of British automotive heritage. Just after World War II—in 1948, to be exact—Freddie March, the current duke’s grandfather, opened the Goodwood motor circuit for world-class racing. That same year, the very first Land Rover was unveiled…

The world’s most prized possessions deserve a suite of their own. CollectionSuites in Doral, Fla., is a sanctuary where local residents, yacht owners visiting the area, and elite collectors from around the world can keep their treasures in the utmost luxury and security. Housed in a private enclave with more than 80,000 square feet of interior space, which has the look and feel of a luxury condominium complex, CollectionSuites is located close to the heart of Miami and yet secluded for enhanced privacy. This premiere facility, which is ready for occupancy, boasts cutting-edge technology, state-of-the-art security, and exceptional concierge services. The property comprises 38 private units, ranging from 2,000 to 2,500 square feet, each designed to meet the modern collector’s lifestyle, with Italian ceramic floors, top-of-the-line appliances, and contemporary concrete…

Ilumen, the groundbreaking line of customizable superyachts from Dominator, represents the illumination of big ideas. This approach to engineering confirms the company’s dedication to innovation, showcased in the more than 150 yachts it has launched in its 17-year history. Each Dominator yacht is a limited edition and completely customized for its owner. Entirely bespoke from the choice of the hull to the propulsion system to the design of internal spaces, every Dominator yacht fits the owner like a glove. The company’s use of cutting-edge technologies and materials—such as the Dominator High Performance Hull, made from post-cured glass and carbon fiber mixed with epoxy resin; and lightweight but flexible structural designs—lends its yachts the feeling of a superyacht but in a more manageable size. Dominator’s Bespoke Team will meet prospective yacht…

GERALD CHAN WAS starting to sound like the boy who cried wolf. The American businessman first announced the grand opening of his English country resort—an 18th-century Hampshire manse called Heckfield Place (heckfieldplace.com)—in 2012. But the year came and went, and the elegant retreat he promised never materialized. News followed of a 2013 opening and then another in 2015. By 2016, the old Georgian landmark was starting to sound like the hotel that never was. Behind the manor’s faded red-brick facade, the situation was hardly better. Chan was working his way through hundreds of permits and millions of dollars. High-profile partnerships with big-name chefs and prominent interior designers were dissolving left and right. A revolving door of general managers spun around and around. Until at last, the finicky owner took a…

WHEN YOU EAT a sliver of Kobe beef, it literally melts on your tongue. The Japanese steak is speckled with unusually high levels of unsaturated fatty acids that dissolve at temperatures lower than your body and fill your mouth with the rich flavor of butter. And it’s the promise of this sensation that draws diners to steak houses around the world. The only problem? Many of them aren’t even selling Kobe. The Kobe Beef Association, based in Japan, only certifies about 5,000 heads of cattle per year as Kobe and then tracks the meat’s movement around the globe. The strict certification process requires that the beef comes from Tajima-gyu cows, a pure breed whose lineage traces back to the 1600s. The cows also must be born, raised, and slaughtered in…

THE 2019 DUCATI Scrambler Icon (ducatiusa.com) isn’t the fastest, scariest, or most technologically advanced motorcycle on the market today. Far from it. You’re getting an air-cooled, 803 cc L-twin—the kind of motor Ducati has been producing since way back. What you’re buying is an image, the dream of open trails, bars in random desert towns, and the carefree two-wheel lifestyle we all wish we had. The 73 hp, six-speed Ducati Scrambler Icon is an escape vehicle—an escape not just from your immediate surroundings but from the constraints of the mind. You’re buying a better time. Ducati produces the fastest motorcycles on the planet, so it’s a joy to see the relaxed, almost surf-culture aspect of the brand shine through as it provides a connection from user to machine that inspires…

“It’s a really exciting time at the moment, and we as designers are thinking about what’s next.”—Claudia Braun, Mercedes-Benz TALKING ABOUT PAINT is about as interesting as watching it dry, right? Well . . . not anymore. Just as technology is changing how cars are built and driven, so too is it transforming the skin that coats them. Advances range from pigments that change color or deter heat to particles that can repair themselves when scratched—and manufacturers are racing to find the perfect formulas that will outshine the competition. “It’s a really exciting time at the moment, and we as designers are thinking about what’s next,” says Claudia Braun, senior manager of color and trim at Mercedes-Benz. Braun says one of the hottest trends is to use tinted clear coats,…

MOST GREAT SHOTS of superyachts show them in their natural habitat of deep-blue waters moored off some tropical atoll. So it was with some surprise that we found ourselves captivated by a very different image released by Dutch yacht-builder Heesen (heesenyachts.com). It depicts the linking of a superstructure and its hull for the forthcoming 164-foot Project Triton. The hull is floating in the water at Heesen’s shipyard in Oss, while two large cranes lift the bare aluminum superstructure from a barge and suspend it over the water. Other images in the series show how it is gently dropped inside the edges of the hull. The two sections will eventually be welded together (so, no, it doesn’t click into place— shame). A Heesen spokesperson said the yard can join the two…

Though it sounds chipper enough, the expression “the luck of the Irish” should only ever be spoken with tongue planted firmly in cheek. Luck is to the Irish what winning is to the Cleveland Browns. Between famine, oppression, and civil war, the Irish put the “less” in blessed and the “dip” in serendipity. Want proof? Take whiskey. The Irish practically invented the stuff—the word whiskey comes from a Gaelic phrase (uisce beathadh, “water of life”). But if you look at the 20 best-selling whiskey brands in the United States, only one is from Ireland. And yes, it’s Jameson. How is it that one of the finest spirits you can buy is barely bought here at all? There are reasons, of course. Up through the 1800s, Ireland had thousands of distilleries…

You’d imagine that stars of the caliber of Aretha Franklin and Prince would have access to the very best things in life. And that would include financial advisors. But while we know about the Queen of Soul’s insistence on being paid in cash for her shows and Prince’s vast Paisley Park estate and other homes that were valued in the tens of millions, it appears that neither had the right people looking after their money. Both died without wills to direct their fortunes. The Sopranos’ James Gandolfini is another example. While he had a will when he died unexpectedly five years ago, he did not establish a trust. That oversight opened up his personal financial life at death in a way he likely would have never approved while still with…

On a remote Mongolian hillside, bells tinkle in the distance—a sign that a herd of cashmere-producing goats is nearby. A woman follows the noise, picking over the rocky terrain with a small canister tucked under an arm. In just minutes, she has crouched down and sprayed the underbelly of each animal, leaving no residue; indeed, there’s no evidence she was ever there. Fast-forward a few months to a boutique on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, where a sales associate passes a cashmere sweater over a scanner attached to the register. It displays the date and location that the cashmere was marked that morning in Mongolia along with the factory where the wool was processed and even the date the sweater arrived stateside. “We use synthetic DNA to guarantee the provenance…

“The terrain was rapidly becoming impassable for our cars because of the drifting sand. . . . The cars could go only a short distance under their own power; then everyone out, and with rope-bound canvas strips laid down in front, strain and push until the car had reached an area of harder sand. . . . We were exhausting our gasoline and men, wrecking the cars.” —ROY CHAPMAN ANDREWS, THIS BUSINESS OF EXPLORING, PUBLISHED 1935 The natural world has been conquered. There is no real adventure anymore. Gone are the great explorers of the 20th century like Roy Chapman Andrews, a man who scoured the Gobi Desert looking for dinosaur bones while facing desert storms and deadly bandits. Tell that, however, to the six guys knee-deep in the…

The Azimut Grande 25 Metri offers ample space for life in the open air and a design that presents a deep connection with the sea. The interior design by Achille Salvagni is elegant yet casual, while the exterior design by Stefano Righini gives the yacht a sleek, streamlined look with lines that seem sculpted by the wind. Midway between charm and technology, the Grande 25 Metri features a Carbon Tech superstructure, roll-bar, hardtop, and transom. Despite considerable interior volumes, with a tender garage and separate crew passageways to maximize owner privacy, the boat’s contours remain light and sleek. Inside the yacht, Azimut opens up the main deck by removing the typical separation of lounge and dining areas, resulting in one large and refined setting. On the lower deck, the yacht…

Since 1968, Ferretti Yachts has embodied timeless luxury, the most authentic Italian yachting tradition, characterized by innovative designs, production excellence, and technological expertise. Ferretti Yachts’ ongoing commitment to refined details and unequaled onboard comfort maximize the functionality of its vessels. Ferretti Yachts celebrated its 50th anniversary in Venice, Italy, in June, coloring the sky with smoke from Frecce Tricolori acrobatic aircraft and enlivening streets and canals with unique events and fabulous boats. The festivities began with a gala dinner at Palazzo Ducale, followed by hundreds of guests attending the Ferretti Yachts fleet parade, sailing the waters of the San Marco basin. While the extraordinary Frecce Tricolori flew over the city, the Venetian Arsenal hosted 11 wonderful yachts, including the new Ferretti Yachts 670, making its world premiere. This flybridge vessel…

Leading superyacht company Burgess delivers first-class charter service and offers a portfolio of the finest yachts in the best cruising destinations around the world. This spring, Burgess celebrated another successful year at the World Superyacht Awards. Among the winning and nominated vessels to which Burgess contributed, the 240-foot Hasna and 243-foot Cloud 9 were standouts. For Hasna, built by the Dutch shipyard Feadship, judges praised the yacht’s exquisite exterior lines and the practical layout of its decks. Highlight features include a 26-foot-long tiled infinity pool on the main deck aft, an extensive gym in the full-beam beach club, and an impressive cinema. Standout features for Cloud 9, built by Italy’s CRN shipyard, include its eight beautiful suites, indoor and outdoor cinemas, and a Teppanyaki bar on the sun deck. Cloud…

Welcome to the new era of Bahamian glamour. The first edition of Baha Mar Residences has just been released. On the white sands of Cable Beach, Nassau, at glittering Baha Mar, SLS and Rosewood Residences offer turnkey paradise in a world-leading financial center. An enviable choice of one-to six-bedroom residences and villas awaits. These highly acclaimed destination brands attract an international beau monde seeking sophistication and refinement, and sleek and chic surroundings—all less than an hour flight from Florida, a short haul from key American and Latin American cities, and direct from Toronto and London. Residential owners also gain VIP access to Baha Mar’s private island sanctuary; complimentary golf rounds at the Jack Nicklaus–designed Royal Blue; and VIP status at the Caribbean’s largest casino, numerous hip nightlife and dining venues;…

“IT’S ABOUT RIGHT-SIZING THE CABIN FOR THE TIMES.” —Yung Han Ng, Singapore Airlines Have you noticed that first-class cabins are shrinking, and in some cases have disappeared entirely? If you’re flying a domestic airline, you’ll be hard-pressed to book a first-class seat on Delta, which eliminated international first class, or United, which is phasing out its first-class cabins on international travel. American Airlines announced it will soon offer first class on only 20 of its Boeing 777-300ERs that fly to major financial centers, including London and Hong Kong. Cathay Pacific, British Airways, and Lufthansa are all reducing their proportion of first-class seats as they refresh their fleets with new Boeing 787 Dreamliners and Airbus A350s. Qatar Airways, often touted as the world’s most luxurious airline, is limiting first class…

Head to the Grand Palais in the City of Light for the Paris Photo fair, the year’s most significant art-photography show. View and acquire works from 167 galleries around the globe that will offer the best of the best in the medium, such as this striking chromogenic print, Honeycomb (2015), by Minnesota native and fashion photographer Erik Madigan Heck from the Christophe Guye Galerie. New this year at the show is Curiosa, a section devoted to erotic imagery that explores fantasy and fetish. NOVEMBER 8–11 PARISPHOTO.COM…

Sheldon Chalet It doesn’t get any more secluded than this five-room lodge, perched 10 miles from the summit of Denali in Alaska. Ski straight out the front door over mile-thick glaciers, or hop a helicopter to carve down steep, powder-coated descents in the nearby Tordrillo Mountains. Then come home to oysters and Champagne with views of the Northern Lights. sheldonchalet.com Chalet Hibou The adventure experts at Eleven Experience give skiers special access to countless off-piste sites with their new Chalet Hibou, a seven-room property set in the tiny French Alps hamlet of Le Miroir. Choose from 900-plus miles of trails, plus heli-runs that average more than 3,000 feet. elevenexperience.com Ultima Crans-Montana Chalets Ultima’s two new chalet buyouts carve an exclusive niche into Switzerland’s famed Crans-Montana ski resort, with guides who…

TCS World Travel’s Northern Summer 23 days 14,432 miles tcsworldtravel.com Abercrombie & Kent’s Cultural Treasures 23 days 18,420 miles abercrombiekent.com Four Seasons Private Jet Experience’s International Intrigue 2020 23 days 20,138 miles fourseasons.com Smithsonian Journeys’ Around the World by Private Jet 24 days 29,536 miles smithsonianjourneys.org…

Talk about ROI. Rolex prices have been skyrocketing at auction lately, and this month, two impossible-to-get timepieces are expected to prove just how fast they can fatten your wallet. On November 10 and 11, Phillips’s Geneva Watch Auction (phillips.com) will offer a Rolex “Pepsi” GMT Master II in steel (shown), which sold for $9,250 in March and is already estimated to fetch $22,000. Also appreciating at an accelerated rate is a Rolex “Rainbow” Oyster Perpetual Cosmograph Daytona in Everose gold that retailed earlier this year for $96,000 and now carries a starting estimate of $150,000.…

IT TURNS OUT all those buzzwords you thought made your turkey better—free range, organic, antibiotic free—are really just a bunch of baloney. Most likely, your wholesome holiday dinner is still genetically engineered. “Even if you’re buying from a local farmer who says they let them run around on grass, 90 percent of those farmers are still buying them from the very same place Butterball does,” says Frank Reese of Good Shepherd Poultry Ranch (heritagefoods.com). That’s not the case on Reese’s farm. He raises heritage turkeys and preserves the remaining breeds that existed before factory farming altered the turkey forever. And you’ll taste the difference: Heritage meat is darker, richer, and more flavorful because the birds grow more slowly—in other words, naturally—making their muscles healthier and more nutrient dense. Now if…

IT WOULDN’T BE November without Christie’s (christies.com) working the art world into a frenzy. This year, the heated speculation is over David Hockney’s Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures), which the auction house has estimated to sell for $80 million at its November 15 evening sale of postwar and contemporary art—potentially making it the most expensive artwork ever sold by a living artist. There’s no doubt Hockney is having a moment. Over the past year, the 81-year-old artist’s retrospective hit the Tate Britain, the Centre Pompidou, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. But is the buzz enough to justify Portrait’s extraordinary estimate—or is it just another stunt to keep the art world in a permanent state of hysteria? Last year’s equivalent was the unforgettable case of Leonardo da…

What have you done recently for the first time? I went on an amazing trip to Mexico City with the team that opened Soho House. In addition to numerous artist-studio visits, we went to the Barragán stables and home.1 I’ve never been to more cocktail parties where insects were served as a canapé—fried locusts and different types of grilled worms. I am sure it’s the first place I’ve had the tequila worm. What is the first thing you do in the morning? When I am in NewYork Itend toget up at6:30 and immediately dive into e-mails. Itry to do TM [transcendental meditation]2 for 15 minutes before walking down to Cha Cha Matcha in my neighborhood, where I order a ginger-turmeric hemp-milk latte, with double ginger, double matcha. Iknow itsounds very…

VOLVO RECENTLY TEASED TRAVELERS with its 360c electric-vehicle concept (volvocars.com), a self-driving sanctuary on wheels that promises to take the sting out of the commercial-airline alternative for trips of around 200 miles. But how might this autonomous option stack up against more exclusive forms of airborne transport? We weigh the pros and cons of staying grounded. Volvo 360c + Forget the usual airport hassles, and enjoy door-to-door service. Your cabin can be set up for a virtual meeting, and onboard Wi-Fi means every bit of the drive can be put to work. Or you can just take a fully reclined nap. - In a word, traffic. In most urban corridors gridlock is a given, which means arrival times are up in the air. Accidents could also present a roadblock, especially…

ITALIAN SHIPBUILDER Sanlorenzo (sanlorenzoyacht.com) made waves at the Cannes Yachting Festival in September with the launch of its new SL102 Asymmetric yacht design. Attempting to rethink the well-established layout of a yacht by keeping the deck only on the starboard side, and carrying the portside deck on the roof of the structure, the aim of this asymmetrical configuration is to recover around 108 square feet of interior space. But will it actually work? And is it structurally sound? “Yes, absolutely!” says British designer and engineer Clifford Denn, who even suggests pushing the design further to go “full beam on the other side” as long as fendering, cleaning, and crew-circulation issues are dealt with. “This would resolve asymmetry, which might be a visual issue for some,” he explains. “It would be…

AFTER BUILDING A history of success in the audiophile industry, some manufacturers decide to release a statement piece that represents a culmination of all their expertise. These transcend mere equipment and venture into the realm of art. Case in point is Dan D’Agostino Audio (dandagostino.com ), which recently announced its largest, most over-the-top reference power amplifier ever: the D’Agostino Relentless, a monoblock amplifier. Because it’s a mono amp, the Relentless is sold in pairs for a combined price of $250,000. Each amp can seamlessly drive up to 6,000 watts into two ohms, where ohms measures the electical resistance of the speaker. Most high-end speakers have a resistance of four ohms or less. This huge power is capable of driving any speaker on the market. This does not mean the amps…

IF COMPACT CARS and myriad motorcycles are all that come to mind at the mention of Honda, it’s time to raise your awareness. Honda Aircraft has delivered the first HondaJet Elite (hondajetelit)—a premier version of its seven-seat light jet—to a U.S. customer. The original twin-turbofan HondaJet has sold well, with some 85 delivered since 2015. The unique placement of the engines on pylons sprouting up from the wings and the streamlined, dolphin-like shape of the nose make it instantly recognizable. But the aircraft is also fast, capable, and—for a jet—economical. I was flown in, and then flew, the previous HondaJet HA-420 not long after it was certified. It shone for, among other things, the lightness and quietness of the cabin and, from the pilot’s seat, the sophistication of its integrated…

The record, as it stands, is approximately four and a half minutes. That’s the amount of time a collector, just introduced by telephone, took to ask me if I, or anyone else I knew, could help him secure a 5711. The experience, which feels not unlike being hit on, is a sign of the times. Collectors’ appetites have been whipped up by a small handful of “it” models—like Patek Philippe’s 5711 Nautilus—and without any mores to regulate the frenzy, well, why not skip the foreplay? The exchange, like so many things in the watch world, was primarily (but not completely) engineered in Switzerland. For years the financial performance of new watches was an issue that simmered out of sight among a far less interconnected community of collectors. Manufacturers could mask…

Despite being around tailoring for a long time, I always kept a certain distance from cashmere. I felt like it was something to be earned when you were a little older, wiser, and more accomplished. I eventually gave up waiting to become that person in my thirties. I had opened two menswear stores, and the whole operation had not burned down yet, and so I indulged, commissioning a navy cashmere blazer from one of my tailors. To my surprise, there was not much fuss or fanfare around this momentous occasion; apparently, it was just in my head. The first thing you notice with a cashmere blazer is how soft it is. This is because cashmere is made from the underhair of the Kashmir goat, a breed concentrated in China and…

MONDAY: SAVE VENICE BALL Mask needed well beyond the party. TUESDAY: CHAMPAGNE WITH MARK Too much bubbly, never made it to dinner.... WEDNESDAY: SOTHEBY’S EVENING AUCTION Triumph! Captured the prize lot. THURSDAY: LIBRARY LIONS GALA BENEFIT Everyone had their eyes on my jewels. FRIDAY: DRINKS WITH DAPHNE AT BEMELMANS BAR Didn’t need the third martini. SATURDAY: DANCING AT PRIMO’S Fun, but it’s Netflix and bed for me tomorrow.…

Richard Serra’s 223-foot-long strip of weatherproof steel caresses a gentle hill at Glen-stone, a temple to contemporary art in Maryland. Nearby is the spot Ellsworth Kelly chose to stand a 45-foot-tall stainless-steel totem at the edge of a pond like a beacon. British land artist Andy Goldsworthy took the site-specific concept one step further, using earth excavated on-site to make the clay structures, including a giant, cracked boulder, that rest inside three stone cottages he built in the woods. But Michael Heizer may have one-upped them all with his two pieces. One, a pit of steel beams in a roofless room, is built directly into the foundation of architect Thomas Phifer’s new 240,000-square-foot Glenstone expansion, called the Pavilions. “You cannot remove it unless you demolish it,” says Emily Wei Rales,…

Sunseeker is considered by many to be an industry trailblazer, with such versatile yachts as the Predator 50, a highly customizable 50-foot model that combines space, refinement, and power. Lending itself to both extended ventures and impulsive joy rides, the Predator 50 features belowdecks accommodations for as many as six passengers and a social-friendly beach club, which is rare for a yacht this size. The beach club includes a barbecue grill, fold-down bench, outdoor shower, and hydraulic platform to easily launch the tender from the integrated garage. Sunseeker’s new 74 Sport Yacht takes this sense of entertainment to a new level, while adding space and speed. Its flybridge affords open-air cruising and breathtaking views. Its main-deck bridge features a cleverly engineered cockpit with hydraulic drop-away doors that open the interior…

One of the world’s preeminent shipyards, Oceanco creates custom superyachts uniquely tailored to each owner’s lifestyle. The Dutch company’s team of designers and engineers closely collaborates with clients at the highest level to ensure each yacht is a direct reflection of the owner’s vision. At Oceanco, impossible simply means it probably hasn’t been tried. With a custom portfolio that remains unmatched, Oceanco goes above and beyond for its clients. The onboard features it has executed to date are unrivaled in the yachting world: a swimming pool that turns into a dance floor and helipad; a golf driving range; terrariums and aquariums; gyroscopic-stabilized pool tables; outdoor illuminated induction pole lighting; a yacht superstructure made almost entirely out of glass; and diamond-coated paint—just to name a few. Oceanco is also responsible for…