Table of contents for April 2021 in Robb Report

Carlo Giambarresi Giambarresi is an illustrator based on the island of Sardinia in Italy. His work is conceptual and uses shadows and pastel tones to create bold, striking images. He sketched a pleasing assortment of spirits for the April issue (“The Rise and Rise of Top-Shelf American Whiskey,” p. 34). “I tried to represent a cloudy atmosphere, to give a peaceful and warm feeling, which is exactly what I feel when I sip a very nice whiskey,” he says. Giambarresi’s work has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, The New Republic, Buzzfeed and others. Victoria Gomelsky Gomelsky is editor in chief of the jewelry trade publication JCK. A frequent contributor to The New York Times, her work has appeared in Afar, Travel & Leisure and other publications. This month, she…

Mickalene Thomas’s 1970sesque rec-room installations and loud portraits of self-assured women of color have long dazzled viewers, and her partner and muse, Racquel Chevremont, is a collector, curator and art adviser known for her own sharp eye. Together, calling themselves Deux Femmes Noires, they’re curating Brand New Heavies, a group exhibition of monumental works by three artists, all of them Black, female and rising stars. “We knew off the bat we wanted it to be women,” says Chevremont. The couple turned to their running wish list of collaborators and, Thomas says, focused on those artists who could convert “that crazy idea in [their] sketchbook” into large-scale reality. Opening April 2 at Pioneer Works, a cavernous nonprofit cultural center in Brooklyn, and sponsored by Gucci and the Ford Foundation, the show…

FLIGHT RECORDER An engraved and lacquered depiction of Amelia Earhart’s route for her nonstop, record-setting 1935 flight from Mexico City to New York, created in honor of the legendary female pilot that same year. FAMILY PORTRAIT For his birthday in 2018, South Korean collector Cho Hyunchul had his young son’s charming, freehand illustration engraved on the back of his Reverso. VENETIAN SPLENDOR This enamel painting of the Scuola Grande di San Rocco was commissioned by author Nicholas Foulkes in 2016 and created by Jaeger-LeCoultre to celebrate their patronage of the building in Venice.…

Vito Schnabel, son of the famed artist and filmmaker Julian Schnabel, curated his first art exhibition when he was all of 16 years old and soon after helped revive the career of Ron Gorchov, known for his curved canvases, with a solo show. Since then, he has opened eponymous galleries in St. Moritz and New York’s West Village, with a multigenerational program including Laurie Anderson, Tom Sachs and Ariana Papademetropoulos. In February, he unveiled a second Manhattan location, a 5,000-square-foot, two-level space on West 19th Street, in Chelsea. “I think it’s the right time,” Schnabel says. “A lot of things are closing in New York, and I’m proud to be opening something. I’m excited for the world to come back. It’s important to me to keep things moving in the…

Northeast Winner’s Circle Ridgefield, Conn., $28.5M Riding may be one of those pastoral New England passions, but this Connecticut estate goes beyond that, thanks to its pedigree of breeder owners. Double H Farm, in Ridgefield, is the former home of the late Hunter Harrison, a railroad tycoon and a horse owner and breeder. His daughter, Cayce Harrison, is also a breeder, trainer and longtime rider. Krissy Blake of Sotheby’s Realty is marketing the 87-acre property. Equine facilities include a 3.5-acre grand-prix field with viewing stand; air-conditioned barns for 43 horses, with heated floors, rubber tiles and padded stalls; offices and staff apartments; 17 paddocks; indoor and outdoor rings; and, naturally, a trophy lounge. The 14,000-square-foot main house, built in 2009, has 100-mile views, says Blake, plus geothermal heating, an indoor…

REMEMBER HISPANO-SUIZA? Even if you’re familiar with the name, it’s unlikely you remember it. The Spanish automaker all but disappeared after WWII, save for the French part of the company that produced aircraft components (don’t ask). The brand has become part of a coterie of once high-profile, now faded carmakers and coachbuilders looking to rise again. Revived by cofounder Damián Mateu’s great-grandson, Hispano Suiza dropped its hyphen and showed what it claimed to be a 1,005 hp, Art Deco–inspired all-electric performance car, the Carmen, in 2019. That same year, Delage, shuttered since 1954, had its name relicensed and unveiled a 1,100 hp, tandem-seated prototype hypercar. And last November, investors announced the return of famed engineer Giotto Bizzarrini’s eponymous marque from the ’60s. Two months later, the group revealed plans to…

THE CONCEPT of modular yacht design came to life in 2011 with the Wider 42, which featured sides that could be folded over the water, transforming into swim platforms while doubling cockpit space. Now a trio of just-launched sport yachts shows how far the multi-tool philosophy has evolved. “The concept of modularity excites us because we give the customer more for less,” says Andrew Bartlett, design director for Tiara Yachts. Bartlett points to the “Euro-chaise” on Tiara’s new 48 LS, a beefy, nearly full-beam lounge which can pivot into multiple positions, up to 180 degrees, while moving fore and aft. Facing aft, it’s a launchpad for swimming or sunning; turned forward, it fits snugly against the cockpit table for alfresco dining. “With a simple turn, you increase the size of…

In the UK, the hammering of nails into the gas-powered engine’s coffin has begun. Late last year, the Conservative, pro-business prime minister Boris Johnson made the dramatic announcement that sales of cars with conventional internal-combustion motors would be banned from 2030, 10 years earlier than initially proposed, and sales of hybrids banned from 2035. The aim is to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, the same target President Biden has committed to. The UK is not the first administration to set such a deadline. Norway seeks to ban sales of conventionally powered cars just four years from now, and within the US, the state of California will too, from 2035. But the majority of Norway’s new-car sales are already electric, and it has no native car industry to imperil with…

CONSIDER THEM the Gordon Gekkos of the Swiss watch industry, maligned as symbols of 1980s-style excess. For years now, gold watches have played second fiddle to more practical steel sport models, demand for which has continued to soar even in the midst of the pandemic. But some watch dealers are convinced we’re on the brink of a long-awaited gold rush, with the precious metal breaking the $2,000-an-ounce barrier for the first time in August. Fine jewelry has already seen a return to the material at nearly every major brand, while Gucci made a splash with its retro, $1,800 jumping-hour Grip watch in yellow gold. Driven by interest from the Asian market, as well as a general flight to tangible assets in light of the past year’s economic uncertainty, gold appears…

Senja, Janus et Cie Bulky patio seating has been the style du jour for way too many jours. Senja enters like a cooling ocean breeze with a slim aluminum base beneath its plush linen cushions. And like any good modular system, it’s a bit like Lego: Pick the pieces you want, and then slot them together in whatever configuration best suits. Building blocks include sofas, poufs, side tables and chairs. You can now plan a little social distance even into your seating arrangements. Starting at $1,180 522 Tokyo Chaise Lounge, Cassina You can’t go wrong with an updated classic. Charlotte Perriand, one of the design world’s most celebrated modernist creators, first planned the Tokyo lounge in 1940. It takes cues from her famous LC4 chaise, except, instead of steel and…

What makes it a milestone is the Multistrada’s new radar system, a first for the industry and an innovation expected to be approved for the US market by early July. THE 2021 Ducati Multistrada V4 has generated a wave of early buzz since its announcement, but any worry the bike couldn’t possibly live up to the hype vanishes once you’re in the saddle. It is, quite simply, a watershed moment for motorcycles, and not just because of the potent 170 hp V-4 motor, derived from the Panigale V4 S superbike, coupled with a level of versatility that places the Multistrada V4 atop the sport-touring category. No, what makes it a milestone is the new radar system in the nose, a first for the industry and an innovation expected to be…

Short-takeoff and -landing (STOL) aircraft have been around since the 1930s, most recognizably as the type of fat-tired, propeller-driven planes flown by bush pilots into remote areas. But for a new, electrified generation of STOL aircraft, short-field landing spots might soon include urban rooftops as well as the Alaskan tundra. “Electrification allows us to build aircraft with capabilities that don’t exist today,” says Marc Ausman, a former naval flight officer who took his wings to Silicon Valley to help develop Airbus’s Vahana eVTOL project before cofounding Airflow, an eSTOL manufacturer, in 2019. “Electric engines scale nicely,” Ausman says. “You can have 16 electric motors across the aircraft to make it super-efficient, something you couldn’t do with piston or turbine engines.” Ausman says Airflow’s design, with its Virtual Tailhook system, will…

MAKE ME THE biggest yacht in the world—bigger than anyone has ever seen,” he commanded. It was a mold-breaking commission for the Benetti shipyard more than 40 years ago, from a client keen to tout his wealth. The Italian firm had already earned accolades for making fine yachts, but this was to be a new kind of vessel, a “superyacht,” if you will. Benetti’s designers embraced the brief with gusto, and the resulting craft, though perhaps not the biggest yacht ever, was the epitome of oceangoing glamour: At 282 feet, it had five decks equipped with 11 cabins, a cinema and exhaust funnels sloped outward to allow helicopters to land on the helipad more easily. There was even a disco—it was 1979, after all. The estimates for the cost went…

Like a real-world version of The Avengers or Justice League, an international group of unlikely activists, some of them billionaires, have banded together to save our imperiled seas, which, by all accounts, are deteriorating at an increasingly alarming pace. Calling themselves the Philanthropic Ocean Research Vessel Operators—at least until they come up with a catchier name—they’re not waiting for governments to take action. Instead, they have applied their business knowhow to studying the seas and devising conservation projects to combat the ravages of climate change, over-fishing and the wholesale dumping of plastic. Wendy and Eric Schmidt, Kjell Inge Røkke, Andrew and Nicola Forrest, Victor Vescovo and Agnès Troublé are among those who have formed the loose coalition, comprised mainly of privately funded institutions, to bring a more coordinated approach to…

Sixteen years ago, Hubert Winston was standing on a beach in Dominica’s Prince Rupert Bay, watching a string of yachts sail by in the distance. “It looked like a flotilla,” recalls Winston, who had just moved back to the island from Florida. “They were traveling between Martinique and Guadeloupe, but not one of them ever stopped here. I didn’t understand that. We had so much to offer.” With no marinas or international airport, the lush, mountainous island represented a big X on superyacht charts. Captains were reluctant to venture to Dominica in case they had engine problems or couldn’t find a decent anchorage. They’d rather visit its French neighbors, with plenty of marinas, than gamble with the unknown, alluring as the green island looked from the distance. Even now Dominica…

My first of seven courses at Jua is a burst of smoke and texture, a seaweed-wrapped bite of prawn, uni, smoked trout roe, rice and pickled cucumber which dances somewhere between Western and Korean. It’s both luxurious and familiar, not just an introduction to chef Hoyoung Kim’s wood-fire-centered cooking but a concise illustration of Korean cuisine’s evolution in New York City. Korean restaurants have long been part of the fabric of New York dining, but the shift from traditional concepts, à la K-town barbecue, to chef-driven restaurants began about a decade ago. Though David Chang wasn’t cooking Korean food, his success with Momofuku Ko convinced Hooni Kim, who had worked at the critically acclaimed Daniel and Masa, that he could make serious, ingredient-driven Korean food without the trappings of fine…

There are few watchmaking designs more tangibly enjoyable than the Reverso. Conceived by Jaeger-LeCoultre in 1931, it’s instantly recognizable for its Art Deco flip face, created for British colonial officers stationed in India to safeguard the glass during leisure-hour polo matches. To celebrate the model’s 90th anniversary this year, watch expert and Robb Report contributor Nicholas Foulkes dived into the Reverso’s history to produce a sprawling tome, published by Assouline, dedicated to its timeless appeal. Foulkes spent about 18 months researching the book, which explores not only the model’s significant mechanical feats but its dual role as a canvas for personal expression, something for which the Reverso is still known today, well into an era that considers it a dress watch. Robb Report’s conversation with the author has been condensed…

With his latest venture, Axiom Space, former International Space Station program manager Michael Suffredini offers civilians the chance to become real-life rocketeers, undergoing up to 15 weeks of training before blasting off, in partnership with SpaceX, on a 10-day mission to the ISS. The price tag: $55 million. Enter New York company Roman & Erica, a discreet, high-end concierge firm authorized by Suffredini to help facilitate this überexclusive opportunity to the world’s wealthiest. Through Roman & Erica’s exclusive network, Axiom was introduced to one would-be civilian astronaut who purchased a spot on the mission, fulfilling a lifelong dream. “We do really interesting things for really interesting people,” says Roman Chiporukha with a shrug, describing the business he runs with his wife, Erica Jackowitz. Their namesake company isn’t a trip-booking service,…

Wending its way through Malibu, Southern California’s Pacific Coast Highway teems with the automotive equivalent of great white sharks, the sleek Ferraris, Lamborghinis and McLarens common to the daily commuting frenzy. But I’m behind the wheel of megalodon, bigger, badder and awesomely more powerful: the $3.96 million Bugatti Chiron Pur Sport. One of only 60 to be made, this Pur Sport further refines a model introduced in 2016. The Chiron has always been about mind-blowing stats, from the founding edition’s 261 mph top speed to an amount of carbon fiber that, stretched end to end, would reach the moon nine times over. But while the initial Chiron targeted the type of straight-line acceleration best suited to airport runways, the Pur Sport represents a decided turn toward, well, turns. The new…

“Bringing glass so low to the waterline is unheard of on a superyacht.” The term “freshwater yacht” was an oxymoron until J. David Weiss designed Invictus, a futuristic 80-footer that redefines large houseboats. Having penned dozens of oceangoing superyachts for Europe’s leading builders, Weiss was given carte blanche by Arizona-based Bravada Yachts to create a new freshwater category. “The designs have typically been boxy, bloated RVs,” he says. “The good news is their scale can provide a custom yacht experience.” The nearly $2 million Invictus has 3,200 square feet of space across two decks. The sprawling interior, with nine-foot ceilings, includes five staterooms, two full kitchens, customized daybeds and, true to its lake-boat DNA, a 15-foot water slide, while omnipresent glass delivers exceptional water views. Since even big lakes experience…

American-grown audio specialist JBL turns 75 this year, which is no small feat in an industry where technology transitions faster than Chopin’s “Minute Waltz.” To commemorate, the brand has released a pair of components that recall two of its classics, upgraded for the modern listener. As any design-conscious audiophile knows, one of JBL’s most iconic products is its midcentury-styled L100 loudspeaker, launched 51 years ago and made famous by the Maxell cassette-tape ad in which a listener, wearing shades and hunkered down in a Le Corbusier armchair, is blown back by the sound emanating from a single L100 on the floor. After decades out of production, that well-loved sound box was reintroduced in the fall of 2018; to honor its diamond anniversary, JBL has debuted a new version, the L100…

THERE’S A REASON that many of the world’s most sought-after watches are made in Switzerland, that Paris is the center of haute couture and that Japan is top-of-mind for lacquer-ware: The craftsmanship that rests at the heart of each of these disciplines enjoys a long history in its respective region. The same is true in Italy, where shipyards rely on the work of nearby furniture makers, tanneries and other artisans to ensure their cabins stand out. It’s a tradition that has long differentiated Italian yachts from their global competitors. “The reason why the Chinese and the Japanese [ship]yards—and they have great yards—have never managed to break into the [yacht] market is because of the industrial ecosystem that you find mostly in the north of Italy,” says Barbara Muckermann, chief marketing…

AS THE PANDEMIC and its restrictions strangled businesses large and small, an estimated 8 million more Americans fell into poverty from June to November last year, increasing the rate to almost 12 percent, or 22 percent for those without a college education. Meanwhile, the bank balances of the 600-plus American billionaires rose by more than $1 trillion in the 11-month period ending in mid-February, inflated by record-breaking stock markets. Elon Musk’s theoretical piggy bank is now $158 billion heavier than it was in March of last year, while Jeff Bezos became $76 billion richer, despite ceding a quarter of his Amazon stake to his ex-wife, Mac-Ken zie Scott. Yet it would be unfair to characterize America’s billionaire class as dragons sleeping out the crisis atop their glittering treasure mounds. Some…