Table of contents for November 2020 in Robb Report

Gioncarlo Valentine An award-winning American photographer and writer, Valentine has been influenced by his seven years of social-work experience, focusing on issues faced by marginalized populations, most often the Black and LGBTQIA+ communities. For this issue, he photographed conceptual artist Adam Pendleton in his Brooklyn studio, where the painter was hard at work piecing together his first show at David Kordansky Gallery in Los Angeles (“In the Studio With Adam Pendleton,” p. 32). Valentine is a regular contributor to The New York Times and has also been commissioned by WSJ magazine, The New Yorker, Esquire and many other publications. Dora Fung Fung is Robb Report’s acting photo director. Of the many projects she took on this month, coordinating the photo shoot with architect Sir David Adjaye was particularly notable (“A…

Not everyone in Silicon Valley is rocking an Apple Watch. In fact, if you run into a member of Collective Horology, a close-knit and highly secretive watch-collectors club born in the country’s technology epicenter, you might spot anything from a vintage Patek to a new high-horology piece to something even more rare: an exclusive collaboration with a major watchmaker. Collective founders Asher Rapkin and Gabe Reilly, Facebook’s director of global business marketing and creative product lead, respectively, began their watch journeys the old-fashioned way: through family. Rapkin was inspired by his grandfather’s gold Omega Seamasters, while Reilly obsessed over his brother’s obviously fake Rolex “Coke” GMT-Master—bought, he says, from “a guy selling ‘Rolexes’ out of a briefcase outside Bloomingdale’s.” But when the childhood friends found themselves working together at Facebook,…

BATTERIES INCLUDED IN 2005, Michael Köhler turned away from the diesel engines that had been powering his boats for 23 years and went instead with solar power, an idea that seemed laughable, given the technology’s limitations at the time. But after five years of testing and development, Köhler’s Solarwave 46 became the world’s first solar-powered yacht. Does a builder design for dawdling speeds or for velocity, with an equally fast power drain? Since then, his Silent Yachts brand has become larger and ever-more luxurious, running bow-to-bow with traditional motoryachts. The new 80-foot tri-deck has a spacious salon and six staterooms, six-and-a-half-foot ceilings and unlimited cruising potential, since the lithium-ion batteries powering the 250 kw electric motors recharge on the go (and for free) courtesy of the yacht’s 1,227 square feet…

As the 19th century progressed, a complicated pocket watch became the must-have tech gadget for the super-rich and a sine qua non of the great World’s Fairs. For a brand that is widely seen as one of the most, if not the most, conservative of watchmakers, Patek Philippe still manages to shake things up admirably. Take this past spring and summer. After industry “pundits” confidently predicted that Patek would not be launching anything new this year, the company dropped a limited-edition steel time-and-date watch to celebrate the opening of its new manufacturing building. Then, just before he took his summer break, president Thierry Stern e-mailed his clients to let them know he was unveiling three more watches, each with a superlative complication: a minute repeater, a split-seconds chronograph, a new…

Kahawa 1893 SAN FRANCISCO Margaret Nyamumbo was born into a family of coffee farmers in Kenya. Eventually, she headed to the States, graduated from Harvard Business School and went into finance. But she couldn’t stay away from coffee. She founded Kahawa 1893 to import beans directly from Kenya, giving a more equitable share to the people who grow them, especially women in the industry. If you really like the coffee, there’s a QR code that comes with it so you can send a tip directly to the farmer’s e-wallet. OUR PICK: Kenyan Peaberry, tasting of blackberry, citrus and honey Onyx Coffee Lab ROGERS, ARK. Northwest Arkansas has become a magnet for coffee excellence. The winners of the 2020 US Coffee Championships in the barista and brewer competitions both work at…

Volcanic soils cover less than one percent of the Earth’s surface, yet wines from grapes cultivated on the slopes of ancient volcanoes have a sizable reputation among oenophiles. Thanks to the fertile, mineral-rich soils, volcanic wines have a distinctive profile that leans toward the savory, with herbal notes and touches of salt and brine. Here, five regions bringing the heat. IRPINIA, ITALY VOLCANO: Mount Vesuvius WHAT TO KNOW: Home to the only active volcano on the European mainland, which famously destroyed Pompeii and Herculaneum in 79 C.E., this Neapolitan region is known for the red Aglianico grape as well as three white varieties: Falanghina, Fiano and Greco di Tufo. Both red and white wines here are noted for ripe fruit flavors, distinct minerality and notes of dried herbs. ONE TO…

B&B ITALIA, a manufacturer with a long history of crafting bespoke furnishings, is reaching into its backstory as it opens a different kind of store. The firm’s new Miami flagship is the first of its retail spaces to offer a fresh way of customizing its products, allowing buyers to refine and remodel individual pieces exactly to their liking through both digital and physical touchpoints. The beating heart of the operation is the Tailor’s Room, where clients meet with the design team and see their own ideas rendered on the big screen, while handling various samples to get the feel of any textiles or finishes they’re considering. For inspiration, the showroom features pieces from B&B Italia’s oeuvre, including collections from its sister brands Maxalto and Arclinea. The latest standouts are the…

SpaceShuttleTwo’s interior design didn’t look to aviation but to sport clothing and modern furniture. AERION AND BOOM, the two front-runners in the revived supersonic-aviation race, could have some serious competition if the speed of Virgin Galactic’s new Mach 3 business jet matches the company’s projection of 2,300 mph. (How fast is that, exactly? Try New York to London in 90 minutes.) The renderings of the delta-wing design show a sleek profile, with an interior that will hold up to 19 passengers. Virgin is working with Rolls-Royce, which developed the original Concorde’s engines, on a new design intended to reach Mach 3 using sustainable aviation fuel, and recently passed a Mission Concept Review with NASA—a first (though very early) step toward FAA certification. “We believe that high-speed commercial flight is the…

A little more than a decade ago, David Adjaye hovered on the verge of bankruptcy, his budding architectural practice devastated by the Great Recession. “Budgets were slashed,” he recalls. “I was employing about 30 people at that time and had about six decent projects, which was a lot for a young architect. But I was winging it. I wasn’t a businessperson. I lost all my savings, going through the insolvency system and paying off everyone personally.” It was a rough comedown for an architect whose early works had gained notice for their rigorous and subversive designs. But only a year later, in 2009, Adjaye won the heated competition to design the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C., marking a stunning reversal of his fortunes.…

Wally’s is the place in Los Angeles to be and be seen this holiday season. You can go anytime of the day or night to both the Beverly Hills and Santa Monica locations for a delicious meal, glass of wine, or to shop for incredible gifts. Wally’s combines the best of several worlds- an extensive wine and spirits shop, an artisanal cheese, caviar, and gourmet market, and a great restaurant all woven together in harmony. There are thousands of wines adorning the walls and communal Carrara marble tables where movie stars are sitting next to math teachers. Their goal, though, is to make everyone feel like a star. Wally’s reputation as one of the world’s leading gift destinations reigns supreme. Their unrivaled selection of wine, spirits, accessories, and gourmet foods…

Travel, at least as we knew it, was on pause for much of this year, with many planned hotel openings delayed. The silver lining: All being well, next year is likely to be jam-packed with high-end hospitality debuts. “There’s an added appeal to new hotels right now,” says Jules Maury, who runs the travel firm Scott Dunn Private. “They have that ring of being fresh and clean.” Here, nine standouts welcoming guests for the first time in 2021, plus one that has just opened, for those who simply can’t wait. Travelers’ current yen for adventurous, outdoorsy experiences where social distancing is the default is likely to continue for a while yet. The ultimate mecca for such, says Maury, is the newest luxury resort on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, Pelorus, opening…

A well-worn Barbour jacket is an unassailable grail for a certain sect of menswear enthusiasts. But this fall, the waxed-cotton classic has found itself bested—by Barbour itself. Gold Standard is a sub-brand that stands as the pinnacle of Barbour’s technical knowhow. More than souped-up versions of old favorites, it can be seen as Barbour with no holds barred. “It’s the essence of what we’re about in terms of fabrication, cut, intelligent design,” says Ian Bergin, the brand’s director of menswear, footwear and accessories. “We’re producing super-versions of some of our most well-loved styles.” In Barbour’s book, utility is the ultimate luxury. While Gold Standard’s materials have a decidedly tonier look—waxed canvas alongside Scottish tweed, oiled leather and corozo buttons—the real difference isn’t immediately apparent. Each of the 10 jackets in…

Roman jewelry designer Fabio Salini has built a name for himself over the last two decades designing works of art for the ears, neck, wrist and fingers. He is known for combining unusual materials like copper, titanium, cord and carbon fiber with traditional gemstones in futuristic, sculptural-looking shapes that deliver a high-impact aesthetic. He honed his skills at revered houses like Cartier and Bulgari, before venturing out on his own in 1999 and establishing a visual code so unique that Phillips is dedicating an entire selling exhibition to his pieces, slated for some time next year. But when he’s not busy crafting exceptional jewelry, he spends his time relaxing at his calming Sicilian villa, which he designed from the ground up with an architect and decorated himself. The modernist structure…

MAYBE IT’S no accident that some of the most delicious culinary spaces come from the country that has given the world so many of its great dishes: Italy. Italian craftsmanship meets Scandinavian style in this kitchen collaboration between Officine Gullo and interiors firm Himlekök for a house in Askim, Sweden. Every detail was customized for the client, from the height of the countertops to the rounded edges of the island for easier movement between cooking and social spaces. Black granite surfaces—including a discreet hood built into the wall above the range—add moodiness and contrast with the hand-burnished brass elements. The double sink was hand-welded and inspired by Officine Gullo’s Florentine heritage of working with noble metals. Another Italian brand, Scavolini, partnered with chef Carlo Cracco to mastermind the sleek and…

Most everyone has a vehicle that’s close to the heart, whether it’s the poster car that hung on an early bedroom wall or the first car you could call your own. Mine is the massive, stately sedan I drove on the first date with my now wife. Actually, the car was the date: Sitting under the Starlight Headliner of a 2017 Rolls-Royce Ghost, we spent hours lost in conversation, the romantic cabin providing escape without ever needing to leave the driveway. So when it was announced that the Ghost, first introduced in 2009, had been redesigned according to the trendy minimalism Rolls-Royce has termed “post-opulence,” I was hardly elated. Sure, the storied automaker is catering to an increasingly younger clientele (average age: 42), but why strip anything from the brand’s…

I want to love modern watches. I really do. I promise I’m not one of those middle-aged grumblers who think that anything created after about 1968 is automatically garbage. I like my art, architecture and car design so modern it makes me uncomfortable at first, but I don’t want anything so edgy on my wrist. The watches I covet are all vintage, and the new releases I’d consider buying are mostly retro reissues. Given how classic-watch values have risen and watch brands are pillaging their back catalogs for inspiration, it seems I’m not alone. I feel sorry for modern watch designers. For me, watch design peaked in 1957, with the launch of the Omega Speedmaster. I’m thinking of heartland-guy wristwear here: the classic, functional “tool” watches that many men favor…

As in the court of the Sun King, Andy Warhol’s acolytes sought constant affirmation from their iconoclast friend and benefactor. Working with him in New York in the 1980s, Marc Balet, art director of Warhol’s Interview magazine at the time, remembers trying to impress him by showing off the Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso watch he had just bought on a trip to Switzerland. “I wore it to the Factory,” he tells Robb Report, referring to the artist’s famed studio, where his circle congregated. “I was so proud of it and wanted him to see my most prized possession and be jealous. He looked at it and shrugged: ‘Oh, yeah. I have some of those.’ ” He certainly did. After his death in 1987 from complications following gallbladder surgery, 313 watches were found…

BROWNE TRADING COMPANY ORA KING SALMON Raised in the crystal waters of Marlborough Sound in New Zealand, this farmed salmon has become the fish so many great chefs covet. Some refer to it as “Wagyu of the sea” because of its high fat percentage (it has the highest Omega-3 content of all salmon species) but also because of its balance between sweet and umami flavors and buttery texture, which makes it a natural fit for serving as sushi or crudo. Because it’s farmed, Ora King is available year-round through Browne Trading in four-pound fillets or whole fish (scaled and gutted). Every Ora King is tagged and traced, so quality and provenance are assured. JUNE RODIL Franz Hirtzberger 2014 Hochrain Riesling Smaragd, Wachau, Austria “It would be so easy to go…

Cars and watches aren’t so different. Both feature serious feats of engineering, and the two worlds have long collaborated to create timepieces that take design cues from beloved autos. Among them are two recent entries: the all-black Roger Dubuis Excalibur Huracán, which is inspired by the Lamborghini, and Hublot’s Big Bang Ferrari 1000 GP in white gold, a tribute to Scuderia Ferrari’s 1,000th Grand Prix. These Italian automakers certainly have a whole lot of history between them, but how do their watches fare in a head-to-head?…