InsideLux – The Luxury News Authority

Introducing a sequel to the ‘Dress’, Rimadesio has just unveiled the ‘Abacus’ its latest complete walk-in closet. Designed by Guiseppe Bacuso the ‘Abacus’ is a huge walk-in wardrobe made of Ecolorsystem, lacquered glass and is available in 30 colors.

Underneath all the glass, the ‘Abacus’ has a hidden aluminum structure with back panels of lacquered glass and suspended storage units crafted from the same material.  The shelves are of honeycomb aluminum so they are lightweight yet strong and there is an integrated LED lighting system that illuminates the closet and the accessories. The ‘Abacus’ makes every piece of yours easily accessible.

There are no ready descriptions for Square One Botanical, the new organic rye spirit from Square One Spirits. Like a gin the new spirit gets a kick from botanicals; it is infused with eight organic botanicals – pear, rose, chamomile, lemon verbena, lavender, rosemary, coriander and citrus peel for an experience that is softer than gin. Square One Botanical sells for around $40 and the website includes a variety of recipes for using it. The floral notes make it a good match for fresh fruit and juices to make refreshing summer cocktails.

Other spirits in the Square One family include Square One Organic Vodka, Square One Cucumber and Square One Botanical; Square One Spirits have been described as progressive organic spirits for the new generation of cocktails and mixology.

Vertu has added a new phone to its popular Ascenti Ti collection named Vertu Ascent Ti Damascus Steel. Built using an “ancient steel forging” technique that increases the strength and hardness of the metal; the Ti Damascus Steel comes hand-etched, the same technique used to make Samurai and Indian Wootz swords.

Technical specification

QVGA display
S40 UI
GSM/UMTS connectivity
3.2MP camera with LED flash
4GB of internal memory.

Only 100 units of the Ascent Ti Damascus Steel will be made available through Vertu stores.

The new Swarovski collection has a multitude of watches but the most hip and urban is easily this D: Light Digital Watch.

Available in two models, the D: Light Digital Watch comes with 171 shiny Swarovski crystals and Swiss quartz movements. The gold and stainless steel models are priced at $1,700 and $1,500, respectively.

China’s first urban resort, the PuLi Hotel and Spa is set to open this June. The hotel includes the “Long Bar”, Shanghai’s longest selection of vintage and non-vintage wines and champagnes by the glass, a heated infinity pool overlooking JingAn Park, a health club and a library.

The 209-room PuLi Resort and Spa offers simple and authentic touches of historic and cultural references sitting side by side with new benchmarks in innovation, leading edge technology and design.

The most lavish room being the Jing’An Suite costs close to $3,000 and boasts two master bedrooms each with its own walk-in closet, a separate living room, large dining table and well-stocked mini-bar.

An opening special includes one additional night with every night paid, complimentary breakfast, mini bar and wireless internet access as well as a dinner by award-winning chef Dane Clouston in Jing’An Restaurant and a spa treatment at the Anantara Spa.
Prices start from $650 with opening specials available until the end of September.

There’s always been something about motorcycles that brings out the ‘bad’ side of its rider and this new limited edition Ducati Monster is no different. Another brainchild of designer Christian Audigier, the Ducati Monster 1100 takes motorcycle art to a whole new level with its vibrant and colorful tattoo-inspired design.

The tattooed art is a mixture of airbrush and vinyl; the gas tank features a detailed gold leaf that has been carefully laid and then brushed to give it a distinctive “fish scale” look.

The Ducati Monster 1100 is priced at $55,000.

Lamborghini just launched the Super Trofeo Series this year to let its most affluent customers exercise their need for speed on the race track; the series is made up of 30 specially-prepared Gallardo LP560-4 race cars sponsored by Swiss watchmaking atelier Blancpain. To commemorate this collaboration, Blancpain has launched a special-edition Chronograph called the Blancpain Super Trofeo Chronograph. The watch is distinctive in an understated way compared to other automotive-themed wristwatches; the case is covered in Diamond Like Carbon (DLC), the straps made of the same Alcantara suede used in the race car’s cockpit and the face is dominated by the 9 and 12 o’clock indicators. Two pushbutton actuators, one red and one carbon operate the bespoke Calibre F185 automatic chronograph movement. Only 300 of the Blancpain Super Trofeo Chronograph will be made available.

To mark the opening of its new flagship store in Shanghai, Gucci has introduced a limited edition “Shanghai Dragon Bag”. A version of the sort after Boston Bag in white with two red Dragons facing each other in a symmetrical fashion and the Gucci signature in the middle, underneath is a bright red column.

Inspiration for the design comes from ancient Chinese Symbolism including the use of prosperous red, a sign of good luck.

The shanghai store will be Gucci’s 28^th store in China

Swiss watch maker Vacheron Constantin launched Métiers d’Art, the Masks timepieces in 2007 to celebrate human history and culture; since then it has released the Les Masques collection as a set of four watches, one set released each year in a limited edition of 25 for 3 years.

This year sees the launch of the third and final set which is limited like the others to a 4 piece set of 25; the latest pieces are:

From left: OCEANIA – INDONESIA, ASIA – CHINA, AMERICAS – MEXICO and AFRICA – GABON.

The miniature masks were created by scanning the originals to get a three-dimensional image and then a prototype was given to an engraver who meticulously carved the masks to replicate the exact look of the ancient artifacts.

The final Métiers d’Art timepieces possess a VC 2460 G4 Calibre, a self-winding mechanism and a Poinçon de Genève Stamp. They are housed in 18K yellow gold for the China Mask, 18K white gold for the Indonesia Mask, 950 Platinum for the Mexico Mask and 5N 18K pink gold for the Gabon Mask.

France’s esteemed Chateau Cheval Blanc is auctioning off rare vintages through Sothebys on June 17th at Sothebys London.

Château Cheval Blanc dates to 1832 when it was acquired from the Figeac estate; they have won medals in the London and Paris International Exhibitions between 1862 and 1867 which are still displayed on the labels today.

The auction will feature over 1,000 bottles from nearly a century of vintages including the 1921, 1928, 1947 and 1949; each comes in an original wooden case.

Older vintages (1900 to 1976) have recently been re-labeled and re-capsuled at Cheval Blanc. Some of the older bottles have been recorked and sometimes topped up with a wine of the same vintage over the past few decades.

International Head of Wine at Sotheby’s, Serena Sutcliffe MW, is quoted as saying: “We are honored to be offering this unique collection of Cheval Blanc that has never before left the cellars at the Château. Cheval Blanc is a wine like no other; it has opulence, finesse and enormous originality.”

I suspect wine collectors will be coming out of the wood work for this one.

Via Luxist.