Luxury

If you’re looking to launch a successful Kickstarter campaign the top Google search results will tell you that preparation and building pre-launch buzz is key, personal engagement and involvement with supporters is vital and, naturally, at the heart of it all there has to be a great idea. According to Kickstarter, 36% of campaigns are successful (meaning 64% fail) and of these only a small number exceed their goal.

You’re looking to buy your first ‘proper’ watch, a timepiece that can take you from work to work-out, casual evening in to serious dinner date out; a watch that can do it all. Your first mechanical watch should be the Essence Automatic Chronometer from Formex Swiss Watches; and here’s why …

When I first got my hands on the Ford Mustang 5.0L V8 GT Convertible 10SP Automatic in Triple Yellow I took it round the track at Millbrook to see how it performed in test conditions. It was impressive on the bowl track, comfortable, steady and very powerful. It was less impressive on the hill track, but it’s not built to tear up and down shoddy roads with inverse cambers and blind hill crescents. In real life conditions it is wonderful. The Mustang, as its name indicates, is bred for the wide open spaces and long roads, ideal for cruising in consummate style.

The Corum Admiral 45 Skeleton watch divides opinion, the quality of the movement is there for all to see but the design is more challenging for the more conservative watch collector. This piece has gumption, it is daring both in its architectural overtones, its use of materials and colours. If you are looking for something to break the status quo, Corum are taking the right risks, whilst backing it up with reputable quality and a solid brand history. This is a watch that will make people curious as to the timepiece on your arm!

A selection of fine whiskies from around the world to buy now. Most are not peaty whiskies (apart from the Lagavulin), but more akin to a fine cognac,  easy on the nose and palate, with a soft mellow flavour.
Ron Butlin , former Edinburgh Makar / Poet Laureate sums it up best with this beautiful poem.
Wring the Scottish rain clouds dry;
Take sleet, the driving snow, the hail;
Winter twilight; the summer's sun slowed down
to pearl-sheen dusk on hillsides, city-roofs,
on lochs at midnight.

The last year has been all about women and their underlying strength, which was reflected in the clothes, hair and make-up looks seen on the runways in Paris, London, Milan and New York. With animal prints, leather and cowboy fringes dominating the runways, the power woman is back this autumn - seen most evidently in the '80s silhouettes which had something of a revival (think bold shoulder lines and nipped in waists).

Best New Watches: Chopard Mille Miglia 2018 Race Edition

In a recent case, the Supreme Court in London (which is the highest court in the UK) was asked to decide on a matter in which a reference, given by a bank to its customer, was entirely incorrect. It is common for a party to ask a bank to give their opinion on the financial standing of another party, as part of a commercial transaction. Playboy Club, who asked the bank for an opinion on one of its casino gamblers via a third party, claimed that the bank had been negligent and sought compensation.  

Doesn’t it feel like watch brands emerge on Kickstarter like sand on the beach? They are all jostling for position with taglines like “revolutionary design”, “affordable luxury” or the promise to “disrupt the industry”. With Alpina successfully launching their latest smartwatch on Kickstarter, they demonstrated the crowdfunding potential for established watch brands.

The Ferrari 488 Spider in Italian opaque white (or Bianco Italia Opaco) with the Nero (black) interior is refined, almost discreet for a hyper-car. Glamorous without being flash, with curves in all the right places. The matt white keeps it low key so you can appreciate the curvaceous wheel arches and sinuous body without sunglasses. The elegant lines convey stately sports car sophistication. So it should as this mobile masterpiece comes out at £335,197 with the extras.