Luxury

To the layman, Colombian emeralds have always been touted as being the best of the best, up there in mystique with Golconda diamonds, Burmese rubies and Kashmiri sapphires. However, to add interest to the mix and not a little confusion, African (and especially Zambian) emeralds have carved out a considerable niche in the jewellery world.

Matthew Lloyd-Winder, a South Mimms-based stained glass artist who coined the term 'Winderlite', displays his extraordinary illuminated stained glass work at the Grand Designs Live at London's ExCel centre in Docklands this week until Sunday 8 May 2016. The artist’s appearance at this year’s show follows up his stand at the same event in 2015 where his innovative and cutting-edge pieces of work were also on display.

It is surprising that John Markey became a race driver, given that he was 13 before his family owned a car, his father hated driving and his mother never drove. Maybe that is what created such a desire to drive and to drive fast?

Givori, the luxury smartphone designer, has expanded its range to include Android-powered devices with the launch of the Samsung Galaxy S7 edge ‘Carbon’ series. It is all designed and touted to combine “masculine design” and exotic leather with the latest in smartphone technology to deliver that “opulent mobile experience” - at a price of nearly $2,000 a pop.

The jewellery auction season is upon us and this year Sotheby’s and Christie’s are going head to head with some of the most magnificent stones seen on the market for some time. I have previously written about the high demand for investment grade spectacular gemstones and the pieces on offer are sure to whet the appetite of collectors. Each of the auction houses is presenting a stunning array of jewels, but for me the most special ones are the large coloured diamonds and precious stones.

On the way back from the ‘Trans-Antarctic’ photographic exhibition at the Royal Geographic Society late this February, which is a stones throw from the Albert Hall, I stopped by Daquise café and restaurant (www.daquise.co.uk) with a friend to taste some Polish fare. It didn’t disappoint.

Bentley unveils the revised Continental GT Speed, raising the bar even further in terms of exclusivity and performance. The fastest production Bentley ever, with a top speed of 206 mph (331 km/h), now delivers even more power and torque, and a striking new Black Edition model joins the Speed family.

In the last 20 years, jewellery has experienced an explosion of creativity and innovation not seen since the heady days of the Belle Epoque, when new diamond cutting techniques and the innovative use of platinum for setting raised the look of jewels to heights of dazzle and delicacy never seen before.
The three main reasons for this have been the great strides made in manufacturing technology, the enormous increase in interest in unusual coloured stones and a surge in demand for bespoke pieces.

Bugatti is celebrating a world premiere at the Geneva International Motor Show: the French luxury brand is unveiling the Bugatti Chiron, the most powerful, fastest, most luxurious and most exclusive production super sports car in the world.
 

McLaren launched the brand new and exciting 570GT in Geneva today, but they gave a lucky few a sneak preview over a month ago at the Hurlingham club.