KIRSTIE SWINNERTON

THE GIFT A solid-gold chalice from the 17th-century Santa Margarita shipwreck. $1.3 million The fantasy of sunken treasure lured Mike DeMar, a 20-year-old diver from Seattle, across the country and into the sparkling blue-green waters off Key West, Fla. It was June 2008, and he was the rookie on a shipwreck-exploration team tracking underwater trails […]

For tropical vacations, Sir Richard Branson escapes to his private Necker Island in the Caribbean. But when he hears the call of the mountains, the founder of the Virgin conglomerate heads to Verbier, Switzerland. Broad and accessible off-piste terrain, a sociable community of English-speaking expats, and a central European location have made this Alpine resort […]