The Top Toys of Summer

Audi has brought back the RS (racing sport) badge and is affixing it—and all the superior performance capabilities it connotes—to the TT sports car. The Audi TT RS (www.audiusa.com) is powered by a 2.5-liter turbocharged 5-cylinder engine that produces 360 hp and 343 ft lbs of torque and enables the car to complete a zero-to-60-mph […]

Situated amid the faux antiquity of the Forum Shops at Caesars Palace, the Martin Lawrence Galleries Las Vegas (www.martinlawrence.com) is a genuine bastion of modernity. The business specializes in masterpieces from the 20th and 21st centuries and showcases works by Pablo Picasso, Marc Chagall, Roy Lichtenstein, and the father of Art Deco, Erté. The Las […]

Known for finding dazzling, colorful gemstones and setting them in voluminous one-of-a-kind designs, Milan-based Pomellato has introduced its sixth-annual Pom Pom collection (www.pomellato.com). The series of 12 rings, 11 bracelets, and three pairs of earrings is priced from $44,000 to $160,000. Several of the candy-like designs feature gemstones as large as jumbo gumballs. One ring […]

Italian clothing label Diesel, a sponsor of Ducati’s MotoGP team, collaborated with the motorcycle brand to create the rugged-looking Ducati Monster Diesel (www.ducati.com), which will arrive this summer. The $13,800 bike features a military-inspired color scheme of matte green and matte black. Like the Monster 1100 Evo on which it is based, the Diesel weighs […]

The Edwardian Room at New York’s Plaza Hotel is now home to a retail space by Angelo Galasso (www.angelogalasso.com). The room first opened as a men’s-only café in 1907 and later housed one of the city’s most romantic restaurants. Now it hosts the first U.S. outpost for the Italian menswear designer. The shop, which is […]

Noodles, a bouquet of flowers, and other commonplace items have inspired the furniture of Ken­neth Cobonpue. His latest line takes its cue from a knitting pattern. The Kenneth Cobonpue Cabaret collection (www.kennethcobonpue.com) includes armchairs, lounge chairs, and sofas made of fabric-wrapped foam tubes woven around steel frames. The tubes are laced around the edges of […]

Paulo Coelho has received the pen makers’ version of a Pulitzer: a pen honoring one of his books. Montegrappa’s The Alchemist collection (www.montegrappa.com) pays tribute to the author’s novel of the same name. The names and ancient symbols of alchemy’s seven primary metals are inscribed on the pen’s barrel. Montegrappa is offering 71 examples—the number […]

Making fine wine is a matter of balancing relationships, as Dan Kosta, Michael Browne, and Chris Costello—the cofounders of Kosta Browne—can attest. This trio’s adventure in viticulture began in 1997, when Browne and Kosta, both of whom worked as sommeliers for a restaurant in Santa Rosa, Calif., decided to buy a small quantity of Pinot […]

Pork lovers, rejoice: Spain’s top jamón, Cinco Jotas’s Jamón Ibérico de Bellota, is now available in the United States. Offered by La Tienda (www.tienda.com), a Virginia-based purveyor of foods from Spain, the ham comes from purebred pata negra pigs that are finished on a diet of acorns. The meat is salt-cured and aged three years […]

The novelty of Richard Mille’s latest chronograph, the labyrinthine RM 056 Felipe Massa Sapphire Tourbillon Split Seconds Competition Chronograph (www.richardmille.com), is clear. The approximately $1.7 million timepiece, named for the Formula 1 driver who also serves as a brand ambassador, features a case made of transparent synthetic sapphire that showcases Richard Mille’s most complicated mechanism: […]

In the world of fashion, the word cult is often thrown around, but never has the term been more appropriately applied than to men’s shoemaker Berluti. With a creation myth that describes founder Alessandro Berluti crafting shoes for a troupe of wandering acrobats before settling in Paris and opening a shop in 1895; a client […]

Except for the rows of unusual bottles arranged on pedestals throughout the ballroom, the large gathering in April at the Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong, could have been a reception for a trade conference or a diplomatic summit. People from around the globe mingled, as servers circulated silver trays of wine and colorful delicacies, such as […]

The good life lives on in the Caribbean, despite the fact that some of the region’s grandest real estate projects stalled or completely fell through during the recent housing-market crash. Amid the latest signs of recovery in the tropics are three vacation-home communities notable for their mix of well-appointed residences and resort-style conveniences.   The […]

Opened in 1961 in Toronto’s Yorkville district, the first-ever Four Seasons hotel has long been a source of pride for the city’s residents. But the former flagship of the now-legendary luxury brand has also long been considered the worst hotel in the 86-property chain. This fall, more than a half century after its debut, the […]

Quercus Alba, the North Amer­ican white oak, which can live to be as old as 600 years, played its small part in U.S. history by furnishing the raw material for the hull of the USS Constitution, the world’s oldest commissioned naval ship, launched in 1797. Yet, despite its longevity and notable associations, this tree is […]

“I felt a strong need to come by here today,” yogini and healer Diana Bourel announces as she enters the spa at the Hotel Guanahani on St. Barts. “Now I know why.”   Bourel and I met years ago on Anguilla, but I did not contact her when I arrived on St. Barts. The trade […]

The kill happens suddenly with a pounce and a hare’s tail dangling from one of our dogs’ mouths. Our group sits on horseback in an open field, with the jagged peaks of the Andes rising all around us. Fifteen minutes ago, we were speeding across Lago Azul on a 420 hp jet boat, on water […]

Bill Evans’s 1913 Isotta Fraschini Tipo IM fared better in the Alps this spring than it did in Indianapolis 99 years ago. Isotta Fraschini, an Italian manufacturer that produced automobiles in the first half of the last century, built three Tipo IMs to compete in the 1913 Indy 500, including the one that now belongs […]

Dick Coen hunted ducks before he hunted antique duck decoys. Boyhood memories of shooting excursions with his father led him to collect the carved and painted wood sculptures that are designed—usually—to lure game birds toward hunters’ blinds. Now 78, Coen owns one of the finest decoy collections in America. It includes a circa-1860 red-breasted merganser […]

Photo #1. From top: Mikimoto 18-karat white-gold ring with a baroque black South Sea cultured pearl and diamonds, $48,000 (888.701.2323, http://www.mikimotoamerica.com); Arunashi titanium ring with a South Sea pearl, opals, and diamonds, $28,800 (213.291.2391, http://www.arunashi.com). Photo #2/3. Clockwise from top: Marcy Miller 18-karat rose-gold earrings with baroque pearls and diamonds, $9,840 (626.497.8881, http://www.marcymillerjewelry.com); Tamsen Z […]

In late-19th-century paris, feathers were all the fashion. Artisans specializing in feather-related crafts flourished, furnishing affluent tastemakers with a variety of plume-bedecked articles ranging from sartorial accessories to picture frames. Today this once-thriving art is not entirely lost: One of its last remaining practitioners, Paris-based Nelly Saunier—best known for her work with couturiers and interior […]

1962 Morgan +4 Super Sports A real race-bred roadster, the Morgan +4 Super Sports offers great performance, possesses a storied competition history, and displays dashing good looks. After Chris Lawrence demonstrated his driving chops and tuning expertise with Morgan Motor Company cars during the late 1950s, company chairman Peter Morgan asked him to help develop […]

The latest version of Paul & Shark’s Typhoon 20000 jacket ($1,365) not only protects the dauntless seafarer from gusts of wind and rain, but also shields his mobile devices from the elements. Pockets on the inside and outside of the garment are made with a microthin membrane that prevents water penetration yet is comfortably breathable. In […]

It is a brilliant, sun-swept afternoon at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, site of today’s Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, and for the beautiful people of the Persian Gulf this is the place to be. Soon the stadium will fill with the heady aroma of high-octane exhaust and the earsplitting din of […]

The debut of the lavish Emirates Palace hotel (+971.2.690.9000, http://www.kempinski.com) in 2005 launched a luxury-hospitality boom in Abu Dhabi that is showing few signs of slowing down. In addition to Emirates Palace, the following are a few of our favorite places to stay and play in Abu Dhabi: Set just a few minutes from downtown […]

In this age of austerity in Greece, modern magnates are keeping a lower profile by decamping from hard-partying islands like Mykonos in favor of the more sedate coastal terrain around Porto Heli. Perfectly paired to this stretch on the Peloponnese peninsula is Amanzoe, a low-key but luxurious new retreat from Singapore’s Amanresorts.   Richly clad […]

Palais Namaskar is an oasis on the outskirts of Marrakech. Opened in April, the enchanting city resort occupies a tranquil 12-acre site located just a few miles from the bustling medina. The property’s groomed paths cut through Balinese-style gardens, and its Moorish- and Andalusian-influenced structures cast colorful reflections across the glassy surfaces of lakes and […]

Thirty years ago, Shenzhen was a little-known fishing village across the border from the then British colony of Hong Kong. Today the sprawling metropolis of 13.2 million in China’s Guangdong Province is a vital business hub that rivals even its renationalized neighbor. The city is also a popular stop for tourists visiting the Pearl of the […]

While other automakers claw for market share in an ever-more-homogenized industry, England’s Morgan Motor Company goes about business as usual—though there is nothing usual about a Morgan. As illustrated by the new Morgan 3 Wheeler, the company’s solutions for getting from point A to point B are as weird as they are wonderful. Derived from […]

This summer marks the beginning of the end of the sixth-generation Chevrolet Corvette, and it is departing with the roar of the Corvette 427 Convertible Collector Edition, billed as the fastest, best-performing convertible in the history of America’s favorite sports car. In addition to signifying the end of the line for the C6, which has […]

When a car’s lineage spans nearly 60 years, as the Mercedes-Benz SL-Class’s does, the launch of a new version of that vehicle is occasion for fanfare. While the sixth-generation Mercedes-Benz SL550 appears similar to its 2012 predecessor, much of the car is new, including two features—a windscreen and a tinting top—that can add to the […]

Winding through the Eastern Alps at elevations higher than 9,000 feet, the Stelvio Pass is one of Europe’s most scenic summer riding routes. But it also challenges riders with more than 80 breakneck S-turns. Moto Guzzi designed its Stelvio series of touring bikes, which launched in 2008, to handle such treacherous roads. The latest addition […]

The Atlantis 58, the new flagship of the Azimut Benetti Group’s Atlantis brand, offers a wealth of ways to enjoy the water this summer—from manning the helm as the vessel reaches speeds as fast as 40 knots to working up a sweat in the optional belowdecks gym before going for a swim. The 58-foot yacht’s […]

Dykstra & Partners, the Dutch naval architecture firm best known for its design of the 289-foot Perini Navi sailing yacht Maltese Falcon, has teamed with Leonardo Yachts, a new Dutch shipyard specializing in daysailers, to create a much smaller breed of sailboat. The 44-foot Leonardo Eagle 44 exhibits the classic lines of the J-Class racing […]

Because fashion designer James Perse, a Los Angeles native, enjoys surfing off the beaches of Malibu, it seemed only appropriate that, when he expanded his business to include sports accessories four years ago, he included surfboards in his Limited Edition collection. Given the growing popularity of stand-up paddleboarding, an offshoot of surfing, it now seems […]

Powered surfboards have become the must-have water toys for yacht owners and seaside dwellers, and no model offers a more impressive combination of speed and lightweight construction than the Jet Surf Factory GP 100. The board uses a 17 hp 100 cc gas-powered water-jet engine (similar to that of a Jet Ski or Sea-Doo) to […]

The new Triton 3300/3 submersible from Vero Beach, Fla.–based Triton Submarines might not reach the 6.8-mile depth that film director James Cameron achieved during his recent record-breaking descent into the Mariana Trench, but the 13-foot-long, 9.8-?foot-wide craft will provide a glimpse at an underwater world few have seen. The Triton’s 3300/3 numerical designation connotes its […]

Porsche fans’ choice of transportation once was limited to sports cars, but in recent years the options expanded to include an SUV and a sedan. Now Porschephiles can pedal to their destinations. Porsche Design Driver’s Selection, a line of Porsche-branded items ranging from clothing and luggage to model cars and golf bags, has introduced the […]

Ten years ago, Sang Yoon rose to fame with a glorious hamburger—his complex Father’s Office burger, named best in America by multiple critics—and his notorious refusal to serve ketchup with it, no matter who asked. His Father’s Office pubs are well suited to laid-back Southern California, but the French-trained chef also recently returned to fine […]

It is another gray afternoon in London, but the atmosphere on Savile Row is anything but gloomy. On the contrary, the world’s most distinguished avenue of fine tailoring is nearly pulsating with shoppers. A quartet of well-dressed men strides by, wearing fitted windowpane-plaid topcoats like those made here for centuries. Inside Gieves & Hawkes, the […]

LODGING The recently renovated, five-star hotel The Connaught (+44.20.7499.7070, http://www.the-connaught.co.uk) offers residential-style suites attended by private butlers, who can design shopping excursions or make en-suite appointments with Savile Row tailors. A little more under the radar is the Chesterfield Mayfair (+44.20.7491.2622, http://www.chesterfieldmayfair.com), a chic hideaway that has Savile Row clients in mind: Many of the […]

If the gentlemen of Gilded Age Newport had as their toys of summer splendid yachts, the latest motorcars, and stables of Thoroughbreds, then their coddled wives had their court jesters—single young men with no occupation other than to relieve these pampered matrons’ ennui during the brief interludes between fêtes champêtres, teas, and balls. Of these […]