Touring with Force

Michael Ault is the son of a Van Cleef and the stepson of Dean Witter. As such, the 48-year-old nightclub owner and promoter spent his childhood jetting between New York, London, Palm Beach, Fla., and other chic locales, absorbing the finer points of hospitality that he would later put to good use. His background in […]

We begin to age from the moment we are born. This law of nature also governs the life cycle of single-malt Scotch—those often prized whiskies that have been pot-distilled in Scotland by a single distillery. For these popular spirits, “birth” occurs when the distillate is poured into oak casks, where it must remain for a […]

The roads begin twisting and the architecture shrinks as my taxi snakes through the weathered shophouses of Singapore’s Chinatown. The historic neighborhood was almost demolished last decade to make way for more of the skyscrapers that sparkle in the distance on all sides. But these colorful remnants of a colonial past survived, and now they […]

“We have to go see Mr. Duck,” says Magnus Nilsson. I have just arrived in Jämtland, located about halfway up Sweden’s western coast, and have only begun to acquaint myself with this young chef who looks like a Malibu surfer but wears a Russian fur hat and packs a rifle in the back of his […]

British-built lotus road cars have long been known for their light weight and nimble handling. The Evora, introduced in 2009 as the company’s first all-new production model since 1995, embodies both of these virtues. The recently launched Evora S has more of a third quality for which Lotuses are not renowned: power. Lotus has fastened […]

At the turn of the 20th century, Joseph Marchak was known as the Cartier of Kiev, a talented jeweler and craftsman of gold and silver objets d’art with a following that included the elite of Russia. He opened his first workroom in 1878, when he was just 24, and continued to create finely wrought gold […]

The Pershing brand has been synonymous with high-performance sport yachts for more than 25 years. But with its 2011 model line, the Italian builder—a subsidiary of the yachting conglomerate Ferretti Group—is looking beyond its fast-and-furious past to a more refined future. The brand’s new semicustom flagship model, the Pershing 108, marks this shift toward efficiency […]

As my one-man outrigger canoe capsized in the Bora-Bora lagoon, I remembered the first rule of Kainalu XT training: Respect the water. I had gone into the paddling session with the mind-set of an experienced kayaker—overconfident and in control, rather than attuned to the subtleties of an unfamiliar canoe in unknown waters. Even in the […]

The Hilot therapy at the Aman Spa at Amanpulo, a 40-villa private-island resort in the Philippines, begins in a hearty bath of guava, calamondin leaves, ginger slices, and lemongrass. Bathers submerge up to their necks and marinate for 20 minutes, then follow their soak with a deep-tissue massage designed to flush out toxins from the […]

Convention has never defined the work of Christian Lacroix. Before his famed fashion house fell into bankruptcy in 2009, the couturier paraded everything from 18th-century-inspired courtesan dresses and Romanian gypsy costumes to Spanish toreador boleros down the Paris runways. So it is fitting that when the quirky and irrepressible French designer decided to try his […]

The most complicated and expensive timepiece to issue from the doors of IWC Schaffhausen has a deceptively simple face, featuring a large tourbillon cage that gently rotates in one-second increments thanks to a constant-force device. “When we started this project, the idea was to make a horologically pure tourbillon,” says Mario Klein, a product manager […]

When the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art opens in Bentonville, Ark., on November 11, it will not just herald the arrival of a major new museum; it will admit the Walton family to an exclusive club that includes the Gettys, the Rockefellers, and the du Ponts. While many wealthy people collect art and support […]

Since the dawn of the Internet, the only thing that has distinguished the luxury online shopping experience for men has been the price tag. Looking for a Louis Vuitton scarf or Hermès necktie has meant trolling the digital equivalent of the local shopping mall, a landscape of cluttered windows, empty shelves, and nearly nonexistent customer […]

ESPN analyst and former major-league ballplayer John Kruk once dubbed Dennis Gilbert’s house “Cooperstown West.” Indeed, hundreds, perhaps thousands—Gilbert has lost count—of photos, jerseys, bats, balls, and other baseball mementos fill the Los Angeles–area estate where the legendary sports agent lives with his wife of 33 years, Cindi. Dennis played in the minor leagues from […]

Los Angeles’ biggest patron of the arts is Eli Broad, the billionaire philanthropist and megacollector. Anyone who doubts this will find supporting evidence all around town: He is a founding chairman of the Museum of Contemporary Art and bankrolled the Broad Contemporary Art Museum at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art; he provided major […]

Unusual among book collectors because he did not grow up in a book-laden household, Dr. Gerald Dorros also did not begin collecting until he was in his late 50s. But since starting in 2000, the cardiologist, now 69 years old, has assembled a wide-ranging library that contains Western Americana, children’s titles, literary classics, and American […]

When speaking of his car collection, Roger Morrison refers to himself as the autos’ custodian, not their owner. Collector cars can offer history lessons, he says, so he feels a responsibility to preserve them. The collection under his care numbers about two dozen, including veterans, old Fords, European and American sports cars, and historically significant […]

A high-energy Champion of emerging artists, Dean Valentine began collecting just 16 years ago but quickly became an independent collector to watch. He was among the first to appreciate Takashi Murakami and John Currin, and his sharp eye regularly lands him on ARTnews’ list of the world’s top 200 collectors. Born in Bucharest, Romania, and […]

Jewelry and gemstones have always led double lives: They are a kind of currency, particularly in times of political or economic turmoil (witness the rising value of precious metals, diamonds, and rare gems today), and they are the most sentimental of treasures, given as gifts of love or cherished as family heirlooms. Fiona Druckenmiller, a major […]

A doctor of psychology, educator, economist, management consultant specializing in consumer psychology, and self-described “serial entrepreneur,” Thomas Mao prides himself on bridging cultures as well as professions. His wide-ranging skill set and boundless energy exhibit themselves in a frenetic schedule that has him traveling continually between his home in China and regular destinations in other […]

Aston Martin believes in choices. The company already offered an embarrassment of riches ranging from the V-8-powered Vantage to the million-dollar-plus One-77. Now England’s winged wonder—with deference to badges worn by Morgan and Bentley vehicles—has further expanded its selection by introducing the V-12-powered Virage. The new model is available as the two-door hardtop Coupe or […]

  If you were to transport an Inca chief from the steps of a pre-Columbian pyramid to the bar of the Club Nacional in Lima, Peru, he would feel right at home. Give him a coat and a tie, and he would fit right in among the city’s power elite. The long flights of steps, […]

On July 27, 1798, a convoy of 29 carts entered Paris through the present-day Quai d’Austerlitz, carrying a curious cargo that spanned much of the history of Western culture. This payload, which officials had hoped would arrive before the newly inaugurated Bastille Day celebration, had been the topic of fervid debate among the leaders of […]