Month: April 2009

Filed under: Wheels

Fans of James Bond movies have a new place to indulge their obsession. The Bond museum opens this weekend in England. The Bond Museum will host of vehicles and gadgets used in the series of action films. It is located on the site of a former supermarket in Keswick. The museum features a convertible Triumph Stag driven by Sean Connery in “Diamonds Are Forever” as well as the Russian T55 battle tank from “GoldenEye,” and the original Colibri gun from “The Man with the Golden Gun.” The Lotus Esprit Turbo from “The Spy Who Love Me” will also be exhibited along with a few of Bond’s Aston Martins. The owner of the museum, Peter Nelson has been collecting Bond memorabilia for years and also runs the Cars of the Stars motor museum in Keswick and you can see a bit of the collection on that website.

James Bond Museum Opening This Weekend originally appeared on Luxist on Sat, 04 Apr 2009 10:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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Filed under: Journeys

One of the key amenities at luxury hotels and condo complex is often the fancy cars they drive you around in. At one Ritz-Carlton that it is set to change. At the Ritz-Carlton in White Plains developer Louis Cappelli has said that the chauffeur-driven Rolls Royce Silver Spur and Bentley Continental GT that residents of the condo towers have been able to use will be replaced. Cappelli is quoted in The Journal News as saying that now is not the time for excess and that the cars project the wrong image. As he puts it: “it is not Rolls Royce and Bentley time right now. It’s Town Car time.”

Cappelli says the lease on each car is just ,500 a month because the owner, Miller Motorcars in Greenwich, Connecticut wanted their cars outside the Ritz. Some owners are said to be a bit perturbed by the change but they can take comfort in the fact that Cappelli may also be returning his personal Bentley to the dealer once the lease is up in a couple months.

Ritz-Carlton Developer Declares It’s Town Car Time originally appeared on Luxist on Sat, 04 Apr 2009 09:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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Filed under: Estates, Celebrity Shopping

Rocker, actor and activist Henry Rollins has put his Craftsman-style Hollywood Hills house (above) on the market for .15 million, Big Time Listings reports. The 2,100-sq.-ft. spread is surprisingly banal considering it’s inhabited by the former frontman of seminal punk band Black Flag. Then again, Rollins is almost 50 years old. The three-bed, two-bath house in Nichols Canyon, built in 1947, features an open floor plan with lots of windows looking over the lush .39 acres with a natural year-round spring fed creek. Other features include two brick fireplaces, a large brick patio, vaulted wooden-beamed ceilings and skylights. Rollins purchased the house in 1999 for 0,000, and has apparently already gotten an acceptable offer on it.

Rocker Henry Rollins Lists His Hollywood House originally appeared on Luxist on Sat, 04 Apr 2009 08:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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Filed under: Auctions, Celebrity Shopping, Art

Artist-turned-director Julian Schnabel has a problem, he can’t sell his apartments. We’ve discussed Schnabel’s folly, the rose-colored Palazzo Chupi multiple times and a recent Huffington Post piece revealed that the penthouse has now been discounted from million to million. The real estate downturn is prompting Schabel to part with one of his dearest possessions, his prized Picasso. Schnabel bought Femme au Chapeau way back in 1989. The nearly six-foot canvas painted when Picasso was nearly 89 mirrors Schnabel’s own penchant for creating outsize works.

Schnabel has had the painting in his home for 20 years and the New York Times reports that it most recently hung in his living room in Palazzo Chupi. It will be sold Christie’s auction on May 6 and is estimated to bring million to million. Schnabel told the Times that the sale of the painting will take care of a loan he took out with Commerce Bank that used part of his art collection, including the Picasso, as collateral.

No Sale At Chupi Forces Julian Schnabel To Sell His Picasso originally appeared on Luxist on Fri, 03 Apr 2009 22:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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Filed under: Wine

After twenty years of grappling over the trade agreement between winemakers in Europe and the U.S., 2005 marked the beginning of a somewhat peaceful understanding between the two markets — with a few conditions. At that time the words ‘Champagne’, ‘Burgundy’, ‘Port’ and ‘Sherry’ were no longer allowed to be used in America. Just this past month the EU added another restriction to American winemakers’ verbage. Wines bearing these words on their labels will no longer be sold in Europe:

‘chateau’, ‘classic’, ‘clos’, ‘cream’, ‘crusted/crusting’, ‘fine’, ‘late bottled vintage’, ‘noble’, ‘ruby’, ‘superior’, ‘sur lie’, ‘tawny’, ‘vintage’ or ‘vintage character.’

Bureaucracy at its finest. I certainly understand protecting rights to regions but not simple words with more than a location’s name at heart.

European Union Extends U.S. Wine Restrictions originally appeared on Luxist on Fri, 03 Apr 2009 21:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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Filed under: Wine

Paris Hilton once dipped herself in gold for an ad campaign to promote Rich Prosecco, a sparkling wine in a can but that may not have been enough. The Sun reports that 30,000 units of the canned wine are sitting in a warehouse in Serbia. They say that a Stockport auctioneer has been given the task of offering up the wine at discount prices. So far the cans are only offered in batches of at least 5,000 and they expire in May.

Paris Hilton’s Prosecco Going Cheap originally appeared on Luxist on Fri, 03 Apr 2009 20:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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Filed under: Real Estate Developments

Downtown Los Angeles got a big boost this week with a proposal for a -billion hotel, office and retail project. The project from Korean Air is being developed by Thomas Properties Group. The two skyscrapers would replace the Wilshire Grand hotel and adjoining offices being used by Korean Air. The project would be the first time a South Korean developer has created a project this large in the U.S.

Los Angeles architect David Martin, a principal at AC Martin Partners, designed the towers which may have a photovoltaic skin to create solar power. One tower will host a 40-story hotel with as many as 700 rooms and several floors of condominiums. The other taller tower will be a 60-story building offering over a million square feet of office space and a plaza and shops on the ground level. What’s really amazing is that this would be the first major high-rise office building constructed in Los Angeles since 1992. Los Angeles needs a new skyscraper about as much as it needs an NFL team of its own (could be a lot or not at all depending on who you ask).

The project still has to win city approval but if it does construction could begin in 2011 and be finished in 2014.

New Billion-Dollar Project Proposed For Los Angeles originally appeared on Luxist on Fri, 03 Apr 2009 19:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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Filed under: Estates, Wealth

For a long time as Florida real estate values plummeted Palm Beach remained an enclave of protected wealth but it seems even that is starting to change. There is no bigger symbol of the change in Palm Beach than Bernie Madoff. Since Madoff’s arrest last year, Palm Beach’s fortunes have shifted a bit. Stores along Worth Avenue have closed and even the value of Madoff’s home has dropped by nearly two million dollars. Last year Palm Beach County officials assessed the taxable value of Madoff’s home at .3 million but a new appraisal that federal officials did in March says it would likely sell for .45 million.The home was seized on Wednesday along with two of Madoff’s yachts.

While prosecutors are trying to preserve as much of Madoff’s wealth as possible in order to redistribute it to his many victims, it might be smart to wait a little while before putting this home on the market.Palm Beach has seen some big sales in the past couple of years including .5 million for Sidney Kimmel’s mansion and 0 million for Donald Trump’s oceanfront flip. Currently the most expensive home on the market in Palm Beach is still Casa Nana which is listed at .5 million the same price it was last November when we covered it as an estate of the day.

Madoff’s Palm Beach Home Worth Less In Real Estate Slump originally appeared on Luxist on Fri, 03 Apr 2009 18:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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Filed under: Handbags

I’ve written about Harveys Seatbelt Bags on Luxist because I love them. But, one can argue they’re not the most traditionally glamorous bags, even if they are different, fun, and functional. But let’s say you’re a Disney fan, and you like an interesting handbag, and the word “couture” grabs you. Good news! Harveys introduces the Seatbelt Bag for Disney Couture, a website-only special collection in four styles.

Each bag is loaded with Disney details, such as a Mickey ears zipper pull, Mickey charms, custom red Disney lining with a monogrammed Harveys Logo and Mickey ear silhouette, and a comic-strip printed seatbelt body that tells the story of how Mickey seeks to capture Minnie’s attention by serenading her. Also featured: black nickel hardware, a Harveys for Disney Couture plaque, interior pockets (one for cell phone), an interior keychain hook, and a drawstring storage bag. Shown at right: the Disney Carriage Baguette, 8. Dimensions vary; prices range from 8 – 8. See the gallery for photos of the other three styles as well as Harveys Disney accessories.

Harveys Seatbelt Bags for Disney Couture, Handbag of the Day originally appeared on Luxist on Fri, 03 Apr 2009 17:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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Filed under: Jewelry

The market for Obama jewelry is still going strong. The range of jewelry runs from the inexpensive and symbolic to the extravagant diamond Obama necklace. Somewhere in the middle range is the “Elements of Change” collection from jewelry designer Jeanine Payer. The line features pieces inscribed with excerpts from President Barack Obama’s inauguration poem by Elizabeth Alexander, “Praise Song for the Day.”

The collection includes three necklaces and three bracelets offered in sterling silver and 14-karat gold. The bracelet shown above has a 14k gold medallion hanging from a sterling silver multi-chain. The engraving appears on the pendant’s front and back and the piece sells for 0.

[via National Jeweler]

Obama Poem Becomes Jewelry Collection originally appeared on Luxist on Fri, 03 Apr 2009 16:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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