Italian Luxury Underwear - Armani Launches Women’s Intimates

Since David Beckham brought Armani so much success modeling briefs for men, I’m all a flutter wondering who will shill for Armani’s new line of Emporio Armani underwear and lingerie for females.

The new line of Emporio Armani has four sub sets, Gardenia, Tulipano, Camelia, and Lila.
The new line will be at Georgio Armani showrooms and sell for $12 to $50 and up.

Aside: when will a fashion house admit they just go for style and don’t give a crap about fit, function, form?

$14,000 Showers in the Sky - Emirates A380

For $14,000, Emirates is letting its most affluent passengers take showers above the clouds. On board the Emirates A380, first class passengers get to dine on seven course meals served with the finest wines, champagnes and spirits, and kill time en route to their destinations while getting massaged in their leather seats—which morph into fully lay-down beds.

Showers are limited to 5 minutes, but who cares? Each guest gets a plushy towel during their “Shower Spa” experience and can choose from a selection of fine shampoos. Another really neat feature is that the cabin lighting mimics daylight, with fake sunrise and sunset to help minimize jet lag. Passengers get to enjoy fresh cut flowers and have 23 menus to choose from, so no matter how pick you are, there’s bound to be something for you.

Aboard the United Arab Emirates airlines new A380 airbuses, first class consists of only 14 seats, each worth $14,000. Each of the 76 business class seats cost $9,000; they don’t get hot showers and the 15-person bar doesn’t have a waterfall, but their services are pretty darn good too!

The plane’s 399 economy seats cost a fraction at only $1,500, but the services don’t look too pale in comparison. Everyone gets a 9” TV with 500 channels and excellent dining services. In addition, they can make $5/minute satellite phone calls or send text messages.
Emirates wants to roll out 500 of the A380 airbuses offering seats at those rates, but if fuel prices keep rising, seat prices could go up even more. Does the world really have that many super elite fliers?

Adel Al Redha, executive VP and engineer says there are. “The only thing holding us back is the planes,” he says. “We can’t get them fast enough.”

Floppy Disk Bracelets - Bringing the 80s Back

Remember the good old floppy diskettes? Some of you don’t, but jewelry maker Oxx-An Alleweireldt sure wanted to bring the 80s back.

The designer developed Floppy diskette bracelets that look as ugly as they sound. I am sure they are going to be a hit because these days, what’s not cool is cool, and what’s geeky is actually hot. I know, it’s a bit complex.

Anyways, the bracelet comes in the form of a big floppy disc with flowers sewn onto cotton arm bands.

You know what’s crazy? Each floppy disc bracelet is sold for $110, and $87 for the smaller version! Oh come on! Is this a joke?

new masterpiece by F.P. Journe

F.P. Journe follows up on his Grand & Petite Sonnerie with "Repetition Minutes Souveraine". The most striking thing about this watch is how thin it is for a minute repeater, the movement is only 4mm thick! This is not only a technical achievement but adds a great deal of class when worn on the wrist. At the 10 o’clock position on the perimeter of the bezel is a slide for activating the repeater and the first thing I noticed was how effortlessly the slide operates. Also at the 10 o’clock dial position are the striking hammers, and opposite at 3 o’clock is the power reserve indication.

Plates and bridges of the F.P. Journe Repetition Minutes Souveraine movement are of solid 18K rose gold and housed in a 40mm stainless steel case. It is the opinion of Mr Journe that steel is a better sounding case material for striking watches than gold or platinum. The repeating mechanism is very clever and is unlike any I have ever seen. This clever design is hidden between the plates. One of the repeater details visible is the newly developed inertia governor (upper right in this photo) that controls the strike cadence (speed).

Zip It

Bangles take centre stage on the accessories front this summer so be sure to seek out the cool and quirky designs of Central Saint Martins-trained Disaya Prakobsantisukh. We particularly like her industrial take on the trend with these metallic zip creations.

Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport Goes Official

Bugatti have announced the launch of the targa top version of their flagship supercar, the infamous 250 mph Veyron 16.4. Officially called the Grand Sport, the supercar with a unique, removable roof, is set to be unveiled at this year’s Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance on 16 August.

The open top model will feature the same 16-cylinder engine as the coupé, bringing it to a top speed of 217 mph (or 349 km/h). Sophisticated bodywork and aerodynamic components, as well as innovative structural solutions, ensure high levels of safety and passenger comfort, even at high speeds

Production of the Grand Sport begins in spring next year, with Bugatti remaining tight-lipped on details and pricing. The first production model of the limited 80 targa tops, however, is slated for the Gooding auctions on 17 August at the Equestrian Center at Pebble Beach. The winning bidder gets to specify his or her new car at the factory in Molsheim.

200 Carat Chopard Watch

Feast your eyes upon the world’s most expensive watch.
This Swiss-made (natch) Chopard watch features three heart-shaped diamonds of 38 carats, surrounded by white and yellow flowery looking diamonds weighing 163 carats.

Chopard made this watch just to show the world they could. Of course, at $25 million, they might negotiate a little bit.

$5,000 Perfume

We thought $590 mascara was outrageous, so imagine our surprise when we discovered a $5,000 bottle of perfume. That’s a high price to smell nice!
Yu, which means rain in Chinese, is the luxury scent by Mane, and it was given the sniff test by New York Times perfume critic, Chandler Burr.

“It’s actually very interesting, aesthetically gorgeous,” he said. “You can smell the money in it. It’s almost a fresh quality, like using a very good toothpaste.”

But is it worth such big bucks? He doesn’t think so. “$5,000 is marketing, just increases the marketing campaign.”

The World's Most Expensive Mouse

There are gold-plated cell phones or phones with diamonds. These peripherals either make you green with envy or laugh at their silliness. This time though, the bling leaves the purse and comes to the desktop. Is this trend starting to be really overplayed?

The World’s Most Expensive Mouse (that’s the name of the product) is manufactured by a Swiss company that crafts each mouse to custom order. Each mouse is cast from 18 karat white, red, or yellow gold with your choice of trim. Embedded into the top of the mouse are 59 brilliant cut diamonds that you can have arranged in the shape of your initials, a flower, or just scattered across the top. It’ll cost you just over US$24,000.

$2M DiMora Natalia - 1200 HP Luxury Car is World's Most Expensive

What would you expect from the world’s most expensive ($2 million) production automobile?

The DiMora Natalia really will have it all! You couldn’t possibly add cooler features: headlights that double as video projectors, color changing paint, massage seats for rear passengers, temperature adjusting cup holders, a variable-cylinder 1200 hp aluminum 16 cylinder engine, four wheel steering, a biofeedback system to monitor the owner’s vital signs and adjust the drive and environment according to his tension level, and much more, of course.

August 27, 2007 In an age of conspicuous consumption, DiMora MotorCar (DMC) have set themselves a clear target in the creation of their US$2 million Natalia sports luxury sedan: to be “the world’s most luxurious, expensive and technologically advanced creation.” The chassis and body will use “advanced aerospace materials and construction techniques to give superior strength at a weight easily 1,500 pounds less than luxury vehicles its same size.”

This will aid frugal Natalia buyers in squeezing a few extra miles out of a gallon.