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Apollo and Artemis diamond earrings fetch record-breaking $57.4 million at Sotheby’s auction

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May 27, 2017

Apollo and Artemis diamond earrings fetch record-breaking $57.4 million at Sotheby’s auction

We previously wrote that this pair of earrings were likely to be the most valuable earrings to appear in auction—and we were right. Two spectacular diamonds— the Apollo Blue and Artemis Pink—mounted as earrings fetched a record $57.4-million (51.8 million euros) at auction on May 16 in Geneva, with an unnamed Asia-based buyer netting both, Sotheby’s said.

After protracted bidding, the flawless and vivid Type IIb diamond “The Apollo Blue” fetched $42.087-million. The equally intensely luminescent “The Artemis Pink” went for $15.33-million, buyers premium included. The earrings were sold as separate lots.

The earrings, named after the twin Greek gods, had respectively been valued at between $38-million and $50-million and $12.5-million and $18-million.The 14.54-carat “Apollo Blue” is the largest gemstone in its category ever to be auctioned and has been cut and polished to a pear shape.

The 16-carat “Artemis Pink” is near identical in shape. It is also one of the world’s most “chemically pure” diamonds, according to the Gemological Institute of America, which experts say gives the stone such a high degree of transparency.

Guernsey auction house sells musician Jerry Garcia’s guitar for charity

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May 27, 2017

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Guernsey auction house sells musician Jerry Garcia’s guitar for charity

One of Grateful Dead legend Jerry Garcia’s most famous guitars is going back on auction, where it could fetch more than $1 million to back a civil rights group. Known as Wolf, the electric guitar was custom-made by luthier Doug Irwin. Garcia debuted it at a 1973 concert in New York before the instrument — along with Hell’s Angels bikers — became ever-present during the Dead’s perpetual touring.

Dan Pritzker, a music-loving philanthropist who is an heir to the wealthy Chicago family known for the Hyatt hotel chain, bought Wolf for $789,500 from the auction house Guernsey’s in 2002. Pritzker, who occasionally loaned the guitar to musicians, decided to put it back on auction, announcing that all proceeds would go to the Southern Poverty Law Center, which wages legal battles against white supremacists and other hate groups.

“He called me three months ago to say he was concerned about the divisive things that are going on in the country and wanted to do something meaningful,” Guernsey’s president Arlan Ettinger said. The Southern Poverty Law Center has voiced alarm at a spike in hate crimes, especially targeting immigrants and Muslims, since President Donald Trump launched his campaign in 2015.

“As extremism moves from the fringe to the mainstream, we have a lot of work to do,” the Alabama-based center’s president, Richard Cohen, said in a statement. “This remarkable act of generosity only strengthens our resolve,” he added of the guitar sale.

Guernsey’s will sell Wolf at a May 31 concert at the Brooklyn Bowl music venue, to which the auction house is hoping to draw major artists. Online bids will also be accepted. Ettinger said it was difficult to estimate Wolf’s sale price, but that it could near record territory.

Wolf was last sold alongside another guitar Irwin made for Garcia, Tiger, which fetched just under $1 million, a record at the time. In 2015, the Gibson on which John Lennon played “Love Me Do” and other early Beatles songs sold for $2.4 million, another record for a historic guitar.

Formed near San Francisco, The Grateful Dead became one of the emblematic bands of the hippie era, drawing “Deadhead” fans who found a sense of community traveling from show to show to experience the ever-evolving jam rock.

Garcia, who died in 1995, bequeathed his famous guitars to Irwin, who had become destitute. After initial objections from the rest of the band, the luthier took control and put the instruments on auction.

Asiamarine sells Sunseeker 95 yacht in Philippines

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May 27, 2017

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Asiamarine sells Sunseeker 95 yacht in Philippines

Asiamarine announces the sale of a new 2017 Sunseeker 95 Yacht in Philippines Market. This marks the largest New Boat sale in the last 15 years to this new and promising market of the Philippines. The deal was Brokered by Asiamarine’s Managing Director, Luke Prince in coordination with Mark Pragnell official Sunseeker Service Provider for the Philippines.

The 95 Yacht exemplifies the latest in Sunseeker’s cutting-edge design and innovative build processes. With all the spacious elegance of its highly successful predecessor, the 28 Metre Yacht, it combines a superyacht feel with all the practical advantages of a yacht in this size category. The 95 yacht comes with a 4 or 5 cabin layout.

The 95 Yacht’s standout feature is its unique main deck layout with a special master cabin triplex configuration for even greater flexibility and freedom onboard. With the luxurious master stateroom berth on the main deck, a forward staircase leads to a mid-level dressing area and sumptuous en-suite.

The raised pilot house is another eye-catching new feature, again offering greater flexibility and contributing to the more expansive main deck layout which is truly remarkable for this size of yacht. Above deck the spacious flybridge is well equipped with bar, optional hot tub and plenty of seating for guests to be entertained in style.

The 95 yacht is based on the classic deep V hull with performance at its heart, enabling it to cruise at up to 24 knots or accelerate up to 28 knots, depending on engine option.

For more information, visit Asiamarine.

‘Marsa Al Arab’ in Dubai: Tourism project to build two artificial islands for $1.7billion

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May 27, 2017

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‘Marsa Al Arab’ in Dubai: Tourism project to build two artificial islands for $1.7billion

The mega-project, dubbed Marsa Al Arab, will be built on either side of the world-famous Burj Al Arab Jumeirah hotel best known for its sail-like silhouette on the Dubai horizon, and is being timed to coincide with Expo 2020 Dubai.

The city is aiming to attract 20 million visitors that year, as part of their Dubai Tourism Vision 2020. All told, the project will add 4 million square feet of artificial land to the area and 2.2 km of artificial coastline at a cost of about $1.7 billion USD.

On one side will be the family-friendly island, which will see the opening of a family-oriented hotel, and the expansion of the Wild Wadi Waterpark. Along with being relocated closer to the beachfront, the waterpark will also expand to double its size.

New additions call for the opening of a Marine Park, which will showcase exotic fish and marine animals and seat 1,000 guests. Another theatre, with a capacity of 1,700, will become home to Cirque du Soleil, marking the first time that the world-renowned show bows in the Middle East.

Overall, the Wild Wadi and Marine Parks will spread out over an area of 2.5 million square feet. The Dubai Pearl Museum will showcase the United Arab Emirates‘ source of national pride with a historical collection of rare and ancient pearls and working pearl farm. A pearl-inspired boutique hotel is also in the works.

On the other side, affluent visitors will be able to book one of 140 luxury villas with waterfront views of the Arabian Gulf on the exclusive island where privacy will be given high priority. That includes a private marina for its residents.

Along with villas, a boutique hotel will also open for elite, deep-pocketed travellers. Other features include pedestrian pathways, a jogging track, swimming pool and cycling course. In total, the project will add 2,400 rooms to Dubai and 400 new food and beverage destinations in the city.

Marsa Al Arab is being developed by Dubai Holding and breaks ground in June. The project is estimated to be complete by late 2020.

Lincoln client membership program launches luxury chauffeur service in San Diego

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May 26, 2017

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Lincoln client membership program launches luxury chauffeur service in San Diego

Following a successful pilot scheme in Miami, Ford’s premium marque Lincoln is this week launching its chauffeur service in San Diego. The idea is simple. If you own a Lincoln and have signed up to the brand’s client membership program, you can reserve the services of a fully qualified chauffeur who can not only drive you, in your own car to appointments but who can also run errands on your behalf.

“This service is generating a lot of interest among Lincoln owners,” said Eric Cin, Lincoln client services manager. “They’re using it for dinner dates, for doctor appointments; they’re recognising just how convenient it is to have this option available

After several years of struggling to stand out against other luxury car marques, Lincoln’s fortunes have been reversed as it’s hit upon the realisation that in the modern world, time is just as precious a commodity as a walnut-veneered dashboard.

For example, it already offers a pickup and delivery service that automates the issue of car maintenance. Rather than take your car into the dealership, a representative comes to you, collecting and returning the car at a time that’s convenient to you and leaving you with a loaner vehicle while your car’s being serviced.

And Lincoln is not alone in looking to turn owning a car into a full-service, luxury experience. For example, in the US, Bentley owners can now order fuel via an app. A truck comes to the car and refills the tank at a time and place that’s most convenient, while Cadillac is now offering owners the chance to switch between models—i.e., a sporty convertible during the summer and a chunky SUV in the dead of winter—for a flat monthly fee via its app-managed Book by Cadillac service.

Kempinski Hotels opens first luxury hotel ‘Gran Hotel Manzana’ in Havana, Cuba

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May 26, 2017

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Kempinski Hotels opens first luxury hotel ‘Gran Hotel Manzana’ in Havana, Cuba

The “Gran Hotel Manzana,” part of the Swiss group Kempinski Hotels, is situated in the heart of the Cuban capital in front of the verdant gardens of Parque Central and the grand Alicia Alonso theatre, home to the Cuban National Ballet.

Guests in each of the hotel’s 246 rooms, 50 of which are suites, have the pick of four bars and two restaurants and can take a swim in the rooftop infinity pool.

The European-style building first opened in 1917, before undergoing a complete renovation.

In order to deliver the project in time, the Cuban government was forced to accept the builders bringing hundreds of qualified workers from India, a rare move in a country that usually requires that only underpaid — and undermotivated — Cuban workers.

Now the hotel, jointly owned by Kempinski and the military-controlled Cuban tour operator Gaviota, charges between $440 and $2,485 a night.

“We appreciate hidden gems and this matches our philosophy,” Kempinski director Xavier Destribats told Cuban state television.

On the ground floor of the hotel, a shopping mall filled with high-end boutiques such as Versace, Lacoste and Montblanc sparked curiosity in a country where luxury was long ago banned under the iron-fisted rule of revolutionary leader Fidel Castro.

“The hotel is really beautiful, but here everything is terribly expensive. It’s not for the Cubans,” said Lidia Martinez, a 29-year-old housewife.

Leonardo Padilla, a salesman at Montblanc, admitted he had difficulty selling watches ranging from $1,775 to $4,500 in a country where the average wage is no more than $30.