Cartier Watches Emphasize Complications And Exceptional Movement Finish

While the house of Cartier is immediately synonymous to many with exquisite luxury and timeless designs, it is not often the first brand that comes to mind when complicated watches are spoken of. That does not mean that Cartier has sat upon their laurels in this field.  On the contrary–the Collection Privee Cartier Paris already comprises many fine examples of haute horlogerie, including a perpetual calendar, a minute repeater, and several beautiful tourbillon watches, some with additional complications.  The Cartier Tortue Tourbillon ascensionnel watch pictured here is one beautiful example from this prestigious group.  All of these exceptional timepieces employ extremely fine base calibers, which have been refined and decorated with the care associated with the very best in haute de gamme.

Look for Cartier to deepen their expertise in the field of fine and complex watchmaking.  With April and the Salon International de Haute Horlogerie (SIHH) coming up, Cartier has already announced its newest creation–a manually wound tourbillon movement.  Significantly, this new caliber has received the Geneva Seal, widely considered the most prestigious official designation of traditional quality in a mechanical movement.  By way of illustration, this coveted hallmark is a major point of pride for such venerable Genevan manufactures as Patek Philippe and Vacheron Constantin, both of whom emphasize the Seal in their own extremely high grade movements.

Chef Mark Ayers Cooks Up Interest in Girard-Perregaux Watches

What does a top chef like Mark Ayers do when he is not preparing tastings or cooking incredible dinners at the Pebble Beach Food and Wine event? He looks at Girard-Perregaux watches on display from a luxury watch and store store located in nearby Carmel.

Chef Mark Ayers joined the staff of the Park Hyatt Carmel Highlands Inn as Executive Sous Chef in 2002. Soon after, in July 2003, he was appointed Executive Chef. As part of the Chefs Menu at the Pacific’s Edge restaurant, patrons can taste the wonders of such dishes as: (a) black truffle crusted ahi, petite herb salad with truffle vinaigrette, (b) seared bay boat scallops, maple smoked steelhead roe with parsnip puree, (c) grilled breast of quail, white truffle risotto with parmesan foam and (d) braised veal cheeks, white bead cassoulet with chorizo reduction.

While many patrons were discovering the fantastic gourmet food of Chef Mark Ayers, it seems he was discovering the mechanically complex, and precision timekeeping of Girard-Perregaux watches. I highly recommend the menu and the chef expertise of the Pacific’s Edge Restaurant in Carmel as well as Girard Perregaux watches; they all capture the senses and renew ones passion for the good life.

Chef Ming Tsai at Pebble Beach Food & Wine Grand Tasting

Ming Tsai is one of my favorite chefs of all time. Marveling at his precise knife skills and mouth-watering creations on television with my mom as I grew up is an experience heavily ingrained in my memory. Seeing Tsai preparing his sumptuous tastings and tasting them firsthand has only elevated his influence on my palate, and this is all thanks to the Pebble Beach Food & Wine Festival.

Here is Ming Tsai, armed for sauce duty at the first annual Pebble Beach Food & Wine festival, and he seems to be enjoying it. It’s hard to believe that Tsai received a mechanical engineering degree at Yale, but his real education seemed to happen in the kitchen of his parents’ restaurant in Dayton, Ohio. He admitted at the festival that his mother continues to be a gourmet influence, boasting great knife skills after all these years.

Tsai, along with at least a dozen other chefs, including Todd English and San Francisco local Charles Phan, served up samplings of delectable creations at the Lexus Grand Tasting at Pebble Beach on Saturday, with an equally delicious line-up waiting for Sunday.

Stay tuned for more ViaLuxe coverage of the Pebble Beach Food & Wine Festival.

Patek Philippe Nautilus Watch Is Superb On A Strap

Those legends of 1970’s luxury watch design, the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak, and the Patek Philippe Nautilus are celebrated by many watch lovers for their unmistakable yet elegantly sporty design.  The superbly crafted integrated bracelets are a huge part of the image of both watches.

However, both designs look nothing but great on a fine leather strap.  As an example, consider the 18K gold versions of the new Patek Philippe Nautilus, Ref. 5711. Unlike the stainless steel model (which is offered only on the bracelet), these white, rose, or yellow gold Nautili watches are offered exclusively on straps.  The strap gives an entirely new, dressy aura to the design, and if anything, draws even more attention to the extremely fine contrasting finishes on the bezel, case and dial.

Some sartorially strict watch fans hold firm to the view that the Patek Philippe Nautilus watch is really suited only for casual wear–”a high luxury sports watch it may be, but it’s a sports watch nonetheless.” These strap models offer a powerful counter-argument; any of these Patek Philippe watches would look absolutely appropriate–and indeed, extremely handsome–with the finest of tailored suits.

Bvlgari Ergon Watches Delight The Senses With Luxurious, Unusual Design

The Bvlgari Ergon watches are some of the most confident luxury timepieces on the market.  Rather than pursuing something round, tonneau, or rectangular, the famous house presented a unique case shape whose very name–a derivative of the Greek word “ergos”–suggests something that is flowing, comfortable, and easy to use.

Personally, I think the Bvlgari Ergon is a handsome, refreshing watch design.  Of the several models that the collection encompasses, I prefer the Chronograph, whose comparatively complex dial seems particularly suited to the intricacies of the Ergon watch case.  Especially stunning is the ultra-luxurious 18K white gold version of this modern Bvlgari watch, which has a wonderful heft.  It captivates the eye too, with its lustrously gleaming case, and rich slate gray dial with polished indices and vertical line-pattern decoration.  Admirable too, is the way in which the crocodile strap is meticulously crafted to flow with the shape of the strikingly sculpted lugs. 

The sense of harmony the Ergon watch embodies is something that fans of Bvlgari have come to expect time and time again from this very design-savvy house.

Center Gemstone Cuff Bracelet – Spring Jewelry Trend

Be bold and daring with your wrist candy this spring with a center gemstone cuff bracelet.

This trend is all about being big: width matters as does the size of the center gemstone.  Many of these cuff bracelets, like the ones here, will be earthy tones rather than bright rainbow colors. These cuff bracelets will pair well with your desert sand look, safari look, and travel-vacation-look.

On the left is a Christian Lacroix multicolored horn cuff with rhinestone brooch in a compass design.  The uneven edge gives this bracelet an untamed style, perfect for the safari look, and features the signature stamped on the side with a slim opening.  This center gemstone cuff bracelet is a fashionable mix of organic materials.

In the center is a Majorica cuff bracelet featuring an 18mm faux pearl on  an 18k gold plated bracelet.  This cuff bracelet is a bit too elegant for day wear, but if you wear it confidently, you will surely make it work.  This lustrous bracelet is made in Spain.

On the right is a Roberto Cavalli cuff bracelet with a bronze enamel and Swarovski black crystal gemstone.  This cuff bracelet will take your safari look to the next step of elegance and luxury.

Look for the center gemstone cuff bracelet jewelry trend this spring and try it for yourself.

John Hardy Gold Pendant

This is a fantastic John Hardy pendant with an original design and an exotic appeal. With its orb shape and dangles of gold circles, it’s a perfect intriguing statement necklace. I am reminded of Madrid, Damascus, Jamaica, the Bahamas, Cancun and Buenos Aires where the nights linger, dinner is enjoyed on open patios with a warm breeze and dessert comes in a glass and dancing til sunrise is natural; where days are spent lounging on a sandy beach, at a sidewalk cafe, or by a pool under a cabana. With such a picture, this necklace fits in with ease. Wear this pendant necklace on vacation, to work with your crisp white suit and gold high heels or to a casual weekend gathering with friends. Anywhere you go with this John Hardy pendant necklace, you’ll carry the warm breeze, sandy beach and cool refreshment with you.

Coming Soon: David Yurman Fragrance

Set to be introduced in August and with ad campaigns coming in October, the first David Yurman fragrance – yes, there is already talk of more on the way – will be available at 300 high end, specialty retailers like Neiman Marcus, which has been a door for David Yurman jewelry for years.

David Yurman, chief designer and chairman of his company, and his wife, Sybil Yurman, president and chief marketing officer, are ecstatic to take David’s design principles to new forms and ventures. They created David Yurman Perfumery with Clarins Group to bring the new womens fragrance to life.

The scent itself is a floral chypre by Firmenich’s Harry Fremont, opening with a burst of mandarin, fresh green petals and cassis surrounding a heart of peony, water lily, natural rose otto, patchouli, exotic woods and soft musk. Like David Yurman jewelry, there is a yin-yang of masculine and feminine to the very womanly fragrance. The incredible hybridization of the scents was inspired by a David Yurman jewelry which features a mix of stones – perhaps, the Mosaic jewelry – where the eye sees all the colors of the stones simultaneously rather than just focusing on one at a time. They aspired to create a fragrance in which all scents are taken in synchronously as one full, united bouquet. They did not want this fragrance to be a one note scent.

Besides the actual scent, the packaging of any fragrance is critical: it conveys the mood and tone of the scent inside. The Yurmans aimed for the idea of “encapsulating the fragrance in a gemstone.” The bottle has a gold-toned, plastic-lined inner piece encased in a customized pressed Italian crystal shell with a sculpted gold cap resembling the signature David Yurman Cable jewelry. The bottle neck is a replica of David Yurman’s wedding band.

A special treat for customers will undoubtedly be the upscale sampling medium which will include black cord and silver bracelet infused, mini pump sprays and mini body cream jars infused with the floral chypre scent to encourage customers to discover and experience “the luxury of the Yurman brand at counter.”

Available in two sizes of 1.7 oz. and 2.5 oz, the eaux de parfum sprays will be priced at $120 and $165, respectively. In addition, a 6.7 ox body cream will be offered for $80. Estimates show that the David Yurman fragrance could do $12 to $15 million at retail in its first year on counter in the U.S. and Canada with about $5 million spent on advertising and promotion.

Model Amber Valleta, a David Yurman favorite, will be featured in the national ad campaigns for the new David Yurman fragrance in fashion, beauty and lifestyle magazines with photography by Peter Lindbergh.

Look for annoucements of additional David Yurman fragrances – like a men’s cologne – in the future.

Nicole Richie to Launch Jewelry Line

Next bundle of joy to arrive: Nicole Richie jewelry!

The latest buzz from Hollywood is that Nicole Rithie, famed daughter of legendary soft-rock singer Lionel Richie, is currently working on a new jewelry line set to launch soon. The line will be focused on costume jewelry. “I like to play with jewelry and mix and match, ” said Nicole. Partnering with artist Shelly Gibbs, Nicole Richie is designing while Gibbs brings her vision and ideas to life in sketches; seems like a smooth partnership. She still cares for her young daughter, Harlow Winter, in the midst of the excitement and action. “Everyone’s been really mellow and able to work around my schedule. If I need to go feed the baby, I do it.” Finding a comfortable and enjoyable balance of business work and mommy work is making her very happy.

Best known for her reality TV work with uber-socialite Paris Hilton in The Simple Life, Nicole Richie is also an author of a novel – “The Truth about Diamonds” with an all too-familiar plot – and is a singer.

In addition to her jewelry line, she is also expected to launch a children’s clothes and there are rumors of her plans to launch a fragrance as well. Looks like Nicole Richie is living the good life now with all her projects and success.

The Nicole Richie jewelry line will consist of 50 pieces and will be available Fall 2008 at high end boutiques such as Kitson and Fred Segal. Her jewelry will be produced by Mouawad, the mega brand which backed Heidi Klum’s jewelry collection.

Chronoswiss Tourbillon Watch Delivers Beauty, Craftsmanship, And Value

One of the finest values in a beautiful tourbillon wristwatch is the Chronoswiss Regulateur a Tourbillon.  A fine compendium of classic Chronoswiss watch design elements, this watch utilizes the excellent Progress tourbillon movement, which has been meticulously refined by Chronoswiss master watchmakers. 

The regulator hour display is both beautiful and unusual, and its presence at 12 o’clock does a fine job of counterbalancing the tourbillon cage at the bottom of the dial.  The superb, solid silver dial is adorned with a lovely engine-turned guilloche pattern, and the hands glisten with a lustrous blue finish achieved in the traditional manner by fire roasting.

For those who admire the artistry of Chronoswiss watches, this piece is certain to hold a special place.  It is also a superb choice for the watch collector who desires a fine tourbillon wristwatch, yet wishes to stay away from the lofty six-figure price points which are associated with many tourbillons on the market.