ost expensive Hermes Birkin Bag ever sold and the history of blockbuster handbag sales December 7, 2017 The Birkin Bag is the stuff of legend. Everything from its creation to its construction is surrounded by myth and mystique. It apparently came about because Jane Birkin was sitting next to Hèrmes’s CEO Jean-Louis Dumas on a flight and complained about her inability to find a receptacle big enough to hold all her things. [...]
Apple and Hermès team up to make a £1,000 Apple Watch: Is this the most stylish smartwatch yet? September 10, 2015 If you think the Apple Watch is too basic, you’re going to like this news. Apple has teamed up with Hermès to unveil a £1,000 Apple Watch band designed by the upscale fashion house. You may have missed it in the slew of Apple announcements made yesterday, from new iPhone models to the giant iPad [...]
Why oil and gas are big winners from Trump’s presidential victory November 10, 2016 The global financial markets began to crash last night as a Trump victory became more likely, although they regained ground as the results started to clear up. Nevertheless, to say that there is a lot of uncertainty about what happens next is a massive understatement. Asian markets plunged, commodity prices fell, and emerging market currencies [...]
Have women’s smartwatches just gone mainstream? There’s more to high-tech horology than the Apple Watch May 23, 2016 Bettridge’s Law states that if a headline ends in a question mark, then the answer is “no”. If that were always the case, then a column such as this would be a very short read indeed. But the question “can a stylish woman wear a smart watch?” is more complex than a simple “no”. A [...]
The five biggest announcements from Apple’s September 2015 event September 16, 2015 Last week’s Apple media event saw the company unveiling what it repeatedly called the “most advanced iPhone we’ve ever made”, just in case anybody suspected they might take the radical step of announcing a less advanced phone. Nope, instead of regressing, Apple instead marched boldly into a shimmering, rose gold future with two more iPhones, [...]
Mix it up: Forget tradition, try these surreal cocktails from The Langham’s Artesian bar July 7, 2015 The Langham's celebrated Artesian bar has launched its new cocktail list. This time round, supremo bartenders Alex Kratena and Simone Caporale have chosen the theme of Surrealism. True to form, the cocktails are out of this world. In truth, Surrealism leaves me cold. Salvador Dalí and others' attempts to stimulate the subconscious are wasted [...]
Three’s a trend April 8, 2015 The Baselworld watch and jewellery fair was bigger than ever this March, with over 150,000 visitors thronging this indoor city of gleaming brand pavilions, conducting billions of euros of business in 10 short days and setting the watch trends for the year to come. But in among the pizzazz, there was some rare subtlety and [...]
The pursuit of strappiness: Women’s watches are getting a couture makeover February 5, 2015 When it comes to women’s watches, straps aren’t usually top of a designer’s list of priorities. But despite all the attention the dial tends to get, it’s the strap that covers the larger proportion of your wrist. Thankfully, there are brands out there that do spend time on these means of attachment. Hermès is famously [...]
Bangalore: India’s most livable city and the fast-track to its vibrant tech-filled future May 17, 2015 If Old Delhi is the crumbling emblem of India’s imperial past and Mumbai is the pounding heart of its contemporary popular culture, Bengaluru (anglicised as Bangalore) and Chennai are the country’s fast track to the future. The former, and less often the latter, are nicknamed the Silicon Valley of India on account of their thriving [...]
Christmas countdown: The best shopping destinations in London, from Tiffany’s on Old Bond St to the Hyper Japan market at Olympia November 11, 2014 London is renowned as one of the great shopping centres of the world, a constantly evolving playground for anyone with money to spend and time to spend it. Whether you’re looking for hip new openings – like those from Bally, Richard James and Hackett – or stalwarts that are guaranteed to come up with [...]