Larger-than-life artist/auteur Julian Schnabel has slashed the price on a duplex in his controversial Pepto-Bismol-pink Palazzo Chupi by more than $2 million. The apartment in question, one of several luxe spreads in the building, was originally listed at $27 million earlier this year, then quickly increased to $32 million, but Schnabel just lowered the asking price to $29.5 million, the Wall Street Journal reports. Richard Gere bought one of the lower-floor apartments for $12 million last year and recently put it back on the market for $18 million.
The apartment's Old World features include 14-ft. tall plaster walls, massive hand carved fireplaces, handmade bronze railings, solid stone and tile floors, and wood ceilings, all hand-selected by Schnabel -- as do those in the rest of the building, which is featured in Vanity Fair's May issue. The price cut is probably indicative of the slightly slumping Manhattan real estate market, which many feel to be mostly recession-proof. You can view the listing here.
Tomorrow London auction house Bonhams will host its 9th annual Aston Martin auction in Newport Pagnell, England, at the Aston Martin Works Service. Since 2000 Bonhams have sold over $27 million worth of Aston Martins (James Bond's vehicle of choice) and related automobilia, breaking several records in the process and establishing themselves as the leading Aston auctioneer. The star of the auction dollar-wise is a 2006 DBR9 GT1 Sports-Racing Coupé which triumphed at that year's FIA GT Championship in Dubai. The car is estimated at $700,000 - $780,000.
Other highlights of the sale include the 1969 DB6 Volante pictured here, est. $230,000 - $290,000; a 1965 DB5 Saloon, est. $270,000 - $310,000; a 1986 V8 Vantage Zagato Coupé that belonged to actor Rowan Atkinson, est. $135,000 - $175,000; a 1961 DB4 Series IV Saloon, est. $215,000 - $250,000; and a 1989 V8 Vantage Volante, est. $175,000 - $215,000. On the heels of the Ferrari auction in Italy we told you about the other day, this is definitely a good month to go classic car shopping. See the gallery for more.
Bernard Arnault, chairman of luxury goods monolith LVMH, says that despite dire economic predictions and reports of a falloff in parts of the luxury sector the company expects profits to actually improve in 2008. "We are in a position to meet our objectives for a sharp rise in earnings in 2008," Arnault just announced at LVMH's annual shareholders meeting, according to Women's Wear Daily. "Every time we've been [in a difficult economy] we've increased market share. We've started the year strong. We will not pull off [of the accelerator]. We are focused on innovating."
Arnault, whose company recently added Swiss watchmaker Hublot to its portfolio of luxury brands, singled out handbags as a strong earner. "There are tons of new leather goods," he declared. "The Richard Prince bag for Vuitton" - one of our Handbags of the Day -- "has been an immense success and we won't be able to meet demand," Arnault said. "We can't produce the pieces fast enough." He also predicted strong sales this year for Fendi, calling it "one of the most important Italian brands on the market," and Dior as well -- no doubt thanks to Charlize Theron's captivating fragrance ads (above).
Beware of acute real estate envy setting in with a new book called The Houses of Greenwich Village (Abrams, $45), by Kevin D. Murphy and Paul Rocheleau. We happen to think it's the nicest neighborhood in New York, and having resided there on occasion look forward to retuning some day - preferably to one of the palatial places pictured in this amazing anthology.
From the incredible Walter W. Price house, built in 1866 (the elaborate parlor of which is pictured above), to the quaint row houses that still command prices in the millions, Greenwich Village is a throwback to a simpler and more gracious time in the city's rich history. And thanks to the unswerving efforts of preservationists, it's likely to remain that way. Check out the gallery for a tour through this exclusive and desirable district.
The gorgeous Grace Bay Club in the Turks and Caicos has unveiled plans for The Estate, a collection of 22 "custom-designed ultra-elegant residences" set to debut in November. The luxury resort is building the deluxe dwellings on its prime parcel of 11 oceanfront acres just steps from the beach. Each 4500-sq.-ft. unit will have four bedrooms, four bathrooms, a steam shower, a library/media room and wraparound terraces; floor plans are customizable. The Estate development also includes a multi-tiered oceanfront pool, luxury cabanas and a Personal Concierge program. Prices range from $2.8 million to $5 million-plus for a penthouse.
The luxe all-suite resort is also home to the "longest bar in the Caribbean", which stretches 90 feet across the Grace Bay Club beach with its cabanas and spa tents. Constructed of black marble, the infinity design "creates the illusion that the entire structure is floating above the Caribbean sand and extending indefinitely into the ocean." We're getting thirsty just thinking about it.
Check out the gallery below for more pix and renderings of the Estate project.
An incredible collection of Ferraris spanning 50-plus years of the company's history goes up for auction this Sunday at the Ferrari factory in Maranello. The stars of the sale are undoubtedly a 1961 250 GT SWB California Spyder that belonged to The Magnificent Seven star James Coburn, which is estimated at $4.6 - $5.9 million; and a 1964 250 Le Mans, est. $6.5 million - $7.4 million, making it one of the most expensive Ferraris ever to go on the block. There are plenty of other incredible machines on offer in the Ferrari: Leggenda e Passione event being staged by RM Auctions, however.
Our personal favorite is this beautiful 1962 250 GT Lusso, the very first production unit and one of only three known examples raced, which is considerably cheaper at est. $1.2 million - $1.5 million. Other highlights include a 1990 Ferrari F40 Le Mans, est. $1.5 million - $2.1 million; a 2004 Enzo specially made for a member of a Middle Eastern royal family in a one-off shade of gray, est. $1.2 million - $1.5 million; and a dashing dark blue 1967 GTB/4, est. $1.2 million - $1.6 million. If you can't make it to Italy this weekend, LiveAuctioneers.com has opened bidding online, and will also carry streaming audio/video of the event.
You may not actually be numbered among the approximately 30,000 Americans with over $30 million in assets - but there's no reason you can't fake it. With the help of Christopher Tennant's new Official Filthy Rich Handbook, that is. Due out in a few weeks (but available for pre-order on Amazon now), it's an indispensable guide for anyone interested in how the other .0001% of the population lives. While it obviously owes a lot to the Official Preppy Handbook, this is no mere rehash; humor aside (and there's plenty of razor-edged wit within) the book is in fact extremely informative and even practical in places - in a platinum-plated way, of course.
It opens with the "Plutocrat Primer" - a field guide to the top-drawer types you're likely to encounter from St. Tropez to Telluride - including the The Showman, The Heiress and Heirhead, The Thrillionaire and The Grande Dame, with every detail of their personas and pocketbooks exposed. Subsequent chapters contain: the various Billionaire Body Types; the difference between a majordomo and a mere butler; the proper way to name your houses; a clip-'n'-save NDA for the help to sign; the best cosmetic surgery procedures for yourself and your children; plus all the right schools you'll want the entitled little twits to drop out of.
If you really are loaded, you might want to wait for the leather-bound, gilt-edged deluxe edition, with a list price of $100, which will look better on your bookshelf next to that first edition of The Great Gatsby. However, you'll probably still want a stack of the paperbacks to scatter around the beach house in approved Filthy Rich style. See the gallery below for a sneak preview.
The Cannes Film Festival, which began today in the South of France, has always been more focused on artistic merit than the blockbusters of the Academy Awards; that makes for a much more interesting mise-en-scène in our view. The cool crowd has always gravitated to the Riviera for this annual cinematic happening, not to mention the chance to compete for those little gold palm fronds. Along with the Met Costume Institute Gala it's easily one of the year's most stylish events.
As Cannes enters its seventh decade, this seems like the perfect time for a slideshow of some of the most classic style moments in its vivid history, including this rouge carpet scene from 1998. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas was nominated for a Palme d'Or that year and its star Johnny Depp sported a midnight blue shawl-collared dinner jacket at the premiere. Meanwhile his co-star Benicio Del Toro (right) stuck to a classic tux, while Depp's date Kate Moss looked kind of like she'd been attacked by an angry emu -- but in a hot way. Click below for the full parade of stylish stars.
On the heels of Versace's newest palazzo project, fellow Italian fashion house Missoni is getting into the hotel act as well. The company, famed for its signature zigzag-striped knitwear (as modeled here by Kate Moss), is partnering with the Rezidor Hotel Group, owners of the Park Inn, Regent and Radisson SAS brands, on the project.
According to Rezidor, the 5-star Hotel Missoni will embody "a strong interest in design, an appreciation of detail, an understanding of food and wine, a belief in authenticity, a cognizance of culture from a contemporary point of view, and a strong and equitable set of social values." The first two branches are planned for Edinburgh in Scotland and Kuwait City, slated for opening in 2009.
Missoni creative director Rosita Missoni will spearhead the project in conjunction with fashionable Milan-based designers Matteo Thun & Partners. Thun has spec'd out a black, white and silver color scheme for the 129-room Edinburgh hotel, which is more business oriented, and "saturated" colors for the Kuwait City branch, which will be more leisure oriented. See the renderings below.
Officine Panerai, founded in Florence in 1860, makes some of the most coveted wristwatches in the world. They only produce a limited number of timepieces every year, and there's usually a long waiting list for new models costing several thousands of dollars. The company is credited with perfecting the world's first underwater watches in the thirties; many have imitated its oversized style and the numerous devoted Panerai collectors around the globe are known as "Paneristi." Since 1996 the company has also produced a line of watches for Ferrari and serves as the marque's official timekeeper. An impressive new slipcased volume, called simply Panerai, about to be published by Flammarion, details the fascinating history of these beautiful watches.
Early on the company became the official supplier to the Marina Militare (the Royal Italian Navy), initially providing optical and mechanical instruments. In 1910 they began experimenting with luminous materials to make the instrument dials visible in the dark. In 1936 the Marina Militare asked Panerai to develop a wristwatch suitable for use by commandos under extreme conditions. Thus was born the oversized, water-resistant, luminous dial Radiomir, production of which began in 1938, cementing a place for Panerai in the pantheon of the world's great watchmakers.
The buzz at big photo auctions lately has been all about nude supermodels. Perfectly understandable, of course, but how many times can you really stand to see Gisele naked? (OK, no need to answer that). At Sotheby's latest photo sale in London on Tuesday, we're pleased to see some stunning images on offer which while short on supermodel cleavage nonetheless have plenty of appeal. Take for instance this portrait of the beautiful Brigitte Bardot taken by Terry O'Neill 1971 with an estimate of $8,000 - $12,000. Not one of the more expensive items on offer, but worth every penny in our estimation.
Also included in the amazing auction is Helmut Newton's 1975 photo of Elsa Peretti, est. $24,000 - $30,000, and his 1987 portrait of Jodie Foster, est. $14,000 - $18,000; Andy Warhol's Polaroid of Muhammad Ali taken in 1977, est. $10,000 - $14,000; David Bailey's 1969 double portrait of John Lennon and Paul McCartney, est. $20,000 - $30,000; and a recent print made from Bert Stern's famed Marilyn Monroe series (recently aped by Lindsay Lohan), est. $6,000 - $8,000. See the gallery for more.
Three centuries worth of New England's magnificent houses and mansions are collected in an equally grand new book from Rizzoli: Great Houses of New England, by Roderic H. Blackburn (text) and Geoffrey Gross (photography). Spanning a wide range of styles, these stately houses are the originals from which many of today's McMansions have been copied. They're more than just artifacts, however; as Blackburn writes, "Through the architecture and decorative arts we see the development of a people and their region."
Among the more splendid examples in the book is the Jeremiah Lee Mansion in Marblehead, Mass., dating from 1767 (pictured here), the impressiveness of which is "conveyed by its subdued monumentality," Blackburn notes. Lee, a shipping merchant, built it to emulate aristocratic estates in England, so you might say not all that much has changed. Also of note are the beautiful brick Georgian Macpheadris-Warner House in Portsmouth, N.H., dating from 1716; Rosecliff, a palatial McKim, Mead & White mansion which was the setting for the movie version of The Great Gasby; and Brookside, a gracious Greek Revival in Orwell, VT. See the gallery for more.
As some business jet services like MAXJet and Eos are folding, while fuel costs and other annoyances plague private plane owners, a company called Talon Air apparently sees nothing but clear skies ahead. The on-demand luxury private jet charter and management service just added the ultra-luxe Legacy 600 (pictured here) to its fleet in order to meet increasing demand. We asked Adam Katz, Talon's owner and founder (and full-rotation pilot) to explain his apparently incongruous bullish outlook.
"The luxury travel sector will continue to improve," Katz tells Luxist. "The absence of those jets in the market just increases the demand for ultra high-end services like ours. Operators providing safe, luxury travel with all the amenities that are associated with these services will continue to prosper." As for onerous tariffs, "The government's inclination to impose further taxes on the general aviation and corporate or luxury travel operators will not change the broad demand for high end services," he insists. "People will always be willing to pay a fair price for exquisite, safe and convenient travel."
The twin-engine Legacy 600 (see the gallery below) can accommodate up to 13-passengers in its plush, Wi-Fi equipped 6-ft. tall cabin. It cruises at a speed of up to Mach 0.80 and has a range of 3,250 nautical miles, enough to fly nonstop from New York to London, from London (or Geneva) to Dubai, and from Singapore to Beijing. And judging from the glowing testimonial on Talon Air's website, tennis ace Pete Sampras is a big fan.
A one-of-a-kind, oversized 1930s Patek Philippe chronograph that belonged to dashing Italian racecar driver Count Felice Trossi is expected to fetch close to $2 million at Sotheby's in Geneva today. Famed Fiat chairman Gianni Agnelli probably copied Trossi's habit of wearing his Patek over his shirt cuff, the better to keep time while winning the Italian Grand Prix, which Trossi did in 1947. These day's Trossi's name lives on mainly for automotive enthusiasts; his legendary one-off 1930 Mercedes-Benz SSK, now known as the "Count Trossi", is the star of Ralph Lauren's incredible car collection.
The sale also features several other Pateks including some extremely rare chronographs. Meanwhile, Christie's will stage it's own Important Watch auction in Geneva tomorrow, featuring two of the most important antique one-off Pateks ever to go ion the block: a stainless steel perpetual calendar with phases of the moon, and a platinum perpetual calendar with sweep centre seconds and phases of the moon. Both are estimated at an astounding $1.4 million - $2.4 million.
London auction house Bonhams is staging a Grandes Marques classic car auction in the principality of Monaco today featuring some of the world's most collectible automobiles. The star attraction - i.e. highest-priced lot - is an historic 1932 Bugatti Type 55 Super Sport that raced at Le Mans in 1934, which is estimated at about $4 - $5 million. However there are several very beautiful and more modern motorcars being sold for a fraction of that price.
For example, the gorgeous 1961 Aston Martin DB4 Competition Saloon pictured here, est. about $320,000 - $360,000, similar to the DB5 driven by James Bond (Sean Connery) in Goldfinger. Among our other favorites, as featured in the gallery below: A 1962 Bentley S3 Continental 'Flying Spur' Saloon, est. about $280,000 - $320,000; a 1956 Mercedes-Benz 300SL 'Gullwing' Coupé, est. about $690,000 - $760,000; a 1966 Maserati Mistral 4000 Spyder, est. about $420,000 - $500,000; a 1994 Bugatti EB110GT Coupé, one of only 154 built, est. about $340,000 - $420,000; and a 1971 Ferrari 365GTB/4 'Daytona' Berlinetta, est. about $400,000 - $480,000.
You may not actually be numbered among the approximately 30,000 Americans with over $30 million in assets - but there's no reason you can't fake it. With the help of Christopher Tennant's new 
The buzz at big photo auctions lately has been all about 
A one-of-a-kind, oversized 1930s 
