Here are the top five hottest news stories in luxury within the past days. Pursuitist chose these as they have the greatest depth and breadth, those that combine wide popularity and with trend possibility. Read on!
“It is Beyond Praise”: Turner Masterpiece sells for $47M
The large oil painting of Rome by JMW Turner was sold at the highest price ever paid for a work by the British artist at a Sotheby’s auction in London, last week.
“Rome, from Mount Aventine” depicts the Italian capital bathed in morning light, and was sold for US $47.4-million at the Sotheby’s auction, this week.
The painting is based on drawings made by Turner in 1828, while he was in Rome on Aventine hill, the southernmost of Rome’s seven hills. The painting was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1836, where it was described as one of those amazing pictures by which Mr. Turner dazzles the imagination and confounds all criticism: it is beyond praise.
Or, in more contemporary verbiage, Alex Bell, of Sotheby’s Old Master Painting Department said, “This painting, which is nearly 200 years old, looks today as if it has come straight from the easel of the artist. The hairs from Turner’s brush, his fingerprint, the drips of liquid paint which have run down the edge of the canvas, and every scrape of his palette knife have been preserved in incredible detail
It was the highest price paid for a pre-20th century work by a British artist and beat the previous record set for a Turner painting — US $46-million paid for “Modern Rome – Campo Vaccino” in 2010.
Two Tag Heuer Surprises: A Smartwatch That Looks Like…. A Watch! And The CEO Of Tag Heuer Resigns.
The Swiss watchmaker TAG Heuer is planning to unveil its first smartwatch, possibly during the Las Vegas Consumer Electronics Show in January 2015. According to Tag Heuer, the watch will run on an Intel processor, likely with a focus on fitness features (measuring steps, calories burned, quality of sleep). But unlike most smartwatches, TAG Heuer’s offering is expected to look less like a touchscreen gadget and more like a traditional wristwatch.
“TAG Heuer’s watch will look similar to a regular wristwatch, unlike most smartwatches today that come with touchscreens and look more like gadgets than timepieces,” reports Business Insider.
And Late Breaking: TAG Heuer CEO resigns
Jean-Claude Biver, head of French luxury goods group LVMH’s watch business, is taking over as head of the group’s biggest watch brand, TAG Heuer, after the brand’s chief executive Stephane Linder stepped down this week.
“Stephane Linder has decided today to resign from his role of President & CEO of TAG Heuer to pursue other professional endeavors,” the brand, headquartered in La Chaux-de-Fonds in western Switzerland, said in a statement published late on Wednesday, December 10th.
Starwood Hotels And Resorts To Debut First Luxury Collection Hotel In Japan
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. announced the signing of Suiran, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Kyoto. Owned by Mori Trust Co., Ltd., the hotel marks the first Luxury Collection property in Japan. Scheduled to open in March 2015, Suiran, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Kyoto is being developed as a ryokan-style accommodation, or small Japanese inn, with only 39 rooms.
Located in the Arashiyama district in the western part of Kyoto, the hotel occupies part of the grounds of Tenryuji Temple, a World Heritage site that since the 1960s housed ‘Rantei,’ a well-known traditional Japanese ryokan, long used by the Japanese government to entertain VIPs.
In addition to the newly built guestrooms and facilities, Suiran, will retain elements of its past, including the preservation of two original structures: ‘Enmei-kaku’, built in 1899, and ‘Hasshoken’, constructed in 1910 – both of which are currently undergoing extensive renovations and will ultimately house a signature restaurant and cafe.
Suiran is located adjacent to the Hozugawa River, Kameyama Park and the Hogonin and Tenryuji Temples. It is also near Arashiyama, the famed Bamboo Grove on the southern side of the river – declared a National Historic Site and Place of Scenic Beauty.
Ice Capades: Luxury Driving Events In Winter:
With the snow flying just about everywhere, many luxury automakers are hosting their annual winter driving events, to allow potential customers to see what their high end cars can actually perform in complex driving conditions. This type of experience also creates a dimension of high-touch customer service, helping to increase brand loyalty.
Cars On Ice is Maserati’s winter tour that demonstrates the Maserati Ghibli and Quattroporte S Q4 in tough conditions. Consumers will see the “on demand” all-wheel drive system. The tour starts in Cortina d’Ampezzo in Italy Dec. 6. The Maserati enthusiast will be able to find an event in six different countries.
In June, Bentley Motors opened registration for its 2015 Power On Ice program in northern Finland. The Power on Ice series allows Bentley consumers to test the capabilities of Bentley models in icy conditions while lodging for four days in a luxury setting.
Lamborghini has historically hosted its Winter Accademia in Europe, but this year is expanding to Aspen, Colorado. The event in Aspen will let participants practice emergency braking, drifting skills and full-lap road course driving methods.
Mercedes-Benz is presenting an event every day between Dec. 27 and Feb. 22 in Kitzbühel, Austria.
The events all hold the same goals: to understand the car’s power delivery, brakes and handling and how to drive it correctly through the seasons.
New Experiences At Ski Resorts: Cosmic Tubing, SnowCat Food Trucks, Evening Fitness On The Snow, and more…
The New York Times has collated new ski resort experiences that are becoming popular trends right now. Here are a few:
With Vail Resorts’ recent acquisition of Park City Mountain Resort in Park City, Utah, their EPIC Pass ticket will allow you to ski anywhere that Vail Resorts has a property.
However, the next generation of skiers and snowboarders are being taken seriously also. In Colorado, the Aspen Skiing Company will unveil a $5 million children’s center at the base of Buttermilk, one of its four ski areas, this year. The 7,500-square-foot Hideout will house a ski school and serve students ages 2 to 12 with indoor play area. Nearby, the Snowmass resort will add four new lift-served snow-tubing lanes for ages 4 to 14.
Mammoth Mountain in California plans to introduce cosmic tubing at Woolly’s Tube Park, featuring a D.J. and music-synched disco-style lighting.
Steamboat Ski Resort in northwestern Colorado introduced night skiing last year and will add two nights for a total of five per week this year.
Guests of the Sebastian-Vail hotel in Vail, Colo., can enroll in its new “night owl” fitness program, offering moonlight snowshoeing, tubing and biking.
In Aspen, Hotel Jerome will offer twilight dogsledding.
The food truck phenomenon is also a new dimension to the ski reports. In Colorado, Ski Cooper will dish hot food from its snowcat-based Cat Trax.
And the Breckenridge Ski Resort introduces its mobile Snowdrifter, a trailer towed by a snowcat, which will rove around the resort throughout the season.
In Park City, Utah, Canyons Resort built a new home for its Cloud Dine restaurant, popular for its chicken potpie, expanding capacity 40 percent.
At Lake Tahoe, Northstar’s Zephyr Lodge will introduce a twice-monthly “mountain table” menu, sourced entirely in California.
For six nights throughout the ski season, Vail Mountain, Colorado, has Decimo, a nightclub at 10,250 feet reached by a gondola with heated seats. Here, if you are not lightheaded enough from the altitude, you can use social media for free Wi-Fi for postings and Instagram updates.
