Sahrai & Bernardini Luxury Vintage are pleased to invite you at the presentation of the living concept Contemporary Heritage during the 1st edition of AbitaMi decor&design lab - HALL 11 STAND D9/E11 – Rho Fiera, Milano – Sept 8 to 11, 2011
Personalized monograms have been a tradition for many luxury brands since late XIXth century. Discover if your initials are on some luxury vintage object from the past…
Find out more on www.LuxuryVintage.net
From the colonial world particularly eccentric objects have always come, countersigned by different materials and different methods of productions in comparison to the most classical European models.
Besides the forms of art autochthonous particular success they have klindled the so-called “animalia”: trophies, fangs, horns, skins and all the consequential objects from the animal world left to the natural state or, as in the greatest part of the cases, worked by man.
Frequenting galleries and markets of art of the whole world we have come to acknowledge a rare piece of which few know the existence: the carapace of albino turtle.
We notice the albinism a genetic aberration that strikes the pigmentation of the skin, of the mantle and of the hair changing the natural colour of it to white.
We have discovered with enormous wonder that this illness often strikes the carapace of the common sea turtle.
This makes their hull, decorated and sectorial as the common carapaces, an object aspired by the most important collections deprived of the world.
As it happens for all the great works of art, natural and not, the more sceptics have tried to give a bad name to the originality of the these object through the diffusion of different legends on his origin and on his citizenship.
It is for example said that the white colour is the result of a long boiling of a common carapace; others affirm that the white is found under the superficial flakes of the carapace and is therefore the fruit of a removal.
After a long search and a forehand dialogue with an expert of this sector, the tests show that the albino carapace is purely a natural work, fascinating and absolutely rare..
Niccolò Stefanini
more info on www.luxuryvintage.net
In the last years, the very strict rules of fashion have decided that huge, thick and heavy sport-watches were to fit on delicate lady’s wrists… very trendy and very cool!! The bigger… the better! We could agree if it were not for our knowledge of the subject: between 1930 and 1960 all major brands, from Patek to Rolex, Cartier to Vacheron, have designed and produced some of the finest, most elegant and discrete lady’s timepieces ever! Not everybody knows that Hermès, the most prestigious luxury brand of all times, had a very limited production of jewel-watches since the 30′s! In partnership with Universal, LeCoultre and others, the Parisian Maison offered to its female clientele, a selection of items of incredible taste!
LuxuryVintage.net has selected a variety of pieces, from different brands and époques. To witness that class and elegance are always about discretion. In fact, the “trend” of those days was about hiding the watch behind pink gold or platinum geometries and diamond or sapphire light. You will be surprised by the variety and uniqueness of each and every object, but most of all, by the modernity of their design. LuxuryVintage.net has the pleasure of offering to our clients a collection of unique pieces that have been thought for women of timeless elegance and that maintain their value regardless fashions.
“Eletti sono coloro
per i quali le cose belle
non hanno altro significato che
di pura bellezza“
Oscar Wilde
for more info visit www.luxuryvintage.net
Next month, Atlanta’s High Museum of Art unveils The Allure of the Automobile, an exhibition that celebrates the 1930s to 1960s output of Bugatti, Duesenberg, Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar and other luxury carmakers. Sponsored by Porsche, whose vehicles will also be on display, Allure captures the freewheeling spirit of high-end automobiles during one of the most fascinating times in European history.
The exhibition runs 21 March to 20 June. For more information, please visit http://www.high.org/main.taf?p=0
At $50 million, it was a bargain. That was what former taxi driver turned fertiliser billionaire Tamir Sapir was asking for the Duke Semans mansion, a landmark building situated on New York’s posh Fifth Avenue. Dating back to 1901, the seven-story building was once owned by tobacco heiress Doris Duke – and was bought by Sapir four years ago as a space to house his extensive art collection. Across from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the 1858 m² abode features penthouse duplex has above the five-story main residence which includes 12 bedrooms, 14 bathrooms, 11 wood-burning fireplaces and a doctor’s office in the cellar. The building sold this week to an unknown buyer, who – once revealed – will be now the envy of everyone in Manhattan.
1982 Chateau La Tour
France has a long history in creating luxury items, and the 18th century was no different. Evidence of this is the Objects of Luxury exhibition currently running at London’s Victoria & Albert Museum. The exquisite porcelain created in France under the reign of Louis XV was exceptional in that it was soft paste – a deviation from traditional hard paste varieties that was necessary due to a shortage of ingredients essential to make hard paste porcelain. But necessity was the mother of invention in this case: soft paste porcelain allowed for more vivid use of colour and a glossier finish. Objets from the Royal Porcelain Manufacture at Sèvres were especially prized by the posh set, and many examples are on display at this exhibition. For more information, visit http://www.vam.ac.uk/exhibitions/future_exhibs/luxury/index.html
Le Grand Tigre by Robert & Fils
“Fashion is for those without taste,” Coco Chanel once observed – a statement that can be made of designer watches: meant more to keep up with the latest fads than to keep time, these fashion trinkets pale in comparison to the creations of Robert & Fils. The Swiss watchmaker has been a family business for close to four centuries, outliving fads and making history. Appointed Watchmaker to King Wilhelm of Prussia in 1725, Robert & Fils is also the world’s oldest, still existing manufacturer of watch movements. Each handcrafted timepiece is unique and bears all the hallmarks of the house, from its inner workings to its grand feu enameling and engraving. Robert & Fils will be on hand at this week’s Geneva Time Exhibition, along with other illustrious watchmaking houses, which runs until 22 January. For links to Robert & Fils and other watchmakers as well as information about the exhibition, please visit uk_index.php