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Classic wristwatch is perfect every time

As much as technology innovators like Apple introduce smart watches changing our perception of traditional timepieces, the classic wristwatch continues to captivate discerning consumers of luxury. 

wristwatch 1

Timepieces have been a part of everyday life for some 500 years.  Today, leading brands which are long established and obsessed with creating the finest quality, synonymous with unrivalled workmanship, like Rolex, Cartier, Patek Philippe, Harry Winston, and A Lange & Söhne, are always desirable.  Their names comes with a heritage associated with a culturally rich provenance indicative of good taste, affluence and success.

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After Daniel Craig appeared in the James Bond movie, “Skyfall” wearing an Omega Seamaster wristwatch, interest in the collection spiked by 45 per cent as reported by Digital Luxury Group in their WorldWatchReport. Aspiring to the glamorous lifestyle, male consumers rushed to invest in the beautifully crafted 007 watch.

A record price of $7.3m was achieved in November 2015 for a Patek Philippe stainless steel wrist watch. Known as watch 5016AA the timepiece sold at the Phillips auction house in Geneva for more than 10 times its estimated price and received a standing ovation when the sale went under the hammer.

The wristwatch as status symbol

As status symbols, these watches are the best in class and owned by some of the wealthiest people in the world setting them apart from the other billionaires out there.  There are three key factors that determine the value of these exceptional watches:

1.  Expensive parts such as rare diamonds, gold, platinum, meteor rock, dinosaur bone etc.

2.  The amount of time it took to make and the level of detail and functionality the watch possesses.

3.  How unique, special and intangible value the piece boasts.

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In 2016, the most expensive watch is not a wristwatch but an 18th Century ‘case watch’ , known as ‘BREGUET GRANDE COMPLICATION MARIE-ANTOINETTE’ – Price $30.000.000’. 

The timepiece was started in 1782 by Abraham-Louis Breguet, reputed to have been commissioned by the lover of Marie Antoinette.  At the time, it was an incredible feat of design and technology.  Taking 48 years to complete, the maker’s son finally finished his father’s work in 1827, following the death of Breguet four years earlier.

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Inside the world of bespoke mobile phones

Like everything else in the world of luxury, mobile phones have come a long way and as the super-rich seek to accessorise and put their high end stamp on anything from a private jet to their Hermes Birkin, the technology industry has spotted an opportunity to embellish its own products.  Mobile phones are a booming market and even at the ultra top end, there are UHNWI willing to pay millions of pounds for a jewel encrusted trophy handset.

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Continental Mobiles in York Street, Mayfair is a high end online boutique, which launched a decade ago and sells premier luxury mobile phones.  These are no ordinary mobile phones and reflect the increasing demand for pure luxury goods and accessories expected from the super wealthy.

Rather like Savile Row bespoke tailoring, the engineering involved in these phones is undertaken by expert English craftsmen using precious metals and gemstones, from platinum and rose gold to mobiles and headphones encrusted with diamonds and other precious stones. Glamorous exciting designs that bring together classic and contemporary styles.

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This company is one of several operating in this niche market place and have been consistently praised for creating “World’s First” custom pieces in bespoke communication.  They are appointed by the Royal Family in Saudi Arabia and accommodated the corporate requirements with major Middle Eastern provider, Batelco.

Continental display their unmistakable creativity with the iPhone 6s in a Classic Gold blanket that is timeless. A fine display of Vs1 white diamonds sparkle against the curves of the iPhone’s form, creating a hop-scotch thread around the chassis amounting to some 5.7 carats.

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In 2016, some of the most expensive mobile phones in the world include

1: Falcon SuperNova Pink Diamond iPhone 6 ($95.5 Million)
Falcon Super Nova Pink Diamond iPhone 6 is the latest model which features one huge eye catching 18 carat diamond.

2: iPhone 5 Black Diamond ($15.3 Million)

The black diamonds used in this mobile phone are some of the most costly gemstones in the world, in other luxury iPhones, gold and white diamonds are featured.

3: iPhone 3G King’s Button ($ 1.5 million)
iPhone 3G King’s Button is made of 18 carat yellow gold and features a ‘home’ button flashing a high quality 6.6 carat diamond making it a thing of beauty and considered as one of the most luxurious phones on the market.

4: GoldVish Le Million ($ 1.3 million)
The Swiss model – GoldVish Le Million mobile phone is manufactured by the renowned designer Emmanuel Gueit. The device is made of pure 18 carat white gold and includes a VVS1 graded diamond of 120 carats. In 2006 a Russian businessman bought this mobile for €1 million and entered the Guiness Book of Records for purchasing the world’s most expensive mobile phone as that time.

5: Diamond Crypto Smartphone ($ 1.3 million)
It is the power encryption technology used in this device which makes this mobile so special and valuable.  The sophisticated technology enables it to be mostly used for the protection of information.  It is made of solid platinum with an 18 carat gold navigation key in which 28 cut diamonds are used on the sides and the mobile is also decorated with 25.5 princess diamonds.

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PAD London Art Fair and Berkeley Square

PAD London Art Fair, or Pavilion of Art & Design London, makes Berkeley Square its chosen venue for its tenth year. This popular event will run from the 3rd to the 9th October and is the spin-off of its longer established Parisian sister.

PAD Fair Aktis Gallery
PAD Fair Aktis Gallery

PAD London brings together exceptional works of 20th Century modern art, design, decorative arts, photography, jewellery and tribal art from 1860 to the present day. Some 62 esteemed galleries will take up residence, but what makes the event unique is the way in which it “brings a different ‘eye’ to the British scene” (Financial Times). The fair, which takes place at the same time as the Frieze and Frieze Masters art fairs, helps to attract the world’s most influential art buyers to London each October.

PAD London Alexander Guillemain Gallery
PAD London Alexander Guillemain Gallery

Joshua Buckley, a Mayfair based property consultant at H.Barnes & Co comments: “PAD is my favourite event on the Frieze calendar for a number of reasons.

Firstly, it is a fairly small sized event on a scale perspective (in comparison to a number of other events during Frieze), so the event is very concentrated and focused, especially towards furniture and design.

Secondly, the majority of the designers and galleries are typically from Paris and you have an opportunity to view what I believe to be the most influential and current design and generally what we tend not to see in the London market place. Essentially, I feel it is the most tasteful and stylish event (especially if you like furniture) and offer a real chance to pick up something unique and special that you won’t spot anywhere else in London.”

PAD London Dumonteil Gallery
PAD London Dumonteil Gallery

About Berkeley Square

Once upon a time in civilised Georgian society, Berkeley Square, which was created in 1730 by William Kent gentleman architect, may well have resonated with the sound of nightingales singing; the few original Georgian houses can still be seen to the west side. Today it’s a busy hub peppered with smart clubs like Annabel’s and Mortons and restaurants such as Sexy Fish owned by Richard Caring. The traffic whizzes around and black cabs scoot between the smart hotels.

Berkeley Square, Mayfair
Berkeley Square, Mayfair

That said, Berkeley Square still manages to exude an historic stately elegance, distinguished by a central landmark parade of 220 year old Plane trees, some of the oldest specimens in London. Famous residents include Winston Churchill and Charles Rolls, co-founder of Rolls Royce, who was born in Berkeley Square in 1877.

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Boat International: High and Mighty

BOAT INTERNATIONAL – OCTOBER 2016: This super-chic Armani/Casa-designed villa in St Tropez was raised up to provide some spectacular sea views, says Francesca Steele in Boat International

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Earlier this year, Giorgio Armani’s property division, Armani/Casa, completed its first property in London, the renovated townhouse at Queen’s Gate Place, near the Natural History Museum in South Kensington, for £35 million. It was the latest in a growing global portfolio that includes Miami, Mumbai, Istanbul and Rome. But one of the designer’s first property projects was a much more intimate affair.

It’s hard to find a good plot in St Tropez, but they did find one and spent a few years persuading the current owner to sell

Armani agreed to work on a residence in St Tropez for some Milanese friends who were looking for a holiday home they could potentially use all year round. “It’s incredibly hard to find good plots in St Tropez, but they found a spot they saw potential in and spent a few years persuading the current owner to sell,” says the agent (and owner’s son-in-law) Joshua Buckley. But it wasn’t yet perfect.

The land was too low and it took several years just to get planning permission and add enough soil o create a space where a home with sea views could be built.

Today, Villa L’Amour by Armani/Casa is a stunning blend of Tropezienne architecture that is sympathetic to the original fishermen’s cottages.

CLICK TO DOWNLOAD PDF OF FULL ARTICLE

Boat International - High and Mighty

Villa L’Amour by Armani/Casa is available to rent and buy, POA, through H Barnes & Co, London, +44 20 7499 3434

Francesca Steele is senior property writer at The Times

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Post Brexit and the PCL property market

Simon Barnes
Simon Barnes

“The post Brexit effect certainly speeded up the summer recess and meant that in Prime Central London the property market tailed off sooner ahead of July.

This dormant period has perhaps lulled people in a false sense of security and the feelings about Brexit have faded away over the holidays, perhaps suggesting that it is not quite as bad as everyone made out initially.

The reality is that in central London people with a need or strong urge to move will, whether this is dictated by schooling, job relocation, or personal circumstances.

Good properties, priced at the correct market level, will sell; those that are not so good will sit around.  Undoubtedly, Q4 will be a quieter three months than previously, as people wait, watch and see how the politicians handle negotiations and how the economy and market confidence fares. My feeling is that this is a good time for buyers to go in and make an offer and potentially drive a hard bargain – it is a buyers’ market.

While new buyers entering the market post Brexit and the summer will not be rushing in but playing a waiting game, old buyers who were in the market before the summer, will see this as a window of opportunity to return with a reduced offer.

The post Brexit period has granted agents a justifiable reason to advise their clients on where the true price should be if they are seriously minded to sell.  They will be using this opportunity to have a realistic conversation with their clients owning houses in ‘grade A’ locations like Chelsea and Notting Hill.  Right now they will be recommending that the asking price is too expensive and needs adjusting to reflect the price sensitivity in the current PCL market.  Those that listen are far more likely to sell than those who do not.

Of course, aside from buyers and agents, the people determining property values in today’s market are the valuers, who remain overly cautious, creating a chicken and the egg situation.”

Contact H. Barnes & Co – Tel: 020 7499 3434

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