The trend in personal lifestyle is that more and more high-end consumers are devoted to the stylish design and aesthetics compared to ingenious function only.
Today’s affluent class have pockets deep enough for the ever increasing extravagance of exceptional toys and incredibly expensive possessions, and designers and manufacturers strive to feed their insatiable appetite by creating the most innovative, unique, and lavish products to meet those demands. Many luxury products attempt to elevate the every day by transforming typical functional objects into higher works of art or technical wonders.
Charlie Chaplin once said that “the saddest thing I can imagine is to get used to luxury.” In this new era of consumerism, luxury is impossible to overdo. Even simple fragrance is recreated to be once again that special luxury for only a privileged few. Gorgeous collectible bottles offer more than what is expected, with expensive wrappings and signature scents that are not afraid to have personality, such as an $89,000 bottle of Gianni Vive Sulman Parfum VI created by the legendary English perfumer Arthur Burnham, or a limited edition collector bottle from Clive Christian that can be custom made for a mere $200,000.
Many of these luxury objects have a unique sense of purpose and distinctive style that deserves the label luxury, such as the D100 Deluxe guitar from Martin & Co that costs well over $100,000. This dream guitar is uniquely designed from Brazilian rosewood with the most luxurious finishes, such as exquisite herringbone pearl inlay patterns, Waverly gold hand-engraved tuners with butterbean knobs, gold color frets, and a fossilized ivory bridge, and end pins topped with green tourmaline dots in 14-karat gold settings.
The trend in personal lifestyle is that more and more high-end consumers are devoted to the stylish design and aesthetics compared to ingenious function only. Whether it’s a DJ table designed by Karim Rashid, or a chess game encrusted with 186 carats of black and white diamonds by master jeweler Charles Hollander, they are utterly devoted to being exclusive works of sculptural art that are perfectly functional. The designers here rethink design and are fearless in their creations, daring to take the genre one step beyond into new territory.
Some of the most imaginative personal toys from around the globe are based less on the features themselves, and more on how one experiences them. Recently, the mechanics of luxury machines have gone well beyond world-class engineering and sporty exteriors, offering notable refinements in quality and such significant improvements to horsepower and torque with premium technologies. Some of the most desired cars are the world’s fastest and expensive street legal racers, such as the Mirabeau Le Blanc. With its supercharged V8 engine with more than 700 horsepower and a price that exceeds $600,000, it is not only one of the fastest, but reputably the lightest. This dream machine belongs to an elite class of super exotics that are produced in limited numbers, such as the Pagani Zonda Roadster. Costing well over $800,000, this sports car has an AMG 12-cylinder lightweight engine with more than 600 horsepower and 576 lb-ft of torque. Another limited edition exotic car is the Lamborghini Reventón. This jetfighter-inspired car will be manufactured in a limited run of just 20, and is powered by a 650 horsepower V12 engine that accelerates from 0-60 mph in just 3.4 seconds. Once the ultimate dream machine was the Cadillac, today it is edition-of-five Bugatti Pur Sang. It is not only the fastest street legal production car in the world with a quad-turbocharged engine that can produce 1001 horsepower, but the most expensive with a base price of $1.4 million.
But for some, having a luxury, high-powered engine with a sexy sleek design is not enough. The elite sub-brand of luxury wheel maker Lexani is the first in the world to offer 1,100-carat encrusted tire rims. With four Asanti diamond wheels, the manufacturer will throw in a Bentley GT for free. And companies such as H&R Gold and LP Wheel Group will encrust your Bentley gold shift knob with diamonds for those who want to literally feel luxury in the palm of their hand.
Then there are the powerful and unique machines that use water to entice envy and amazement. The Aquada is an automobile fused with a boat that offers the beleaguered driver the chance to trade the traffic jam for the freedom of the rivers and bays surrounding most of the world’s urban centers. And for exploring the oceanic universe, the Proteus is a fully submersible private yacht that is capable of delivering the ultimate in underwater luxury; the Stingray, an “underwater jet-ski,” can dive to a depth of 130 feet and has a top underwater speed of 3 mph, which makes it ideal for exploring artificial reefs with this shallow water submersible.
Then there are the revved-up engines with sophisticated aeronautic technologies, such as the custom made road streamliner from Acabion that defines the new category of superbike mobility with speeds of more than 300 mph. If soaring through the clouds in a super fast jet is more your style of a luxurious thrilling experience, then the two-seater Javelin is the perfect machine for that daredevil inside. This $2 million dollar executive jet has been dubbed as the “sports car for the skies,” providing military performance to the general aviation market with state-of-the-art instrumentation and reaching speeds of more than 680 mph.
The true luxury toy is finding that odd unique piece, or something not available to the mere masses. Whether a vintage car such as the $24 million Mercedes W196 or the once invincible racing car Type 35 designed by Ettore Bugatti, the people who spend most on extraordinary toys also believe in investing in high-end collectibles that embody the higher art of luxury living.
For those who are partial to style and the truly magnificent things in life, these are only a few examples of the countless playthings that many desire but only a very few can afford. Luxury products today are created with exceptional technology and beautifully executed design that is even customizable to the owner’s desire. The true luxuries of life limit the need for necessities, and in the case of toys for the true luxury enthusiast, everything is permissible.
News
February 28, 2008It’s All Related: Related Companies Stephen Ross
