SKORPYO LUXURY CLUB

It has the color of the lively seas of the south, the summer limited edition version of Oriens by Van Cleef & Arpels, is a luminous, colorful and fresh fragrance.

Aqua Oriens is playful, opening with the fruity notes of pear, enriched with a rind of Tahiti Lime, and then it becomes fresh when, in contact with the skin, it reveals the delicate scent of the honeysuckle and orange blossoms, pearly with dewdrops; lastly it's enveloping and sensual thanks to the musky base and the amber notes that make it warm, just like summer.

The reference to the heavenly turquoise waters of the lagoons and the typical colors of the sunniest season is quite present in the design: the bottle, inspired by a fine jewelry ring, is colored by fresh tones that shine, enhancing the shades of blue, the color of the sea and of turquoises.

Even the names of the different fragrances – Aquamarine, Sapphires and Emeralds – are strongly evocative: they recall precious jewels and increase the desire and image of a faraway journey, of a dream of peace and freedom, of total relaxation.

In 1992, Ferrari sold its very first car, a 348 TS, into the Chinese market. To commemorate the event, Ferrari is opening its first long-term brand exhibition (outside Maranello, that is) at the Italia Center of Shanghai World Expo Park.

The Ferrari Exhibition will include five themes, including Ferrari in China, Green Technology, Products, Design and Racing. Current plans are for a three-year exhibit, filled with theme-related content from the Ferrari Museum in Maranello.

Ferrari is also commemorating the event with a special edition of its 458 Italia, to be built in a production run of just 20 cars. Each will bear a livery inspired by Chinese design and will come finished in a newly created color called Marco Polo Red.

Factoring into the car’s graphics is the theme of the longma, or “vigor and spirit of the legendary dragon-horse.” To celebrate this, special edition cars will wear a golden dragon on the front hood, offset against a black background defined by gold stripes.

The black and gold stripes are carried rearward, and gold is also used for the wheels and on the front fascia trim. Inside, the cars get gold headrest embroidery, a commemorative “20th Anniversary Special Edition” plaque and a start button inscribed with the Chinese characters for “start.”

Ferrari hasn’t specified pricing for the special edition 458 Italia, but we’re sure each will be sold before the car hits the market.

Two mansions in the upscale Jumeirah Islands development are up for grabs - but only for those with deep pockets. Nakheel, the Dubai-based master developer, will hold a private auction for the two properties on April 15 with bids starting from Usa dollars 4 million and bid increments of $27.000.

The winning bidder will have to pay $400.000 as non-refundable deposit.

To make the transaction attractive, the developer says it will be accepting credit notes from any of its long-term projects within two months of purchase.

The five-bedroom mansions (built up area of 8,452 square feet) have been listed on propertyfinder.ae as costing between $3.2 million and $3.5 million.

A Nakheel spokesperson told this website that because the properties are luxury and high-end the company has gone the private auction route.

In 2008, Nakheel had used the private auction route to sell similar properties.

The highest bid at the time was $6.8 million with the average price per square foot reaching Dh2,660 for plot sizes, ranging between 11,500 and 16,000 square feet.

However, the Nakheel spokesperson stated that these properties on auction are not repossessed but unsold ones.

The 31 mansions, built at the centre of the Jumeirah Island community, were set for completion in early 2009.

Besides the five bedrooms, these properties also have six reception areas and a private swimming pool.

Faisal Baig, Director, PropSquare Real Estate, says: “Most of the mansions were sold during launch, but Nakheel might have been taken back some as investors may have defaulted.”

Although the prices seem to be relatively high, he believes people with “large” credit notes can use it to their advantage by bidding at the auction.

“Those who have credit notes of large sums can benefit as it will reduce the price for them.

“One thing is clear that there is a demand for villas in Dubai and Jumeirah Islands is amongst one of the best new villa developments and so buyers will gain over the time.”

Last year, Nakheel sold a six-bedroom Signature villa, located on a 13,000 sqft plot on Palm Jumeirah for $7.7 million through a private auction.

The Nakheel spokesperson added that the company had no plan to sell luxury villas on the Palm through auctions.

Bell Helicopter unveiled a full-scale model of its newest helicopter, the 525 Relentless, with great fanfare at the Heli-Expo trade show in February.

The 525 creates a new class of helicopter, the super-medium, and is designed to carry up to 16 passengers, with more space and bigger seats than in competing models. Built from an entirely clean-sheet design, the 525 employs several technological innovations, including fly-by-wire flight controls, two all-new powerful and efficient GE turbine engines, and a new tail boom that delivers better hover performance.

Designed for the oil industry’s demanding needs to fly in all weather conditions over long distances with heavy payloads at economical operating costs, the 525 also will be available in a VIP corporate configuration.
Bell has not yet released a price or an estimated time for first delivery, but the company expects the first prototype to take flight in 2014.

www.bellhelicopter.com

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Wealth of 36 Arab billionaires increased by $3.7 billion (Dh13.58 billion) to $121.3 billion (Dh445 billion) last year as compared to $117.6 billion in the previous year with Saudi prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Alsaud retaining the top position with a fortune of $18 billion despite drop in wealth.

After prince Alwaleed, Lebanese-Brazilian billionaire Joseph Safra is second richest in the list of billionaires with a fortune of $13.8 billion to his name.

According to Forbes Middle East's Arab billionaires ranking, the wealth of UAE's four billionaires increased from $6.9 billion to $7.6 billion. Out of four UAE billionaires, three - Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair, Saif Al Ghurair and Abdulla Al Futtaim, saw their fortunes growing but one - Majid Al Futtaim - recorded fall. Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair, chief of Mashreq bank, wealth increased from $2.7bn to $2.9bn; Saif Al Ghurair's wealth grew from $1.7bn to $2bn; and Abdulla Al Futtaim's net wealth rose to $1.6bn from $1.3bn. While Majid Al Futtaim's net worth dropped from $1.2bn to $1.1bn, Forbes statistics showed.

Saudi Arabia and Lebanon led the way on this ranking with eight billionaires each. Despite recent political turmoil, Egypt was runner up with seven billionaires, followed by the stable UAE with a total of four. However, this year’s major headline was newcomer to the billionaires club, Morocco, which entered the ranking with three billionaires: Miloud Chaabi, Othman Benjelloun and Anas Sefrioui.

Standing out amongst the success stories featured in the Forbes Middle East billionaires issue is Sulaiman Al-Rajhi & family, ranked in 5th place with a family net worth of $5.9 billion. The Saudi banking tycoon-turned-philanthropist made headlines last year with an unprecedented decision to relinquish much of his fortune; distributing his wealth amongst family and donating a significant proportion to charity. Also standing out from the crowd is Moroccan frontrunner Miloud Chaabi, ranked 10th with a fortune of $2.9 billion. Following a religious education, this inspirational man started working at the age of 15 as a shepherd, then as a farmer, before moving into the construction industry. Today, he leads the Moroccan billionaires as head of Ynna Holding; a company specialized in real estate development, hotels, retail and industry.

Forbes Middle East’s editor-in-chief Khuloud Al-Omian said: “Inheritance is becoming the fastest and easiest way to enter the billionaires club. This begs the question: can the new generation in the Arab world advance their inherited companies or family businesses? Statistically speaking, the Arab world’s wealthiest young people are still in the beginning stages but we hope that they can take inspiration from the brilliant minds that preceded them and the region’s key figures who still dominate the scene”.

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An 8.99 carat Kashmir Sapphire, Diamond, Platinum Ring, AGL certified, Kashmir, No heat, is expected to bring more than $250,000 when it comes across the block as the highlight of a deep line-up of more than 1,000 lots in Heritage Auctions’ April 30 Fine Jewelry Auction.

The auction will take place at the Fletcher-Sinclair Mansion (Ukrainian Institute of America), 2 East 79th Street (at 5th Ave.).

“This ring is of significant importance,” said Jill Burgum, Director of Fine Jewelry at Heritage. “Kashmir is the rarest sapphire and the mine is all mined out. What makes this particular sapphire even more impressive is that the color is natural. There has been no color enhancement or treatment done. The sapphire is accompanied by an AGL certificate stating: ‘Kashmir, No Heat, and it’s spectacular.’”

Bar Refaeli filmed a short video showcasing her new underwear range. It’s designed to be no frills, no nonsense underwear, just pure comfort.

The video shows Bar playing tennis in nothing but her bra and knickers and while you may be wondering if anyone else besides this Israeli model would ever do that, we guess the point is to show that the under.me pieces are practical and comfortable enough for you to move around and even get a spot of exercise done too.

Bar looks great in the video, despite the fact that she is playing tennis against an imaginary friend! Who said you couldn’t look sexy in the basics?

SEE THE VIDEO>

A 900-year-old Chinese bowl has sold at an auction for nearly $27 million on Wednesday.

The extremely rare item was only expected to receive a winning bid of about one-third the eventual total during a Sotheby's auction in Hong Kong, Associated Foreign Press reports. The purchase by an anonymous bidder breaks the previous record for the most expensive ceramic bowl from the era. Sotheby's says the bowl is from the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127) and easily tops a 2008 auction on a Guan Mallet Vase from the same era.

"The Ruyao Washer is among the most sophisticated achievements in Chinese ceramics. Its appearance on the market has created enormous excitement," Sotheby's Asia deputy chairman Nicolas Chow said.

Earlier estimates had the bowl going for about $10 million.

It is said that only 79 complete pieces from the era remain in existence. Eight individuals took part in the 15-minute competitive bidding process, vying for the flower-shaped bowl.

The bowl comes from a private Japanese collection and is "arguably the most desirable piece of Ru official ware remaining in private hands," according to Sotheby's.

With China's booming economy, Hong Kong has become one of the world's top auction spots, behind New York and London.

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A Saudi millionaire splurged $136,000 on a bottle of champagne at Dubai’s glitzy Cavalli Club over the weekend, a UAE newspaper reported on Tuesday.

“The Saudi Arabian and his friends guzzled” a bottle of Louis Roederer Cristal in the early hours of Saturday morning, the 7DAYS newspaper said, citing the club’s manager David Lescarret,

The vintage bottle was “one of just three believed to be available worldwide,” the paper added.

Lescarret said the other two were for sale at nightclubs in New York and London.
He described the unidentified Saudi national as a “well educated gentleman... who spoke several languages and ordered the bottle in French.”

According to 7DAYS, the Cristal bottle was from a “batch made in 1990 in Champagne, France,” originally intended for the Millennium celebrations.

Lescarret would not divulge the Saudi’s total bill for the night, saying only that it was “very high” and included a “luxurious dinner.”
The manager said the Cavalli club bought the champagne at a Christie’s auction house in London at a cost of around $93,000.

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Listed at a cool 1.8 billion yen ($21.8 million USD), the Sifter’s jaw dropped when the listing stated an apartment called The House, in the exclusive Minami-Azabu district of Tokyo (the most expensive neighbourhood in Tokyo), was a 4,434 square foot (411.932 sq m) 1-Bedroom apartment.

At a mind-boggling $4,920.75 per square foot, the Sifter challenges you to find a more expensive 1-bedroom apartment for sale.

Here’s the details on this insane listing. It will be interesting to see how long this remains on the market for; can’t imagine that there’s a large market for 20+ million, 1-bedroom apartments.

Almost all furniture in the home is custom designed by Cecotti Collezioni - Many of the walls, flooring and doors are Italian imported stone and wood - Features a Japanese ‘Ryotei’ style dining room for dinner parties allowing chef to serve guests directly from gourmet kitchen - Parisian-style terrace overlooking Arisugawa park - Features original works from famous Japanese artist Hiroshi Senju, painted on site - Entrance hallway has walls that open up to massive 200-pair shoe storage unit - Features massive, fully enclosed courtyard garden - 1 full bath, 2 partial baths - All kitchen appliances by La Cornue

It’s a nice design with some beautiful interior decorating and fabulous outdoor spaces, but it’s still a 1-bedroom apartment! The Sifter says thanks but no thanks, I’ll keep my imaginary $21.8 million.

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