In 2009, as part of the annual Ultimate Gift Guide, Robb Report debuted a concept home cinema from the theater designer extraordinaire Theo Kalomirakis in collaboration with the commercial movie-theater company Imax (www.robbreport.com/Electronics/21-Ultimate-Gifts-The-Big-Picture). That concept has now become a reality, courtesy of Imax Corporation’s newly launched Imax Private Theatre for private residences (starting at about $2 million). The specifications of the in-home design and installation will vary de…

Bedarra Island reopened this month on a private island off the Great Barrier Reef in North Queensland, Australia. It had been ravaged by Cyclone Yasi in 2011. The sustainable island resort is located about four miles off the coast of Mission Beach, surrounded by a tropical rain forest, and has just seven villas to accommodate up to 14 guests at one time. The secluded villas offer expansive ocean views with private outdoor areas, and four have private plunge pools. There is restaurant and bar, and activities in…

The Roman design firm Zuccon International Project, which the architects Gianni Zuccon and Paola Galeazzi founded in 1972, has designed countless yachts, including for shipyards in the Ferretti Group. Now, the design firm has launched its own dedicated megayacht branch, Zuccon SuperYacht Design. Its first concept is for a 295-foot yacht with a steel hull and an aluminum superstructure. The yacht combines classic lines, as in the dramatically flared bow and rounded decks, with an eye-catching partition amidship…

The following is one in a series of impressions taken at BaselWorld 2013, one of the Swiss watch industry’s most important venues for introducing new models.  
Anyone who has ever stood watching an old-fashioned departure board at a European airport or train station cannot help but recall the subtle sense of excitement as the displays flap through a myriad possible destinations before selecting the right city. Jacob & Co. has channeled this nostalgic and evocative system into a time-zone display on i…

It was just four years ago that Aston Martin introduced the Rapide, and already the British automaker is back with a new and improved version of this sporty four-door. The new model, called the Rapide S, has a bolder look and more muscle under the hood—its 6.0-liter V-12 now makes 550 hp, an increase of 80. This new AM11 engine is mated to a 6-speed Touchtronic 2 ZF automatic transmission with column-mounted sequential shift paddles. The bump in performance is good for sub-5-second acceleration from zero to 60…

Like many American craft breweries founded within the last two decades or so, Firestone Walker started as the dream of two craft-brew enthusiasts. In 1996, brothers-in-law Adam Firestone and David Walker opened the brewery in Paso Robles in Central California, near some of the area’s top wineries, where it has continued to partially ferment and age its beers in 60-gallon oak barrels. Barrel fermentation and aging was a rare practice for American breweries at the time, although it has since become a more widely…

Since 1999, when Florentine artist and jewelry designer Ippolita Rostagno launched her New York–based fine jewelry company, Ippolita, it has been a top seller at Bergdorf Goodman, Saks Fifth Avenue, and other luxury retailers. Now, for the first time, Ippolita can claim a home of its own with the opening of its first retail store, on Madison Avenue on Manhattan’s Upper East Side.
The jewel-box space is intimate in size yet spacious enough to show off the company’s gold, sterling silver, and rose gold pieces, …

Faraone Mennella—run by the design duo Roberto Faraone Mennella and Amedeo Scognamiglio—opens its newest jewelry boutique this month in Porto Cervo, Sardinia, where it will showcase a collection inspired by the style and ambience of Capri. The 18-karat-gold La Sirena ring, for instance, features the tail of a siren—a mythological creature that is half fish, half woman, and is said to inhabit the island of Capri—curled around the finger and carpeted in white diamonds ($6,960); while the Grotta Azzura ring—an 18…

The Hotel Indigo Hong Kong Island opened in May with 138 rooms (from about $260 per night), including six suites, with floor-to-ceiling windows that look out over the city’s historic buildings on Queen’s Road East. The rooftop is home to Skybar and a glass-bottom infinity swimming pool; inside are a 24-hour gym, a library, and a café with an outdoor terrace. Located in the Wan Chai neighborhood on the island’s northern shore, the hotel is within walking distance of old-fashioned street markets, the Hung Shing …

Just in time for summer, three notable luxury homes hit the market in California’s most beloved beach town. 25160 Malibu Road, $14,750,000 Scott Gillen, a builder known for having developed minimalist, open-plan homes throughout the Malibu area, designed this brand-new home, which is located just north of the Malibu Colony neighborhood, near the shops and restaurants of Cross Creek. The four-bedroom, 6,000-square-foot home includes a sleek kitchen with Wolf appliances, a “floating” stainless steel staircase,…