Watchmaking is a de facto preserve for global handicrafts.

Visiting the russian town of Vyatka in 1837, Alexander Nikolaevich Romanov was seized by the urge to buy a pocket watch. The timepiece he coveted was expensive—nearly twice the cost of a watch cased in gold—though that did not concern the future czar. What really caught his attention was that the watch was locally made, completely carved out of wood. 

The maker was a man named Semyon Ivanovitch Bronnikov, a carpenter who taught himself …

Forget manned missions to Mars, New Mexico’s Arca Space Corporation boldly goes where no one has gone before, developing the first commercially available hoverboard in history—the ArcaBoard. Sure, it might look more like a Lego or miniature mattress than Marty McFly’s model, but aerodynamic aesthetics aside, it can float one foot above the ground and travel at a speed of 12.5 mph.

Designed by the same engineers that developed the Demonstrator 2B rocket in 2004, the world’s largest solar balloon in 2006,…

On January 4, Faraday Future gave a powerful preview of the new automotive age with its FFZERO1 Concept car, debuted at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The all-electric vehicle features a motor located at each wheel that, combined, generate a fiercely powerful 1,000 hp. The innovative supercar also has ability to charge from zero to 60 mph in under 3 seconds and can reach a top speed of over 200 mph. But along with performance comes inroads in intuitive technology and further progress toward the ev…

Microtechnology adds unprecedented complexity to artisan-crafted dials. 

If a mechanical watch’s movement can be defined as its beating heart, then the dial, naturally, would be its face. And just like the human countenance, a watch dial does more than simply transmit information, it endows the timepiece with expression and personality: edgy or classical, minimalist or ornate. In addition to the contemporary renaissance in decorative métiers d’art that has gone far beyond traditional techniqu…

Updated for 2016, this Connoisseur’s Guide to Collecting Fine Wine offers an overview of wine collecting and includes our latest recommendations.

Genuine collectors thrive on an invigorating blend of passion and discipline. Their collections are purposefully designed, and exhibit a pronounced sense of order. True collectors do not merely create a cellar and stock it; they carefully select their wines according to their developed interests. Beginners should spend a few years enjoying a wide variety of wines …

In 2004, the tech entrepreneur Kumar Malavalli bought two adjacent lots in Los Altos Hills in Silicon Valley, Calif., for his wife Vijaya and him to build their dream home at 27500 La Vida Real. The couple took years perfecting the plans, which yielded a 20,400-square-foot main home brimming with skylights and spacious, open living areas. The home exudes an organic quality, with curved walls and artfully placed wood paneling on ceilings and walls. A central courtyard ensures that every room can access the…

In the 131 years since Karl Benz invented the first self-powered automobile, cars have undergone a series of metamorphoses, each rendition resulting in vehicles that are faster and more powerful. BMW’s new concept car, the BMW i Vision Future Interaction, unveiled this week at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, continues the industry’s foray into the future by showing what user interfaces might look like in tomorrow’s tech-focused vehicles. The doorless, roofless chassis (inspired by the BM…

On February 7 the NFL’s two best teams will clash at Super Bowl 50 in Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara, Calif., to vie for the world champions title. And while most of the country will be gathered around their TVs, a lucky few will travel to the San Francisco Bay Area to experience the much-anticipated event up close and personal. To ensure time spent outside the stadium is as memorable as the game itself, RobbReport.com has rounded up five of the best San Francisco hotels for those who want to take a…

From January 23 through 31, Barrett-Jackson’s 45th Anniversary Auction will give motorsport mavens the opportunity to become part of the provenance of several regaled racecars, roadsters, and coupes. Held at the WestWorld events center in Scottsdale, Ariz., the celebratory sale will feature iconic cars with storied race careers in the United States between the 1940s and ’60s, as well as models with cutting-edge coachwork of the day.

Among the legendary lots will be the 1959 Chevrolet Corvette MKIII, mor…

Piriou’s Yersin, the 250-foot expedition yacht that made its debut at the Monaco Yacht Show, is the first yacht from the French shipyard. The yacht’s owner, Francois Fiat, chose the yard because he wanted a boat that would be as robust as the commercial vessels Piriou has built in its 50-year history.

Fiat named the boat after Alexandre Yersin, the Swiss born, French scientist and adventurer who traveled the world to find cures for diseases like rabies and the bubonic plague. Fiat and Piriou had three c…