The splendor of Versailles can now be had in the Southern United States. 7 Montagel Way—a 15-bedroom estate in Birmingham, Ala., with 16 full and six half bathrooms—is coming to auction later this month, giving potential homeowners the chance to purchase a European-style manor with American flair. Built in 1997 and situated on 27 acres, the whopping 55,000-square-foot home is not just the largest in the state of Alabama, it is only 5,000 square feet smaller than the White House. A fanciful, guitar-shaped yard …

A trusted timepiece that has been truly out of this world, astronaut Dave Scott’s Apollo 15 Bulova chronograph will be up for grabs at RR Auction’s Space and Aviation Autograph and Artifact Auction on October 22 in Boston. The only known personal watch to be worn on the surface of the moon, it accompanied Commander Scott while he and James Irwin drove the Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) (first used on that mission) and gathered scientific samples from Mare Imbrium, one of the moon’s largest crater valleys.

The r…

Originally published in the October 2015 issue of Robb Report Collection as “Classics Department”

For a pop-up gallery unlike any other, three esteemed European galleries will bring hundreds of museum-quality masterpieces to New York City for an exhibition and sale from October 14 through 30. Setting up shop at the Academy Mansion on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, the dealers—Marie-Amélie Carlier of Brimo de Laroussilhe, Alessandra di Castro, and Nicolas and Alexis Kugel (brimodicastrokugel.com)—will present …

The renowned French architect and interior designer Robert Couturier has collaborated with the 110-year-old British manufacturer Savoir Beds to design a fresh sleigh bed inspired by art deco furnishings from the 1920s. Couturier reportedly struggled with sleep until discovering Savoir’s handmade beds, which have cradled the dreams of Sir Winston Churchill, Marilyn Monroe, and Italian composer Giacomo Puccini. Couturier equipped the king-size bed with Savoir’s signature No2 bed set—which includes a natural wool…

Honoring a winning track record unrivaled in motorsports, the McLaren 650S Can-Am will be another sure victory for the British racing marque. Named after the Canadian American Challenge Cup (Can-Am) series from the 1960s and ’70s, the car commemorates the 50th anniversary of the first cup competition—in St. Jovite, Quebec, Canada—and captures the innovative, boundary-breaking spirit those races inspired.

Designed by the McLaren Special Operations (MSO) division and based on the McLaren 650S Spider introduce…

Honoring a winning track record unrivaled in motorsports, the McLaren 650S Can-Am will be another sure victory for the British racing marque. Named after the Canadian American Challenge Cup (Can-Am) series from the 1960s and ’70s, the car commemorates the 50th anniversary of the first cup competition—in St. Jovite, Quebec, Canada—and captures the innovative, boundary-breaking spirit those races inspired.

Designed by the McLaren Special Operations (MSO) division and based on the McLaren 650S Spider introduce…

Flitting across the sky, butterflies create a whimsical kaleidoscope of iridescent color. And though their life span is short, their beauty will be preserved forever in Harry Winston’s Premier Precious Butterfly Automatic 36mm watch collection.

In an effort to create truly original timepieces, Harry Winston’s designers spent 3 years researching how to harvest the exquisite powder on butterfly wings. The powder is then painstakingly applied to the watch dials by hand (a technique never before used in the wat…

Originally published in the Fall 2015 issue of Robb Report Health & Wellness as “Reset and Rejuvenate”

Can a wellness boot camp at a medical center feel like a luxury retreat? 

Upon entering the center where the Mayo Clinic Healthy Living Program is headquartered, in Rochester, Minn., it is hard to remember that the building belongs to a medical center. Designed to maximize open space and sunlight, the architecture itself conveys a sense of health and well-being. Sun streams into stairwells, mak…

Originally published in the October 2015 issue of Robb Report Collection as “India Ink”

Vikas Khanna, an Indian chef based in New York City, changed the recipe for a book launch last spring when he introduced what may be the most lavish cookbook the world has ever seen at the Cannes Film Festival. Utsav: A Culinary Epic of Indian Festivals is a 1,200-page, 35-pound, gold-embellished homage to Indian culture and cooking, with a first printing that comprises a mere 12 copies. The large-format tomes, hand-inke…

Cordis, Hong Kong, formerly Langham Place, has become the first—and flagship—property of the newly launched Cordis hotel brand. Announced by the Langham Hospitality Group earlier this year, the brand’s first hotel sits in the heart of the Mongkok district, having undergone an approximately $25.8 million redesign that added a host of amenities, including a 1,500-piece contemporary art collection, two more restaurants, and a 36th-floor club lounge with vertigo-inducing views of the city below. The hotel has 664 …