Created in 2002 to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Audemars Piguet’s Royal Oak line of watches, the original Royal Oak Concept was a radical reinterpretation of the esteemed design, featuring an openwork dial and a more rounded case. Since then, Audemars Piguet has produced just three other Royal Oak Concept watches, the latest of which, the Royal Oak Concept GMT Tourbillon, debuted at this year’s Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie in Geneva.
While the original Royal Oak was the first luxury wristwa…

David Stewart, the longest-reigning malt master in Scotland, has been with the Balvenie for over 50 years, so he knows the Speyside distillery like few others. When he came upon some single-malt whiskies that had been resting in Tun 1401—one of the distillery’s historic marrying vessels where already aged spirits intertwine their flavors before being bottled—his keen senses of smell and taste told him that this particular vat had some unique attributes.
Stewart took note of the extraordinary whiskies that had…

Relais & Châteaux—the global network of chefs, restaurants, and five-star hotels—is marking its 60th anniversary by creating an ambitious food and wine festival. The inaugural Gourmetfest will take place March 27 through 30 in Northern California’s picturesque Carmel-by-the-Sea and will bring together nearly 80 prominent chefs, winemakers, and purveyors from around the globe.
The impressive lineup of participants includes Barbara Lynch of Menton in Boston, Michael White of Marea in New York City, Joachim …

Yachts from the Mangusta brand by Italy’s Overmarine Group are typically sleek and speedy and feature an open design, which makes them appealing to owners who desire abundant outdoor space. The yard’s latest model to launch, the Mangusta 110, increases this sense of outdoor space by adding a sundeck that feels like it belongs on a much larger yacht. This deck can also house a second helm station.
Additional noteworthy features aboard the new 110-footer include a foredeck cockpit and a sizable aftdeck hot tub….

In the three years since El Bulli closed, chef Ferran Adrià has been busy. In addition to getting the El Bulli Foundation off the ground, he has produced a seven-volume collection of recipes for every dish produced during the last years of his legendary restaurant on the Catalonian coast of Spain. The collection—elBulli 2005–2011, a $625 release from Phaidon Press—is an exhaustive catalogue of 750 dishes with 1,400 photographs and detailed instructions. These ethereal creations include a nori empanadilla, made…

For decades, the boutique manufacturer Christophe Claret has produced movements for some of Switzerland’s most prominent watch brands. In 2009, the company stepped out from behind the curtain and into the spotlight with a series of highly complex watches released under its own brand name. The latest of these timepieces is the Christophe Claret Poker, a completely mechanical wristwatch that lets wearers actually play three-player Texas Hold’em poker on the watch itself—and it is one of the watchmaker’s most com…

When the Hutton–Mdivani jadeite necklace comes to Sotheby’s Magnificent Jewels and Jadeite sale in Hong Kong on April 7, it is expected to set a new world record for jadeite at auction. Considered the most important known piece of jadeite jewelry, the necklace comprises 27 enormous jadeite beads (15.40 to 19.20 mm in size) of exceptional color and luster. It once belonged to a member of China’s Qing imperial court, and its estimated value is $12.8 million. The necklace, with a Cartier-designed clasp, was given…

Beneath the awning at the entrance to the Wellesley, a new boutique hotel built on the original site of the Hyde Park Corner tube station, there are still vestiges of the old red subway tiles, and it is not difficult to imagine the many cigars puffed by waiting passengers so many decades ago. Just off the lobby, inside the hotel’s stylish cigar lounge, the sweet, thick smoke of well-aged Havana leaf proves that cigars are still very much a part of the city’s present-day culture.  
Just seven years after …

The New York–based firm AvroKO, which has designed everything from lofts in Brooklyn to the Kid Robot store in Los Angeles, collaborated with Bombay Sapphire East to create this home bar item ($500). Inspired by a lazy Susan, the walnut Gin Wheel can house everything needed—bottles, bar tools, glassware, and more—to make a classic gin and tonic. A removable central aluminum sleeve serves as an ice bucket for the device, which is available exclusively through the Future Perfect. 212.473.2500, www.thefutureperfe…

The Dutch shipyard Heesen Yachts applies the term “sportster” to its newest launch, Galatea. The 131-foot motor yacht is indeed sporty and features a low profile, and it retains the builder’s famous emphasis on speed. The all-aluminum vessel, which features svelte naval architecture and exterior design by Van Oossanen and Heesen, is engineered for a 27.5-knot maximum speed (while at half load) thanks to its twin MTU engines, which its owner will likely be putting to the test following its delivery at the end o…