The highly anticipated Embraer Legacy 450, the $16.5 million light-midsize jet that the Brazilian manufacturer unveiled in 2007, recently completed its inaugural flight. The flight lasted just one hour and thirty-five minutes, but it is the aircraft’s first operation milestone toward certification and entry into service, which are expected for late this year and late next year, respectively. This flight follows the November 2012 first flight of the midsize Legacy 500 ($19.9 million), which Embraer expects to b…

Russia’s connection with vodka goes back a long way, possibly as far as the 12th century. Vodka is one vice that was common among royalty and peasantry alike; and while various czars over the centuries tried to limit or ban the spirit (despite the fact that most of them drank it themselves), all failed miserably. By the 18th century, vodka was not only legal but a big moneymaker for the aristocracy, which controlled the distilleries. The Bolshevik Revolution drove the distillers out along with the rest of the …

The venerable leather-goods company Mark Cross has resurrected some of the best-selling men’s accessories and travel bags from its archives, making slight modifications for today’s well-traveled man. The showpiece is a leather duffel ($2,750 at Barneys) inspired by a vintage duffel from the 1950s. The duffel bag is handcrafted from vegetable-tanned calfskin and features waxed-thread stitching, hand-painted edges, and brass hardware, with rounded handles and a cross-body strap. The new men’s collection includes…

The young Wales-based builder Pi Super Yachts recently unveiled its Dragonship 80 concept, an over-the-top sailing trimaran it plans as its flagship vessel, in association with McPherson Yacht Design. For sails, the Dragonship 80 uses three large airfoils similar to the ones on the boats that competed in the most recent America’s Cup competition. Instead of being controlled by sheets, the yacht’s airfoils are supported by masts that can make complete rotations clockwise and counterclockwise. This allows the sy…

Since its founding in 2007, the Chatsworth, Calif., custom-vehicle manufacturer Icon has claimed numerous Best of the Best awards—most recently a 2013 Specialty Vehicles category win for the Icon Dodge D200 Power Wagon—and it may be poised to do so again with the introduction of the Icon Thriftmaster. The 1947 Chevrolet 3100 is one of the most iconic trucks of the U.S. post-WWII era and was the inspiration for the retro-styled Thriftmaster pickup truck. However, for Jonathan Ward, cofounder and CEO of Icon, th…

For 30 years, the jewelry designer David Yurman has used a simple twisted-metal cable motif as his signature. Instantly recognizable as a David Yurman design, the cable style has appeared in a multitude of jewelry and watch designs for men and women, from chunky sterling-silver men’s necklaces to delicate gold and diamond rings and bracelets. But his most striking cable designs are being unveiled now in celebration of the motif’s 30th anniversary. His internationally known jewelry brand has created a collectio…

After two years of ongoing renovations at Hollywood’s iconic Beverly Hills Hotel, New York–based designer Adam Tihany, who is known for his work on Michelin-starred restaurants such as chef Thomas Keller’s French Laundry and Per Se, has begun the final phases of the hotel’s remodel. All 208 guest rooms are expected to be finished by the end of 2014 and will feature Bang & Olufsen televisions, antique bronze lighting fixtures, custom wall coverings, and walnut and ebonized oak furniture. Upgrades will inclu…

In the early 20th century, Philadelphia native William Glackens—a realist painter often called the “American Renoir”—charmed the nation with his atmospheric scenes of boisterous seaside locales, inviting cafés, and lively city streets (such as Captain’s Pier and The Little Pier), as well as more intimate still-life renderings and portraiture (including The Soda Fountain and Armenian Girl). Now, in the first comprehensive Glackens showing in decades, a collection of more than 85 of the artist’s paintings and dr…

One New York’s first power substations, which once distributed power to the subway trains below SoHo, is now one of New York’s most coveted residential rentals, located at 214 Lafayette St. It took architect Peter Guzy of Asfour Guzy Architects and the property’s current owner, Marcus Nispel—the movie director of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre—12 years to convert the circa-1890 building into a five-story, four-bedroom townhouse. Guzy kept the original beams, barrel-vaulted ceilings, skylights, and exposed redbric…

Toast a loved one with a glass of Krug Champagne Brut Grande Cuvée and decadent chocolate truffles from Vosges. The Chicago-based chocolatier pairs a bottle of bubbly with a mix of nine exotic truffles ($295), which include examples spiced with sweet Hungarian paprika, ginger, and wasabi. (773.388.5560, www.vosgeschocolate.com)
From artisanal macaroons and flourless chocolate-hazelnut cookies to handmade marshmallows and Champagne truffles, the 12-piece Ultimate Valentine’s Box ($145) from chef Daniel Boulud’…