Luxist

If the fears of hyperinflation are realized, you'll look back with pride on your luxury purchases. All that money you've sunk into custom jewelry and top-of-the-line stones will make you look like an absolute genius. Well, that's the position of South African billionaire Johann Rupert, and I'd take the advice of a guy who can be described that way.

According to Bloomberg News, the told investors, "If we enter hyperinflation, you're going to be so glad that you bought that stuff two months or six months ago." He added, "If inflation picks up, you're going to see people running into your stores, buying high jewelry."

Will inflation cause a mob to form outside the Cartier store on Fifth Avenue? Well, I don't think I'd worry too much about the pushing and shoving, but being ready to throw an elbow probably isn't a bad idea.

Of course, Rupert has something to gain – his company, Richemont, is the world's second largest luxury goods maker (behind LVMH). In his talk with investors in the company controlled by his family, he forecasted "normal growth" with luxury sales showing signs of recovery this month and next.

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Marriott has announced a new brand within their global portfolio that will bring distinctive hotels under the Marriott umbrella. The Autograph Collection will be a new brand comprised of upper upscale and luxury independent hotels around the world focusing on major cities and resort destinations. The collection is designed to offer the individuality of an independent hotel with the assurance of the Marriott brand.

The brand plans to add approximately 25 hotels through 2010 with locations throughout the world. Each hotel will go through the same hotel and operator approval processes as other Marriott full-service hotels and the Autograph Collection will be affiliated with the Marriott Rewards guest loyalty program.

USA Today has more details on the collection including the information that Marriott is in talks with 12 to 15 hotels about being part of the Autograph Collection. The brand launches at a time when many great independent hotels are struggling due to the economy so Marriott plans to target higher-end hotels that have opened recently but might be facing hard times. Hotels that become part of the collection will benefit from Marriott's worldwide network.

A lovely, winter-toned neutral that will bring a dose of comfy (but slightly icy) gray to your wardrobe. The Café Racer Leather Shoulder Bag by Donna Karan is made of wrinkled leather and has a few strategically placed stud and stitch details, double shoulder straps, a cut-out panel, a large silvertone zipper pull, exterior pockets all over the place that overlap each other plus one large one on the front that zips. Pockets galore on the inside too, along with a hidden magnetic closure and a full lining. $1,295

When you're throwing a lavish Thanksgiving dinner, it's good to keep some things simple. The decor doesn't have to be over the top; anything too fancy may appear to be "trying to hard." There are two things to splurge on: The drinks and the food.

While there are endless options for amazing wines and and fabulously presented after-dinner drinks (red lacquer Grand Marnier bottle, anyone?), the main dish says the most about the dinner.

So, what's a luxury turkey? Bypass the supermarket and go for the gold: Designer turducken.

Chef Ryan Farr and San Francisco's chic 4505 Meats have teamed up to create a a totally mouth-watering combination of turkey, duck and chicken (above) which "comes on a bed of root vegetables in a roasting pan and includes an electric thermometer with a preset alarm on it, making it simple for home cooks to follow the directions and pull the bird from the oven when the thermometer beeps." If you're in SF, you can order one from 4505 Meats for $200-$225 (15 or 20 pound turduckens, which will feed 14 or 18) and pick it up in the Portero neighborhood or have it shipped (at an additional cost); just get your order in by November 20.

If you're not in San Francisco, there are a number of other websites where you can get a perfectly good turducken, including cajungrocer, herbertsmeats, or you can even hit up Sam's Club for Tony Chachere's® Cornbread Turducken at a delicious price (but you didn't hear that from us).

For a holiday like Thanksgiving, it's a good idea to let the meal speak for itself. If everyone's enjoying the food, nobody's talking (and nobody's fighting).

Bowls made of drilled river rock, vines turned into sculpture and lighting salvaged from old factories around the world are just some of the unique treasures found at Artefact Design & Salvage in Sonoma, California. The showroom features antique architectural pieces, objects crafted from salvage, large-scale organic forms and all sorts of products that can't be found anywhere else. The products are collected around the world and include a growing line of furniture and objects designed by founder Dave Allen.

Allen's journey in salvage collection began in 1997 when he left his corporate job and started off on a new life specializing in architectural antiques. Over time he built his business from a series of yard sales to an international operation that sends him around the world scavenging for both salvaged items and new products from Borneo, Java, Bali and other parts of Malaysia and the Philippines. His blog on the Artefact Design & Salvage website is an informative and frequently amusing adventure. Check out the gallery below for a few of his treasures.

I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Her Deepness, legendary ocean explorer and marine scientist Sylvia Earle about the state of our oceans, and the conversation took an unexpected turn: we talked about caviar.

While we enjoy reveling in all things luxury here at Luxist, occasionally, it's a good idea to step back and take responsibility for our impact on the world around us. Luxury doesn't have to mean unsustainability, and those of us in more privileged positions have the opportunity to effect change and set a good example for future generations. That's why I want to tell you the truth about caviar. As Earle herself said, "Not knowing that you have a problem is the worst problem of all."

Luxist: Is there a certain kind of caviar the eco-conscious should choose?

Sylvia Earle: Well, consider what caviar is; fish eggs. Some people are raising sturgeon to extract the caviar, but it takes about 20 years to get an egg; to grow a mature female sturgeon that can have eggs of her own. And we don't raise 20-year-old chickens to get their eggs. Sturgeons can be 80 or 100 years old when they are taken out of their natural systems and carved up for caviar. The reason that caviar is increasingly rare is because the sturgeon are increasingly rare. There are very few remaining, even in the coastal waters of the United States. Chesapeake Bay used to have sturgeon. There was native sturgeon in Florida. There are precious few remaining.

L: Wait. They "carve them up" to get the eggs? They don't lay the eggs?

SE: Oh no! They take the adults and slice them up and remove the eggs. And sometimes they eat the fish, too, but it's ... it's like cutting old growth [such as centuries-old trees in the rainforests]. It doesn't make any sense. And the big, old fish are the ones that are the best reproducers. Only an old sturgeon will have eggs, and the older they are, the more eggs they produce. It's just kind of insanity, it shows how little we appreciate the investment that it takes.

While having access to something difficult to get can feel like a luxury, as Earle points out, "It doesn't make any sense." We've come to appreciate that ivory, for example, is not necessarily the height of luxury. While it's rare, it's often perceived as being in extremely poor taste, as our elephant populations dwindle. Perhaps it is time to adjust our thinking about caviar, as well, and to consider why things become so expensive and exclusive -- sometimes, it's because the way the product is being created isn't sustainable. Is it really worth carving up a 20 to 100-year-old sturgeon for a ten-minute appetizer? Other caviars are no different.

Our intention in publishing this is not to guilt trip anyone, but to provide the tools for all our readers to make informed choices. Now you know.

What's not to love about a castle that sits under the Hollywood sign? Especially if the price has been chopped from $7.5 million (the price the house was listed for in June 2008) to $4.7 million?

TV personality Debbie Matenopoulos and her soon-to-be-ex-husband Lionsgate Entertainment music executive Jay Faires have re-listed their Norman-style castle, once known as Wolf's Lair. The couple reportedly bought in 2002 for $2.9 million. Because of the association with Hitler's bunker of the same name, plans are to change the name to something, well, more castle-y.

The turreted 5,485-square-foot castle that sits on 3.3 acres was built in the 1920s and includes a two-bedroom guest house designed by architect John Lautner. The main house was built by and named after L. Milton Wolf, the developer of Hollywoodland. In fact, the Hollywood sign that sits behind the home was put there by Wolf to advertise Hollywoodland. ( The original sign bore that name and was covered with 4,000 flashing electric light bulbs.) There is a heart-shaped black-bottom pool and eight bedrooms total on the property, which sits high above Los Angeles' Beachwood Canyon.

Lure about this property is legendary. Wolf, something of a ladies' man, reportedly installed a secret apartment under the gatehouse where he entertained, ahem, privately.

Bugsy Siegal's former castle -- the one Madonna owned subsequently -- is right up the road a piece. Castillo del Lago is listed at $9.95 million, making the former Wolf's Lair a relative bargain.

Ernie Carswell of Teles Properties, Beverly Hills, has the listing.

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Seemingly following in the footsteps of Vacheron Constantin, Ulysse Nardin steps away from aggressive modern style watches with this throwback timepiece aptly named the Classico. Forget the cheesy, super market pasta sauce sounding name and you get three versions of a pretty decent watch. The 40mm wide case is done in either 18k rose or white gold, and is water resistant to 50 meters. Dial colors include silvered, black, or blue. Design is right out of your grandfather's heyday. If it suited his type well, how wrong can you go?

The watch has a good movement too. An in-house made UN caliber 815 automatic movement that has been COSC certified, with a solid 22k automatic rotor visible through the sapphire caseback window . Good thing it has a date as well. Some of these throw-back models are too minimalistic for my taste. I prefer a date on watches personally. Here the petite window is nicely framed in gold. The sunburst polish on the dial is a nice retro touch as well (also the lug design). Pleasing as well is the fact that the hands and luminant covered, and there are lume dots over the hour markers. The alligator straps are brown for the pictured version, while the black and blue dialed versions are matched to black and blue straps respectively. Should be available soon.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Love your state? Maya Brenner's state necklaces are a unique way to show your love for your home turf or maybe the place you'd most like to be. The necklaces are hung on 16-inch 14K gold chains and show the outline of the state. For a little personalization you can add a small diamond mounted anywhere along the outline. The pieces are available in 14K gold or sterling silver, with or without the small diamond. The Texas necklace shown at right sells for $300 and is a favorite with Texas natives Eva Longoria Parker and Jessica Simpson.

Nothing compares to the perfect pairing of champagne and a cigar. Too often, cigars wind up with dark liquors, their natural partners. Rum, port, scotch and cognac are the norm for an after-dinner smoke -- not champagne. With the holiday season coming, of course, the preferred beverage will likely bubble, so finding the right cigars for the top libation will be crucial.

Fortunately, Vin Lee, CEO of the Beverly Hills Cigar Club, has agreed to help us out. As you prepare for the new year, take a look at the cigar and champagne pairings that he recommends, with both ubiquitous and rare products on the list. Lee says, "In this day and age, not everyone can afford a $50 cigar and a $300 bottle of champagne," said Lee. "Complementing a wonderful glass of champagne with a great cigar for the holidays is something everyone should be able to enjoy."

BHCC's 2010 Top 10 Champagne and Cigar Pairings are:

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