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Asprey Offers Exclusive Polo Gear to Order Online

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Apparel, Sports, Men's Style


You no longer have to visit Asprey's exclusive polo shop at the Royal County of Berkshire Polo Club in the UK in order to purchase its aristocratic apparel and accessories made for the sport of kings. The storied London luxury goods firm, suppliers to the gentry and royalty for 200 years, has now made their polo gear available to order online. The full range (above) is on offer, including their leather and suede saddles ($1,100), Italian leather polo boots ($1,200) and stylish bridle leather polo holdall ($1,200), along with the requisite bridles, whips, mallets, helmets and more. In addition Asprey offers a bespoke trophy making service. Asprey also fields its own polo team, which won the prestigious Queen Mother's Centenary Tournament 15 goal trophy at the Guards Polo Club this year, and sponsors the coveted Prince of Wales Trophy.

[via Duncan Quinn]


Tags: Asprey, London, polo, Prince of Wales, PrinceOfWales, UK

Hermes Vows No Change In Strategy

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Handbags

victoria beckhamOne of the reasons that Hermes seems to thrive where other luxury brands falter is that the brand has always eschewed 'masstige' -- luxury aimed at the masses. While other brands have expanded and then discounted, Hermes has held on to a fine snobbery that has served it well even in the recession. That strategy isn't set to change. The Financial Times recently talked with Patrick Thomas the CEO of the luxury brand who has said the brand has held off on expanding as fast as they could because they don't want to squander the legacy of the company's history. Thomas refers to it as a "capital sin" to use the image of the company to try and make short term money.

The company has made some accommodations to deal with the growing demand for their products. Over the last 20 years the brand has expanded its cadre of artisans from around 300 to over 2,000 but they still can't keep up with the demand for the popular Birkin bags beloved of celebrities and the wealthy including Victoria Beckham, shown at right. Thomas also cleared up the rumor that Hermes might be investing in jewelry brand Asprey after picking up their London store. Thomas insists that the company was only after the prime real estate, not the company within.

Source

Tags: asprey, birkin, handbag, hermes, luxury

William & Son Granted Royal Warrant

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Handbags, Jewelry, Timepieces, Celebrity Shopping


William & Son, the luxury goods emporium located in London's elegant Mayfair district founded by William Asprey after his family's business, Asprey of London, was sold off back in the '90s, was recently granted a Royal Warrant to HM Queen Elizabeth II. The firm (which we wrote about last year), offers high-end jewelry, silver, watches, leathergoods, china and crystal, as well as custom-made shotguns and other bespoke services. The Royal Warrant is awarded as a mark of recognition to companies who have regularly supplied goods or services for at least five years to members of the Royal Family. Warrants have always been regarded as a mark of excellence and quality, and are highly prized. Other firms holding the Royal Warrant include Asprey, Swaine Adeney Brigg, Barbour and Laphroaig.


Tags: alligator, Asprey, Barbour, jewelry, Laphroaig, London, luxury goods, LuxuryGoods, Queen Elizabeth, Queen of England, QueenElizabeth, QueenOfEngland, Royal Warrant, RoyalWarrant, shotgun

Hermes Buys Asprey's Bond Street Store

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Luxury jewelry and accessories brand Asprey commands an enviable corner of Bond Street in London and now it looks like that property will have a new name over the door. The Observer reports that Hermès will buy the building and may buy the entire Asprey business. Hermès will purchase the building from Quinlan Private run by Derek Quinlan. Reportedly Hermès beat Chanel to the store.

In a challenging luxury market, Hermès has continued to shine posting profits at a time when most other brands are wrestling with deep losses. The same can't be said for Asprey which has struggled recently and had two consecutive loss-making years with sales dropping from £17 million to £13 million. For the most part Hermès hasn't been in the acquisitions business, choosing to expand modestly and focus on their strengths but Asprey does have the kind of history and tradition that might appeal to Hermès.

The Observer speculates that the sale might provide a much-needed cash infusion for Derek Quinlan, whose portfolio has taken a deep in the past year or so. He is divesting himself of a lot of his property portfolio and has moved to Switzerland. The Asprey store sale could bring him as much as £25 million.

Source

Tags: asprey, bond street, BondStreet, derek quinlan, DerekQuinlan, hermes, london

Asprey Crocodile Skin Poker Set

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Gadgets, Men's Style

Asprey poker set
200-year-old London luxury goods firm Asprey has been making some of the world's most exquisite games for decades, of the sort that wouldn't look out of place in a palace. One of their latest offerings is a beautiful handmade gentleman's poker set in black polished genuine crocodile skin with ceramic poker chips and royal purple Asprey playing cards (above). Priced at about $8,000 it certainly brings new meaning to "poker night". Asprey, founded in 1781, holds a Royal Warrant from the Prince of Wales, one of several granted by the British Royal Family over the years. As we reported last year, Asprey decided to return to its roots and focus on its core business of luxury goods representing a high-water mark of taste, refinement and quality after having branched out into clothing and footwear.

[via JustLuxe]


Tags: Asprey, British royalty, BritishRoyalty, crocodile, gambling, games, London, poker, Prince of Wales, PrinceOfWales, Royal Warrant, royalty, RoyalWarrant, UK

Lanesborough London's Asprey & Verdura Experiences

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Handbags, Jewelry, Journeys


London's luxe Lanesborough Hotel (above) has partnered with famed luxury goods brands Asprey and Verdura on a pair of exclusive "design experience" packages through March 31st. The packages available at the 5-star Regency-style St. Regis property on London's Hyde Park Corner in Knightsbridge include an opportunity to personally design a one-of-a-kind Asprey leather bag, and a private appointment and estate consultation at Verdura, one of the world's foremost jewelers. The Asprey experience at their Bond Street flagship is focused on a creative session with one of their in-house designers to create a bespoke leather handbag or briefcase from an extensive selection of exotic skins, including alligator, crocodile, python and ostrich.

The Verdura experience involves viewing the jewels of the house's legendary founder, Duke Fulco di Verdura, as well as a consultation to evaluate your collection and advise you on key "estate" additions. Verdura designed jewels for legendary figures from Coco Chanel to Babe Paley and Princess Di. The Asprey experience includes accommodation in an Aspley suite and costs about $1,600 per night with a three night minimum stay; the Verdura package includes accommodation in a Junior Suite and costs about $1,000 per night with a three night minimum. Back in November we reported that the Lanesborough's posh library bar was offering the world's oldest cognac at $6,000 a shot.

[via JustLuxe]

Gallery: Lanesborough x Asprey x Verdura

Lanesborough Drawing RoomLanesborough SuiteLanesborough Library BarAsprey Crocodile BagBabe Paley Wearing Verdura Jewels


Tags: Asprey, Coco Chanel, CocoChanel, Hotel, Lanesborough Hotel, LanesboroughHotel, London, St. Regis, St.Regis, Verdura

Angelina Jolie's Lost and Found Earrings

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Jewelry, Celebrity Shopping

Those who travel a lot know how easy it is to accidentally leave something behind. It must be exponentially more difficult for always-travelling Angelina Jolie to keep track of things. Small wonder then that the star left behind a pair of Asprey earrings. According to the Daily Mirror, Jolie wore the diamond earrings with her Armani Prive dress at the Bafta awards but left them in her suite at the Dorchester hotel before taking off. The Mirror reports that she realized that she had forgotten the earrings before leaving the country and called the hotel which found them and sent them on to Los Angeles. Better to leave the diamonds behind than one of the children.

Gallery: Jewels Gone Missing

Graff JewelersMonica BellucciAnn RomneyQueen LatifahParis Hilton

Source

Tags: angelina jolie, AngelinaJolie, asprey, diamonds, earrings

Asprey's Clic Clac Travel Alarm

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces



What does your travel alarm clock look like? Do you even have one? I've gotten into the habit of using my cell phone's alarm but I'd feel so much classier if I had a little beauty like one of these Clic Clac travel clocks from Asprey to sit on my hotel nightstand instead. Available in a rainbow of colors and your choice of alligator, lizard, calf, or steel finishes I think they're even stylish enough to leave out year round, in a guest room or something. $775

Source

Tags: alarm, alarm clock, AlarmClock, asprey, timepiece

William & Son Gets a Makeover

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Jewelry, Men's Style


Last spring I wrote about William & Son (above), the boutique London luxury goods firm founded by William Asprey after Asprey of London, the family business, was sold off back in the '90s. While William & Son hearkened back to the traditions established by Asprey in days gone by, including a bespoke gun department taking the place of Asprey's own which was closed down, William has conceded to a bit of modernization. His firm's Mayfair premises have just been revamped while the business as a whole has been "re-branded." The store's interior has been redone in an "elegantly modern" style, wihtout detracting from the classic and timeless nature of the firm's beautiful offerings, from diamond rings to 12-gauges. See the gallery for pix.

Gallery: William & Son

WatchAlligator casePensRingsShotgun


Tags: Asprey, London, Mayfair, William Asprey, William Son, WilliamAsprey, WilliamSon

The 2008 Asprey Chirstmas Cracker

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —


British jeweler Asprey has unveiled their annual Christmas Cracker. The classic British Christmas accompaniment comes with the traditional paper crown, a quotation, balloon and one gift item. This years items in sterling silver and lizard skin include a yoyo, deco cufflinks, silver pen, lizard book mark, silver and lizard skin tape measure, mini clock, silver heart bracelet, pencil sharpener, table magnifier, poker dice set, compass key ring and salt and pepper set. The crackers are wrapped in purple and silver and each one sells for $230 or a box of 12 for $2,635.

For the crafty and thrifty, here's a mini tutorial on making your own Christmas crackers.

Source

Tags: asprey, christmas cracker, ChristmasCracker, gfits, holidays

Asprey Gets Back To Basics

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

A few months ago, my colleague Jared Paul Stern mentioned that British luxury brand Asprey had strayed far from their roots and over expanded into more fashionable realms. It seems the company is ready to change course. Asprey has announced it will discontinue its ready-to-wear collections as of December 31, 2008 and will focus on three area that have supported the brand over the many years it has been in business: jewelry, silver, and leather. The ready-to-wear angle was short lived, as Fashion Week Daily reports, the brand had expanded its ready-to-wear under creative director Hakan Rosenius, who is no longer with the company. This means we will likely see more jewelry pieces like the amethyst earrings from the Windsor collection shown at right, as well as a return to classic Asprey handbags and briefcases. It seems a smart move for a company seeking to protect the intrinsic value of its name.


Tags: asprey

St. Regis Sponsors Major New Polo Trophy

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Events, Sports


One of the world's most famous luxury hotel brands is getting into the polo game in a big way this summer with the first annual St. Regis International Cup. England and Italy will compete for the prestigious trophy in the inaugural match, taking place this Sunday (the 31st) at the historic Cowdray Park Polo Club in West Sussex, surrounded by the ruins of Cowdray Castle.

Of course, St. Regis isn't about to slack off when it comes to hospitality either. They've partnered with Asprey, Veuve Clicquot and Audi to create the ultimate VIP tent at Cowdray, where a crack regiment of St. Regis butlers brought in from the hotels will cater to the toffs' every need. Even the general public will be able to avail themselves of a bar serving the signature St. Regis Bloody Mary. Damned democratic of them, no?


Tags: Asprey, Cowdray Park Polo Club, CowdrayParkPoloClub, England, Equestrian, Polo, St. Regis, St.Regis, veuve clicquot, VeuveClicquot

Bonhams' Fine Sporting Gun Sale

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Auctions, Sports


If you missed out on one of those $100,000 Asprey shotguns we told you about that were auctioned off at Christie's in May, not to worry - Bonhams is holding its own Sporting Guns sale in London on July 30 where you can bid on some extremely fine pieces at a fraction of the cost. In actual fact, the highest priced guns at the Christie's sale were made by Holland & Holland, and there are several fine examples of their craft in the Bonhams sale. For instance, a 1947 12-bore 'Royal de Luxe' sidelock ejector shotgun with foliate-scroll engraving and gold inlays (above), est. $32,000 - $40,000, in its original leather case.

Also on offer: A fine lightweight 1934 12-bore over-and-under shotgun by J. Woodward, in a leather case, est. $40,000 - $50,000; a 10-bore 'Premiere' single-trigger over-and-under shotgun by E.J. Churchill, est. $20,000 - $30,000; a 1905 12-bore self-opening sidelock ejector gun by Purdey, est. only $10,000 - $14,000; and several fine vintage guncases including one stunning example executed in crocodile skin, est. only $400 - $800. See the gallery for pix.

Gallery: Bonhams Summer Sporting Guns

Holland & Holland 12-bore 'Royal' sidelock ejectorChurchill 10-bore 'Premiere' single-trigger over-and-underPurdey 12-bore self-opening sidelock ejectorJ. Woodward 12-bore over-and-underCrocodile guncase


Tags: Asprey, Bonhams, Holland Holland, HollandHolland, Hunting, London, Purdey, Shooting, Shotguns, Sporting guns, SportingGuns

Asprey Shifts Focus, Ditches Clothing Line

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Apparel


Asprey, the 200-year-old London luxury goods firm, is dropping its clothing and footwear lines to concentrate on core businesses like jewelry, silver and leathergoods. WWD reports the move is part of an initiative by the company's new President and CEO Robert Procop to shore up the historic brand. As we reported previously, Asprey changed direction in 1996 when the company was sold to Prince Jefri of Brunei. Its gunrooms were shuttered and additional clothing and accessory lines launched in an attempt to make the firm more fashionable. Gorgeous actress Keira Knightley (above, in Asprey designs) was subsequently hired on as spokesmodel.

Gallery: Asprey of London

Keira in an Asprey necklace.An Asprey runway look.Asprey's New York store.Asprey's London flagship.An inlaid Asprey shotgun.


Tags: Asprey, Brunei, keira knightley, KeiraKnightley, London, Luxury goods, LuxuryGoods

The Classicist: Bamford's New Fall Favorites

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Cosmetics and Fragrance, Men's Style, The Classicist

Bamford & Sons, the bastion of top-drawer British style whose killer custom Rolex we wrote about a couple months back, has come out with a stunning fall collection that actually has us looking forward to the end of summer. In addition, the company is launching a new Bath & Body line to add to their already impressive lineup of clothing and accessories, which includes everything from cashmere blankets to limited edition sterling silver iPods.

Bamford's sporty classics with a bit of a natty twist - check out this cashmere shooting jacket paired with a purple cashmere sweater - are known for being extremely comfortable and well made. The company's motto is "A man's life should determine his clothes; not vice versa." Their craftsmanship and blend of "innovation and heritage" calls to mind a classic British sportscar with beautiful burled walnut inlays, chrome gauges and hand-stitched leather seats.

For fall, traditional items such as this shooting jacket, the classic pea coat, tweeds and trench coats are given a lighter, more contemporary feel. Organic, sustainable and natural fibers are used, never synthetics. It may surprise you to know that not only is this shooting jacket water-resistant, but it is treated with a natural moisture repellent derived from the lotus flower rather than any nasty chemicals. If you bought one of those beautiful $100,000 Asprey shotguns we wrote about, this is the jacket to do it justice.

Gallery: Bamford & Sons for Fall

Super merino wool tweed vest.Dark navy wool/cashmere 'lotus finish' pea coat.Charcoal sueded merino lambskin jacket.Super merino wool tweed jacket.Customized B&S PVD Rolex Daytona.


Tags: Asprey, Bamford, Bamford Sons, BamfordSons, British style, BritishStyle, Cashmere, London, Rolex

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