Belle Epoque

Perrier-Jouet Celebrates Bicentennial with World's First "Living Legacy" Champagne

Filed under: Wine

Two hundreds years is an exceptional anniversary to celebrate, and having been founded in 1811, that's exactly what Perrier-Jouët is marking this year. And to celebrate the occasion, the French champagne house is launching what is termed as the world's first "living legend" champagne.

The Perrier-Jouët Bi-Centenaire program involves a (presumably quite wealthy) buyer selecting a magnum of Perrier-Jouët's Belle Epoque 1998 champagne, which is then set down in the winery's cellars for as much as 100 years, after which the buyer's descendants are invited to pick up the finely-aged bottle. The entire process is limited to 100 bottles, each fetching a price of 10,000 euros.

The launch of the program was celebrated with a lavish feast attended by 200 guests -- including many local and international celebrities -- who enjoyed a recreation of the menu crafted for the company's centarian dinner a hundred years ago, prepared by French chef Jean-Louis Nomicos under the tutelage of his mentor Alain Ducasse.

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Tags: belle epoque, bicentenaire, Bicentennial, champagne, Perrier-Jouët, Perrier-Jouët Bi-Centenaire, perrier-jouet

The Classicist: Inside the Embassies & Historic Mansions of Paris

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor, Estates, Books, The Classicist, Wealth, Architecture & Design

Very rarely do any of Paris' remaining private palaces come on the market; when they do the properties invariably rank among the world's most expensive, such as the 1912 mansion built for the Duchesse de Montmorency recently listed at $140 million that we told you about back in November. The reason there is so little movement among these magnificent monuments to wealth lining the famed city's storied avenues is that most are occupied as embassies and ambassadorial residences. An equally magnificent new book, Historic Houses of Paris: Residences of the Ambassadors from Flammarion by Alain Stella with photography by Francis Hammond offers a guided tour of 22 of these amazing edifices, some seen for the first time, most originally built for members of the aristocracy and now the setting for lavish diplomatic entertainments and intrigues.

Gilded halls, formal sitting rooms, stately dining rooms, paneled libraries, perfectly landscaped gardens, chambers filled with rare antiques, luxurious wallcoverings and private living quarters are all examined in delectable detail, in mansions ranging from a 17th-century hôtel particulier to a Belle Epoque palace and even a couple more contemporary examples, now occupied by the ambassadors of the United States, the United Kingdom, Russia, Germany, China, India and more. The cover (above) depicts the Sicilian theater of the incredible Italian Ambassador 's residence, aka the Hotel de la Rochefoucauld-Doudeauville, built in 1732. Some, like the Indian Ambassador's residence, aka the Hotel de Marlborough built in 1910 by architect René Sergent, who also designed Claridge's in London and Rome's Grand Hotel, are named for famous former owners; in this case the Duchess of Marlborough, aka Consuelo Vanderbilt, one of the world's richest and most beautiful women at the time.

Gallery: Historic Houses of Paris

Hotel d'Avaray (Kingdom of the Netherlands)

Tags: antiques, architecture, aristocrats, Belle Epoque, books, coffee table books, decor, embassy, estates, France, historic houses, mansion, Paris, politics, real estate, wealth

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Angular Momentum Belle Epoque Eternal Time Watch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

History and jewelry meet watch making once again at Angular Momentum with this Belle Epoque Eternal Time watch. The Belle Epoque era occurred before the Art Deco era, and was located mostly in the newly modernizing Europe of the late 19th century. The style combined classical elements with new forms of industrialization inspired decoration. It was edgy for the time, and certainly a bit baroque.

This new watch from Angular Momentum (as part of the Time Galley collection of timepieces) captures some of that look in this 18k white gold 41mm wide case decorated with an impressive number of diamonds. Two larger baguette cut diamonds sit at 12 and 6 o'clock. Time is told via the two gold colored orbs set behind the white gold and diamonds star medallion in the center of the watch. The larger orb is for the hours, while the smaller orb is for the minutes. Inside the watch is Swiss automatic mechanical movement. Quite an interesting and rare jewelry piece of horological art.

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

Tags: angular momentum, AngularMomentum, belle epoque, BelleEpoque, eternal time, EternalTime, time gallery, TimeGallery, watch, watch of the day, watches, WatchOfTheDay

Angular Momentum Belle Époque Watch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

The Belle Epoque, or "Beautiful Era" in Europe took place during the end of the 19th century and up to World War I. It was considered a golden age for the wealthy population of Europe. The era involved excellent economic and cultural times where inexpensive labor and low (to no) taxes allowed for a semi-renaissance period in regard to the development and creation of art and scientific advancements. Free flowing money from wealthy elites helped fuel people whose lives were dedicated to simply being creative. A distinct artistic genre was borne that I consider to be a precursor of art deco. It involved imbuing more traditional formal art with a late 19th century futuristic twist.

In celebration of this era (one that we would so love to relive nowadays), Swiss watch maker Angular Momentum has created the Time Gallery Bell Époque watch. Using their new Time Gallery case, the watch is an artistic testament to the aesthetic style of choice as defined by that era. Using a 41mm wide 18k white gold case (with pave diamond settings) the majority of the watch dial is covered in an ornate foliate design enhanced by a multitude of finely cut diamonds. The decoration is placed over a black sapphire crystal. The time is read via a window placed at 12 o'clock where a disc spins once each 12 hours. Inside the watch is an automatic mechanical movement. Angular Momentum is slated to open a line of boutiques in the Middle East where this and other artistic watches will be showcased.

Ariel Adams publishes the watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: angular momentum, AngularMomentum, belle epoque, BelleEpoque, time gallery, TimeGallery, watch

Belle Epoque, Estate of the Day

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates

Oh those computer guys, they have a habit of building monster homes. Norman Waitt, Jr. co-founder of Gateway had a hankering for a vacation home (and why not, he lives in Omaha, Nebraska, he could use a little sun). So where else but Montecito, the place where Oprah and others with the wherewithal to jet in for weekend getaways chose to nest. According to Ben Casselman of the Wall Street Journal, Mr. Waitt built a roughly 12,000-square-foot home, known as "Belle Époque." He picked up the property in 2003 for $12.6 million, tore down the existing house and spent the last four years creating his dream home. Now that it is done, he's done, deciding to sell without ever settling in. He put the house on the market last year for $24.8 million and has now dropped it to $22.5 million.

Belle Epoque was designed to maximize the views and make sure that plenty of gorgeous Santa Barbara light flooded the home. It has a large formal living room with gently curved French doors. The dining room is designed for dining in the round and more French doors open to the terrace. The breakfast room faces east to catch the morning sun There is a conservatory with custom gothic style windows and doors, Carrera marble flooring and thresholds and motorized windows. Key details include antique light fixtures, tiles, glass mosaics, refurbished bath fixtures, old stone tops and exquisite reclaimed antique oak flooring. The 2.76-acre property has a pool and spa, formal garden, meditation garden and three-car garage. After the jump, take a look around and let me know in the comments if you would rather have this home in Montecito or Ellen's?

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Tags: belle epoque, BelleEpoque, gateway computers, montecito, norman wiatt

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