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$1.5 Million Riva Motor Boat by Marc Newson

Filed under: Yachts & Sailing


Avant-garde Australian designer Marc Newson has designed a limited edition version of Riva's famed 33-ft. Aquariva speedboat priced at $1.5 million. Only 22 examples of the sleek, stylish vessel, due to be unveiled this September at the Gagosian Gallery in New York, will be produced. Newson drew on his work in work in automotive and aerospace design for the project for the famed Italian boatyard. The windscreen is made from a single sheet of glass, the instrument panel is streamlined, and the handles, hooks and holds are made from anodized aluminum and disappear from view when not in use. The deck is covered in Micarta, an industrial resin. "When you think of small speedboats, inevitably you think of Riva, and particularly of the Aquarama, the Aquariva's predecessor which was the most glamorous boat of the 1950s and 1960s," Newson says. "It was beautifully made in a particular style that was very, very identifiable. I wanted to reinterpret the Aquariva in my own style, with cues from the Aquarama."

More of Halsey Minor's Collection Up For Sale

Filed under: Decor, Auctions, Art

newson pod halsey minor saleWe already covered one auction of CNET founder Halsey Minor's prodigious art collection but he has far more to unload. The first sale with auction house Phillips de Pury brought in $21,049,050. Now Phillips de Pury has announced the highlights from its June 9th New York Design auction which will offer additional works from The Halsey Minor Collection. On May 13, Marc Newson's prototype Lockheed Lounge went for nearly $2.1 million, now the lucky buyer could buy a matching piece, Newson's Pod of Drawers, 1987. The piece, estimated to sell for $300,000-400,000 features riveted aluminum panels on a bombé style chest. Other pieces include several elegant works from architect and decorator Paul Dupré-Lafon. A drop-front writing cabinet, veneered with Macassar ebony and finished in Hermès leather, ca. 1940, is estimated at $100,000-150,000.

It's been a busy few weeks for Minor. As ArtInfo reports, a Manhattan federal judge ruled that Minor owes Sotheby's $6.6 million for paintings that he won at auction and never paid for but a San Francisco jury found that Christie's owes Minor a little more than $8.5 million for delaying the return of Richard Prince paintings that he had consigned to the auction house in 2008. When Minor handed the paintings to Christie's he owed the auction house $12 million for other works he had won at auction. The auction house held onto the paintings, perhaps hoping to use them as leverage. After the art market plummeted, Minor sued Christie's saying the auction house prevented him from getting the maximum profit for his holdings.

Dom Pérignon Black Box By Marc Newson

Filed under: Gadgets, Wine


Renowned Australian industrial designer Marc Newson has collaborated once again with Dom Pérignon to create a special carrying case / cooler for the famed French champagne house. The Black Box by Marc Newson is crafted of a high-tech composite that keeps a chilled bottle of bubbly perfectly cool during traveling, while resisting wear and tear. Priced at €200 or about $285 the case is unfortunately not yet available in the U.S. "I've always loved Champagne, but personally I feel very close to Dom Pérignon," Newson notes. "It is classic yet cool and inherently modern. In terms of design, the fantastic silhouette of the bottle has stood the test of time - it remains unchanged since its creation and has become an icon. That's a very rare trait."

You Can Own A Piece of the Moon - Really!

Filed under: Art, Books


This past summer Taschen released Moonfire the comprehensive photographic essay with text originally written by Norman Mailer to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the historic Apollo 11 moon landing. For the holiday season they are releasing the Lunar Rock Edition which allows regular people to own a piece of the moon, for a price!

It is incredibly rare for an average person to have access to lunar rock. Most lunar meteorites are in the possession of scientific institutions and museum collections. Given that there are only about 70 known meteorites with a combined weight of 55 kilograms, it makes lunar rocks more valuable than diamonds, a truly rare substance on Earth.

Each of the 12 special editions come with an individual piece of lunar rock . The rock and the book are presented in a case designed by Marc Newson one of the most influential living designers of our time. His work commands the highest prices and has broken the record for auction prices paid for current designers, most notably in April 2009 when Lockheed lounge sold for $1.825 million in London.

The book itself is a fascinating compilation of photographs of what has been called the most historic event of the 20th century. The photographs have been culled from the archives of Life magazine, NASA and are paired with text by Norman Mailer. There is also an archival quality numbered photographic print signed by Buzz Aldrin included with the book.

The final 12 lunar rock editions are on sale for 60,000 Euros and come with an authenticated and documented piece of lunar rock which varies in size, color and density.

Lunar Rock edition 1,969 features a piece found in Morocco that weighs in at 348 grams and is one of the largest meteorites to be found on earth that has not been cut into smaller portions for scientific research. The purchaser of this ultimate edition will also receive an invitation to a private dinner with Buzz Aldrin in Los Angeles. The price of this unique edition will set you back almost as much as a trip to the moon itself costing 480,000 Euros!

If you'd like to see it all in person, the Lunar Rock Edition of Norman Mailer's Moonfire is being exhibited at the Taschen booth during Art Basel in Miami from December 2-5, 2009. Otherwise you can head over to the Taschen web-site for an in depth look at the book and its photos.

Marc Newson's Pricey Outerwear

Filed under: Apparel

marc newson hoodie
Designer Marc Newson has been able to sell furniture for over $1 million so its no surprise that is clothing line is pricey. Newson's clothing line with G-Star, a manufacturer in the Netherlands is a basic line of outerwear in basic neutral colors of black, white and gray. The pieces, available at Moss, were produced in a limited edition of 100 signed and numbered pieces. The line shows off Newson's love of rounded shapes, check out the distinctive pockets. The hoodie shown above sells for $2,170.

Jaeger LeCoultre Showcases the Marc Newson Designed Atmos 561 Clock

Filed under: Gadgets, Timepieces / Watches


The Marc Newson designed Jaeger LeCoultre Atmos 561 clock is over a year past its initial announcement, but these items take a while from announcement to release. The Atmos clock has been an iconic piece of technology for Jaeger LeCoultre. I don't even fully understand how they work, but the principle is that changes in a room's atmosphere causes a portion of the clock to expand and retract. The changes in the atmosphere are deviations in the temperature. This ongoing movement of the expanding element helps to power the movement, almost perpetually. The Atmos clock has been around for over 80 years (since 1928).

While the standard designs of the Atmos clocks have always been pleasing, famous designer Marc Newson was brought aboard to help create what is essentially a retro themed piece. Typical of Newson's organic minimalist curves, the clock movement is housed in a large Baccarat crystal. New functions to the clock appear to be a month indicator as well as a moon phase indicator.

From a design perspective the Atmos 561 clock looks totally different than other models - if only because they traditionally used gold (maybe brass) tones as opposed to steel tones with lots of crystal. The look of the watch is attractive, with the face being legible. You might argue that the counter weights on the hands are too long, but they are there for purely visual reasons to help maintain a degree of symmetry in the design. Big news for the Atmos 561 clock was that it was recently showcased by Jaeger LeCoultre at the Salon del Mobile in Milan, with an exhibition dedicated to the Atmos clock, along with a presentation of the clock's development and history.

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


A Lockheed Lounge Up For Auction

Filed under: Decor, Auctions

lockheed lounge
In 2007, one of Marc Newson's famous Lockheed Lounge pieces set a new auction record for a living designer's work. That piece sold for $1.5 million. How will today's economy deal with a Lockheed Lounge? We will get a chance to find out when Phillips de Pury & Company offers up Lockheed Lounge, 1985 at the Phillips de Pury & Company's London Design sale on April 30. The Marc Newson's Lockheed Lounge, LC1, 1985 has a pre-sale estimate of £500,000 – 700,000. The chaise, which has a fiberglass core and a shiny exterior of riveted sheet aluminum has become an iconic piece of modern design. It is featured in several museum collection and is part of a few private collections. The piece on offer here is one of four artist proofs which preceded the edition of ten, and it was originally owned by the designer's mother. It was also the one used in Madonna's video for the song "Rain." The chaise has been in a private collection since 1999. If an Art Deco leather chair can sell for $28 million, maybe Newson's chaise is a worthwhile investment.

Marc Newson's $39,000 Horizon Watch

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches


Marc Newson's 2008-designed Horizon watch for his company Ikepod might slash your holiday wishlist down to one item -- though you may need two or three holidays to get past the sticker shock. At $39,000 this timepiece is the design geek's impossible dream: signed and numbered by industrial design giant Newson, crafted from platinum and featuring a single-shell case and sapphire front.

It's tricky to ignore the price on this ticker, but consider how quickly Newson's 12 Chop Top tables sold out at last year's Design Miami -- at $170,000 apiece.

In the U.S., the Horizon watch is available at Moss, both online and in its LA or NY stores.

Newson's Lockheed Lounger Will Sell For Millions

Filed under: Decor, Auctions


Cutting edge design doesn't come cheap, and with every day, month, and year that goes by it only gets more and more expensive. Case in point: Christie's will soon be auctioning off the most expensive piece ever by a living designer. It's the Marc Newson Lockheed lounge chaise, and it's expected to go for more than $2.4 million next month. That's one expensive lounge chair -- do you think they'll let bidders try it out/sit in it beforehand?

This sale is expected to blow the previous record (also a Newson piece that sold for $1 million earlier this year) out of the water by more than a little. Would you pay that much for this seat?

Marc Newson's Designs For The Astrium Space Jet


Richard Branson may have Philippe Starck in his corner for his Virgin Galactic space plans but the folks at EADS Astrium have another world-dominating designer for their new space plane on their team: Marc Newson. Newson's designs for the spaceplane were unveiled last week in Paris. Newson, who has already designed for several private jets as well as for Qantas, worked with the unique challenges of a plane which has both jet and rocket engines and will allow weightless flight (note the handles in the picture above). The interior was kept simple and the biggest challenge was the seats which have to be compact and light and comfortable for both traditional flight and rocket flight. The solution was a sort of hammock-like seat that is mounted on pivot points that move when the plane's angle changes. Newson is also famed for his love of bright colors, hence the canary yellow seats. After the jump, a few more shots of Newson's unique design.

Qantas Opens First Class Lounge

Filed under: Wings

First class fliers on Qantas have a new place to relax in Sydney. The airline recently opened a new flagship lounge designed by famed industrial designer Marc Newson. Features of the lounge include chair-side waiter service, concierge service and complimentary spa treatments. The Sydney lounge will include huge American oak sculptures that separate the lounge space into defined areas, a Payot Paris day spa, a 48-seat open kitchen restaurant with menus by Neil Perry, a library stocked with newspapers and magazines, books and board games, a dedicated entertainment zone with banks of plasma screens, marble-lined shower suites and business facilities with 11 PC workstations. The lounge is part of Qantas's luxury push in anticipation of getting their first Airbus A380 in 2008.

Dom Pérignon Champagne Bucket

Filed under: Spirits

The limited edition bottles of Dom Pérignon by Marc Newson are not exactly made for drinking. The neo-green sculptures are actually champagne buckets that are styled after the bottles that they are designed to hold, complete with a silver label in the iconic Dom Pérignon style adorning each one. Reminiscent of nesting dolls, each piece holds a Dom Pérignon Magnum and stands 27-inches tall. Price: €1,000

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