wall street journal

The Custom $175K Shotgun Coveted by Pop Stars & Royalty

Recession or no, certain truly unique and exclusive handcrafted luxury items remain in very high demand. The Fall issue of WSJ., The Wall Street Journal's glossy magazine, reports that there's currently a five-year waiting list for the custom $175,000 shotguns made by Italian master Tullio Fabbri. Fabbri marries high-tech fabrication - the guns' locking mechanisms are coated in diamond dust to increase durability - with classic Brescian engraving on the metalwork that looks like embroidered lace. He has made guns for celebs like Steven Spielberg, Eric Clapton and King Juan Carlos of Spain, as well as Mexican-born pop singer Thalia, pictured above with her Fabbri 20-gauge. Fabbri's father began the business in 1965 in a small shop in the Valle Trompia, a legendary valley in northern Italy that has been home to gunmakers since the 16th century. Fabbri only makes 30 guns per year, hence the waiting list. Italian artisans spend 400 - 600 hours etching the metalwork on each gun, which can add $50,000 or more to the price. Thalia's husband, music mogul Tommy Mottola, tells the magazine that "Tullio's work is as good as a Picasso."

Tags: celebrity, diamond, Eric Clapton, EricClapton, guns, hunting, Italy, shotgun, shotguns, sporting, Steven Spielberg, StevenSpielberg, Thalia, Tommy Mottola, TommyMottola, Tullio Fabbri, TullioFabbri, wall street journal, WallStreetJournal, WSJ.

WSJ Magazine Covers Girard Perregaux Vintage 1945 Watch In New Issue

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

One of the most successful places that a watch company can experience press in print media (as opposed to online where people like us are king) is in business magazines. England's Financial Times regularly covers aspects of wrist watch news, and our own Wall Street Journal is known to sometimes do stories on particular brands. In the WSJ Magazine's September issue, there is an article discussing the new Girard Perregaux Vintage 1945 watch. You can see the image above that I took myself modeling the sleek looking classically styled timepiece while at the watch store Lussori. Even the hands in the case are curved!

The most important innovation in the watch is just how curved it is -almost impossibly so. Girard Perregaux must have worked overtime to get the little manually wound movement to even work. The case literally wraps around your wrist, and I find it quite comfortable. The relatively modest size and thin nature of the watch is a great departure from other larger watches that we have been seeing lately.

Not only is the watch smaller, but Girard Perregaux made a point to make the entry level steel version of the watch (seen above in rose gold) actually entry level priced for the luxury brand, starting at about $8,000. Not cheap, but "value priced" from the boys at GP.

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

Tags: girard perregaux, GirardPerregaux, vintage 1945, Vintage1945, wall street journal, WallStreetJournal, watch, WSJ

Limited-Edition Contemporary Furniture Not Fairing Well

by Laura Malesich (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Events

Over the weekend, the biannual 'Design Miami' fair celebrated the extreme end of design, notably limited-edition contemporary furniture that often doubles as art, but the show certainly felt the economic effects of late. With less participating galleries than last year, lowered prices by many designers, and fewer sales it seems this narrow niche of luxury is facing a downturn similar to those seen in the fine art, luxury real estate and automobile industries. Even though many are holding back their spending there are still some patrons who have not lost their desire for expensive decor as witnessed by the purchase of a taxidermy fox with gold maggots in its ears by Kelly McCallum for $20,000 (pictured above).

Gallery: More from 'Design Miami'

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Tags: contemporary furniture, ContemporaryFurniture, design miami, design miami 2008, DesignMiami, DesignMiami2008, kelly mccallum, KellyMccallum, wall street journal, WallStreetJournal

The Wall Street Journal Now Sells Wine

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wine

The Wall Street Journal has created a new website just for selling wine. The newspaper has joined with Direct Wines to create WSJwine which will offer wine from all over the world. Customers will have the option to purchase individual bottles, full cases or receive ongoing shipments of mixed cases. The wine website is separate from the Wall Street Journal and isn't connected to the Journal's wine writing at this point. The introductory rate for the Discovery Club offers a 12-bottle case of quality wines, including Rioja, French Chablis, Californian Pinot Noir and Chardonnay for $69.99 and includes tasting notes on each of the wines and a binder in which to keep them as well as a corkscrew in wooden presentation case. After this morning's rough stock market, I'm sure a glass of wine sounds pretty appealing to many WSJ readers.

The Wall Street Journal's move follows recent reports that Amazon.com is ramping up their efforts to get into the wine business.

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Tags: wall street journal, wine

Can Zillow Be Trusted?

by Nicole Weston (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates

Free online real estate estimates, such as the Zestimates provided by Zillow.com, are a boon to many home buyers. They provide fast, hassle-free estimates of homes all over, with the intention of giving shoppers an idea of what's available before they even head out to look in person. According to the Wall Street Journal, however, Zillow isn't quite as reliable as it seems to be, given the fact that it gives prices down to the dollar, not just round-number estimates. For instance, it listed a 7,600-sq. ft. home in Fall City, WA at $661,756, but the home sold in January for over $2.5 million. The Northbrook, Il. house pictured was pegged at $450,000, but sold for nearly double. And the errors can go the other way, as well, with an El Cerrito, CA house selling for $80,000, though its estimate was over $500,000.

Zillow tries to keep things as accurate as possible, of course, but the bottom line is that it is best to take their estimates with more than a grain of salt just in case the 5% error you are expecting turns out to be 50%.

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Tags: estimates, homes, houses, real estate, wall street journal, wsj, zillow

Luxury Yacht Pricing Guide

by Nicole Weston (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Yachts & Sailing

We talk quite a lot about yachts here, as they are one of the most luxurious things that money can buy. This week, the Wall Street Journal took a look at some of our favorite ships, dubbing them McYachts(subscription req'd), due to the constant competition among enthusiasts for the biggest and best boats with the most luxury features. They also put together a convenient pricing guide, defining how much you can get for the amount you're willing to pay. Keep in mind this is just a ballpark, but it's a good place to start if you're thinking of getting into the game.

$2 million - 60-ft yacht with two staterooms, a salon and a dining area
$20 million - 140-ft yacht with 3 decks above water, 5 staterooms and an aft deck
$50 million: 190-ft yacht with 4 decks above water, a sky lounge and an elevator
$75 million - 250-ft yacht with a gym, pool, helicopter pad and garage (helicopter may or may not be included; pilot extra)
$194 million - 450-ft yacht with a theater, spa, salon and a wood burning fireplace, in addition to everything listed above and a good deal more.

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Tags: boat, mcyacht, mcyachts, sailing, ship, wall street journal, wsj, yacht, yachts

WSJ Rates Luxury Department Stores

by Nicole Weston (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Services

After sending out correspondents to 12 stores of 5 different luxury department store chains in 6 cities across the country, the Wall Street Journal reported its findings yesterday, comparing how the stores stacked up in terms of service, product selection and their "extra touches." Bergdorf Goodman came out on top, winning the "best overall" rating. They had the shortest wait time for staff help, the largest selection of high-end, ready-to-wear designer apparel, excellent restrooms and even a DJ that will download music onto your iPod. Barneys got a nod for their insightful staff and number of new designers. Neiman Marcus was praised for their huge catalogue selection. Nordstrom, though only half its stores carry all their luxury brands, had one of the best shoe collections as well as easy returns. Saks has refreshing water bars and ultra-attentive staff.

Tags: barneys, bergdorf goodman, department stores, luxury department stores, neiman marcus, nordstrom, saks, wall street journal, wsj