The Top 15 Watches of 2008

Because watches have their roots in practicality, one can almost not go too far over the top when choosing the ultimate watch to express their individual style. This year at Luxist, we featured watches with all manner of unusual eccentricities and legacies, including watches that only tell if it's day or night, watches inspired by the Beijing Olympics, and watches containing rare gems, woods, and actual meteorite.

Featured above is the watch with the meteorite: The Van Cleef & Arpels Midnight in Paris Watch, which shows a representation of the stars visible from Paris on a typical night set in a lovely rose gold.

As watches become less important for telling time (because it's on your cell phone), we believe it is only natural that they will become more and more beautiful.

To view watch gallery click here.

Via Luxist

Buy A Yacht In The U.S. And Sail It Back To Australia

One enterprising Australia-based yacht seller has found a new way connect their customers with boats in the U.S. Boats are cheaper here in the States so Yarra's Edge Yachts has created the Trans Pacific Yacht Rally. Yacht buyers will purchase a yacht from their brokerage of second-hand yachts, fly to La Paz, Mexico for the "Scrutinizing weekend" and then prepare and provision their new yacht for a Valentine's Day departure across the Pacific. The route will use the trade winds and make many scenic stops which will also allow for flying home or for crew changes. The rally will end in Queensland, Australia on October 11, 2009. Vessels range from 36' to 60' and $47,500 to US $350,000. The 40' Passport Sloop shown here is listed at $152,250.

[via Sail World]

Drive a Luxury Car for Less

Want to drive a luxury brand automobile but can't afford it? You might be surprised to find that many luxury brands (like BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, and Lincoln) offer vehicles that start in the low 30s. Just by foregoing a few extras like a bigger engine and built-in GPS you could be driving a new luxury car for about the same as you'd expect to pay for a nice Toyota or Honda. It really comes down to deciding if the term "fully loaded" is really that important to you -- do you have to have that gas-guzzling V8? If the answer is 'no' then you suddenly have a lot more options.

Via Luxist

Chicago Pinot Days Tasting is Coming Up!

It seems as though wine enthusiasts either have to live on a coast (East or West) or be willing to travel a great distance in order to enjoy premier wine tasting events. Chicago is widening the field by offering its own tasting focused on California Pinot Noir wines on November 15th at Chicago Pinot Days Tasting. For $50 you can enjoy great Pinots on Navy Pier. In addition to Saturday's Grand Wine Tasting there is a Friday night winemakers dinner at Bin36. Looks like the perfect way to expand your wine knowledge, enjoy great wines and maybe even impress someone of interest by bringing them along for the event.

Via Luxist

The New T@B XL Luxury Trailer

The T@B XL is different than its predecessors in that it's a little bigger and a lot more expensive. It's large for a teardrop trailer, measuring in a 22ft, but if you're worried about towing safety it comes with options for improving stability and reducing snaking. And the exterior may be simple but the interior is loaded with extras, like fine leather and teak wood, optional underfloor heating, and a 23" flat screen tv with built in cd/dvd. All that and it looks more like a miniature mansion than a camping trailer inside. Available in Europe for £35,000/$62,000.

Via Luxist

The Skybar Wine System Does It All

Wine connoisseurs come in all shapes and sizes, from the old-fashioned purists to the cutting edge trend setters, and this product would definitely be for the latter. The Skybar Wine Preservation & Optimization System is designed to do it all. It chills up to 3 bottles of wine at once (all in separate compartments with individual temperature controls), dispenses the wine smoothly and without disturbing the natural sediment, preserves open bottles of wine for up to 10 days with vacuum technology, and displays the bottles attractively with LED lighting.

I don't know which type of wine drinker I am (old fashioned or trendy) because although I think this wine system is great I also think I would miss pouring the wine from the bottle. $999


Via Luxist

Introducing: The Urban DINK

What is a "DINK" you ask? Dual Income, No Kids describes a market segment consisting of two-income couples without children. DINKS are considered a relatively affluent group with a greater percentage of discretionary income than other segments. DINKS are often targeted for luxury item promotions including vacation travel, luxury cars, gourmet foods, electronics, and personal services. My focus of this blog will be to explore these subsets. That way, we can offer comments and discoveries that are of particular interest to those groups.