Top 3 Most Expensive Beds: Would you be able to sleep soundly?

The secret to sleeping soundly, as common sense dictates, starts with a well-made bed. But this seemingly simple statement has led a select group of inspired designer to create some truly extraordinary, jaw-droppingly expensive bedroom showstoppers. Without further adieu, we pull back the covers of the world’s top 3 most expensive beds.

The Jado Jado Steel Style Gold Bed perfectly blends luxury and technology — *The Jado Steel Style Gold Bed perfectly blends luxury and technology*

3. Jado Steel Style Gold Bed – US$676,000

With a bed frame crafted almost entirely of yellow gold and further accented with a bevy of Swarovski crystals, one might be forgiven for assuming this particular slumber inducer may be all flash and no substance. But don’t be fooled, this particular millionaire’s toy also comes equipped with all the technological extras you could want, ranging from a Playstation to a foldaway plasma TV, all with its own Internet connection.

The Magnetic Floating Bed is perfect for those looking to experience zero-gravity slumber — *Experience near-zero-gravity slumber the Magnetic Floating Bed*

2. Magnetic Floating Bed – US$1.6 million

At US$1.6 million, this Space Age bed isn’t just one of the world’s most expensive beds, it’s also something of a physics marvel. Weighing in at 1,500lbs, its immense weight is lifted into the air by heavy-duty magnets and kept in place with strong wire that ensure you don’t float away during slumber. For the millionaire who wants to experience near-zero-gravity slumber, this might just be the bedroom accessory for you.

At US$6.3 million, the Baldacchino Supreme Bed tops our list of most expensive beds — *The US$6.3 million Baldacchino Supreme Bed tops our list of most expensive beds*

1. Baldacchino Supreme Bed – US$6.3 million

Standing at the apex among the world’s most expensive beds is the aptly-named Baldacchino Supreme Bed. Valued at a staggering US$6.3 million, this sumptuous sleeper is the brainchild of renowned designer Stuart Hughes and Italian luxury furniture maker Hebanon. Entirely handmade and crafted from 200lbs of solid 24K gold, each aspect of this bed can be custom built to the lucky buyer’s exact specifications. In fact, you could even chose to embed its entirety in diamonds or other precious gemstones. Only two Baldacchino Supreme Beds exist in the world, increasing its cache even further.

Picasso masterpiece ‘Golden Muse’ sells for millions at Sotheby’s

Sotheby’s London struck gold with yet another Picasso painting Buste de femme de profil, which sold for US$36 million last week.

The 1932 portrait, like many other of Picasso’s paintings, depicts his ‘golden muse’ and lover Marie-Thérèse Walter in a private moment, lost in her writings. Perhaps in keeping with a affectionate phase in their relationship, the portrait is a tender one, focusing on her youth and beauty. Picasso imagines her in the act of writing with downcast eyes, contemplating on the paper in front of her, as her profile is lit up by a mellow sunlight through an open window. The scene seems inspired by real life and was definitely a composition which stayed with Picasso, as he returned to it in a smaller-scale work sometime later.

1932 was a particularly important phase in Picasso’s oeuvre, as this was the year when he publicly professed his love for Marie-Thérèse Walter, leading him to paint her portraits more prolifically.

LOUIS XIII Legacy Limited Edition Magnum: A celebration of history

Born in 1874, LOUIS XIII was the vision of Paul-Émile Rémy Martin, the third generation to head the ancestral cognac house, which today still upholds the strong family ties and values of its origins.

When Paul-Émile’s son sought a successor in 1925, he turned to André Renaud, a trusted partner with whom he had been working for over 15 years. From the 1960s, André worked hand in hand with his son-in-law, André Hériard Dubreuil, to whom he entrusted the house legacy.

It was André Heriard Dubreuil who founded in 1965 what is known today as the Alliance Fine Champagne, a visionary partnership with local winegrowers, leaving the house an invaluable heritage that cemented its success. Still today, the Heriard Dubreuil family is the cornerstone of the legendary cognac house, the guardians of its values and history.

So as LOUIS XIII celebrates the iconic LOUIS XIII Legacy Limited Edition Magnum, we talk to Marie-Amélie Jacquet, fourth-generation member of the Hériard Dubreuil family, on what makes this drink so exceptional.

Was it always part of your plan to join the family business?

It was absolutely the opposite. I always said that I don’t want to join the family business; I want to do my own thing. In fact, I was an investment banker based in London. Funnily enough, my mother was exactly the same. She had her own job and even started her PR company when she was pregnant with me. She kept that going for about 10 years and after that, she relented and joined her father and her brothers, who had asked her for many years to join the family business. In my case, I changed my career path after I had a prolapsed disc when I was 30 and my doctors advised me to change my lifestyle.

I had always cared very much for Rémy Martin and Rémy Cointreau, and I wanted to prepare myself to carry on the legacy of our great brand. I know there will come a time in the future where our decisions will shape the company’s legacy and we need to prepare for that and there’s no better way to do that than by learning from the inside.

How has life changed for you since the career move?

Well, it’s a lot less stressful now! I did have a bit of apprehension in joining the company as a family member. At that time my mother was the chairwoman, so I did wonder if it would be a new dynamic altogether. But luckily, two of my cousins joined around the same time and it was so much easier than I had anticipated. And when I say it’s a family company, it’s not merely because the family is involved in the company but because Rémy Cointreau – the company – is actually a big family.

Could you tell us a bit more about what makes the LOUIS XIII Legacy Limited Edition Magnum so unique?

It is very special, not just because it’s a very limited release of only 500 decanters, but also because we had the privilege of bringing together our four last cellar-masters. Each of them had a great part to play in creating the drink that we have with us today. It takes decades – even generations – to make a product such as the LOUIS XIII Legacy Limited Edition Magnum.

How do you anticipate LOUIS XIII’s legacy to be in the future?

I think LOUIS XIII will remain the drink of choice for great celebrations. I think it’s a celebration of history because it takes so long to make. As a brand, we are also committed to thinking a century ahead. I think what sets us apart is our promise and commitment to make LOUIS XIII not just for foreseeable decades but for centuries.

The Signing Machine by Jaquet Droz: Give your signature a unique flourish

In celebration of a staggering 280 years of precision watch making, Jaquet Droz unveiled a veritable treasure trove of horological delights at Baselworld earlier this year. Among the beautifully designed timepieces and unique designs, one particular creation stood out – the Signing Machine.

The brand’s founder, Pierre Jaquet-Droz, was a renowned maker of automatons, so much so that his masterpieces, The Writer, The Musician and The Draughtsman, are among the highlights on display at the Neuchâtel Museum of Art and History.

Centuries later, The Signing Machine stands as the ultimate tribute to this storied legacy. With its concept first unveiled to the world in 2014, it has taken four years of intensive labour and research to bring it to fruition.

A mechanical work of wonder, The Signing Machine is a beautifully designed, hand-wound device whose power reserve allows two full signatures to be drawn. In total 585 parts work in perfect unison to create these autographs, and only a specially-made Jaquet Droz pen is compatible with the gadget.

Each device is unique, holding only the signature of its owner and unlockable by a personal 4-digit pin. Almost every aspect of its appearance can be further customised, and with a price tag of HK$2.982 million, this may just be the ultimate custom-made collectible.

Text: Tenzing Thondup

E=MusiC²: Einstein’s favourite fiddle goes under the gavel

Apart from single-mindedly working out how the universe works, it seems that Albert Einstein wasn’t averse to banging out a Mozart sonata on the fiddle whenever inspiration eluded him. Recently, some 63 years after the eccentric genius died, the very violin with which he wooed his Mrs – she was well partial to a bit of Wolfgang Amadeus apparently – came up for auction at Bonhams in New York. It eventually sold for US$516,500, five times more than the original estimate.

Given the staggering sum it went for, it’s perhaps not surprising that the violin – which Albert himself referred to as “Lina” – has outdone his telescope (previously sold for US$432,500) and his pocket watch (US$352,054) to become the most valuable item of Einstein memorabilia ever sold (other than his scientific documents).

The violin was made by Oscar Steger, a cabinetmaker and a member of the Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra, and gifted to Einstein in 1933. It bears the inscription “the Worlds [sic] Greatest Scientist Profesior [sic]” and was said to travel everywhere that Albert went.

Inside Hong Kong’s Art Futures Group

As world leaders in Chinese contemporary art for investment, Art Futures Group offers international investors a chance to diversify their portfolio and gain a foothold into this lucrative market.

We talked to Jeremy Kasler, founder and CEO of Art Futures Group to learn more about art investment.

As an entrepreneur from a very early age, what are your earliest memories and experiences and who inspired your career path?

My earliest memory as an entrepreneur is selling Christmas wrapping paper on the street corner in the UK. During my teenage years, I did this every Christmas to ensure I had money to buy presents and generally enjoy the things that teenagers do. If it rained, we sold umbrellas. This was my first lesson in adapting to meet different market conditions.

My inspiration was my grandfather, the hardest working man I have ever met. He worked for himself his entire life and was very committed to his business. A man of great morals, he was hugely respected by those that knew him and was a great inspiration to me as an entrepreneur.

Before Art Futures Group (AFG), you were in the property and investment sector. What inspired you to move into the art industry?

I wandered into a gallery in Singapore and was appalled by the lack of transparency when I was told that the piece of art I was looking at was a good investment “because it will go up in value”. In that moment, I decided it was time to create a company to bring fair pricing and transparency to this market.

How is AFG bringing art investment from the high-cost playing field of the elite to middle class working professionals and Gen Y investors?

Before we opened in Hong Kong, the only way to get art investment advice was to commit US$2,000,000 to the market and in return, HSBC would allocate you an advisor. With no one to help the average man, we decided to offer a service to help the mid-range clientele invest in artworks in the HK$200,000 – $800,000 category.

How do you help your clients gain a profit through your end-to-end investment service?

First, we identify artists that we believe have investment potential and then help to secure selected pieces on our client’s behalf. During this process, we perform a substantial amount of due diligence to find the art pieces with the best prospects for capital growth including monitoring the market to give buy and sell recommendations, just as a stockbroker would. Finally, we provide certificates of provenance to show the artwork was purchased directly from the artist. This is significant when putting the artwork to auction or for sale.

Jeremy Kasler, founder and CEO of Art Futures Group

AFG also provides rental services of the purchased piece. How can this maximise a client’s potential profit?

We have a leasing department that in many cases allows us to rent the client’s artwork to third parties. This creates a residual income over and above the capital growth and is paid quarterly to the client just like a dividend.

What advice would you give to art enthusiasts who may be looking to invest in this lucrative market?

Buy original artworks, not prints. Try and find a certain sector you enjoy, for example Chinese contemporary art, and concentrate on that. Always establish a good provenance as there are many copies out there. Finally, buy the best you can afford.

For more information please visit, www.artfuturesgroup.com or call (852) 3758 7888

Lights, Camera, Auction: How much would you like a Leica?

Leica, the renowned German camera manufacturer, has an admirable reputation when it comes to shattering world records. At the recently concluded 32nd WestLicht camera auction in Vienna, for instance, a 1923 Leica 0-series no. 122 became the most expensive camera ever sold at auction, after being bought by an Asia-based private collector for a staggering US$2.95 million.

Perhaps predictably, the previous world record was also held by a Leica 0-series camera, one that sold for $1.5million in 2011 and was then resold for $2.6 million in 2012. With just 31 of this particular model ever made, it is understandably viewed as something of a Holy Grail among photography enthusiasts.

What makes it even more sought-after is the fact that each handcrafted model is considered to be among the most successful compact camera prototypes ever made. They also featured the first practical application of the 35mm film recorder, an innovation that subsequently became the global standard. It’s hard to imagine today’s range of mass-market smartphones, no matter how highly-specced their inbuilt cameras, ever attracting such a boundary breaking bid.

Patek Philippe exhibits a collection of 50 rare handcrafted timepieces

Following its premier at Baselworld 2018, Patek Philippe showcased its entire collection of the 2018 rare handcrafted timepieces at the Salons on Rue du Rhône, Geneva, in April .

Highlighting fifty exceptional creations including dome table clocks, pocket watches and wristwatches (some with minute repeaters), the 2018 collection pays tribute to a suite of rare handcrafts manifested by an extensive range of creations and inspired from a variety of sources.

Engraving, for example, is the most distinguished craft in the service of watchmaking. For example, “The Galleon” pocket watch with back in low-relief hand engraving where the epic conquest of the oceans, so intimately linked to the rise of horology, comes to life on the engraved back of this unique piece in white gold

Patek Philippe exhibits a collection of 50 rare handcrafts timepieces — “The Galleon” pocket watch with back in low-relief hand-engraving

Among the Grand Feu enameling techniques, cloisonné enamel – with its colour cells enclosed by thin gold wires – enjoys prominence on many dome table clocks. This applies to the “Cubist Fantasy” model, for example, with its cubistic color ornaments, and to other unique pieces with themes ranging from nature to the fine arts.

Allowing its creativity to roam free, the Genevan manufacturer presents several ‘mixed-technique’ pieces that combine a variety of artisanal skills. One example is the “Italian Scenes” which boasts cloisonné enamel dials on manually guilloched backgrounds.

Patek Philippe exhibits rare handcrafts 2018 — “Italian Scenes” Ponte Vecchio wristwatch adorned with delicate hand-guilloched patterns

The Genevan brand is also committed to further evolving such skills and broadening the portfolio by refining new crafts such as wood micromarquetry or combining several techniques to create breathtaking works of art.

The 2018 exhibition also showcased two new models from the current Patek Philippe collection including the limited-edition Golden Ellipse, commemorating the 50^th anniversary of this iconic watch and the new Ref 5532 World Time Minute Repeater that always strikes local time. The center of its dial is adorned with a cloisonné enamel depiction of the Lavaux wine-growing region overlooking the shores of Lake Geneva.

Much like every year, the 2018 masterpieces are the result of an intensive involvement with tradition and innovation and are presented by Patek Philippe with a rich palette of one-of-a-kind treasures and limited editions that meld sublime craftsmanship with the ultimate in creativity and aesthetics.

For more information visit, www.patek.com

Scroll Survivor: Lost Chinese handscroll from Qing era attracts mountain bids

A little bit of history resurfaced at Sotheby’s Hong Kong outpost recently when a lost Chinese handscroll from the time of the Qing dynasty, thought to have been lost for nearly a century, came up for auction.

Known as Ten Auspicious Landscapes of Taishan, the rediscovered masterpiece is said to be the work of Qian Weicheng, one of the most renowned artists of the court of Emperor Qianlong.

Measuring 458cm x 33.7cm, the scroll is divided into ten sections, each depicting an aspect of Mount Tiantai, one of the sacred peaks of the Zhejiang province. Depicting peaks, valleys, streams, waterfalls, woods and historic sites at the same time, the scroll is said to mark the highpoint of Qian’s artistic career and was probably created during his time as the Education Commissioner of Zhejiang between 1763 and 1765.

Adding to the historic value of the Chinese handscroll, it also includes ten poems said to be inscribed by Emperor Qianlong himself. It was no wonder, then, that the sale attracted more than 100 bids, finally going for a truly impressive HK$146,794,000 (US$18,704,491).

Text: Suchetana Mukhopadhyay

Boney China: Napoleon’s dessert set serves up a slice of history

Once one of the few household items the exiled Napoleon was permitted to carry with him to Elba, the island that was briefly his home following his forced abdication, this Marly Rouge dessert set was an unwitting witness to many of the most turbulent events in European history. Unsurprisingly, then, it proved the star turn at the recent auction of the Rockefeller Collection by Christie’s New York.

Originally commissioned by Napoleon for his Palace in northern France, this exquisite dessertware was ultimately delivered to Fontainebleau Palace, just outside Paris, in October 1809, at a time when Napoleon was negotiating the grueling nitty-gritty of the Treaty of Vienna that led to the end of hostilities between Austria and France.

It is also during this time that Napoleon announced his divorce to Empress Josephine for being unable to bear him an heir. Despite or maybe due to its association with Josephine, the Service Marly Rouge found its way into Napoleon’s household in exile at Elba five years later.

Today, only one gilt-dolphin-footed compote and six plates from the original 256-piece set remain at Fontainebleau, with the rest divided among a number of international collectors. As a result, this 22-piece selection – acquired by Abby Rockefeller – provides the best glimpse of the true glory of the collection when it was first set before an emperor.