Luxist

Another episode in the soap opera known as Nic Cage and the revolving real estate deals has begun. The New York Observer reports that Nicolas Cage has once again put his 3,550-square-foot apartment in the Museum Tower back on the market. It was briefly on the market last year for a day or so last year but now the apartment is for sale again for the same price of $9.75 million. The listing calls it "LA glamor in the heart of NYC." The home consists of two adjacent apartments, with internal access to each other on the 48th floor. The home has gorgeous views especially from the corner living room with a shag rug which shows views to the Empire State Building and down to The Statue of Liberty as well as west to the Hudson River. The master suite opens out on the city and has a huge master bath with a separate tub and steam shower. The other apartment offer space for guests and also includes a fully equipped gourmet kitchen. This home is listed at $9.75 million the same price it was at last year.

Nicolas Cage has pulled his Bel Air home off the market but still has several other homes on the market including a home in Las Vegas, two homes in New Orleans and a home in Rhode Island.

The striped Skipper bag has a nautical look and woven rope handles. Eric Javits, who also designs hats, uses the Squishee® fabric, a man-made fiber that resembles straw. The hats and handbags can be crushed and still come out looking great. The Squishee fabric also makes the bag lightweight so you can put more in it. The Skipper measures 17"L x 8.5"h x 6.5"w and has leather trim and button lock closure with goldtone hardware and protective brass feet. Inside there are mulitple pockets, a key clip holder and mirror. It sells for $450.

Readers of the Robb Report know that they like luxury watches and tend to include more mainstream and independent luxury brands in their frequent timepiece discussions. As such, in Robb Report's recent "Best of the Best" awards for 2009, they have selected a number of products and services that together make up the ultimate items for the luxury lifestyle. In the category of "Men's Watches" there were five "Best of the Best" winners including this F.P. Journe Répétion Souveraine watch. F.P. Journe certainly falls in the independent category of watch makers in comparison to other winners which include brands such as Jaeger-LeCoultre and Vacheron Constantin (each part of the Richemont Group). Other winning brands included Patek Philippe and De Benthune.

The Répétion Souveraine watch is unique as being an extremely thin minute repeater watch - with the manually wound movement being about 4mm thick. The watch includes this minute repeater complication as well as the time with subsidiary seconds and a power reserve indicator - all on a very typically styled F.P. Journe watch dial. The level of finish and subtle decoration is what collectors and enthusiasts come to expect from the brand the relishes in its French style while being made in Switzerland. The whole watch is about 8mm thick, which is really a triumph for any sonnerie type of watch requiring space for the gongs and hammers inside of the movement. This winning "Best of the Best" watch goes for about $165,000.

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

Ducati is using this weekend's Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in California as the backdrop to launch its new 848 Nicky Hayden Special Edition sportbike. The new machine, which will only be available here in the States, features the same 134-horsepower L-twin Evoluzione powerplant, wet-clutch and six-speed gearbox as the rest of the 848 line.

As the first of the 2010 848s introduced, the new Special Edition ushers in a revised LED dash cluster, optional 30mm mirror extensions for those with long-torsos and improved aluminum cam belt tensioner pulleys to go along with its new patriotic livery.

The 848 Nicky Hayden SE will carry a $14,495 sticker price – a reasonable $500 over the asking price for last year's 848 – and will hit Ducati dealerships in America on July 7th after being on display throughout the U.S. GP festivities starting on the 4th. Click past the break for the official press release.

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You've probably had regular gouda and smoked gouda before but the Winchester Cheese Company goes far beyond that, making a variety of fine artisan flavored goudas. The Winchester Cheese Company is owned by Jules Wesselink who was born in Holland and has owned California dairies since the 1950s. His dairy has 500 Holstein cows. The cheese is made by Valerie Thomas, Jules Wesselink's daughter, and David Thomas, her husband. The cheese is made the traditional way with fresh raw milk. Flavors to try include their jalapeno gouda which is aged a minimum of 60 days and contains jalapeno and red peppers to give it a moderately spicy taste. It won First Place at The American Cheese Society contest. They also make cumin gouda and garden herb gouda in addition to smoked gouda and a super aged gouda which is aged over a year and has a surprising sharpness. Prices start at $11.95 a pound.

Today's home, a classic historic Sag Harbor mansion has popped back on and off the market always at an increasing price. The NY Post reported back in 2006 that Hamptons broker Tara Newman had sold it three times starting at $995,000 in 1989 and going all the way up to a record $6.85 million in 2006.

The home in question is known as the Hannibal French House, an Italianate residence on Main Street which was built in 1875 and designed by Stanford White's mentor, Minard Lefevre. This beautiful home has seven bedrooms and its Gilded Age gorgeousness includes a ballroom with original fleur-de-lis molding and nine fireplaces. The grounds are graced with a boxwood garden and an elliptical pool. In its long history the home has served as a rest home for nuns, a restaurant and the vacation home of Thomas Edison's son, Charles Edison, who was governor of New Jersey. The home is was listed at $7.5 million a few weeks ago but is already down to $5.995 million.

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Watch maker deLacour never fails to release something interesting. I can't always speak as to the practicality of the watches, but they are always fun to check out. For example, in this Birepetition watch, the moonphase indicator include a "shooting star" that occasionally shoots though the view. This beautiful and highly complex movement was part of a venture with Christophe Claret, one of the only people who is able to conceive and deliver on movements like this. So what does the watch do? There are two time zones, and each time has its own minute repeater complication - operated by a level on each side of the watch. This is the first watch that I know of to have such a double minute repeater chiming mechanism. There is also a skeletonized big date, the time zone hours are on retrograde scales and share the same large minute hand. Then there is the moon phase that I discussed earlier with its whimsical shooting star complication.

How do you feel about the honeycomb pattern on the skeletonized dial/movement? I think it is pretty interesting. Alludes to the complexity of what is inside, just like a bee hive. It is also a clever surfacing technique that hasn't been done much. The watch is large across and in gold with all the luxury fixings you could ask for. Click to read more to see a video of the deLacour Birepetition watch in action.

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

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The Hollywood and Highland Center in Los Angeles doesn't exactly inspire thoughts of blissed-out spa moments but ascend from the parking lot and up to Level 5 of the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel and the world falls away a bit. Spa Luce is a beautiful and tranquil place to grab a little peace in the middle of a bustling area. The decor is modern and spare and the treatments are designed to be holistic and recharge body and mind.

Spa Luce features skincare and body care products and treatments by Red Flower, Sonya Dakar and Somme Institute as well as a signature scent created for Spa Luce by Dr. Sharon, an aromatherapist, acupuncturist, chiropractor and masseuse. One of the most extensive experiences offered by the spa is the hammam ritual. The multi-step massage ritual includes a cleansing with Moroccan mint tea and silt, a vigorous scrub with coffee, olive stones and fresh lemons, and a wrap in rhassoul clay. Finally after all that preparation you surrender to a Turkish massage with essences of cardamom, jasmine, bergamot, amber and clove. The 80-minute experience costs $180.

You can extend your Spa Luce experience by taking ample time to enjoy the facilities. Treatments include access to the eucalyptus-infused steam rooms and rooftop pool. Spa lunches can also be ordered up and eaten in the relaxation area or next to the pool. And you can also buy products to take home. Dr. Sharon's Am I Dreaming aromatherapy kit, shown above, includes an aromatherapy oil, an aromatherapy candle, the Aromatin fragrance dispenser, and an instruction booklet. It sells for $48.

You've probably seen the first picture of new twins that Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick recently brought home. The gorgeous twins and their family are also posed on some pretty beautiful sheets. The couple picked up the D. Porthault taupe jete de fleurs linens (and matching terry) at the D. Porthault New York boutique on Park and 58th in preparation of the twins' homecoming a few months ago. The queen-sized set costs $1150.

Even in this slowing economy, Zondas have been trading well over list, some even doubling their value as wealthy customers scramble to get their hands on one. So you can hardly blame Pagani, the Italian exotic automaker responsible for these imminently desirable supercars, for wanting to get in on the action. In fact we're thankful for it, as Pagani has released another very exclusive edition of the Zonda.

Following on the heels of the fixed-roof Zonda Cinque, which went so fast that one customer commissioned his own when he couldn't get one, the Zonda Cinque Roadster offers the same extreme performance and super-exclusive stature with the added bonus of wind in your hair. Because the Zonda's carbon fiber body is already so rigid, Pagani didn't have to add much extra reinforcement, leaving the Zonda Cinque Roadster capable of reaching a follicle-tingling 217 miles per hour, passing 60 on the way in just 3.4 seconds. Nice work if you can get it, but with only five examples on offer and a £1.1 million ($1.8M) asking price, you'll have to act fast to get one. Like, Zonda fast.