Cemas is located in Istanbul, Turkey and this Turkish company imports, exports and manufactures it’s own machinery products, but also offers stunning backgammon boards.

These top quality backgammon boards are handmade and are literally a piece of art. The luxury boards are made from walnut tree and include handmade brass filigree and original inlaid with genuine, mosaic mother of pearl made from the Red Sea Oyster.

To give each board a luxury look, they are carefully handpainted with olive oil. The final board is incredible with such attention to detail and expert craftsmanship.

These custom, handmade backgammon boards are available in various designs and sizes. Each creation would be a focal point in your home, office or even in a hotel lobby or game room. The ultimate in luxury decor.

If you want to receive additional information about the handmade boards, contact us today. Follow our luxury blog for other luxury related news and industry announcements.

When you buy a high-end watch, you’re buying more than an expensive adornment — you’re investing in a lifetime relationship with the brand. Your watch is more than just a timekeeper –  it’s a symbol of your personality. It sends out a message about your characteristics and taste.

Besides making a style statement, owning and wearing a timepiece also states a quality that you identify with — a quality that is you. Exclusive brands such as Ulysse Nardin, Leon Hatot, Breguet, Raymond Weil, Jaquet Droz, Piaget, Cartier, Audemars Piguet and Patek Philippe are not just beautiful ads in glossy magazines anymore; they can easily become a part of your collection.

A growing number of high net-worth individuals and a market for luxury goods make India a promising market for global brands. A number of high-end brands have entered the market.

You don’t have to import a Rolex or a Cartier anymore. Though that fancy watch is more accessible, it also makes the choice more difficult. Whether you’d like mechanical movement or quartz, a sports watch or an elegant piece of jewellery, the perpetual calendar or the chronograph — the choice is huge.

No matter what you choose, each watch makes a statement. Jai Ruparel, a Mumbai-based banker, owns an Omega Seamaster and believes it reflects his enthusiasm for sports. Many people prefer a pre-owned luxury watch. A pre owned Rolex watch makes a perfect choice for many watch collectors.

“I think a watch says a lot about the person wearing it. A guy wearing a good watch is someone who knows what he wants,” he says. For men, it’s more than a watch — it’s one of the few pieces of jewellery they wear. For women, it adds elegance and style to the sari and the stylish black dress.

Debra Wilson believes that her Longines watch reflects her personal taste and adds glamour to evening wear. “You have to have taste to pick out a smart, classy watch,” she says.

“It’s important because what you wear — your clothes, your tie and your watch — matter at business meetings and events.” Instead of bulking up on diamonds, try a subtle diamond-studded watch for a party.

If you’re wondering why you should invest in an expensive watch just to make a statement, it’s because these timepieces don’t just make a point. The value of a high-end watch only increases with time.

Though most brands launch new collections every season, old timepieces have heritage status. “Some of our watches have been passed on six times over to generations,” says Laurent Michaud, country manager, far-east, Ulysse Nardin.

In other words, these timepieces are masterpieces that are also collectors’ items and are an investment. Though fashionable, these timepieces are not dictated by fashion or season.

It’s almost like investing in jewellery — and in some cases, timepieces can be more expensive than jewellery. Franck Muller, Chopard, Tag Heuer, Baume & Mercier, Vacheron Constantin, Audemars Piguet, Breitling, Jaquet Droz, Breguet and Piaget are in a class of their own.

“A Rolex,” says Viraal Rajan of the watch boutique, Time Avenue, “is the Mercedes Benz of watches. The prestige and value attached to a Rolex are incomparable.” The Rolex, like most high-end mechanical watches, can last for over 25 years without any need for repair.

Even if you did have a problem with the watch, having it serviced is a pleasure. Once you’re a part of the brand, you’re treated like a member of the family.

“Those who patronise Mont Blanc are special to us, and once they buy a Mont Blanc, they are automatically welcomed as a member of our family worldwide,” says Anna Bredemeyer, spokesperson for Mont Blanc.

And once your name appears in the database of an exclusive brand, you can get your timepiece serviced every few years at any authorized service center of the brand, anywhere in the world.

Being attached to a brand and passing on the legacy of that luxury watch is far more prestigious than just showing off your timepiece.

For hundreds of years now, luxury watches have been regarded as symbols of wealth, success and meticulous engineering.

The fine artisanship of luxury watches such as Rolex, Cartier, Breitling, TAG Heuer, Patek Philippe and others, has made them more than just timepieces. That is why for most people, owning a luxury watch is a symbol of having arrived, of success and triumph.

Luxury watches can quickly represent a status upon their wearers. Wearing a Rolex or Cartier watch signifies great class and wealth of the bearer.

When buying luxury watches, there are several pointers that one should know before buying and investing in an expensive timepiece.
Full article

Earlier this year, Maserati announced the long overdue release of its next generation sports car – the GranTurismo coupe.  The Italian design specialist, Pininfarina, who creates almost every Ferrari, does it again this this luxury car.  Translated into “Grand Touring” in Italian, it offers a 4.2-liter, 405-horsepower V-8 engine.  Full article

What luxury car we drive often tells the world more about us than we think. Do you sit behind the wheel of a fast, sporty vehicle or ride in comfort in a timeless classic car? As 2008 begins zooming forward, let’s take a look at what are the top 10 luxury cars from ForbesAutos.com.

As people shopped for luxury cars on ForbesAutos.com during 2007, they looked into the future for a taste of what they desire. During the fourth quarter, three vehicles not even on sale yet were among the top 10 most researched luxury vehicles on the site.

Two of the future models, the 2009 BMW M3 and 2009 Jaguar XF , were ranked No. 1 and No. 3, respectively. The third ’09 model, Audi’s upcoming remake of its best-selling A4 Sedan, earned sixth place in the popularity contest for October, November, and December, despite not going on sale until the fall.

The remaining entries on the Forbes’ latest list of vehicles most researched on ForbesAutos.com were consistent with those choices from prior periods.  Full article

The imagination factor of most intimate hideaways rarely stretches beyond chocolate on the pillows and dinner for two. But we’ve scoured the world for the top-10 hotels that raise the temperature on the idea of romance.

1. Las Ventanas al Paraiso: Los Cabos, Mexico
Cabo’s celebrated beach retreat takes its loving so seriously it’s hired a Director of Romance. Pick from a menu of amorous experiences, including “cinema on the beach for two,” “sea & stars massage for two,” and the “men in white” program – where male guests learn how to prepare a meal for their sweethearts.

2. L’Hotel: Paris, France
A “Pavillion d’Amour” in the early 1800s, L’Hotel is now among the most seductive Small Luxury Hotels in Paris. Its six-story atrium leads off to 20 lavishly designed bedrooms, while the original cellar is home to a private steam room and Roman bath that can be booked for couples’ private use.

3. Nam Hai: Hoi An, Vietnam
Nam Hai’s private villas are set on a secluded stretch of the famed China Beach. If a private butler, outdoor shower and ocean-view vistas aren’t enough, couples can slip into the spa and have a specially prepared Love Bath, laced with “love potion” (a blend of essential oils) and flowers, topped off with champagne and canapés.

4. The Bungalows Resort & Spa: Cofresi, Dominican Republic
The magazine that gave us “Secret Sex” and “Celebrity Bastards” has, improbably, opened one of the hottest resorts in the Caribbean. To get your blood pumping, The Bungalows Resort & Spa marries high luxe with high adrenaline (think kiteboarding and couples yoga). Alternatively, you can charter their 55-foot yacht for a private sunset cruise.

5. Tides Zihuatanejo: Zihuatanejo, Mexico
Terracotta-tiled suites with personal plunge pools kiss this exclusive patch of Pacific shoreline. But it’s the resort’s private isle in an azure lagoon that sets the scene for a romantic candlelit dinner. After reaching your table by canoe, dinner begins with champagne and a menu delivered in a bottle.

6. Mykonos Grand: Mykonos, Greece
Perched above the beach where “Shirley Valentine” was filmed, the white sugar-cube boxes of Mykonos Grand offers a romantic package: Book a suite with a private pool and the hotel will throw in a personal chef, a rose petal turndown service and a Kamasutra Seduction box — which includes naughty delights like vanilla crème body soufflé and sweet honeysuckle dust.

7. The Fairmont Orchid: Big Island, Hawaii
After a massage in Fairmont’s waterfall gardens, retire to your oceanview suite for a special “Make Room for Romance” turndown. Then follow a trail of orchids leading to a floral heart on the bed. Champagne and chocolate-dipped strawberries prep you for a steamy bath laced with salts, bubbles and floating candles.

8. Four Seasons Hotel Hampshire: Hampshire, England
Reenact Darcy’s love for Elizabeth at this Georgian manor presiding over gorgeous heritage gardens. Couples can tour the estate by horse-drawn carriage or drift down wooded canals in the hotel’s own cruiser. Pause for a picnic lunch, or better yet, learn to make “a romantic meal for two” from the executive chef in a private demo.

9. The Rania Experience: Maldives
The ultimate fantasy-island experience where couples stay on their own private atoll in a three-bedroom villa serviced by 30 hosts (including chefs, butlers, spa therapists and scuba instructors.) The $12,000-per-night package also features exclusive use of an 86-foot yacht with a jacuzzi and cinema.

10. Jade Mountain: St. Lucia
Only 24 three-walled “sanctuaries” compose this exclusive hillside resort. With open floor plans, you can slip straight out of bed and into your couple-sized chromotherapy tub — or into your glass-tiled infinity pool with views of St. Lucia’s green-peaked Pitons.

They’re elegant, efficient, and exciting and require very little infrastructure. Airships have the potential to be more efficient than airplanes, cars, and even passenger trains and barges.

The Manned Cloud, with its fins and whale-like shape, resembles the Thunderbird 2. But, unlike the huge International Rescue rocket in the puppet series, this gigantic airship won’t be roaring off in a blast of flame and smoke to any international emergencies.

Instead, its designers say the 700 foot, super airship will gently lift 40 passengers into the sky for a serene cruise of the world.

The airship is a floating hotel called the Manned Cloud, and – according to its designers – it will be capable of circling the globe in a few days. The 20 bedrooms will provide the ultimate room with a view as the airship cruises at a height of 18,000ft. It has a restaurant, a library, a lounge and a gym on the first deck.

On the second level there will be 20 passenger rooms, terraces with panoramic windows, a spa and a bar room. The airship is powered by a giant rear propeller and also has two further engines pointing downwards for vertical take-off.

However, if you’re thinking of checking in, you will have to wait until its expected launch date of 2020.

Massaud, the French company behind the venture, is billing it as an ecologically friendly way to travel, leaving little impact on the environment – and eliminating the need for hotels.

Designer Jean-Marie Massaud’s team has been working in conjunction with the French National Office of Airship Research on the project since 2005.

A spokesman for Massaud, AurÈlie Ullrich, said: “The idea at the heart of this project is that passengers can see fantastic places like Thailand and the Caribbean without the need to build ugly hotels everywhere.

“It could land for a few days or for a week if there is a big event going on.

“We don’t want to be carrying around gallons and gallons of heavy petrol or diesel and we are looking into fuelling it with some form of gas.”

The cost of a night on the airship is yet to be decided, but it is likely to be out of the reach of most pockets.

However, it could provide the perfect hideaway for camera-shy celebrities.

Gucci is the flagship brand of the French luxury group – PPR. It is the world’s most coveted luxury brand according to a global luxury brands survey by The Nielsen Company.

In the latest survey, one in five global consumers said they would choose to buy Gucci (over any other luxury brand) if money was no option, making the Italian fashion brand that was revived by Tom Ford in the 1990’s the most coveted and aspirational luxury brand in the world today.

Chanel and Calvin Klein tied for second place in Nielsen’s 48-country global online survey, that was conducted in November 2007. In fourth place came Louis Vuitton, followed by Giorgio Armani, Christian Dior and Versace.

Two years ago in the same survey, Gucci also shared top honours in the survey with Giorgio Armani. But Armani has since slipped to fourth place in current global rankings.

For hundreds of years now, luxury watches have been regarded as symbols of wealth, success and meticulous engineering. The fine artisanship of luxury watches such as Rolex, Cartier, Breitling, TAG Heuer, Patek Philippe and others, has made them more than just timepieces. That is why for most people, owning a luxury watch is a symbol of having arrived, of success and triumph.

Luxury watches can quickly represent a status upon their wearers. Wearing a Rolex or Cartier watch signifies great class and wealth of the bearer. When buying luxury watches, there are several pointers that one should know before buying and investing in an expensive timepiece.
Full article

In the heart of the world’s wine capital is Sonoma. It lies about 60 miles north of San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge.  Sonoma has about 60,000 rolling, vine-filled acres dotted with more than 250 incredible wineries. The Sonoma wines have long been outstanding and award winning. The top-notch restaurants are on every culinary tourists’ radar.  But Sonoma gets even better.

Often the step child to its better known rival – Napa, recent stays at three Sonoma sanctuaries convinced me that you don’t have to go to buttoned-down Napa for pampering. Sonoma has arrived with a variety of luxury hotels that rival others anywhere in the world. Does a champaign bath sound enticing?  Full article

Plenty of cars costing less than $50,000 pack enough features and driving satisfaction to rival their ultra-high-dollar counterparts. Those that believe you have to spend big for a luxury car may turn up their noses at the autos on this list. That’s their loss.

Pay $37,175 for the BMW Z4 Roadster, and you can cruise around town in a two-seater roadster that allows you to automatically control the drop top while listening to your favorite tunes through a 10-speaker audio system.

The $35,605 Lincoln MKX crossover utility vehicle is loaded with standard features like heated, dual power mirrors with memory, a leather-wrapped steering wheel with genuine wood accents, and four-wheel disc brakes with an anti-lock braking system. Options include 20-inch chrome wheels, a panoramic roof, and a voice-activated DVD-based navigation system. The Volvo XC70, a $36,755 midsize wagon, is loaded with advanced safety features like hill descent control and full-length side curtain airbags.

To find others like them, we used data from Strategic Vision’s 2007 Total Value Awards. The market research firm measures classes of cars including reliability, warranty, strong anticipated resale value, durability, innovation, and dealership and ownership experience. Only cars that got a score of 700 out of a possible 1,000 were counted.

Vincentric, an automotive research firm, provided maintenance costs calculated over a five-year period. Vehicles with the lowest costs, which include oil changes, wheel alignments, and replacement wiper blades, made the list. Finally, we capped our list at cars costing $50,000; this allowed us to measure a wide range of vehicles, from coupes to large cars.

Behind The Numbers

The under-$50,000 segment is diverse. You can find an Audi A3 wagon with a starting price of $25,930 and a Saab 9-3 convertible beginning at $26,000. At the top end is a Land Rover SUV starting at $44,933 and the Mercedes SLK roadster with a base price of $46,000. Add in a few select options, and you can easily meet the $50,000 threshold.

There’s good reason the list is long. When Nissan (through Infiniti), Honda (through Acura) and Toyota (through Lexus) in the mid-’90s introduced models for the entry-level luxury buyer, they forced other carmakers to compete. Mercedes-Benz and BMW followed suit with the C-Class and 3 Series, respectively. Audi, Saab, Cadillac, and Lincoln also increased their offerings.

Their targets? Young professionals with high-paying jobs, those in high-income households, and empty nesters who are transitioning into a luxury vehicle. They found that these buyers were making their first or second luxury vehicle purchase. Upgrading to a luxury auto means sliding into plush leather seats, enjoying enhanced power features like a push-button engine starter and memory seating for two drivers, and rolling along on larger wheels.

“You are treating yourself with these vehicles,” says Stephanie Brinley, senior manager of product analysis at AutoPacific, a market research firm covering the auto industry. “It is reaching a level of maturity. You’ve reached a stage in your life where you want a little more luxury, and you can afford to purchase a vehicle with more amenities.”

Still, there’s a big difference between a $45,000 luxury car and an ultra-luxury car twice its price. Take the $86,000 Cadillac XLR convertible roadster. Its standard features include a V8 engine, a heated steering wheel, a high-tech navigation system, and a retractable hard top. Many of these are merely options in the under-$50,000 group.

Instead, these cars’ treats include standard features like electronic stability control or anti-lock brakes; stellar sound systems with multiple speakers; leather seats or high-quality upholstery; and a wider choice of options, like premium paint colors and electronic connections, like iPod and MP3 connectivity.

But let the buyer beware. Once you cross over into the luxury segment, you may never want to drive anything else.

Article by Jacqueline Mitchell – ForbesAutos