When suitcase-toting friends and relatives arrive on your doorstep during the holidays, or at any other time of year, it’s good to have a welcoming place to put them, somewhat removed from the fray of everyday life. “Traveling can be a stressful experience, so it’s nice to offer your guests a place to relax and…
Hell hath no fury like a social media mob that thinks it has identified a luxury scam. Or so it seemed this weekend, when a series of viral TikTok videos involving an $825 Chanel advent calendar and the disappointed customer who bought it went viral, inspiring a multitude of users to call foul on the…
In the Munich atelier of the jewelry house Hemmerle, diamonds are meticulously sorted according to color into a series of little boxes. The labels read: Flaschengrün, or bottle green; Benzin, or gasoline; Camouflage; Dark Golden; Grau I, II and III, which are three variations of gray; and Schlamm, or muddy. These names hardly conjure up…
According to the website Know Your Meme, which tracks viral internet phenomena, the earliest documented usage of “the feminine urge to …” was a Twitter post from 2009. But an official entry for the phrase was not added to the site until October of this year, when Owen Carry, who wrote the entry, noticed it…
Most watch lovers would agree that owning a timepiece by Patek Philippe means you have arrived in the horological big leagues. But, for extra cachet, what if the face of the watch featured the retailer’s name — say, Tiffany & Company — and was the color of its signature robin’s egg blue? And, for even…
JOHANNESBURG — This sprawling city is South Africa’s economic hub, attracting people from all over the country, the continent and beyond. How its almost six million residents adorn themselves is equally varied, with some choosing to reflect their dreams while others strive to hold onto pieces of home or celebrate elements of this fast-changing metropolis.…
Few of the visitors who marvel at the Okavango Blue Diamond on display at the American Museum of Natural History in New York will see a history lesson in geology and plate tectonics in its 20.46 carats. But scientists do. The oval brilliant-cut fancy diamond, which has a clarity grade of VVS1, meaning it has…
Demonstrating the contemporary side of feather work — hand weaving, silk screening, laser-cutting and incorporating less conventional materials or new techniques like 3-D printing — is a priority to keep the company moving forward, said Christelle Kocher, the artistic director at Lemarié. “Fifteen years ago, there was less interest in all these crafts, which can…
MIAMI BEACH, Fla. — Kendra Jayne Patrick’s booth was buzzing at Art Basel on Tuesday during the V.I.P. opening as visitors crowded in to admire — and consider buying — pieces by the tapestry artist Qualeasha Wood, whose work is currently on view at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. In the past, Patrick would not…
“In 2021 you did what you had to do.” “You always understood the assignment.” “You deserve a playlist as long as your skincare routine.” No, these phrases were not uttered by a TikTok star or a cool mom. Instead, they are idioms that appear in the annual data-driven marketing campaign known as Spotify Wrapped. The…