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NEW YORK, May 16, 2024 (AFP) – A Monet sold for nearly $35 million at auction Wednesday evening, Sotheby’s said, marking a solid start to New York’s spring art sales. Both Sotheby’s and rival auction house Christie’s launched their spring season Monday. Though the global art market softened last year, strong sales in London and Paris have sparked optimism for 2024. Claude Monet’s “Meules a Giverny,” which the French impressionist painted in 1893, went […]
HONG KONG, Feb 24, 2024 (AFP) – Dior has postponed a fashion show set to be held in Hong Kong next month, a city official confirmed Saturday, dealing a blow to the financial hub’s ambitions to boost its economy through major events. Hong Kong is courting top international celebrities and brands in the hope of rebooting its reputation, which had been battered by years of social unrest and strict pandemic curbs. The Dior fashion show […]
VIENNA, Jan 19, 2024 (AFP) – The Swiss watch that got Hollywood star Arnold Schwarzenegger in trouble with German custom officials has been sold for 270,000 euros ($290,000), the actor’s charity said Friday. The action hero-turned-environmental campaigner was held at Munich airport Wednesday for failing to declare the bespoke Audemars Piguet timepiece that was being auctioned for his climate charity. Schwarzenegger called his brush with the law a “wild experience” at the charity dinner Thursday […]
MUNICH, Germany, Jan 17, 2024 (AFP) – Hollywood action hero Arnold Schwarzenegger was held at Munich airport on Wednesday for failing to declare an expensive watch, a customs spokesman told AFP. The Austrian-born actor and former governor of California, 76, was detained in the customs area on Wednesday afternoon after arriving from the United States, spokesman Thomas Meister said. Schwarzenegger was expected to be able to continue his journey later in the day but “the […]
Paris, France | AFP | The Paris home of an heir of the Louis Vuitton luxury empire was burgled at the weekend, sources close to the case said Monday, with thieves taking high-end watches, jewelry and bags. Benoit-Louis Vuitton, a sixth generation descendant of the fashion house’s founder, lives in the swanky seventh district of the capital near the Invalides military museum. The exact value of the pieces taken was still being evaluated, but […]
PARIS, France (AFP) – Extinction Rebellion climate activists burst onto the catwalk at Louis Vuitton’s Tuesday Paris Fashion Week show to blast the industry’s impact on the environment. “Overconsumption = extinction”, a banner brandished by one demonstrator from the international civil disobedience movement against climate change read. She climbed onto the catwalk set up in the Louvre art gallery even as models were showing off the latest styles, before being hustled away by security guards, […]
PARIS, France (AFP) — French luxury group Hermes said its sales hit a record just shy of 6 billion euros in 2018 as demand for its iconic bags continues to grow in all parts of the world and particularly in China. Hermes called the 7.5 percent increase over 2017 in “particularly healthy, being based mainly on volume” rather than currency effects, which in fact were a drag overall during the year. The consolidated sales figure […]
GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — An exceptionally rare pink diamond of nearly 19 carats fetched 50.3 million Swiss francs ($50 million, 44 million euros) at auction in Geneva Tuesday, Christie’s said, setting a new per-carat record for a stone of its kind. The Pink Legacy, which once belonged to the Oppenheimer family who for decades ran the De Beers diamond-mining company, was snapped up by American luxury brand Harry Winston, part of the Swiss Swatch group. […]
SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Australia has minted a gold coin encrusted with rare pink diamonds worth Aus$2.48 million (US$1.8 million) to meet growing demand for high-end collectables from the ultra-rich. The two-kilogramme treasure, which depicts a sailing ship, a gold prospector and boab trees found in Western Australia, is considered legal tender and will be sold to the highest bidder. It is the most valuable coin ever made in Australia and is expected to be […]
by Katy Lee and Anne-Laure Mondesert © Agence France-Presse PARIS, France (AFP) – Fashion powerhouse Dior brushed aside the whims of the Instagram generation with its deliberately low-key new haute couture collection Monday, arguing that the world’s most expensive clothes don’t need to shout about it. Designer Maria Grazia Chiuri said she wanted the French label’s latest prestige range to glorify classic craftsmanship rather than the flashy designs that rack up “likes” on social media. […]
by Nina Larson Agence France Presse GLION, Switzerland (AFP) — Eight women sit primly around an elaborately set table making pleasant small-talk about the weather, as immaculately starched waiting staff stand at the ready. But as one of the servers steps forward holding a silver soup tureen with white-gloved hands, an instructor helps her adjust the angle of the bowl to make sure the ladle is facing the diner. And a second tutor whispers in […]
TOKYO, Japan (Reuters) — East Japan Railway Co. launched its new luxury sleeper train on Monday (May 1) that comes with a $10,000 price tag for the top-class suite for a four-day trip from Tokyo to Hokkaido. The slick gold-colored “Train Suite Shiki-shima” features Japan’s traditional tatami (pronounce tah-tah-mi) rice straw mats and Hinoki (pronounce hee-noh-ki) wooden bath tubs, sky-view glass ceilings and live piano music in the dining car. Despite the hefty price tags […]
