Labels and luxury

A slice of opulence at The Hindu's Watches and Luxuriance show

October 04, 2011 05:56 pm | Updated 05:56 pm IST - Chennai

On a luxury drive: Audi A7. Photo: S. S. Kumar

On a luxury drive: Audi A7. Photo: S. S. Kumar

The high ceiling, plush carpets and muted lighting at the Hyatt Regency provided the perfect setting for The Hindu 's Watches & Luxuriance show. It showcased the best in watches, cars, entertainment,yachts and boats.

Parked right where the luxury line-up began, were the swank Audi R 55 and Audi A7 cars and leisure boats from Aquatainment India. “It is a misnomer that sailing is an expensive hobby or sport. A sturdy family boat will cost you as much as a good car, around Rs. 15 lakh,” said Shiva Swamynath, co-owner, Aquatainment. The 320 Rider, a safer alternative to the jet skies; the 550 Silver Craft with its fishing, family and hard top versions; the 700 Silver Craft fitted with a Porsche design engine and the 850 Side Walker with inner and outer decks, complete air conditioning, a bedroom, fully-equipped pantry and toilet were some of their best offerings. “The Chennai coastline is fantastic with a rich aquatic life and beautiful spots such as Puducherry and Ennore and has some of the best sailing conditions in the world,” added Shiva.

The highlight of the evening was the coming together of the world's best watchmakers under one roof. Ensconced in glass boxes, the watches, priced between Rs. 1.5 lakh and Rs. 1 crore, were examples of exquisite craftsmanship. One of the oldest German watch brands, A. Lange and Sohne had brought to the show the revamped version of their first mechanical watch, the Lange1. The new watch comes with a rose gold body, double window outsize date and a power reserve indicator. A fine piece from the brand's Saxonia Range, the Saxonia Annual Calendar watch, comes with a white gold finish, and displays date, day and the moon phase.

“Commemorating the 60th year of the most popular Reverso, Jaeger LeCoultre brought in their latest Reversos, the iconic Atmos Clock made with Bacarat crystals and powered by changes in the atmosphere, and their fashionable Master Control and Master Geographic models,” said Teerath Doshi, from the Helvetica Swiss watch boutique.

Italian watch making brand, Officine Panerai, has launched their Luminor and Radiomir collections this year. The Luminor 1950, Radiomir Oro Rosa, Radiomir Ceramica and the Radiomir Black Seal Logo are some of their main novelties.

The classic Rolex brand with its two new pieces, Pearl Master and Daytona in rose gold; Cartier with extensions of its Captive Line, Ballon Blue Line and Calibre series; Omega with its revamped Lady Matic model, the Constellation ladies watch and the Planet Ocean watch; and Raymond Weil with its pair of rose gold watches (launched to mark the 30th anniversary of the Parsifal range) and the popular Jasmine range with its 18 variations were the other big names at the Watches & Luxuriance event.

Defining the high-end in entertainment was Bang & Olufsen with its range of uber-luxurious audio and visual gadgets. “The LED television, BeoVision 7-55 with features like vision clear technology, in-built 7.1 processor, attached blue ray player and motorised floor stand (that can swivel the TV, adjust angle and height) is our central offering,” said S. Sathish Kumar, sales manager, Bang & Olufsen. Other gadgets on display included the BeoLab 8002 with its inverted pencil speakers and multi-disc player; the Beo6 universal remote (to B&O products alone) with its partial touch pad feature; and the entry level product, BeoTime that serves as an alarm clock that can be synchronised to other B&O products.

Inevitable at such a line-up is a holiday package that is tailor-made to fit in all the whims and fancies that there can be. Indulgence, the luxury segment of Thomas Cook presented at the event some niche, offbeat destinations with no fixed itineraries. The cost of holiday packages depends upon the choice of destination and services.

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