Do you care where a diamond comes from? Historically, consumers didn’t have a choice. Natural diamonds were formed billions of years ago, deep beneath the earth’s surface, and were then thrust hundreds of kilometers to its crust by volcanic eruptions before eventually being extracted from mines in South Africa, Russia …
A mere month ago, luxury businesses were looking forward to a new era of deregulation, lower taxes and a booming stock market — and dreaming of well-heeled buyers splurging on opulent ball gowns and statement watches. Instead, as the Trump administration imposes 20 percent tariffs on products from the European …
Chaos surrounded us. Informal porters rolling luggage carts zigzagged between cars. Commuters spilled from the bus terminal onto the sidewalk, where they sat on suitcases and duffel bags. Minibus taxis zoomed through the congestion, pedestrians be damned. Our car crawled past a barbed-wire fence and reached a sliding gate, where …
If you’ve longed to indulge in elegant rail travel, but thought the days of lavish cars and live music were over, you’re in luck. New trains as well as new routes, amenities and special events are rolling out, enticing travelers to sit back, Champagne in hand, and glide through some …
When Jennifer Trebb first pulled into her driveway two years ago with her sleek Tesla Model Y, it was — as she put it — “kind of like a ‘Back to the Future’ moment.” She was helping the environment, she said, but driving a Tesla also had cachet. “It was …
These should be wonderful times at Finca El Puente, a coffee plantation carved into the mountains of southwestern Honduras. On world markets, the price of ordinary coffee has more than doubled over the past year. The specialty varieties of coffee harvested at the farm have long commanded a hefty premium, …
Jeweled timepieces typically dazzle with sparkling gemstones set on glittering surfaces. But some brands now are prioritizing artisanal collaborations — so their jeweled watches showcase not just extravagant stones but also the craftsmanship behind the creations. The fusion of diverse skills and materials has been driving the fabrication of intricate …
When art works fetch spectacular auction prices, like the record $450.3 million for Leonardo da Vinci’s “Salvator Mundi” in 2017, the world’s focus turns for a moment to the arcane goings-on of the international art trade. But with the market in a downturn for the last two years, there have …