LUXX Gift Edition : The Best Christmas Presents To Buy
LUXX gift edit: the best Christmas presents to buy
The Porsche 911 reimagined by the boutique restoration house Singer Vehicle Design
Have you seen my keys?
Miuccia Prada’s wit has expanded to keyrings with this robot-like creature, which comes with stickers for creative personalisation.
£380, prada.com
Miuccia Prada’s wit has expanded to keyrings with this robot-like creature, which comes with stickers for creative personalisation.
£380, prada.com
Deck the halls
Let’s face it, there’s something a little “midlife crisis” about getting decks: the 2018 equivalent of taking up guitar lessons and playing Wonderwall at house parties. But when even the new chief executive of Goldman Sachs is a part-time dance DJ who spins records in Miami clubs under the nickname DJ D-Sol, maybe it’s becoming acceptable, and these decks are a good entry point. They feature in-built tutorials for mastering the basics, they are USB-powered, so are highly portable, and, crucially, they look the part, Pioneer kit being standard in the nightclub industry. Drink enough while you mix Terence Trent D’Arby into Chris Rea and you could believe you’re Paul Oakenfold. Although, if you want to go full “affair with secretary”, upgrade to the £1,019 XDJ-RR DJ system.
Sathnam Sanghera
£249, djkit.com
Let’s face it, there’s something a little “midlife crisis” about getting decks: the 2018 equivalent of taking up guitar lessons and playing Wonderwall at house parties. But when even the new chief executive of Goldman Sachs is a part-time dance DJ who spins records in Miami clubs under the nickname DJ D-Sol, maybe it’s becoming acceptable, and these decks are a good entry point. They feature in-built tutorials for mastering the basics, they are USB-powered, so are highly portable, and, crucially, they look the part, Pioneer kit being standard in the nightclub industry. Drink enough while you mix Terence Trent D’Arby into Chris Rea and you could believe you’re Paul Oakenfold. Although, if you want to go full “affair with secretary”, upgrade to the £1,019 XDJ-RR DJ system.
Sathnam Sanghera
£249, djkit.com
Bags of happiness
Everyone loves a Chanel handbag. Particularly when they are as cosy as this lambskin and suede creation.
£3,850, chanel.com
Everyone loves a Chanel handbag. Particularly when they are as cosy as this lambskin and suede creation.
£3,850, chanel.com
Indian adventure
The Elephant Family’s rally offers a jaunty way of raising funds for charity. In November 2019 participants will join 35 teams of rickshaws, Royal Enfields and Ambassador cars. The route changes every year, but has included a 500km race across salt pans and deserts. Nicholas Coleridge, Waris Ahluwalia and Joshua Jackson took part last year, and so far £1 million has been raised to protect Asian elephants.
Francisca Kellett
elephant-family.org
The Elephant Family’s rally offers a jaunty way of raising funds for charity. In November 2019 participants will join 35 teams of rickshaws, Royal Enfields and Ambassador cars. The route changes every year, but has included a 500km race across salt pans and deserts. Nicholas Coleridge, Waris Ahluwalia and Joshua Jackson took part last year, and so far £1 million has been raised to protect Asian elephants.
Francisca Kellett
elephant-family.org
They’re Balenciaga, darling
Balenciaga trainers enable wearers to move faster and look smarter, which is probably why they are top of everyone’s Christmas list. The style to bag is this Triple S low-top.
£615, matchesfashion.com
Balenciaga trainers enable wearers to move faster and look smarter, which is probably why they are top of everyone’s Christmas list. The style to bag is this Triple S low-top.
£615, matchesfashion.com
Classy glasses
Asprey’s colours make drinking even more pleasurable.
Pair of hi-ball glasses, £380, pair of emerald wine glasses, £470, pair of sapphire wine glasses, £500, asprey.com
Asprey’s colours make drinking even more pleasurable.
Pair of hi-ball glasses, £380, pair of emerald wine glasses, £470, pair of sapphire wine glasses, £500, asprey.com
Hot wheels
What to get the person who has everything? An Hermès skateboard, of course. POA, hermes.com
What to get the person who has everything? An Hermès skateboard, of course. POA, hermes.com
Peace and quiet
Many of us faced a terrible dilemma every night during the long, hot summer of 2018. Open your bedroom window, get some cool air, but then be kept up by the sound of partying neighbours and fornicating foxes. Or shut the window, enjoy the silence and suffocate in the heat. These Bose Sleepbuds could have rescued us. More electronic earplugs than noise-cancelling headphones, they use noise-masking technology to wirelessly conceal unwanted noise with soothing sounds. These are piped in over Bluetooth, with the buds designed not to fall out of your ear, even if you sleep on your side. You can even program them so that a morning alarm plays directly into your ear. Saving you that other terrible choice: between getting to work and the wrath of your partner. SS
£230, bose.co.uk
Many of us faced a terrible dilemma every night during the long, hot summer of 2018. Open your bedroom window, get some cool air, but then be kept up by the sound of partying neighbours and fornicating foxes. Or shut the window, enjoy the silence and suffocate in the heat. These Bose Sleepbuds could have rescued us. More electronic earplugs than noise-cancelling headphones, they use noise-masking technology to wirelessly conceal unwanted noise with soothing sounds. These are piped in over Bluetooth, with the buds designed not to fall out of your ear, even if you sleep on your side. You can even program them so that a morning alarm plays directly into your ear. Saving you that other terrible choice: between getting to work and the wrath of your partner. SS
£230, bose.co.uk
First-class luggage
Globe-Trotter’s collaboration with Matches Fashion has created wonderful things for the jetset traveller – the burgundy Goring wheelie and matching vanity box. Both would be nice, thanks.
£1,850 and £1,130, globe-trotter.com
Globe-Trotter’s collaboration with Matches Fashion has created wonderful things for the jetset traveller – the burgundy Goring wheelie and matching vanity box. Both would be nice, thanks.
£1,850 and £1,130, globe-trotter.com
The ultimate storage solution
A thoughtful person might fill a Smythson metallic leather trinket box with something useful (hair pins/cotton wool) as a clever gift. An even more thoughtful person would get the box embossed too.
From £135, smythson.com
A thoughtful person might fill a Smythson metallic leather trinket box with something useful (hair pins/cotton wool) as a clever gift. An even more thoughtful person would get the box embossed too.
From £135, smythson.com
Wired for sound
I’m suspicious of hi-fi aficionados. What’s the point of £20,000 worth of kit when it turns out, as it often does, that you have only two CDs, both by Sting? This Sonos speaker system, in contrast, is intensely practical audio equipment for people who genuinely adore music, radio and podcasts. There are almost no wires and Amazon’s Alexa assistant is integrated – so it rids your home of hi-fi clutter. If you want Barry White playing in your bedroom and the TV blasting in the living room (to block whatever might be happening upstairs) it lets you do that. I probably overdid it with nearly £2,000 of the various bits all in one flat, but I wouldn’t be able to live without at least a quarter of it. Life-changing tech. SS
From £149, sonos.com
I’m suspicious of hi-fi aficionados. What’s the point of £20,000 worth of kit when it turns out, as it often does, that you have only two CDs, both by Sting? This Sonos speaker system, in contrast, is intensely practical audio equipment for people who genuinely adore music, radio and podcasts. There are almost no wires and Amazon’s Alexa assistant is integrated – so it rids your home of hi-fi clutter. If you want Barry White playing in your bedroom and the TV blasting in the living room (to block whatever might be happening upstairs) it lets you do that. I probably overdid it with nearly £2,000 of the various bits all in one flat, but I wouldn’t be able to live without at least a quarter of it. Life-changing tech. SS
From £149, sonos.com
Life’s a journey
For those with more than enough stuff, and a thirst for adventure, Geordie Mackay-Lewis and Jimmy Carroll, the partners of the experiential travel company Pelorus, have come up with one of the most inventive presents any wannabe adventurer might dream of: a collection of 12 weekend trips to experience – one for every month of the year. The itineraries created by the duo – who met in the British Army and have dived, hiked, climbed and explored some of the most extreme parts of the world – range from glamping and camel-riding in Jordan’s Wadi Rum, pictured, to lobster-fishing and staying in royal retreats in Scotland. The three-night, four-day adventures – each to a destination less than a five-hour flight away – cost between £3,500 and £7,000 per person per trip, excluding flights. The vouchers, enclosed in a smart Pelorus envelope, are pretty easy to wrap too. Lisa Grainger
pelorusx.com
For those with more than enough stuff, and a thirst for adventure, Geordie Mackay-Lewis and Jimmy Carroll, the partners of the experiential travel company Pelorus, have come up with one of the most inventive presents any wannabe adventurer might dream of: a collection of 12 weekend trips to experience – one for every month of the year. The itineraries created by the duo – who met in the British Army and have dived, hiked, climbed and explored some of the most extreme parts of the world – range from glamping and camel-riding in Jordan’s Wadi Rum, pictured, to lobster-fishing and staying in royal retreats in Scotland. The three-night, four-day adventures – each to a destination less than a five-hour flight away – cost between £3,500 and £7,000 per person per trip, excluding flights. The vouchers, enclosed in a smart Pelorus envelope, are pretty easy to wrap too. Lisa Grainger
pelorusx.com
For bibliophiles
Moda Operandi – always a treasure chest of stylish gifts – has now launched Moda Home, featuring delights such as these works of F Scott Fitzgerald by Juniper Books. £171, modaoperandi.com
Moda Operandi – always a treasure chest of stylish gifts – has now launched Moda Home, featuring delights such as these works of F Scott Fitzgerald by Juniper Books. £171, modaoperandi.com
Eat my glitter
A gift for a disco-loving motorhead is tricky. But MM6 Maison Margiela’s sparkly bike-helmet, which doubles as a bag, could be the answer. Harley-Davidson not included.
POA, maisonmargiela.com
A gift for a disco-loving motorhead is tricky. But MM6 Maison Margiela’s sparkly bike-helmet, which doubles as a bag, could be the answer. Harley-Davidson not included.
POA, maisonmargiela.com
Reinventing the hoop
Everyone loves a sexy, swanky hoop. Go for a thick rose-gold pair from Bucherer at Selfridges’ Wonder Room.
£430, uk.bucherer.com
Everyone loves a sexy, swanky hoop. Go for a thick rose-gold pair from Bucherer at Selfridges’ Wonder Room.
£430, uk.bucherer.com
Drive of your life
The Porsche 911 reimagined by the boutique restoration house Singer Vehicle Design is a gift that would make the Grinch green with envy. It’s a classic Porsche, but not as you know it. Customising would be too trite a word to describe the obsessional restoration of these exquisite Dynamics and Lightweighting Study cars. “Everything is important” is the company’s motto – and it certainly is. Everything is considered and enhanced, from a brawny Williams Advanced Engineering air-cooled engine to jewel-like gold-plated speedometers that deliver Seventies cool interpreted in a modern way. The car is a gorgeous piece of work that has already achieved cult status – even if prices do start at £1.6 million. David Green
singervehicledesign.com
The Porsche 911 reimagined by the boutique restoration house Singer Vehicle Design is a gift that would make the Grinch green with envy. It’s a classic Porsche, but not as you know it. Customising would be too trite a word to describe the obsessional restoration of these exquisite Dynamics and Lightweighting Study cars. “Everything is important” is the company’s motto – and it certainly is. Everything is considered and enhanced, from a brawny Williams Advanced Engineering air-cooled engine to jewel-like gold-plated speedometers that deliver Seventies cool interpreted in a modern way. The car is a gorgeous piece of work that has already achieved cult status – even if prices do start at £1.6 million. David Green
singervehicledesign.com
Cashmere heaven
Gifting menswear can be a minefield, but Loro Piana always gets it right with its delicious cashmere. This coat will never date.
£4,505, loropiana.com
Gifting menswear can be a minefield, but Loro Piana always gets it right with its delicious cashmere. This coat will never date.
£4,505, loropiana.com
Memories made beautiful
At Last! Creative is a genius company that takes our billions of digital photographs and videos and transforms them into hand-bound albums, books and short films.
From £400, atlastcreative.com
At Last! Creative is a genius company that takes our billions of digital photographs and videos and transforms them into hand-bound albums, books and short films.
From £400, atlastcreative.com
J’adore
Dior’s instant success story, the Book Tote Bag, has an enormous waiting list. Thankfully, this Toile de Jouy bag (in maroon or navy) is being released just in time for Christmas.
£2,100, dior.com
Dior’s instant success story, the Book Tote Bag, has an enormous waiting list. Thankfully, this Toile de Jouy bag (in maroon or navy) is being released just in time for Christmas.
£2,100, dior.com
Box of delight
Giles Deacon has been appointed as the design director at Aspinal of London – instantly raising its fashion game. Our favourite from his first collection is this hatbox bag. Can be used for things other than hats.
£550, aspinaloflondon.com
Giles Deacon has been appointed as the design director at Aspinal of London – instantly raising its fashion game. Our favourite from his first collection is this hatbox bag. Can be used for things other than hats.
£550, aspinaloflondon.com
Wild style
Holland & Holland’s his-and-hers country collection is the brainchild of Stella Tennant and Isabella Cawdor, who ensure it is impeccably chic.
Trenchcoat, £1,920, moleskin jacket, £950, jumper, £690, shirt, £390, hollandandholland.co.uk
Holland & Holland’s his-and-hers country collection is the brainchild of Stella Tennant and Isabella Cawdor, who ensure it is impeccably chic.
Trenchcoat, £1,920, moleskin jacket, £950, jumper, £690, shirt, £390, hollandandholland.co.uk
The chocolate
I have a grubby secret. I know that you expect me, as the food editor of such an esteemed publication as The Times, to enjoy only the finest things in life: to drink claret from the best postwar vintages, to insist that my scallops are hand-dived and my meat comes from rare breeds massaged from cradle to grave. And, to be fair, I do as much of that as my over-privileged position will allow. However, there is one area where my tastes are distinctly plebeian and that is in chocolate.
I have a grubby secret. I know that you expect me, as the food editor of such an esteemed publication as The Times, to enjoy only the finest things in life: to drink claret from the best postwar vintages, to insist that my scallops are hand-dived and my meat comes from rare breeds massaged from cradle to grave. And, to be fair, I do as much of that as my over-privileged position will allow. However, there is one area where my tastes are distinctly plebeian and that is in chocolate.
I’ve tasted chocolate from single estates on remote Pacific islands and truffles from the most starry kitchens in the world, but I’ve never come across one that I wouldn’t swap for a nice Snickers bar. Because, let’s be honest, nothing beats our childhood chocolate. I don’t care that it is full of glucose syrup and vegetable fats and nugatory cocoa solids; it’s not about complexity and layers of flavour, it’s about that nostalgic sugary hit.
That’s why we are approaching bonanza time, because the only thing better than a Snickers bar is a Christmas tub of Celebrations: Teasers, Snickers, Twix, Mars, Galaxy, Milky Way and Bounty. (That is the definite pecking order, by the way.) They encapsulate all that is right about cheap chocolate in a way that, weirdly, Cadbury’s Heroes never do. I think it must be a texture thing.
However, you can’t really present your nearest and dearest with a Snickers bar for Christmas, so here I bring you my selection of posh riffs on cheap chocolate.
Almost everyone loves Nutella, but I find it a bit sweet. However, M&S do a very good, if slightly oily, Smooth Italian Hazelnut Chocolate Spread (200g, £3) and Hotel Chocolat’s Salted Caramel and Pecan chocolate spread (160g, £6) is pretty darned good. If you really want to push the boat out you need to get hold of Pierre Marcolini’s chocolate caramel spread (210g, £13.50) using beans from Ecuador and Cameroon, studded with pieces of salted caramel.
For a posh Mars bar you can do worse than gorge on L’Artisan du Chocolat’s much imitated, but never bettered Salted Caramels, invented in 2002 for Gordon Ramsay’s restaurant at Claridge’s. They come in dark or milk chocolate and in a pot that looks as if it might contain very expensive face cream (130g, £14.99). L’Artisan also does Dark Chocolate Orangettes, which look like fat Matchmakers (remember them?), but if you want the full chocolate orange update, check out Paul A Young’s Very Orangey Chocolate Segments, an orange’s worth of Guittard 65-per-cent Madagascan dark-chocolate segments with essential oils of orange and mandarin, and Vitamin C for added zing (£14.95). He also does an After Dinner Peppermint Cream Ganache in place of After Eights, and shards of crystallised fresh mint in a dark chocolate bar. (Ice Breakers, anyone?)
If it’s the Snickers hit you are after, you could pay a visit to Alain Ducasse’s new Le Chocolat store near King’s Cross in London, where his celebrated “pralines a l’ancienne” are caramelised almonds, hazelnuts, peanuts and pistachios enrobed in superior grand cru chocolate (from £32 for 27 pieces).
I’ve left the best til last, however. At William Curley’s shop in Harrods and online you can gorge on posh Jaffa cakes, millionaire’s shortbread and the most incredible peanut nougat or coconut bars, all at £5 a piece. (You can guess what he might have called these last two if it weren’t for the lawyers.) Despite his name, he hasn’t managed to crack the Curly Wurly, but he does do a fancy take on Ferrero Rocher at £1.50 a piece. If you ask nicely, he’ll even wrap them up in gold paper for the full ambassadorial treat. Tony Turnbull
Glamour in a bottle
Like the universe, the Italian power brand Bulgari is always expanding. There are now gems, hotels and fragrances. These glorious jewel-coloured bottles of scent are made of Murano glass and will elevate any dressing table.
Le Gemme collection 100ml bottle, £1,900 at Harrods Salon de Parfums
Like the universe, the Italian power brand Bulgari is always expanding. There are now gems, hotels and fragrances. These glorious jewel-coloured bottles of scent are made of Murano glass and will elevate any dressing table.
Le Gemme collection 100ml bottle, £1,900 at Harrods Salon de Parfums
The perfect cosy jumper
A cream cable-knit jumper is essential for the pub fireside and/or long walks. The best ones have always been made by Connolly, so praise be that the label has been resurrected.
£395, connollyengland.com
A cream cable-knit jumper is essential for the pub fireside and/or long walks. The best ones have always been made by Connolly, so praise be that the label has been resurrected.
£395, connollyengland.com
The chic seats
The Guccification of the world continues. Find the floral-print Love seat at Harrods, which also happens to have the most brilliant homeware section of any department store.
£2,010, harrods.com
The Guccification of the world continues. Find the floral-print Love seat at Harrods, which also happens to have the most brilliant homeware section of any department store.
£2,010, harrods.com
Pyjama party
This season’s hit collaboration is Nicolas Ghesquière of Louis Vuitton and the stylist Grace Coddington. This silk pyjama set is part of their Catogram collection.
Top, £1,300, matching trousers, £1,200, louisvuitton.com
This season’s hit collaboration is Nicolas Ghesquière of Louis Vuitton and the stylist Grace Coddington. This silk pyjama set is part of their Catogram collection.
Top, £1,300, matching trousers, £1,200, louisvuitton.com
Everyday magic
The fashion label Zegna has turned its attention to quotidian objects such as table tennis bats, headphones and even a turntable. A fab surprise for under the tree.
Turntable, £2,935, and wireless headphones, £685, zegna.co.uk
The fashion label Zegna has turned its attention to quotidian objects such as table tennis bats, headphones and even a turntable. A fab surprise for under the tree.
Turntable, £2,935, and wireless headphones, £685, zegna.co.uk
Beauty sleep
Slip pillowcases are made from mulberry silk and apparently reduce wrinkles and dry skin, while also looking pretty cool. Bulk-buy.
£79, slipsilkpillowcase.co.uk
Slip pillowcases are made from mulberry silk and apparently reduce wrinkles and dry skin, while also looking pretty cool. Bulk-buy.
£79, slipsilkpillowcase.co.uk
Looking fit
The Parisian activewear label Ernest Leoty has made sportswear elegant – finally. Its bestselling Ilona bodysuits are pleasingly flattering and perfect for the January fitness blast.
£250, ernestleoty.com
The Parisian activewear label Ernest Leoty has made sportswear elegant – finally. Its bestselling Ilona bodysuits are pleasingly flattering and perfect for the January fitness blast.
£250, ernestleoty.com
Real corkers
For children, gifts are the highlight of Christmas. However, adults have something far better to open: champagne, an indulgence that starts the minute a cork is boosted skywards by bubbles seemingly impatient to join the festivities.
For children, gifts are the highlight of Christmas. However, adults have something far better to open: champagne, an indulgence that starts the minute a cork is boosted skywards by bubbles seemingly impatient to join the festivities.
The sole problem with champagne is choice. Vintage or non-vintage, white or pink, famous name or intriguing small grower?
Several houses chose to release their 2009 before the 2008, because the latter, a fabulous year, took longer to mature. So the luscious, creamy Pol Roger 2009 (£65, thewinesociety.com), 60 per cent pinot noir and 40 per cent chardonnay, is ready to drink this minute, and makes a great match for cheese sticks and other Christmas nibbles; this was Winston Churchill’s favourite house for a reason.Dom Pérignon, meanwhile, has just released its gorgeous 2008, scented and saline, with the added distinction of being the last vintage from the legendary Chef de Cave Richard Geoffroy: a special, limited Legacy Edition (£145, clos19.com) celebrates his long tenure.
Something most people have never tried before is Gosset’s new Grand Blanc de Meunier (£85, thewhiskyexchange.com),with tiny bubbles that release an elderflower perfume. It is made entirely from pinot meunier, champagne’s third grape, by a house that claims to be champagne’s oldest. Another delicious curio, ideal for the environmentally conscious, is Esprit Nature (£49, hedonism.co.uk), by Henri Giraud, which is carefully tested to ensure that it’s free of any pesticides. That’s no problem for Philipponnat Clos des Goisses 2007 (£102, laywheeler.com), since the grapes come from a single, steeply sloped vineyard that’s walled off (“un clos”). Champagne is usually a blend of different parcels, but this unusual wine is one of the most exquisite I’ve tasted.
Those who love the pure, lemony bite of Blanc de Blancs – 100 per cent chardonnay – should try Taittinger’s racy, elegant Comtes de Champagne 2007 (£111, thefinestbubble.com). At the other end of the spectrum, Bollinger’s La Grande Année Rosé 2007 (£105, bbr.com) is delicately pink and heady with apricots and rose petals.
Whatever you choose to drink, avoid flutes, which are designed to accentuate bubble at the expense of aroma and taste. Instead, try the graceful diamond-shaped Zalto champagne glasses, or copy Geoffroy, who uses Riedel’s Vinum riesling and chianti glasses. And may whatever fizz you pop offer liquid balm for any seasonal stresses. Nina Caplan
See you by the pool
Orlebar Brown swimming trunks are the perfect present should you know someone spending New Year’s Eve in St Barts, Barbados or anywhere else, to be honest.
£145, orlebarbrown.com
Orlebar Brown swimming trunks are the perfect present should you know someone spending New Year’s Eve in St Barts, Barbados or anywhere else, to be honest.
£145, orlebarbrown.com
For budding mechanics
The Phim x Eden Being push-along wooden kit-car can be assembled in 90 minutes – one way to keep the children occupied on Christmas Day.
From £595, edenbeing.com
The Phim x Eden Being push-along wooden kit-car can be assembled in 90 minutes – one way to keep the children occupied on Christmas Day.
From £595, edenbeing.com
T-shirt porn
Christopher Kane’s stimulating A/W18 collection was based on the Seventies handbook The Joy of Sex. Spread good cheer with his More Joy T-shirts.
£175, net-a-porter.com
Christopher Kane’s stimulating A/W18 collection was based on the Seventies handbook The Joy of Sex. Spread good cheer with his More Joy T-shirts.
£175, net-a-porter.com
Old bags
The Parisian leather brand Moynat has been serving up stellar leather bags since 1849, so really has the know-how to make this studded Mini Vanity Box.
£3,980, moynat.com
The Parisian leather brand Moynat has been serving up stellar leather bags since 1849, so really has the know-how to make this studded Mini Vanity Box.
£3,980, moynat.com
Grazie mille
The River Café gift boxes are packed with impeccably sourced Italian pantry essentials.
Medium gift box, £250, rivercafe.co.uk
The River Café gift boxes are packed with impeccably sourced Italian pantry essentials.
Medium gift box, £250, rivercafe.co.uk
Wrist watch
Flex’it by Fope use ultra-modern technology (a unique system of tiny 18ct gold springs) to create elegant and eminently wearable jewellery, like this bracelet.
£1,580, fope.com
Flex’it by Fope use ultra-modern technology (a unique system of tiny 18ct gold springs) to create elegant and eminently wearable jewellery, like this bracelet.
£1,580, fope.com
Pearl of an idea
Rescued from Dutch oyster beds, these oyster shells have become a canvas for the artistic sensibilities of the local painter Dieuwke Parlevliet, who hand-paints them with delicate patterns reminiscent of Delft pottery. Useful in the dining room for snacks (they’re part of the furniture in the cool TwentySeven hotel in Amsterdam) or in the dressing room for earrings and cufflinks.
From £22, zeeuwsblauw.nl
Rescued from Dutch oyster beds, these oyster shells have become a canvas for the artistic sensibilities of the local painter Dieuwke Parlevliet, who hand-paints them with delicate patterns reminiscent of Delft pottery. Useful in the dining room for snacks (they’re part of the furniture in the cool TwentySeven hotel in Amsterdam) or in the dressing room for earrings and cufflinks.
From £22, zeeuwsblauw.nl
Bespoke vision
It’s impossible to buy spectacles for anyone else, which is why the team at Tom Davies has started producing vouchers so recipients can design the frames of their dreams.
POA, tdtomdavies.com
It’s impossible to buy spectacles for anyone else, which is why the team at Tom Davies has started producing vouchers so recipients can design the frames of their dreams.
POA, tdtomdavies.com
Fine and dandy
Your most decadent friend will enjoy Layeur’s smoking jacket, updated in red and pink silk.
£450, themodist.com
Your most decadent friend will enjoy Layeur’s smoking jacket, updated in red and pink silk.
£450, themodist.com
Fun bags
Turkey sandwiches will be much more interesting in this silver rainbow lunchbox.
£450, anyahindmarch.com
Turkey sandwiches will be much more interesting in this silver rainbow lunchbox.
£450, anyahindmarch.com
Sub-continental shift
Once, travellers ventured to India prepared for creaky plumbing, traffic and ramshackle inns. Today, as Glorious Hotels of India shows, the country is home to some truly splendid hotels, from monumental palaces adorned with gems to tea plantation houses furnished with handcrafted treasures. This coffee-table book, with words by Cosmo Samuel Brockway and Harriet Compston, and richly coloured photographs by Karam Puri, is a compilation of the country’s finest 40 hotels, from the fortified castles of Rajasthan and the faded Lutyens-influenced homestays of Kolkata to the hippest art-adorned coastal inns. For those who can’t get away this winter, leafing through pages of sumptuous interiors, almost Biblical-scale landscape pictures and tales of the characterful owners will be the next-best thing. LG
£32, rolibooks.com
Once, travellers ventured to India prepared for creaky plumbing, traffic and ramshackle inns. Today, as Glorious Hotels of India shows, the country is home to some truly splendid hotels, from monumental palaces adorned with gems to tea plantation houses furnished with handcrafted treasures. This coffee-table book, with words by Cosmo Samuel Brockway and Harriet Compston, and richly coloured photographs by Karam Puri, is a compilation of the country’s finest 40 hotels, from the fortified castles of Rajasthan and the faded Lutyens-influenced homestays of Kolkata to the hippest art-adorned coastal inns. For those who can’t get away this winter, leafing through pages of sumptuous interiors, almost Biblical-scale landscape pictures and tales of the characterful owners will be the next-best thing. LG
£32, rolibooks.com
Mane attraction
The Explorations Company matches its clients to adventures that get the heart racing while also contributing towards vital research and conservation work. In Tanzania’s Saadani National Park researchers have studied elephants and the prides of lion that roam this small yet astonishing park. It is the only protected area in Tanzania that is right on the coast, which means that guests can watch elephants roaming around the savannah, but also see green turtles shuffling up on golden sands to lay their eggs.
The Explorations Company matches its clients to adventures that get the heart racing while also contributing towards vital research and conservation work. In Tanzania’s Saadani National Park researchers have studied elephants and the prides of lion that roam this small yet astonishing park. It is the only protected area in Tanzania that is right on the coast, which means that guests can watch elephants roaming around the savannah, but also see green turtles shuffling up on golden sands to lay their eggs.
The three resident prides are unique in Africa because they den in mangroves, sometimes only metres from turtle nests, and have adapted to their saline surroundings. They spend a significant amount of time on land belonging to villagers, so collaring and monitoring the lions helps to keep them safe.
Guests can head out with researchers and a vet in open vehicles to identify and separate a specimen from the pride, watch the vet dart and tranquilise it, then assist with blood tests and measurements. It’s a thrillingly feelgood way of getting up close to a predator.
Guests also have a fabulous safari experience. On days when no collaring takes place, they go on game drives. There are salt flats, mangroves, evergreen forests and acacia-studded grasslands – the royal flush of African landscapes – as well as the Wami River, along which one can cruise to see fish eagles, hippos and crocodiles.
Accommodation is in a 20m-high stone research tower built to monitor wildlife on Elephant Island, which is a favourite route for passing herds. The tower has two suites, a little restaurant and a rooftop crow’s nest. Evenings can be spent out on the salt flats, having a campfire supper beneath extraordinary stars, or watching game wander past the crow’s nest, with an icy G&T in hand. All this makes a trip that would be a Christmas present on an epic scale. FK
The Explorations Company (explorationscompany.com) offers a five-day safari to Saadani from £3,180 a person, full-board.Lion collaring experience from £11,600 for three.
The Explorations Company (explorationscompany.com) offers a five-day safari to Saadani from £3,180 a person, full-board.Lion collaring experience from £11,600 for three.
Tick-tock
Consider sand. Worthless. Almost nothing. It’s the thing you find where there isn’t anything else. Seal it in glass, though, and nip the waist, and you have mankind’s greatest invention and perhaps greatest luxury of all. You have time.
Consider sand. Worthless. Almost nothing. It’s the thing you find where there isn’t anything else. Seal it in glass, though, and nip the waist, and you have mankind’s greatest invention and perhaps greatest luxury of all. You have time.
Seen in the round, time is uncountable. History may record your birthday and your death day, but you, here and now, get only half the picture. Only in the most macabre of circumstances do we know how much time we’ve got left. Why would you let it just slip away?
Cod-psychology tells us that true luxury is that of not worrying about time. Free time, empty days, boundless windows of opportunity. What a load of rubbish. If it’s boundless, for one thing, it is not a window. A timepiece is a mark of luxury not only because it is expensive and shiny. It marks the furrows that our forebears have dug into the universe itself. Without them, free time is overwhelming and terrifying. You may as well seek to enjoy the middle of the ocean without a boat.
The ancient Egyptians dreamt up Ouroboros, a snake eating its own tail. Later thinkers gave it a twist, making the infinity sign you know today. Like your watch, it represents the taming of time itself, making a cycle of a bottomless abyss. There is a reason why stories about time travel always end up as dystopias, from Slaughterhouse-Five to The Time Traveler’s Wife. Consider it for more than a moment – itself a meaningless term with time travel – and who could wish to be adrift? Desire and anticipation cannot exist without the passing of time, nor relief, nor nostalgia, nor hope. You never have enough of it. You are loath to waste it. Relish every ticking second as it goes. Hugo Rifkind
Pimp your bookshelf
The team at Prometheus Bound can personalise any book, hand binding in every material and colour imaginable, and finishing off with silver or gold embossing, images, or even the family crest.
From £95, prometheusboundbooks.com
The team at Prometheus Bound can personalise any book, hand binding in every material and colour imaginable, and finishing off with silver or gold embossing, images, or even the family crest.
From £95, prometheusboundbooks.com
Fake it, make it
Clare Waight Keller is killing it at Givenchy, and her signature fake-fur coats are selling out fast. Bag one of these and earn eternal gratitude from the fake-fur fan in your life.
£7,865, matchesfashion.com
Clare Waight Keller is killing it at Givenchy, and her signature fake-fur coats are selling out fast. Bag one of these and earn eternal gratitude from the fake-fur fan in your life.
£7,865, matchesfashion.com
A very grand finale
If Stir-up Sunday passed you by,no need to panic. The Claridge’s Christmas puddings are drenched in dark rum and cognac, and come in a keepsake white china bowl.
£55, claridges.co.uk
If Stir-up Sunday passed you by,no need to panic. The Claridge’s Christmas puddings are drenched in dark rum and cognac, and come in a keepsake white china bowl.
£55, claridges.co.uk
Art with heart
Bicester Village is a one-stop shopping destination and there is even a festive pop-up Tate shop full of clever, arty gifts, including a set of Louise Bourgeois placemats.
£40, shop.tate.org.uk
Bicester Village is a one-stop shopping destination and there is even a festive pop-up Tate shop full of clever, arty gifts, including a set of Louise Bourgeois placemats.
£40, shop.tate.org.uk
Screen time
Coco Chanel once said: “I could never live in an open house. The first thing I go looking for are dressing screens.” She would have been chuffed to bits with the beautifully crafted pieces from The Natural Screen Company, which are made to order using handwoven broadcloth from Yorkshire in a range of colours. £1,500, naturalscreencompany@gmail.com
Coco Chanel once said: “I could never live in an open house. The first thing I go looking for are dressing screens.” She would have been chuffed to bits with the beautifully crafted pieces from The Natural Screen Company, which are made to order using handwoven broadcloth from Yorkshire in a range of colours. £1,500, naturalscreencompany@gmail.com
Raise the game
Brunello Cucinelli doesn’t just make gorgeous clothes – the company also makes sets of dominoes. Just right for the poshest of Christmas stockings.
£830, brunellocucinelli.com
Brunello Cucinelli doesn’t just make gorgeous clothes – the company also makes sets of dominoes. Just right for the poshest of Christmas stockings.
£830, brunellocucinelli.com
Perfect shades
Everybody needs sunnies from Céline. And 2019 is all about oversized shades, according to the brand’s new creative director, Hedi Slimane.
£290, celine.com
Everybody needs sunnies from Céline. And 2019 is all about oversized shades, according to the brand’s new creative director, Hedi Slimane.
£290, celine.com
House style
B&B Italia’s elegant stools will be appreciated by anyone who likes to put their feet up in style.
£1,840, bebitalia.com
B&B Italia’s elegant stools will be appreciated by anyone who likes to put their feet up in style.
£1,840, bebitalia.com
Makers’ dozen
Nick Vinson has picked items by 12 European artists, including Carl Auböck, for his craftsmanship edit for Matches Fashion.
Bottle opener, £168, hand corkscrew, £258, foot corkscrew, £265, matchesfashion.com
Nick Vinson has picked items by 12 European artists, including Carl Auböck, for his craftsmanship edit for Matches Fashion.
Bottle opener, £168, hand corkscrew, £258, foot corkscrew, £265, matchesfashion.com
Pearls updated
Boodles is incorporating Japanese freshwater Kasumiga pearls into its jewellery designs, most fabulously in the Mosaic necklace, offset with rose gold and diamonds.
£8,750, boodles.com
Boodles is incorporating Japanese freshwater Kasumiga pearls into its jewellery designs, most fabulously in the Mosaic necklace, offset with rose gold and diamonds.
£8,750, boodles.com
Music to your ears
The new Fendi logo is going down a storm on earrings, bags and now these headphones. The raspberry case means they won’t easily get lost, either.
£450, fendi.com
The new Fendi logo is going down a storm on earrings, bags and now these headphones. The raspberry case means they won’t easily get lost, either.
£450, fendi.com
Dancing queen
Emilia Wickstead’s pleated metallic party dress is perfect for twirling. New Year’s Eve, anyone?
£1,855, emiliawickstead.com
Emilia Wickstead’s pleated metallic party dress is perfect for twirling. New Year’s Eve, anyone?
£1,855, emiliawickstead.com
Keep your shirt on
Theo Fennell’s Queen Victoria and Prince Albert cufflinks are perfect for monarchists. You can commission a pair in the image of anyone you like.
£495, theofennell.com
Theo Fennell’s Queen Victoria and Prince Albert cufflinks are perfect for monarchists. You can commission a pair in the image of anyone you like.
£495, theofennell.com
Gifts for gluttons
Great news! Piccadilly’s iconic restaurant The Wolseley now has an online shop offering luxury tea, coffee, truffles and this devilishly moreish shortbread.
£16.95 for 260g, thewolseley.com
Great news! Piccadilly’s iconic restaurant The Wolseley now has an online shop offering luxury tea, coffee, truffles and this devilishly moreish shortbread.
£16.95 for 260g, thewolseley.com
Better than socks
Warm, dependable, available in lovely autumnal hues. Moreover, this Schoffel jumper won’t get lost in the washing machine.
£250, schoffelcountry.com
Warm, dependable, available in lovely autumnal hues. Moreover, this Schoffel jumper won’t get lost in the washing machine.
£250, schoffelcountry.com
For the connoisseur
Valextra is the logo-free Italian handmade leather goods label beloved by fashion insiders.Its pimped-up designs are the ultimate in-the-know arm candy. £2,650, valextra.com
Valextra is the logo-free Italian handmade leather goods label beloved by fashion insiders.Its pimped-up designs are the ultimate in-the-know arm candy. £2,650, valextra.com
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