Luxury Toys for Men, The Ultimate Collection

ultimate_toysby Nathalie Grolimund (ed.)

“All work and no play makes Jack a very dull boy, does it not?”

(English, German, French, Chinese) While the origins of the above proverb predate its first recorded use in James Howell’s Anthology of 1695, a more apropos variant can be traced to 1825: “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, All play and no work makes Jack a mere toy.” Anyway . . .

Here’s another proverb: “You have to spend money to make money.” In the case of this book, you have to spend money ($125!) to spend more money, unless you are content to just daydream.

 

ultimate_car

For most who aren’t UHNWIs this is more of an idea book than an actual shopping guide. If you have to ask, those are ultra high-net-worth individuals (in real coin this means a net worth of at least $30 million), which brings us to another proverb: “If you have to ask the price, you can’t afford it.” Now, some of the goodies here are totally attainable, an impulse buy even: Google Glass for instance, or a Dupont lighter. Something like a 62-year-old single malt in a Lalique decanter is such a “commodity” that with judicious shopping you can find it significantly discounted (as little as $24K, if you must ask). But price and value are really not what this book is about, nor is it snobbery or excess or elitism. Not everyone buys million-dollar fine art at auction but goes to see it in the museum instead—but it’s nonetheless interesting and educational to follow auctions or read books.

ultimate_safeThis book is, simply, about the rewards that are available when those who work for them stop working hard and make time to play. Relatable, no? On some level, though, material value—dollars and cents in other words—really is a unit of measure that is relevant to understanding a product or service. You’ll just  “assume” that a private jet is, on some abstract level, expensive (the Dassault Falcon 5X here rings up at ca. $45 million based on spec) so price details won’t make it any more “concrete.”

Let’s shift to wristwatches. You know the brands, some better than others. Breitling Navitimer? Seen it. Tag Heuer Carrera? Been there/done that. But wait, the Carrera shown here is the Mikrotourbillons, a very slick piece of horology and easily worth its $250K asking price. What about the Patek Philippe Sky Moon Tourbillon 6002G. It’s so rare that even watch geeks wouldn’t think, just from looking at it, that it’d set you back $1.2 million! If this is a useful parameter to you, you’ll have to suss it out on your own.

Unique Circle Yacht by Zaha Hadid and Blohm + VossThe Luxury Toys book has now been around for ten years. This one calls itself “the most extravagant incarnation yet,” a veritable Aladdin’s Cave. Its seven categories are fairly self-explanatory: Skyliners (stuff that flies, including the Dragon spacecraft), Engines, Timepieces, Residences, Outdoors (destinations as well as gear), Essentials (from bespoke suits to fancy pens; and two watches snuck into this category), Epicurean. Most items are new or current, some classic and iconic (cf. the 1951–53 C Type Jaguar or Lamborghini Miura), some classic but updated (cf. T100 Triumph Bonneville motorcycle).

If this doesn’t entertain you for a while, you have no imagination! Or ambition? And you can’t buy that . . .

 

Copyright 2014, Sabu Advani (speedreaders.info).

Luxury Toys for Men, The Ultimate Collection
by Nathalie Grolimund (ed.)
teNeues, 2014
304 pages, c. 350 color photos, hardcover
List Price: 125
ISBN-13: 978-3832798277

  • THANK YOU for the nice text – this was just sent to me will post it on my fb wall today 🙂

    Comment | nathalie grolimund , December 9, 2014
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