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Fabergé releases its first jewelry collection since 1917
Fabergé, the Russian jeweler known for its jewel-encrusted Easter eggs, selected Parisian artist-jeweler Frederic Zaavy to create an initial collection of 100 items at his studio in Paris. The collection uses hundreds or thousands of tiny gems on each piece to create mosaic effects on rings, brooches, earrings and necklaces. The collection ranges from $58,000 to $10 million. Featured here is one ... Read More -
Salvatore Ferragamo's new pink collection aimed at Asia's rich
The recession has had its affect worldwide but the impact is much slower in Asian countries, so this is a calling for all those wealthy Asians to come forward for a good cause. Italian luxury goods group Salvatore Ferragamo has designed a limited collection targeted at the rich Asians, to help raise funds for breast cancer groups. The "Pink Collection" includes a pink, crystal-embellished edition ... Read More -
Crystallized Jesus certifies Infinite Hope
There have been many art works inspired by and dedicated to the Messiah we know as Jesus, but there’s one that stands out among the crowd. "Infinite Hope" by Quinn Gregory is a sculpture exactly the size of Jesus, (5’3") primarily made of wood, foam and crystals. The sculpture took 4 ½ months to take shape of 5’3" skeleton in copper and then painting the same in metallic paint to give a met... Read More -
Celsius X VI II and the Mysterious Mechanical Cellphone
On March 18, at the Baselworld watch show in Switzerland, a vaporous French company called Celsius X-VI-II will unveil the Papillon, a $300,000 mobile phone that is packed with the most advanced micro-mechanics of any gadget ever created. Forget digital. The phone of the future will be mechanical. As flat, touchscreen slabs like the iPhone make our lives more virtual, a half-dozen guys from the lu... Read More
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First, a quick-and-dirty rundown of the biggest changes for 2009. If you want more, get all the detail you can handle by downloading the FIA's F1 regs here. Starting first, KERS. Kinetic energy recovery systems capture some of the energy generated during braking and stores it - either electronically in a battery or capacitor or mechanically in a flywheel - for use at the driver's discretion. Often called "push to pass," the driver could opt to use the added power to accelerate out of a corner or on a straight to pass another car. KERS is part of FIA boss Max Mosley's campaign to make F1 technology more relevant to road cars. But it's proven such a bear to develop that teams have the option of running it this year. It is supposed to be mandatory next year but the FIA keeps waffling on that. The problem is KERS is bulky, hard to package in the tight confines of an F1 chassis and so far works about as well as Windows Vista. When BMW first tested it in public, it shocked a mechanic hard enough to knock him on his ass. Ferrari says the technology's proven more expensive than expected, and it remains to be seen how many teams run it this year.
This year also sees significant changes to the tires, which arguably are the most important component of any car. This year we say hello to slicks - again - and goodbye to grooved rubber. The FIA banned slicks in 1998 but brought them back this year to improve safety. Slick tires put more rubber on the road, which increases grip, which makes it easier to slow down should things go pear-shaped. It also makes it easer to put down power making for better acceleration and, potentially, more frequent passing. But the biggest changes have been to aerodynamics. Gone are all the bits and bobs tacked on to the cars in an effort to increase downforce. By the end of last season, the cars had so many winglets, exhaust stacks and other baubles they looked like something that might wash up on the beach. They're all gone this year, as are the barge boards. What's left is significantly smaller, starting with the rear wings. They're a hell of a lot narrower, and, frankly, look ridiculously out of proportion. At the other end of the car, the front wings are bigger and deeper, yet simpler. When the rules were announced, everyone feared the resulting cars would be ugly. Turns out they were wrong, based upon the McLaren MP4-24 shown above, the car Lewis Hamilton will use to defend his title. Although that dinky rear wing throws the balance off, the car's overall shape is quite pleasing. The clean, flowing lines of the sidepods are gorgeous, and the entire body appears to be shrunk-wrapped over the components underneath.
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Delay for hedge fund rules voteEuropean finance ministers delay plans to vote on a new regulation of hedge funds and venture capitalists.
