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Nine Ferraris & More Shatter Million-Dollar Mark at RM's Monterey Sale


An exceptional 1954 Ferrari 375 MM Berlinetta (above), the fifth of only seven examples ever built, sold for an astounding $4.6 million at RM's Sports & Classics of Monterey sale on Saturday night, leading an impressive group of 14 individual sales (including eight other Ferraris) which shattered the magic million dollar mark. TV personality and former racer Alain de Cadenet joined auctioneer Max Girardo onstage for the six-hour sale, which saw 84 motor cars cross the podium before a packed house. The Saturday night sale marked the conclusion of RM's 2010 Classics of Monterey event, which attracted record bidder registrations from 29 countries, including Monaco, Brazil, Japan, and the United Arab Emirates. After the jump, find the complete list of million-dollar-plus sales from the incredible auction:

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Lagerfeld Photography Exhibition to Open in Paris


An exhibition of photographs by Chanel kingpin Karl Lagerfeld is opening in Paris this September in time for the city's Fashion Week. The show at the Maison Européenne de la Photographie in the historic heart of Paris will feature a mix of fashion photos, portraits, landscapes, architectural images and personal shots, including several of his longtime muse, Claudia Schiffer. Lagerfeld, who shoots all of Chanel's ad campaigns himself, has published several books of his photographs, and has his own art book publishing imprint and book shop in Paris called 7L.

"What I admire most is the photographers who have gone down to posterity with a single image," the designer tells La Parisienne. "An image - I prefer this word to the word picture - which went down in the collective memory of the civilized world [... ]. Today the picture is part of my life. It closes the circle of my artistic and professional lives. I look at the fashion world with the eye of the camera. This gives my work a basic critical detachment that helps more than I would have suspected." The exhibition runs from September 10 to October 15.

Antique Tobacco Jars Up For Auction


These days most tobacco storage devices are fairly quotidian (except for some beautiful expensive humidors) but it wasn't always that way. After returning to the New World, the early European explorers carried tobacco with them. The practice of smoking took off like wildfire. Within fifty years, cultivation and use of the plant had spread from Continental Europe to Asia and Africa and containers for storage also developed quickly. Soon figural tobacco jars in the shapes of animals and people were very popular. At Bonhams & Butterfields Los Angeles, the August 22, 2010 Sunset Estate Auction will include part III of a single-owner Collection of Whimsical European Tobacco Jars. The sale will highlight several lots of unique glazed earthenware and wooden humidors as well as property from a variety of estates and private collections. The lot shown above features eight Continental earthenware tobacco jars of dogs in a variety of shapes. The tallest is 13 3/4 inches and the estimate is $600-$800, not the priciest of collectibles but ones that still have their charm and offer a look at life as it was long ago.

Maison Martin Margiela Shearling Bag, Handbag of the Day

Maison Martin Margiela Shearling Bag
Maison Martin Margiela went textured and cozy in creating this Shearling Bag. The main body of the bag is made of anthracite shearling but there's a matching leather panel covering the bottom half of one side. The single shoulder handle is cutout of the main shape and features shearling trim, as does the front. There's a shearling-lined compartment, a compartment partially lined in black twill, and one interior zip pocket. Top closure is via a magnetic strip and for a little extra interest there's signature white stitch detail on the back leather panel. $1,440

Prime Minister David Cameron Boosts Bruichlddich Organic

United Kingdom Prime Minister David Cameron gave his unofficial endorsement of organic whisky when he said recently that his dram of choice these days is Bruichladdich Organic, and ordered a supply of the stuff.

Cameron is a very "green" oriented government official, riding a bike around town when he can. he has also applied for a permit to install a rooftop wind generator at the residence.

A note to the master distiller from Cameron calls the organic whisky a "wonderful single malt", "remarkable whisky" and a "real treat".
Mark Reynier, MD of Bruichladdich distillery says: "We know the man has great style, now we know he has great taste too.

Retail prices for Bruichlddich's 2003 Organic varies between $55 and $75.

Kron by KronKron Ruffle Booties


It's a treat to find shoes that are unique and comfortable. Kron by KronKron definitely fits the bill. Store owners and design couple, Hugrún Árnadóttir and Magni Þorsteinsso, head up the Iceland based company KronKron. They're known to create offbeat and playful shoes by combining colors and textures that many may stray away from, but in the few years that they have been in the shoe business, this quality has set them apart from the rest.

Although we've featured one of their understated pairs, these are just as beautiful as and probably more wearable than its colorful counterparts. Made of suede and leather and minimally accented with ruffles all along the vamp and circling around to the back, I especially liked the unexpected dose of beige at the toe. It features a cone heel and a front zippered pull tassel. You could wear them paired with a summer dress for evenings out and it's versatile enough to carry you into autumn with well tailored pants, a great fitting blouse, and a scarf. Originally selling for $480, they are on sale at Kisan Concept Store for only $240.

Montblanc iPhone Case

Need to add some Euro luxury style to your iPhone? Well then the value proposition of this Montblanc Meisterstuck iPhone case should make total sense. Your iPhone will be able to easily slip in and out of this very straight forward design. The high-quality black leather molded case comes complete with Montblanc star logo letting onlookers know you shun silicon skin style cases. Given that you need to take your phone in and out of these cases to do anything with them - cases like this make more sense from a style rather than utility standpoint, but people still buy them, and having "Montblanc" anything is usually pretty satisfying. Not sure on price yet, but these should be available about now in Montblanc boutiques.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch reviews site aBlogtoRead.com

Aspen Compound, Estate of the Day

aspen estate
Mountain escape paired with impeccable design depicts this incredible two lot, two acre estate in Aspen, Colorado. Situated on the Ridge of Red Mountain overlooking Aspen Mountain, Independence Pass and the entire valley, this $35 million property for sale is 11,300 square feet complete with five bedrooms, eight baths, four fireplaces, and three-car garage. It also boasts a 1600 bottle wine cellar, gym, movie theater, gourmet kitchen, resistance pool and multiple outdoor decks. In addition to the main house is a 4,000+ square foot guest residence with five bedrooms, five and a half baths, and two-car garage to boot! Plenty of space to entertain, enjoy and escape to the Rocky Mountains in this green-built, unique, gorgeous home.

Bertolucci Bella Costa Casual Chic Sport Two Time Zone Watch

Bertolucci is a brand that continually provides me with things to write about. Whether it is a cool new watch, or a watch with a dial that reminds me of so many things (read about that here). New this month is the Bertolucci Bella Costa Casual Chic Sport collection, and it comes in a few styles. My favorite is this two time zone model that has a small subsidiary dial for the second time zone. Really neatly integrated, and legible in orange. There is also a PVD black version with a black dial that is also available. Never straight forward in appearance, the watch plays with asymmetry that is symmetrical. The bezel is thicker on one side than the other, and is balanced out by the same treatment for the flange ring, and the Arabic numeral hour indicator ring. Interesting right?

The case is 41mm wide in steel, with brushed and polished surfaces. The bezel and inner links on the bracelet are in PVD black. The all black version of the watch is in... all PVD black. Dial is sapphire and domed with a good amount of AR coating for legibility. The dial is textured and done well. There is something almost Dali-esque to the look in my opinion. Inside the watch is a Swiss Ronda 4210.B quartz movement with two time dials and a big date indicator. If you really want to splurge, you can get the all black version with a diamond studded bezel. Overall this new Bella Costa Sport collection is fun, and useful, and should be available soon.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch reviews site aBlogtoRead.com.

Angelopoulos Rene Pouchette

angelopoulos rene pouchette
The sultry seventies are slowly coming back into our hearts. We've seen countless platform shoes coming down the runway the past few seasons and perhaps I'm jumping the gun on this one, but I see over-sized clutches making our way into the Fall wardrobe. Just imagine a pair of perfectly fitting dark grey wool trousers, pale yellow button down shirt and chocolate brown boyfriend blazer paired with high heels and a deep plum over sized clutch to top it off. Gorgeous! Can you tell we are a little excited for the Fall?

If you not quite ready for the Fall but love over-sized clutches, the Rene Pouchette by Angelopoulos might be a match. It's light grey nappa leather makes it ideal for the summer while silver tone metal accents add a little dose of unexpectedness and hard edge. It features a extra long chain strap and an internal pocket. Unfortunately, it's sold out but check back again for updates.

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