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Recently I was in London visiting the art galleries around the Piccadilly area. There is some especially fine and varied art in the many Cork Street galleries.

Rather than be chauffeured around I decided that a good walk would do me good and my impressions were that there were many seriously wealthy people about.

Many top end stores are also located in this area; Asprey’s jewellers, De Beers Jewellery, and Fortnum & Mason to name a few.

All around me were the signs of super wealth. Rolls Royce Phantoms, Virtu Phones, Large Diamonds, Fine Art, Fine Tailoring and many pampered people.

One of my favourite shops was The Vintage Watch Company in Burlington Arcade who specialise in vintage Rolex watches with over 500 from the last century.

After spending a few hours here, including a leisurely lunch, I felt reinvigorated and ready to create some more of my own wealth.

Some of the areas mentioned can be seen by following this walk…

http://www.londontoolkit.com/walks/shopping_walk_bond_street.htm

Recently I was invited to view the Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe.

Although the saloon is an impressive feat of engineering and luxury I always felt that the marque would benifit from a convertable edition.

What Rolls-Royce have achieved is nothing short of spectacular. From the brushed aluminium bonnet and windscreen surround to the teak hood cover that echos the Riva speadboats of old. They even managed to provide the trusty teflon coated umberellas inside the front doors.

In SoBe, Miami recently I even spotted a soloon with custom alloy wheels. Although it looked good it would have been even better if it was a Drophead Coupe.

Well worth the extra £50k.

According to research by Merrill Lynch and Capgemini the rich spend 10 percent of their money on ‘investments of passion’. The biggest part of this spend goes on so called ‘Luxury Collectables’ such as cars, boats, and jets.

These ‘investments’ are often far from it. They depreciate in value, require expensive maintenance, and very soon after purchase something else is more tempting.

Do we ‘collect’? - Of course. We all need a little fun and beauty in our lives.

Sometimes it’s good to take a break from wealth building and look at the tools used in the process.

Recently Apple Inc. released its new Macbook Air laptop computer. Much has been written about this in recent days focusing on its small size and light weight.

Here we will focus on the benefits for the Ultra Wealthy.

Firstly the laptop needs to be setup via your PA or IT team. What we mean by that is your essential applications are loaded and, more importantly these days, your bookmarks are added to the Safari web browser. Any essential email accounts also need to be added.

Also essential is the Magsafe airline adapter that lets you charge your laptop from an aircraft socket (although good first class cabins and private jets will have these).

Wealth building and maintenance rely on personal contact and information.

The Ultra Wealthy are more mobile than the general population. Travelling between countries either for business or pleasure (often both) means that being able to work as easily as possible is of prime importance. This is where the Macbook Air’s strengths become evident. It’s easy to carry, switches on instantly when opening the lid, and is stylishly discreet. This makes it easier to check investments and catch up on market information.

The other advantage with Apple computers is the inherent security of the operating system.

We have already used a Macbook Air to make money and have enjoyed the experience immensely.

There is a segment of the car market referred to as Ultra Luxury. Automobiles in this segment are sold for in excess of $100,000.

Long established luxury brands such as Rolls Royce, Bentley, Maybach, Aston Martin, and Maserati are to be found here. Many of these brands are owned by German car makers such as BMW and VW.

UHNWI’s have on average 8 cars which means they have invested around one million dollars. This is a conservative estimate as these luxury brands cost well in excess of the starting $100k.

Many UHNWI’s own high performance sports cars like Ferrari, Porsche, and Lamborghini as well as their saloons.

Some high end Super Luxury Motor Yachts have a section in the stern to carry a vehicle and one maker even includes a Rolls Royce Phantom in the price.

Understated Elegance; that’s what this watch is all about.

Retailing for about $340,000 this manually wound minute repeater is the height of discretion. A simple face shows hours and minutes and the watch has a 34 hour power reserve when fully wound.

The mechanical minute repeater is said to have been designed by Vacheron Constantin for Napoleon so that the Emperor could check the time on the battlefield without getting shot.

Not convinced? You could always spend you hard earned wealth on this Jacob watch (favoured by Rappers) …

Give me understated elegance any day.

The Vertu Ascent’s design is characterised by accelerated lines and form, inspired by high performance luxury cars.

It has been developed to complement the Vertu Signature Collection, and introduce the Vertu experience to a wider audience.

The design of the Vertu Ascent is a unique contrast of hardwearing materials - stainless steel, ceramic, sapphire crystal and Liquidmetal® alloy - and hand-stitched brown and black leather. Precision-engineered stainless steel keys, set on jewelled bearings create a unique pivoting action each time the key is pressed.

The custom-developed Liquidmetal alloy featured in the design of the Vertu Ascent provides exceptional durability and scratch-resistance. This is the first time this unique material has been used in a mobile communications product. Other Liquidmetal alloys are used in high performance industries such as sporting and aerospace.

Frank Nuovo, creative director and designer for Vertu says, “Inspired by the design and materials of luxury sports cars, the Vertu Ascent Collection strikes a unique balance between hard metal and soft leather. I am delighted to bring this second stylistic expression to individuals who demand the best in everything they buy.”

The Vertu Ascent is designed and built to the same exacting standards of craftsmanship as Vertu’s hallmark Signature Collection. Vertu Ascent has a discreetly positioned, dedicated side key allowing clients to connect to the Vertu Concierge service. This team of specialist global advisers is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year in over 170 countries worldwide and provides the best travel, entertainment and international assistance at the touch of a button.

Vertu, the world’s first luxury mobile phone company, launched in January 2002, is extending its range of luxury mobile phones and accessories with the Vertu Ascent. Available in black and brown leather, the Vertu Ascent can be accessorised with a custom designed black leather holster. The Vertu Ascent and its complementary accessories are available at Vertu Stores in Paris and Singapore, Vertu Client Suites in Hong Kong and Singapore, and in the world’s finest jewellery and department stores.

via vertu.com

Hand crafted by Jean-Marc Daucourt in the Cognac region of France, Jean-Marc XO Vodka marries cutting edge French spirits and winemaking techniques to create an extraordinary Vodka possessing a floral bouquet, complex & elegant wheat flavors, a silky texture and very long finish.

* Jean-Marc XO Vodka is distilled nine times in very small batches using traditional French copper Alambic stills. The entire process takes several weeks from start to finish.

* Jean-Marc Daucourt selected four particular French wheat grains for their delicate and harmonious flavors. They are called Ysengrain, Orvantis, Azteque, and Chargeur. Each wheat grain is separated from its chaff before distillation in order to eliminate any bitterness and reveal the wheat varietal’s flavor.

* Jean-Marc XO uses only pure Gensac spring water from the Cognac area, filtered naturally for centuries through Grande Champagne limestone.

* To create as pure and natural a spirit as possible, Jean-Marc XO is micro-oxygenated just after distillation. This innovative technique was borrowed from First Growth winemakers in nearby Bordeaux.

* To finish, Jean-Marc XO Vodka is charcoal-filtered through Limousin oak, using special Daucourt family techniques learned over generations of spirits-making.

To best enjoy Jean-Marc XO Vodka, serve it shaken in a very dry martini, on the rocks, or neat in a Cognac glass.

Compare Jean-Marc XO to your favorite ultra premium vodka…you will immediately appreciate the difference that Jean-Marc’s hand craftsmanship makes.

via: http://www.jmxo.com

Picture via Car Magazine.

At a charity auction in Florida a record price was paid for the first Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe. The Phantom went for an impressive $2 Million Dollars [the highest bid in the auctions history].

The bulk of the money [$1.6 Million] will go to the Naples Children and Education Foundation.