*** A Message to Our Loyal Customers ***
In the past 18 months have proved challenging for all business, ours included. If the measure of success for a business is the ability to weather storms and droughts and learn from them both, Sans Pareil has graduated magna cum laude.
We are still here because we have a winning strategy that is extremely focused. However, it has become apparent that some changes are in order to give added value to our clients and your customers.
While the name ‘Sans Pareil’ stands for just what it says on the tin, the ongoing R&D we do has consistently pointed out that a great many people just don’t ‘get it’ – can’t pronounce it and don’t understand it.
Therefore, deciding that now is the right time, we are rebranding and our new name makes it perfectly clear what we are and to whom we cater – Welcome to ‘The Luxury Buyer’.
We will be releasing a formal notice to all our advertisers shortly. We are all very excited about what is coming in the next few months and look forward to an excellent 2010
Contents
February 2010
Volume 1 - Issue 7
Exotic Hotels
Mardan Palace Hotel
www.mardanpalace.com
In sight of Antalya’s spectacular Taurus Mountains, The Mardan Palace is billed as the world’s most expensive hotel and features a return to opulence of an unparalleled degree. The level of service takes pampering to undreamed-of heights, including 24-hour Butler service. Could this be the world’s eighth wonder?
Poseidon Underwater Hotel
www.poseidonresorts.com
Imagining yourself inside a champagne bubble inside the most exotic aquarium gives an idea of what to expect from this Fijian marvel. The Poseidon, built 40 feet under water to a standard of luxury that almost matches the marvels of aquatic vision surrounding you, will prove the experience of a lifetime.
Hotel de Glace
www.icehotel-canada.com
Perhaps lesser-known than it’s counterpart in Lapland, Quebec’s Hotel de Glace is absolutely stunning. Rebuilt and designed afresh each year, with snow archways towering over 5 meters tall and crystal ice sculptures standing by the warmth of the fire, North America's only ice hotel is built to amaze.
Aston Mini
You'll find no shortage of people who think that Connery was the only Bond, but would our memories of him be so strong without the incomparable Aston Martin?
continue reading 'Aston Mini '
Luxury Shopping Forecast Looks Strong
Market analysts are asserting that the total value of the luxury shopping market will grow to US$2 trillion by 2010, with US$1 trillion in the US and the rest worldwide.
The luxuries market is controlled by a core of 35 countries in Europe and the UK, who produce some of the world's strongest luxury brands such as Porsche, Armani, Anya Hindmarch, Ferrari, and so forth.
5% of the market is represented by the luxury fashion industry. If growth continues at the rate predicted, this will mean that the luxury fashion sector alone will be worth fifty billion dollars in the US and a further fifty billion in the rest of the world by 2010.
The figures demonstrate, once again, the strength of the luxuries market in comparison to the rest of the global economy; the present growth rate of 10-15% annual growth is a stark contrast to the yearly 5% of the mass-market retail sector.
Al Jaber Seals Deal With Embraer Private Jets
Abu Dhabi-based Al Jaber Aviation (AJA), one of the foremost providers of luxury VIP private jets in the Middle East, reports that has successfully closed the financing for two Embraer Legacy 600 private jets.
The 600 Private Jet is considered to be among the most highly-performing aircraft in its category. The company was able to close the deal with the participation of the Al Hilal bank, the National Bank of Abu Dhabi and BNP Paribas.
Mohammed Al Jaber, CEO of Al Jaber Aviation (pictured above), said the fact that the deal was able to go through against the backdrop of a global economic downturn was a token of the community's trust in the company.
"The financing deal will complement our operational plans and acquire a full capacity fleet," he said. "We are diversifying our fleet and will soon have different types of aircraft suiting the needs of our most discerning guests."
Read the full details of the luxury private jet deal at AME Info
Unwin Beats Bond And Monroe At Classic Movie Auction
The original armature used to film the final, climactic scenes of the 1933 epic King Kong sold at Christie’s South Kensington for £121,250. Measuring 22 inches in height, the metal armature was used in the film to show the giant ape as he scaled the Empire State Building; arguably one of the most iconic scenes in twentieth century cinema.
The same sale was in no shortage of towering Hollywood icons - a pair of sunglasses worn by Daniel Craig as James Bond in Quantum of Solace sold for £1,187, and a black silk evening dress previously owned by Marilyn Monroe realised £9,375. However, both starlet Monroe and Bond creator Ian Fleming could both be turning in their graves if they heard that they were outdone by good old Professor Stanley Unwin!
The item under the hammer was a marionette of Unwin, made by Gerry Anderson (creator of Thunderbirds and Captain Scarlet) for the 1969 show The Secret Service. Considered the most obscure of the Supermarionation shows, it starred Unwin as an undercover vicar in the English countryside, and was cancelled after only one episode by Lew Grade who felt that Unwin's trademark gibberish would prove too much to export to America.
"Father Unwin" raised a price of £18,750, more than the Bond glasses and the Monroe dress put together, and the auction realised a total of £519,463.
See the full results of the film memorabilia auction at Christie's website
New to Sans Pareil
Silversea Voyages 2010
New York to Southampton: Voyage 5011. Departs 23 Apr 2010. 14 Days on the Silver Spirit. Fares from: £4,083. Free Flights and Transfers.
Lisbon to Portsmouth: Voyage 7007. Departs 28 Apr 2010. 12 Days on the Prince Albert II. Fares from: £2,422. Complimentary Shore Excursions.
Barcelona to London (Tilbury): Voyage 1016. Departs 28 May 2010. 10 Days on the Silver Cloud. Fares from: £3,207.
Nice to Southampton: Voyage 4014. Departs 31 May 2010. 12 Days on the Silver Whisper. Fares from: £3,453. Free Flights and Transfers.
London (Tilbury) to Stockholm: Voyage 1017 | Departs 7 Jun 2010. 10 Days on the Silver Cloud. Fares from: £3,027. Free Flights and Transfers.
Stockholm to Southampton: Voyage 4025. Departs 23 Aug 2010. 10 Days on the Silver Whisper. Fares from: £2,988. Free Flights and Transfers.
The Tulip E-Go Diamond
The world’s most luxurious notebook computer is the The Tulip E-Go Diamond. It is inlaid with solid palladium white gold plates into which eighty carats of microscopic cut diamonds by Laurent De Beer have been precisely pave-set.
Both Tulip logos feature a square-cut ruby. The machine is not just a pretty face, however. Under the sparkle is an innovate laptop designed from a female perspective, featuring organic design which makes it look more like a fashion accessory than a business accessory. Naturally, it has its own sets of matching covers and mice.
The keyboard features several shortcut buttons which take the user instantly to the latest applications built into the computer, such as televisions, movie and music downloads, a webcam that turns the screen into a mirror.
In order to make it as much of a lifestyle accessory as it is a product, it also features an innovative firmware system whereby it can access email and business contacts without having to boot Windows.
“For years laptops have been differentiated by electronic capabilities,” said Tony Frencham, global business director, Inclosia Solutions. “The housing was often designed for a basic protection with very limited aesthetic appeal. We believe the E-Go will be the first of many to use fashion as a major focus for consumer satisfaction."
The Tulip E-Go Diamond weighs in at two hundred and eighty three thousand Euros.
Spiritual Tourism
Spiritual tourism is rated amongst the fastest growing industries in the world today. In Saudi Arabia alone, the number of travelers visiting the country for spiritual or religious reasons has skyrocketed from eighty-two thousand per year at the turn of the millennium to over two million now.
continue reading 'Spiritual Tourism'