Prizes for rich people and premium businesses in Bucharest

Another evening, another event. This time about giving prices to people from the business sector in Romania who gain a lot of money and who are, according to the presenters, role models. Maybe because I have not been living in Bucharest for the last 2-3 years that I didn't know half of them,...and the ones I knew, everybody knows.

So there we were, my friend and I, entering the "event location", a so-called IT-club in Bucharest, and we are sorry to say that we were disappointed...so small!!! Why does everyone make such a fuss about it? First of all, it's in the middle of nowhere,...second of all, it had more light in it than it probably usually has, so the walls, the deco etc was all visible. Not a very "premium" location,...but we then thought that, the dresscode being smart-casual, that it could fit that image.

Compared to the event the previous evening, I really enjoyed the fact that there were not as many sitting possibilities (still we had our small nice corner around a table close to the stage), as this made the people be more active in networking and in getting to know the person next to them as well as moving around the club. And so I met a person who has been a sort of guide or mentor on my first steps towards the luxury industry and who has transmitted me the passion for watches.

I forgot to tell you that the event was organized by the "Ziarul Financiar"'s supliment magazine "dupa afaceri PREMIUM", something like "how to spend it" from the "Financial Times". So now,...the moment you've all been waiting for, the categories with the winners:

• Best dressed business woman - Nina Bratfalean
• Best dressed business man - Alexandre Eram
• Most stylish office - Ion Alexandru Tiriac (personal designer being Razvan Iordanescu)
• Most appreciated car for business - Audi A8
• Most beautiful holiday story - Emil Delibashev (British Airways Romania)
• Watches of the year - Rolex Submariner Date (Chronolink), Zenith El Primero Striking 10th (Galt), Jaeger LeCoultre Grande Tradition Tourbillon Perpetual Calendar (Helvetansa), Perrelet Turbine (B&B Collection)
• Perfume Shop of the year - Elysee Concept
• Gadget of the year - Philips Heritage MCD909
• Jewel of the year - Chopard Animal World (MicriGold)
• The Concept Store of the year - IQONIQUE Class Studio
• The Business Restaurant of the year - Uptown
• The Premium Person - Alessandro Amato (Cellini)

Now, you can make up your own mind about how these people/companies have been chosen. All I know is that they did not tell any criteria on which they based their choice. As far as I know, that concept store is open since the 14th of July and yesterday, the 22nd of September it was awarded concept store of the year...

I do promise you that I will try to find out the criteria and let you know asap.

This poster is uploaded here with the permission of the organizers.

How do wealthy Romanians party?

(Picture Source: http://theprivatenook.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/cuban_cigars_spain.jpg)

As I have changed my work place recently and moved back to Romania, I come now in touch with the HNWI of this part of Europe. So yesterday I had an invitation to an event which was called "Cuban Night" and took place at the LeGaga Club in Bucharest.

The company organizing it imports Habanos in Romania and distributes them.

When I arrived I felt a bit cold due to a part of the club being open and had to keep my trench coat on. The good thing still was that the ventilation plus the open area allowed the air to be breathable, as, I must admit, enduring the cigar smoke for me is a bit of a torture.

There was a Cuban band there which unfortunately did not bring Cuban dancers, but took Romanian ones. At a point given my boss and I were wondering if we are at a Turkish party or at the Cuban Night we had been promised.

The food was good. There was a great selection of cold fingerfood including caviar, smoked salmon, various sortiments of cheese, salads, mozarella-tomato-skewers etc. There was also the warm food corner, with diffrent steaks and boiled or baked vegetables.

The highlight for me still was this great and beautiful mature woman who, in all that noise and fuss, was doing what she knew best: her job. She was the torcedora Carmen Luisa Rodriguez Loinaz, and was producing just in front of our eyes the beloved (for some) cigars. This showed me that there is still passion for the things well done, for the art (of smoking), for hand-made luxury.

Funny thing about this story? The band was trying so hard to animate the people around, this woman I just mentioned was trying hard to cater to their smokers' wishes, the organized food was trying hard to satisfy any taste,...but the people there were so still, so ...grey,...so...without life...so why all the money and the fuss of coming into a Ferrari even if you don't quite fit in it beacause you're fat...why all that? Maybe one of them will tell me one day!

All in all....it was an OK evening...

Luxury - recession proof?

Everyone has been affected in a way or another by the crisis... or have they? At the Business of Luxury Summit 2009 in Monaco, organized by the Financial Times, everyone was screaming about the crisis, about going green and going East. So what happened? Montblanc is expanding, Hermes just launched its "baby", a new Chinese brand, and Louis Vuitton is expanding again. So now the crisis starts, at least for Louis Vuitton. Why you might ask? No, not because there are no buyers,...au contraire, because now there are too many and the logistics didn't bare this in mind. A new production facility is under construction and it will hopefully boost the current production power of the 11 centers in France. Until then, the sales will have to suffer? No, not because what they produce is not sold,...but they don't produce as much as they could sell, so Paris store will be closed down 1hour earlier until the Christmas season. They plan to avoid this way remaining with their shelves empty before the holidays. Great decision! Who was talking about financial crisis? Look at the picture below to see what craze this company creates!!! Wishing Louis Vuitton a Merry Christmas :)

(Picture Source:http://www.luxuo.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/louis-vuitton-china.jpg)

Dedicated to my frequent reader I heard about on Friday. Thank you, Alex :)

Support this project of Into The World!!!

Life and Luxury is trying to promote the following project which you can see on the next link http://www.intotheworld.eu/
Into the World is a bike-ride through Africa, which has more humanitarian and ecological reasons behind it. Please make their website popular and maybe you can help the team with any relevant information or whatever they might still need to make this expedition successful!!!

Thank you in advance!

Hermes - back to origins in an innovative way

While other sports such as skiing have and tennis or golf have been constantly working to make their sports equipment better, the equestrian sports have been rather very traditional in that sense. But here's an end to that: showing where they came from, Hermes presents this new saddle called Tamaris, an only 1,5kg heavy beauty, lighter than traditional ones. They have worked with innovation here, replacing hard materials with lighter and better ones, such as carbon and injected thermoplastic. Hurray to a new era of horse-riding. For horse lovers also a must! At Hermes you can purchase this beauty at around 9.100$. Have fun bringing tradition into a new era.

Christians wear Louis Vuitton...

...or better said, the Catholics wear it, ...as she is the image of Catholics, the Virgin Mary, and she's all dressed in a LV-branded cape. This is art...or maybe a sign related to our consumerism society? I must admit I was rather shocked when I discovered this picture on Francesco De Molfetta's piece of art. But was relieved when I read his description of it: the statue should “denounce a society based on the cult of appearance through the use of a brand that represents the search for ephemeral happiness.”

Maybe this piece is just a sign, of what I was mentioning before, for the LV-tatooed neck of that runway-model: luxury is nice, it's actually wonderful, that's why I chose this path, but luxury should be a means of pleasure, and not a way of making us slaves of big companies around the globe. The 100% luxury is still, in my opinion, the made-to-order, the one of a kind piece, which is not necessarily branded, but caters to the needs and desires of its wearer and is not a means to show social status and financial power. And let's face it,...I've met some women wearing a luxury bag (not a LV, but won't mention the brand for now) which was the most unpractical bag they had ever had,...as there was no way they could have arranged their belongings inside it, as they were all sliding to the middle...in short, it was a PAIN...for around 900 Euros...that is not happiness!!!

The black delicacy is back

It is back on the tables, my friends, the apparently one of the finest caviar, the beluga caviar. Quotas for it have been set until end of February, 20111.

The quotas have been introduced as a decision after the natural stock decreased drastically during the 90s. Last year, the 5 countries which trade this good failed to agree on quotas, so the export was halted for one year. In the following period we expect that the following quantities will be exported: 700kg by Russia, 1500kg Kazakhstan, 800kg Iran and none for Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan.
(Picture source: http://www.truthdig.com/images/eartothegrounduploads/belugacaviar_160.jpg )

So,...hungry?

Oh, in case you might wonder which caviar is the most expensive in the world, it is the one called "Almas", also a beluga caviar, and means diamond. The appearance of this one is almost white. The lighter the colour, the rarer the caviar, the more elegant and exquisite the flavour. In London you can get a kg (around 25.000 dollars). The caviar is sold in a 24k gold tin.

Wishing you a great caviar-year ahead :)