A one-stop-shop for the most exceptional, bespoke presents available anywhere in the world.
BY THE EDITORS ON NOVEMBER 22, 2019
This collection of gifts is a fine example of what Robb Report stands for: excellence, access and exclusivity.
A horse-riding master class from equestrian superstar Jessica Springsteen? We can make that happen. Rocking out with Aerosmith at a closed-door rehearsal for the annual gala for MusiCares, the Grammys’ charity (you get to go to the actual gala, and the Grammys, as well)? Sure, no problem.
How about a round of golf with chef Thomas Keller or a whiz round a private racetrack with three-time Indy 500 winner Hélio Castroneves? We can make that happen. A meeting in Switzerland with cult watchmaker François-Paul Journe to receive your own F. P. Journe masterpiece? Or we can arrange for you to train—and then dine, because it can’t be all sweat and toil—with members of the 2020 US Olympic squad at the Colorado Springs Olympic Training Center.
You won’t find any of these gifts anywhere else. That’s why it’s the Ultimate Gift Guide.
The Perfect Porsche Reimagined by Singer
We’ve taken the guesswork out of what to get your favorite car collector—with the help of Los Angeles–based Singer Vehicle Design. The boutique design-and-restoration house is offering one Robb Report reader the opportunity to own a Porsche 911 reimagined by Singer through the latest results of its Dynamics and Lightweighting Study (DLS), and to partake in exclusive driving experiences with the Singer team.
Singer founder Rob Dickinson has teamed with Robb Report on a unique interpretation of the German marque’s air-cooled 911 variant, the 964 (built from 1989 through 1993), one of only 75 examples to receive DLS services.
“The Dynamics and Lightweighting Study represents a pursuit of the most advanced air-cooled 911 in the world,” says Dickinson. “In our 10th-anniversary year, I’m delighted that we’re able to offer one Robb Report enthusiast the opportunity to collaborate in reimagining their personal vision for this iconic sports car.”
Developed from a customer-supplied donor car (not included), the vehicle will comprise full carbon-fiber bodywork featuring visible carbon fiber for the exterior; a 500 hp, 4.0-liter, air-cooled flat-six engine mated to a six-speed gearbox with magnesium casing; and advanced aerodynamics that include an optimized rear ducktail and ram-air induction system.
As for the aniline-leather interior, think polished nickel for the trim, a titanium gear shifter and an 18-karat-gold tachometer, among other accents. Specifications will be outlined during the recipient’s in-house consultation and dinner with Dickinson himself. (A number of bespoke special wishes can be accommodated at additional cost.)
Singer’s Robb Report present also includes a private track experience with its test driver Marino Franchitti, complete with a keepsake open-faced helmet and race suit, as well as VIP access to the 2020 Goodwood Festival of Speed in West Sussex, England, in July, and the invitation to ride shotgun with Singer during the event’s famed hill climb competition. Did we mention the nearly six-figure Track 1 DLS Edition carbon-fiber chronograph? It will match the car and make the gift, you know, even more timely. Viju Matthew
Starting at $2.75 million, the gift offer expires February 15, 2020. Deb Pollack, deb@singervehicledesign.com
Celebrate Aerosmith’s Golden Anniversary at the MusiCares Gala and the Grammys
Fifty years of anything is impressive. Fifty years in one of the most explosive and debauched rock bands in American history is, frankly, remarkable. So it’s a serious hat tip to Aerosmith as they reach this particular anniversary. In celebration of this milestone, the band will be honored as the MusiCares Person of the Year at a special benefit gala held two days before the Grammy Awards in January in LA. Previous honorees include Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, Fleetwood Mac, Paul McCartney, Dolly Parton and Aretha Franklin. It promises to be a spectacular night, with a silent auction of VIP experiences and memorabilia, followed by a tribute concert featuring renowned musicians playing their favorite Aerosmith tracks.
Robb Report has teamed with MusiCares, the Grammys’ charity, which affords musicians and others in the industry critical assistance during times of difficulty, to offer a reader an exclusive package. You will receive a pair of platinum tickets to the MusiCares Person of the Year Gala, an escorted walk down the red carpet at the event, unique access to the MusiCares Person of the Year rehearsal (which until now has been a closed event), plus a pair of platinum tickets to the Grammys and the Grammys’ after-party. Paul Croughton
This item is available on Robb Report’s boutique on Paddle8 starting November 25. For more information: robbreport@paddle8.com or 917-746-9845, ext. 3298. If you purchase a gift through our partnership with Paddle8, we may earn a commission.
Insider Access to Auction Napa Valley
Each June, America’s winemaking elite gather in Napa Valley to bid on some of the world’s finest vintages. This year, while being serenaded by Katy Perry, bidders at Auction Napa Valley raised nearly $12 million for local nonprofits. One bidder pledged $475,000 for a lot that included six magnums of Opus One – the cult 1979 Bordeaux blend created by Robert Mondavi and Baron Philippe de Rothschild – plus a trip to Paris and Bordeaux, a wine tasting and dinner with the Rothschild family and a custom brooch from Van Cleef & Arpels.
Two Robb Report readers can join this exclusive auction celebration in June. Your base for four nights will be Meadowood Napa Valley, a luxury resort and private club with a three-Michelin-starred restaurant.
The celebrations will kick off with a private supper soirée, where you’ll delve into a special selection of wines from the deepest recesses of Napa’s cellars and take home four bottles of your choice.
Then comes the Napa Valley Barrel Auction at Raymond Vineyards. You’ll sample wines from 100 barrels, meet the winemakers and bid for cases, then enjoy a private vintner-hosted dinner. Save some energy for the big live auction celebration on the final day. Lucy Alexander
$30,000 per couple. Book by January 15.
Exclusive Glass Chandelier From Pelle
In Manhattan’s Flatiron design district, husband-and-wife team Oliver and Jean Pelle design and build contemporary sculptural furniture and lighting. The couple met while studying for their master’s in architecture at Yale, and their work blends artistic innovation with a solid underpinning of engineering expertise.
Each item is sketched by hand, modeled and repeatedly tested before being individually handcrafted to order. The benchmark is that the piece be “useful and delightful,” Jean says. Since setting up Pelle in 2011, the small team has won several design awards and exhibited at Milan’s Salone del Mobile and New York’s Museum of Modern Art.
Pelle is offering Robb Report readers the chance to be first to buy its new Delft Palm Bubble Chandelier, a cascade of glass globes clinging to a central stem, decorated with Jean’s hand-painted botanical illustrations of palm fronds. The name alludes to the iconic cobalt blue of hand-painted delftware ceramics from the Netherlands. “It sits with you well because it’s a shade of blue that has been used for centuries all around the world, from the Middle East and China and then Europe,” she says.
The elongated, linear composition is ideal in a stairwell or loft and can be used in place of a floor lamp. Metal hardware can be ordered in any finish, and the fixture features five specially developed LED bulbs that, like incandescent bulbs, glow with a soft warmth. Lucy Alexander
From $13,600; $34,000 as shown. 212-645-2602, sales@pelledesigns.comCommission a Sneakertopia Museum Artist to Create an Original Piece
When Sneakertopia popped up in LA this fall, sneakerheads rejoiced. The museum celebrates not only some of the world’s most famous models from some of the world’s most high-profile collectors but also original work created by artists obsessed with them. Sneakertopia, which will be traveling to New York, Chicago and the Bay Area after its LA stint, is offering one Robb Report reader the chance to work directly with mosaic artist Jason Dussault, who has nine mosaics in the exhibition, including odes to Nike Air Force 1 and Reebok Shaqnosis. Dussault, who is represented by Manhattan’s HG Contemporary and London’s Maddox Gallery, uses tile, paint, grout, resin, vintage porcelain and even 24-karat gold paint to create these three-dimensional pieces.
Within each mosaic sits the shoe being depicted, so inside his sculpture of the Nike Mags, for example—a sneaker valued at $15,000 on the collectors’ market and worn by Marty McFly in Back to the Future—is the actual piece. “The Nike Mags remind us that no one’s future has been written yet,” Dussault says. You’ll get to write a bit of it with this gift, however. Dussault will meet you at the museum for a private guided tour, and then together you can plan a custom, one-off mosaic. The gift includes a VIP membership to Sneakertopia as it tours the country. Janice O’Leary
Starting at $65,000, depending on size and scope of final project. Please contact concierge@sneakertopia.com to be put in touch directly with the museum’s curator.
A Stefano Ricci Wardrobe and Atelier Visit
It’s one thing to be a fan of a particular brand’s clothing but quite another to know a brand personally. And that is the opportunity luxury lifestyle label Stefano Ricci is offering a Robb Report reader. The family-owned company, known for dressing statesmen and artists, is providing not just a wardrobe but also an exclusive chance to be welcomed to Florence as a guest of the family, to witness what a Ricci spokesman calls the brand’s “100 percent made-in-Italy” manufacturing process. Your day will include a tour of the nearly 97,000-square-foot headquarters, lunch with a family member and an appointment with the brand’s master tailor, who will help you select the finest fabrics and guide you through your wardrobe experience.
And it’s quite the experience. You will be measured for three made-to-measure ensembles: a formal outfit, specifically a suit, shirt, hand-printed silk tie, leather belt and shoes; sportswear, namely a jogging suit in an exclusive wool-silk blend, with a zip polo, leather trainers and Vigor sunglasses; and black tie, consisting of a peak-lapel tuxedo, shirt, handmade silk bow tie and velvet dress shoes. Also included will be a handmade leather duffle bag, an exclusive travel humidor containing OpusX Stefano Ricci cigars and, finally, a leather cigar set that has a cigar cutter and lighter. It’s the ultimate collection, befitting one of Italy’s most esteemed names in luxury. And, of course, you. Paul Croughton
$50,000, including a night’s accommodation in a luxury hotel (airfare not included); Julian Balea, julian.balea@stefanoricci.com
Blend Your Own Cognac
Camus is a family Cognac house based at Château du Plessis in the Borderies cru, the oldest of the six official Cognac terroirs in the Charentes region of western France. Five generations of the Camus family have cultivated the 690-acre estate since 1863, including a period as official Cognac supplier to the czar. In an industry dominated by multinational conglomerates, Camus is one of the last major Cognac producers to remain independent and family-run.
Last year, the family established its Atelier Rarissimes workshop, where it produces elite Cognacs housed in specially crafted cases. Camus is offering up to four Robb Report readers the chance to stay at the château, tour the vineyards and cellars and create an exclusive Cognac blend. (If you prefer, you can choose from a selection of exclusive vintages.) The bottle and case can also be designed to your personal specifications. With such options as crystal, precious metals, porcelain, rare woods and rich leathers, you can refine every aspect down to the last detail. Lucy Alexander
From $11,000 per person for a two-day stay, including all meals and exclusive Cognac, bottle and case, depending on materials. Alison Adams-Bonnin, a.adams@camus.fr, atelier.rarissimes@camus.frThe Ultimate Foodie Meal Plan
Ian Purkayastha is New York’s preeminent supplier of rare and exotic foods to Michelin-starred restaurants. His company, Regalis Foods, is the go-to importer for white Italian truffles, Russian caviar and a range of obscure ingredients, from mulberries grown in the foothills of the Hindu Kush to a black vinegar made from Korean marsh snails.
For Robb Report readers who like to host on a grand scale, Purkayastha has designed an exceptionally extravagant meal delivery subscription plan. Less Blue Apron and more Marie Antoinette, the ingredients will arrive on your doorstep quarterly, each reflecting the best of each season and sufficient to feed 15 to 20 hungry guests.
Every box of delicacies will contain a minimum of 4 pounds of caviar, 2.2 pounds of truffles, 10 pounds of live fish or shellfish, 10 to 12 pounds of specialty meats and 10 pounds of wild foraged mushrooms, with extras including mother-of-pearl spoons and 24-karat-gold truffle shavers. Seasonal variations include French Burgundy truffles, live red king crabs from Norway (delivered in a box of straw with piped-in oxygen) and Spanish Ibérico suckling pigs. Lucy Alexander
$49,000 per year; for an additional $25,000, Purkayastha will hand-deliver one of the four shipments and personally prepare a lavish meal for your guests. 718-361-8860, questions@regalisfoods.com
Golf and Dine With Thomas Keller
Chef Thomas Keller is California’s original culinary icon, holder of seven Michelin stars and America’s preeminent purveyor of French haute cuisine. Out of the kitchen, he’s to be found teeing up at Silverado Resort in Napa Valley, where one Robb Report reader and three guests are invited to join him for a round of golf before a meal at the French Laundry, regularly voted one of the world’s best restaurants.
The experience starts the night before, when your party will join Keller for dinner at one of his collection of Yountville restaurants: Choose from the classic French bistro Bouchon, American comfort food at Ad Hoc or modern Mexican at La Calenda. Relax at a luxury Napa Valley hotel, your home for two nights.
The next morning, you’ll join Keller for a round at Silverado, home to the annual Safeway Open on the PGA Tour. That evening, arrive in style at the French Laundry, courtesy of the restaurant’s private car service. Enjoy an exquisite tasting menu personally curated by Keller and chef de cuisine David Breeden, with wine chosen by head sommelier Erik Johnson. Keller will send you home with a very special French Laundry gift bag, including a signed cookbook. Lucy Alexander
$100,000, to be donated to Ment’or, a nonprofit organization that supports and trains young American chefs in their pursuit of culinary excellence. Accommodations and all food and drinks are included; robbreport@frenchlaundry.com
The Haas Brothers’ Little Monsters
If you haven’t yet procured a piece from the Haas Brothers, well, the time is now. This month, the duo—whose products are as much collectible artworks as functional designs—are expanding their collection with home-goods company L’Objet, boasting bright new colorways that match the objects’ whimsical, zoomorphic forms. Our pick of the creepy-crawly litter is a bright container that’s likely to liven up your deskside—if, of course, it doesn’t scuttle away first. The vessel will be available at L’Objet’s pop-up at Maxfield in Los Angeles this month, but for Robb Report readers who’d rather not make the trip, we have a direct line for placing orders. Helena Madden
$950, info@maxfieldla.com
A Weekend at the Grand Prix
The Monaco Grand Prix is a jewel in the crown of the royal city-state, ruled for more than 600 years by the Grimaldi dynasty, who oversaw the inauguration of the Grand Prix in 1929 and present the trophy to this day.
The Formula 1 race, considered the most prestigious, glamorous and technically challenging in the motor-racing calendar, takes place along vertiginous hairpin turns that wind from the hills to the waterfront and brings the tax haven to a standstill for a weekend each May.
One Robb Report reader and a friend can get close enough to smell the burning rubber from the VIP hospitality suite at the 2020 Grand Prix, courtesy of Roadtrips and the Automobile Club de Monaco, the event’s governing body. After helicopter transfer from Nice, you’ll have a 360-degree view of the circuit as it snakes through the streets and tunnels of the pocket-size principality. Visit the pit lane and take to the racetrack with a professional driver, tackling the chicanes and tight corners that have defeated many a champion—though hopefully avoiding the fate of Paul Hawkins and Alberto Ascari, two drivers who ended up in the harbor.
Stay for four nights at the five-star Hôtel Hermitage; dine nearby at Le Louis XV, Alain Ducasse’s Michelin-three-star restaurant; and take a private guided city tour. Following the Grand Prix, join the revelry at the Amber Lounge VIP after-party alongside F1 drivers and the Monaco beau monde. Lucy Alexander
BUY NOW: $30,000 PER PERSON (DOUBLE OCCUPANCY)
This item is available on Robb Report’s boutique on Paddle8 starting November 25. For more information: robbreport@paddle8.com or 917-746-9845, ext. 3298. If you purchase a gift through our partnership with Paddle8, we may earn a commission.
Sculptural Bookends
Yes, bookends can sometimes tell as compelling a story as the tomes they shelve. That’s designer Vincent Pocsik’s thinking, anyway. His sculptural stands tell a tale of fiery destruction, depicting the exact moment in which melting bronze solidifies once again. It’s a downright drippy form, one that by now is par for the course for Pocsik, as his work has a history of twisting conventional materials into surrealistic, fluid shapes. Here, the aesthetic serves as an unexpected beginning and end to your library’s narrative. For Robb Report readers, Pocsik will also sign his molten creations. Helena Madden
$700, sarah@lawsonfenning.com
Commission a Custom Wallpaper or Finish
The world’s top decorators know that the surface of a wall—be it plastered, lacquered or swathed in leather—can say as much about taste as the painting hanging on it or the furniture in front of it. That’s where Yolande Milan Batteau comes in. The designer makes finishes and papers the old-fashioned way, adopting ancient techniques gleaned from deep readings of Renaissance painters’ writings. “I was getting commissions to create things that no one knew how to make anymore, so I turned to the old masters, and I became obsessed with the materiality of painting,” she says. “Now all my materials are imported from Italy, and we use as many earth pigments as possible.”
Her violets are, with a few exceptions, synthetic—crafting its hue organically requires boiling thousands of snails in vats for days on end. The rest, however, are decidedly all-natural.
Don’t mistake Batteau for being stuck in the past, though. She and her studio, Callidus Guild, have long innovated for a slew of prestige clients, crafting one-of-a-kind walls that are sometimes so intricate they resemble minimalist paintings all on their own. Want a surface that incorporates nine-karat white-gold leaves? Batteau has done it before—for Tiffany—and to make it truly shine, she has one of the few craftsmen with the right machinery on speed dial (he’s in Germany). Looking for an earthier sensibility? The artist-designer has made walls out of ceramic, from scratch, using a Japanese anagama kiln. And for four Robb Report readers, she’s eager to create new custom wallpapers or finishes, with some inspiration from the ancients, of course. Put her skills and your creativity to the test by dreaming up something that no one has ever done before—she’s more than game. Helena Madden
$60,000 for a room, studio@callidusguild.com, 718-783-0329
Rare First Editions of Adam Smith and Charles Darwin
What to buy for the man or woman who has everything—and has even read everything? Might we recommend a rare book. As John Windle, a San Francisco–based antiquarian bookseller and dealer in medieval manuscripts, puts it, part of the magic of a first edition is that “it’s pretty much a certainty that the recipient doesn’t already have one.”
Windle is giving Robb Report readers the opportunity to buy rare first editions of two of the most important books ever published: An Inquiry Into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, by Adam Smith, and On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, by Charles Darwin.
The Wealth of Nations, published in 1776, is the foundation text of modern economics. The treatise by the Scottish Enlightenment philosopher was the first to encapsulate the liberal economic theory that developed into capitalism; Smith’s description of “the invisible hand” of the free market was profoundly influential to America’s founding fathers. The first edition contains contemporary handwritten annotations. On the Origin of Species introduced the theory of evolution when it was published in 1859; it is widely regarded as the most important scientific book ever written.
As well as acquiring the books, which can be done separately, you will have a private consultation with Windle on “the general concept of collecting famous rare books, what is worthy of your attention and money, how to buy privately from dealers or at auction and the care and feeding of your library.” Lucy Alexander
Smith: $187,500, Darwin: $125,000. Consultation is free at John Windle’s bookshop, or $350 per hour elsewhere, plus expenses. John Windle, 415-986-5826 or john@johnwindle.com
Iconic Bauhaus Lamp
To celebrate the centennial of the Bauhaus, German manufacturer Midgard has reissued one of its classics: the TYP 113 desk lamp. More commonly referred to as the Whip for its tubular steel arm, the new incarnation has updated internal wiring but looks identical to the fixtures that once clamped onto the Bauhaus’s studio desks. While scouring its archives ahead of the release, Midgard discovered a surplus of the original E27 rotary sockets, dating back to the 1930s, and decided to use them for a limited edition, with each lamp numbered and equipped with one of the vintage sockets that includes an on/off switch. Snap these collector’s items up while you can, though—only 100 are available. Helena Madden
$4,200. Ameico, Jeannette Purdy, jeannette@ameico.com
PHOTO : COURTESY OF MASA
33. Have Dinner With Chef Masa—and Take Home the Dishes
Lusting after a restaurant’s tableware? Good news: tea cups, sushi plates and glass carafes from one of the most exclusive establishments in New York are now yours for the buying—no reservation required. Designed by chef Masayoshi Takayama and long used at his eponymous Japanese “joint,” Masa, the collection is composed of earthy elements such as clay ceramic and draws its inspiration from nature. But it’s not all form and no function—the pieces are as much inspired by Takayama’s culinary experience as they are by lava rocks and lotus flowers. One plate, for instance, has large holes in it; Takayama made the porous platter to keep fried foods from getting too soggy. “I couldn’t find the perfect dish for this,” the chef adds. “So, I just designed it myself.” But what good is a plate without something delicious on it? Chef Masa is inviting one Robb Report reader and three guests to enjoy a dinner with him at his restaurant, where he or she can select 10 tableware pieces for purchase. Helena Madden
Starting at $4,000. Contact Jeannette Park for more details. jpark@masanyc.com, 212-823-9807.