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Head Butler 2017 Gift Guide: The luxury edition
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Published: Dec 06, 2017
Category:
Holiday
HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDES
The Holiday Gift Guide
The Food Edition
Gifts for Kids
The Luxury Edition
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Luxury isn’t about spending. It’s about value.
In 1997, when I bought my first Timex watch, it cost about $18. I’ve had a few since then. The last cost $30. How much “better” would a Rolex be?
In 1999, my wife bought me a $400 sweater at Paul Stuart. I thought she was insanely profligate. But I’m wearing that sweater today.
In 2003, when we produced our hard-to-create child, we bought a 1994 Mercedes. It weighs 2 tons; it’s essentially a tank. Our theory: if we were ever in a serious accident, the people in the other car might not make it, but our kid would survive. I still drive it. Mechanics all say, “Mercedes never made a better car. Don’t sell it — but if you ever want to, sell it to me.” There are 102,000 miles on this car. Its book value is less than $3,000. Yes, but what is it worth?
Harsh fact: If most Americans had to attend a relative’s funeral and it required travel that cost $500, they couldn’t go — they don’t have $500 that’s not committed to basic expenses. So when I write about “luxury” here, I’m not talking about big-ticket items. I’m talking about moderately-priced stuff that has the potential to brighten your life this year — and years to come.
HEALTH FOOD
Manuka honey
Reader review: “My husband’s persistent cough following a cold went away in 24 hours after taking the Manuka Honey that you recommended.” Benefits? Start with the first thing that Manuka lovers tell you: You’ll be more resistant to disease. There is nutritional value in the honey –– major doses of amino acids, enzymes and B-complex vitamins, particularly thiamin (B1), riboflavin (B2), niacin (B3), pantothenic acid (B5), and B6. And this honey contains substances that stimulate production of cytokine, the proteins involved in strengthening the body’s immune system and helping it fight off pathogens and diseases.
HOME AND HEARTH
Diptyque Candles
Reader review: “What’s the very best holiday gift? Simple. A candle. Many hours of joy and serenity, a universal source of delight, sets a tone for not just your home, but your life. So why not get the very best one in the world for someone you love? That would be the Diptyque. A candle could be a ho-hum gift rather than a ho-ho, but not this one. It takes 1300 roses to make ONE gram of pure rose oil used in a Diptyque. This candle lasts so long it’s like a bottle of Dom Perignon that keeps refilling itself while your back is turned. Just buy one and see what happens. Would you give your love a $7 bottle of champagne?”
Coqui Coqui Room Scent
Inspired by the rich tropical aromas of the Yucatan Peninsula, the reed diffusers disperse concentrated essential oils for a long-lasting fragrance.
IN THE KITCHEN
Capresso Burr Coffee Grinder
A cheap grinder batters the beans and chips them into uneven bits. Worse, it runs fast, so it heats the beans, which is exactly what you don’t want, particularly if, like me, you run the machine for a full minute for a finer grind. The pros use a burr grinder. Because it runs at a slower speed, it generates less heat. And the burrs create uniform grounds.
End-Grain Chopping Block
Why would you buy a wooden cutting board too heavy to lug to the sink for cleaning when you could, for much less, get a plastic board you can easily slip into the dishwasher? Esthetics, for one. The end-grained cutting board is a piece of natural sculpture that draws the eye — and, like sculpture, it’s a permanent island in your kitchen.
DESK TOOLS
Palomino Blackwing Pencils
John Steinbeck wrote with a Blackwing. Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim and Quincy Jones used Blackwings for scores. Chuck Jones drew cartoon figures with Blackwings. They are “the best pencil ever made.” Worth every penny.
ACCESSORIES
Chevron Wrap
100% alpaca hand-loomed in Chile by Mapuche weavers. Take 30% off.
BOOKS TOO GOOD FOR YOUR COFFEE TABLE
Carlo Scarpa
Brighter people than me don’t know about the Italian architect Carlo Scarpa (1906-1978). With good reason. Name a celebrated contemporary architect and you immediately think of his/her signature style. Scarpa’s work is harder to classify — he had no tricks he trotted out for every project. And you can’t name another architect who was also a gifted designer of blown glass. Scarpa was a great admirer of Frank Lloyd Wright, and he shared Wright’s interest in beams and joints, in different materials presented in juxtaposition. In 1951, Wright visited Venice. Many wanted to be his tour guide. Wright had no use for them. “Which one of you is Scarpa?” he demanded.
The World of Madeleine Castaing
As World War II ended, Madame Castaing opened her first boutique in Paris. Never had there been a shop like this. For one thing, it didn’t look like a store — it was a series of rooms that looked as if someone lived in them. And no two rooms were alike. Indeed, no single room had an identifying theme or style. English Regency tables, Swedish chairs, a Russian couch — her rooms didn’t make statements, they told stories.
Great Houses, Modern Aristocrats
Just consider the young couple on the cover of “Great Houses Modern Aristocrats” — Nicholas and Dinah Ashley-Cooper (and son Anthony), the 12th Earl and Countess of Shaftesbury, seated in the library of St. Giles House in Dorset, under a portrait of the first Earl. This is a book of people like that. People with actual butlers.
Private Splendor: Great Families at Home
Many of these houses are now open to the public. Some have been carved into apartments; with luck and connections and a sturdy checkbook, you could live in one. But not in the rooms photographed here. These rooms are for the occasional tour. These rooms are for private parties. But these rooms are not, in the main, for photographic display.
Cross Purpose
Adria de Haume was a Jewish girl in Detroit who became interested in crosses as sacred symbols. In her 30s, she made a cross of mixing sticks for a seriously ill friend, who recovered. Later, she heard a voice in the night: “Wake up and make crosses.” Did she ever! As a photographer, jewelry maker and artist, she spent the next quarter of a century preparing the work that fills this extraordinary book. Writers and philosophers weigh in, wise quotes dot the pages, but the heart of this slip-bound coffee table extravaganza are 200 color illustrations of the crosses she’s created. Click to see a portfolio of crosses from this one-of-a-kind gift for a believer…in Christ or art.
PERSONAL PLEASURE
Good Vibrations: ‘Eva’ and ‘Fin’
By the shoddy standards of what is known as the sex toy industry, these designed-by-women vibrators are revolutionary. They use medical-grade silicone. Their tiny batteries power devices that have three speeds, hold a charge, and are quickly refreshed.
TRAVEL
Tasting Georgia: A Food and Wine Journey in the Caucasus
The wine world’s cool kids are buzzing about Georgia….the Georgia that is bordered on the North by Russia, to the South by Turkey, Armenia and Azerbaijan. If you’re interested in a culture that, 8,000 years ago, gave birth to wine-making and still makes some wine by the ancient method… if you’re interested in visiting a country that is far off the tourist path….if you’re a foodie who wants to try dishes you won’t find in an restaurant in America, here are 70 recipes… . this is the book for you.
SOUND SYSTEM
Yamaha Micro-Component Syystem
Reader Review: “The Yamaha system is the best I’ve ever heard, and easy for a low-tech person such as myself to install. When my high-tech brother visited and said ‘What’s this?’ and popped his iPhone in to test it, his only comment was ‘Wow!’ Great system, great price for a boatload of features. Had to thank you!”
