What to Get Your Favorite Billionaire
Hermès baseball glove
Baseball, in all its peanut-and-crackerjack-iness, seventh-inning stretchiness, long-summer-nights-in-the-backyard-perfecting-a-fastball-iness, is as American as apple pie. What better way to make the nation’s favorite pastime the preferred pastime of those who likely already have a box or seats behind home plate than a $14,600 glove? Made in gold swift calfskin, and hand-stitched in a manner requiring 25 hours of work, the glove would have made the Great Bambino jealous (or roll over in his grave).
Hermès leather baseball glove, $14,600. (usa.hermes.com)
Historic platinum-and-diamond necklace
For those channeling Egyptian royalty, Elizabeth Taylor, or someone who falls in that bling stratosphere, Sotheby’s timed out a perfect offering in its December 9 “Magnificent Jewels” auction—a Van Cleef & Arpels platinum-and-diamond bib necklace that once belonged to Queen Nazli, former Queen Mother of Egypt. The bauble is centered around a 6-carat diamond, which is surrounded by 118 other round diamonds that total about 134 carats, ensconced by another 27 carats’ worth of smaller round diamonds, and finished off with 50 carats of baguette diamonds. This modest offering, which will be auctioned to benefit a charity, is expected to fetch up to $4.6 million.
Diamond and platinum necklace at auction, expected at up to $4.6 million. (sothebys.com)
Luxury survival condo
There is no greater luxury than being able to ensure survival through a direct nuclear strike, and the “luxury survival” condos do just that, for up to $3 million. The condos, which are located in a facility designed to sustain 70 people for more than five years, are close to 1,900 square feet for the full-floor individual units, which are fully furnished, custom-designed, and come with a five-year food reserve per person. The common amenities include 20,000 square feet of floor space, a 75,000-gallon reserve tank of water, organic hydroponic food, a general store and bar, an indoor pool and gym, a digital weather station, and medical facility. The only downside is the condos are located in an undisclosed location in Kansas, so owners have to reverse–Wizard of Oz in order to get there in the event of an apocalypse.
Luxury survival condos in Kansas, up to $3 million. (survivalcondo.com)
Land Rover kids pedal car
For the little prince or princess who deserves to pedal around in rugged, classic style, the good folks at Land Rover have made their dreams come true with the $15,000 model, complete with off-road tires, leather seats, and rear stowage.
Land Rover Defender pedal car, $15,000. (landrover.com)
Rare Birkin bags
An Hermès Birkin bag is still a Birkin bag—a thing to behold, a thing that garners envy, a thing worth joining a mythical waiting list to get your hands on—even if you’re someone who’s felt that envy, bypassed the waiting list, and ventured beyond the neutrals into more exotic skins and colors. That’s why Christie’s December 2 auction of accessories and rare Birkins, including a pony-hair-meets-crocodile-meets-painted-tulip version. The auction house’s New York sale, which is set to begin on December 11, will feature several Birkins expected to sell in the six-figure range.
Rare Birkin bags at auction, expected at up to $100,000. (christies.com)
Custom watch from Bamford Watch Department
No one wants to show up to a meeting or a party sporting the same five-figure watch as every person around the table. That’s where Bamford Watch Department comes in. The London-based company customizes luxury watches, from Rolexes to Patek Philippes to Audemars Piguets, in any color, fashion, style a customer dreams up. That can mean coating a Rolex in titanium or graphite, or turning the dial cobalt blue or the hands into Popeye’s arms. The options for customization are limitless, but not cheap. Watches can run up to nearly $63,000.
Custom designed high-end watches, ranging from $15,000 to $63,000. (bamfordwatchdepartment.com)
Millions of Rose Petals
Even billionaires should take time to stop and smell the roses—and what better way than with a million (or more) flower petals in your backyard? For about $100,000, luxury-experience provider VeryFirstTo will turn your estate’s grounds into a sea of romantic red, putting Kanye’s flower-wall gift to Kim to shame.
“Wake Up To Over A Million Rose Petals”, provided by VeryFirstTo, priced at £70,000 for 1.2 million petals (veryfirstto.com)
Private Ski Resort
Tired of the lift lines at Aspen and St. Moritz? Take matters into your own hands by buying Wasatch Peaks Ranch, which, along with 12,000 acres, boasts its own skiable mountain range with 24 peaks. There are no gondolas yet, but for $14,500 you can have gold medalist Seth Wescott heli-ski with you at your new resort through the gifting service IfOnly.
Wasatch Peak Ranch, listed at $46,000,000 by the Mirr Ranch Group (mirrranchgroup.com); IfOnly’s One in a Lifetime held-ski trip with Olympic Gold Medalist Seth Wesco, $14,500. (ifonly.com)
Personal JetPack
Let’s face it—Virgin Galactic’s never gonna happen. So satisfy your inner Jetson by pre-ordering a Martin Jetpack, the first personal jetpack that can be applied for recreational use.
The Martin Jetpack, $150,000 (martinjetpack.com)
