From Cartier’s Historic Auction to Rammed-Earth Villas in Japan — Here Are 7 Stories Defining Luxury Living This Week
Each week, we curate the most compelling stories from the worlds of luxury, food, architecture, interior design, travel, yachting, and fashion. Here’s what caught our attention this April.
🏛️ Luxury — Sotheby’s to Auction the Most Important Vintage Cartier Watch Collection Ever Assembled
Sotheby’s has announced what it calls the most significant collection of vintage Cartier timepieces ever to come to auction — more than 300 pieces spanning the early 20th century to the modern era. The collection includes rare Tank, Santos, and Crash models, many of which have never appeared publicly before. For watch collectors and luxury goods enthusiasts, this sale is expected to set new benchmarks and reignite interest in Cartier as one of the most collectible names in haute horlogerie.
Source: Robb Report
🍽️ Food — The World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2026 Heads to Abu Dhabi
This November, the global gastronomic community will descend upon Abu Dhabi for The World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2026, sponsored by S.Pellegrino & Acqua Panna. It marks the first time the prestigious global ranking will be announced in the UAE capital — a city rapidly earning its reputation as a top-tier dining destination.
Highlights include #50BestTalks, a thought-leadership forum with leading hospitality figures; Signature Sessions pairing local talent with 50 Best-ranked restaurants; and the ever-popular Chefs’ Feast celebrating Abu Dhabi’s vibrant food culture. Last year, Lima’s Maido was crowned The World’s Best Restaurant and will now join the Best of the Best hall of fame.
Source: The World’s 50 Best Restaurants
🏗️ Architecture — BIG Completes Trio of Rammed-Earth Villas on a Remote Japanese Island
Danish architecture powerhouse BIG (Bjarke Ingels Group) has unveiled its first completed buildings in Japan: a trio of four-bedroom rammed-earth villas on the remote island of Sagishima in the Seto Inland Sea. Named Not A Hotel Setouchi, the project spans a 30,000-square-metre beachfront site alongside a restaurant pavilion and private beach.
The earth used to build the villas was sourced directly from the site itself, with the structures winding up the hillside “like a ribbon.” The three villas — named 360, 270, and 180 after their panoramic views — feature glass facades, black-slate floors inspired by tatami mats, solar-tiled roofs nodding to traditional Japanese architecture, heated infinity pools, and traditional Japanese baths.
“The archipelago around Sagishima is like a Japanese landscape painting,” said BIG founder Bjarke Ingels. “The four pavilions are conceived as extensions of the dramatic topography.” The project marks a remarkable convergence of Danish design philosophy, traditional Japanese architecture, and contemporary construction precision.
Source: Dezeen
🛋️ Interior — Barde vanVoltt Transforms a Mexico City Penthouse into a ‘Brutalist Sanctuary’
Amsterdam- and Mexico City-based studio Barde vanVoltt has completed a striking penthouse in the Mexican capital that it describes as a “brutalist sanctuary.” The space is defined by layers of textured stucco, brushed stainless steel, and sculptural stone — creating an atmosphere that is at once raw and deeply refined.
The design avoids conventional luxury tropes in favor of a more tactile, monastic quality, where materials take center stage and negative space becomes as important as what fills it. It’s a bold statement in luxury residential design — one that elevates restraint over excess.
Source: Dezeen
✈️ Travel — A ‘Rewilded’ 13,000-Acre Lodge Opens in the Scottish Highlands
On the remote Knoydart Peninsula — one of mainland Britain’s last true wilderness areas — Kilchoan Estate has opened a new lodge that redefines the meaning of sustainable luxury travel. The estate has undergone a painstaking rewilding project across 13,000 acres, restoring native Caledonian forest and reintroducing species to create what it calls “a natural wonderland.”
Accessible only by boat or a long wilderness hike, the lodge offers guests an immersive experience: guided foraging, wild swimming in lochs, estate-raised dining, and nights under some of the darkest skies in Europe. It’s the antithesis of conventional resort luxury — and precisely what a growing segment of discerning travelers is seeking.
Source: Robb Report
⛵ Yacht & Auto — Royal Huisman Unveils a 164-Foot Near-Zero-Emissions Catamaran Concept
Dutch superyacht builder Royal Huisman — the yard behind the world’s first hybrid superyacht — has revealed Aera, a groundbreaking 164-foot catamaran concept designed to achieve near-zero emissions through a radical 115-foot carbon-fiber wing sail.
Developed in collaboration with America’s Cup veteran Iain Percy’s company Artemis Technologies, the automated wing sail produces 10 times less drag than a conventional mast — yet a traditional rig would need 60 to 80 percent more sail area to match its power. “The captain enters the destination, sets the wing to automatic trim, and you are sailing in less than a minute,” says Royal Huisman CEO Jan Timmerman. “It is basically as easy as operating a motor yacht.”
When the wind is insufficient, two retractable electric-drive propellers draw from a 580 kWh battery bank, complemented by hydrogen fuel cells providing 3,000+ kWh for 72 hours at anchor. Designer Cor D. Rover‘s serpentine deck layout delivers 7,212 square feet of exterior space — comparable to a conventional yacht 70 feet longer. The owner’s suite features a private terrace and pool, while the stern opens directly to the water.
Source: Robb Report
👗 Fashion — Stefano Gabbana Resigns as Dolce & Gabbana Chairman
In one of the most significant leadership shifts in Italian fashion this year, co-founder Stefano Gabbana has resigned as chairman of Dolce & Gabbana. According to sources, the designer is exploring options for his roughly 40-percent stake in the brand ahead of negotiations with creditors — a move that signals potential structural changes at one of Italy’s most iconic fashion houses.
The company confirmed the departure has “no impact whatsoever on the creative activities carried out by Stefano Gabbana,” indicating his design role will continue even as the business governance evolves. The news comes at an inflection point for the luxury fashion sector, with luxury brands navigating geopolitical headwinds, shifting consumer expectations, and a broader market correction.
Source: Business of Fashion
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Published on April 13, 2026 | EconPlex Lifestyle