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Rolls-Royce commissions a Faberge egg

What you see above, is probably the equivalent of the movie The Avengers, but for the ultra-filthy-rich. It's the ultimate crossover of luxury brands, Rolls-Royce, and the famed jewelry company Faberge. It's a special egg made by the jeweler that's themed around the luxury car builder. And naturally, it's an "Imperial Class" egg. This means it's similar in size, complexity and quality to the original 50 made for the Russian royal family, the very ones that helped make Faberge so famous. It's also only the second to be commissioned, since. The other was commissioned by a Middle Eastern jewelry group. The egg is quite modern and simple in design. It stands about 6 inches tall, and it weighs nearly a pound. A rock crystal Spirit of Ecstasy sits in the middle, surrounded by arcing arms. Each arm is made of rose gold with 390 carats of amethyst and 10 carats of white diamonds. The whole egg sits on a machine-turned white gold base with a purple enamel coat. Like many Faberge eggs, this has mechanical workings. Pressing a lever causes the many arms to descend, making the Spirit of Ecstasy visible. The egg will be on display at Faberge's London store this December for the public to see. After that, Rolls-Royce says it will be heading for the home of a private collector of both Rolls-Royce and Faberge creations. Related Video: Featured Gallery Rolls-Royce Faberge Egg News Source: Rolls-Royce, The Daily Mail Design/Style Rolls-Royce Luxury

A 1985 Ford Escort for $915,000? If it was owned by Princess Diana

What makes a used car worth more than the car itself? If it was owned by John Lennon. Or Muhammad Ali. Michael Schumacher, perhaps, or Stirling Moss. This year’s edition from the Hagerty organization of its “Power List” makes for amusing reading even if youÂ’re not on it. But you can make believe that you are. Essentially, the list, which was launched only last year, tracks the impact of celebrity ownership of a vehicle on its value, as measured by its worth at auction. Nearly 400 sales of celebrity cars and bikes have been analyzed from around the world by Hagerty using market data and “expert” analytics. Hagerty is aware, certainly, that famous folks — from royalty, sports, movies and music — grab gobs of attention from ordinary people. ThatÂ’s why the 2023 Power List comprises these categories: Art Cars, Racing Drivers, Movies and TV, Musicians, Royalty, Screen Stars, Sporting Icons. But you don't have to be a rock star or a F1 pilot to get listed: Princess Diana, besides an Escort Turbo RS that she owned between 1985 and 1988, numbered a convertible 1994 Audi 80 Cabriolet and a Jaguar XJS Cabriolet among her rides. HereÂ’s a look at some of the more notable entries: Racing driver category: In pole position was an unlikely titleholder, a 1976 Ford Bronco. This was the car bought new by legendary Canadian Formula 1 driver Gilles Villeneuve and untouched since his death; it sold at the Aguttes auction in Paris last December for $148,000, a huge 210% increase over the $47,800 that Hagerty would value a regular example in the same condition. Just a note: The list doesnÂ’t include race cars, only vehicles kept privately by the drivers. Musicians: A 1974 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow had been Freddie MercuryÂ’s personal chauffeur-driven transport from 1979 until his death in 1991. Without celebrity ownership, Hagerty would value the Silver Shadow at a lowly $9,500, a car that would take a lot of time, effort and money to restore properly. But add in MercuryÂ’s aura and bids ended at $362,500. “ItÂ’s no surprise that MercuryÂ’s car dominated our Musicians list on the 2023 Hagerty Power List,” the company said. Movies and TV: For those readers now emerging from hibernation since 1968, the news is that the historic Highland Green Mustang from “Bullitt” remains at the top of the Power List for the second year running.

Rolls-Royce La Rose Noire Droptail a dark floral love letter to customization

Rolls-Royce's boat-themed custom vehicle developments have gone from the 2017 Sweptail to the 2021 Boat Tail and now the Droptail — to be precise, the La Rose Noire Droptail. This is the first of four coachbuilt Droptails, handed over in a private gathering near Pebble Beach to the family that commissioned it. The name La Rose Noire blows a kiss to the Black Baccara, a hybrid tea rose created in France around 25 years ago and a favorite of the matriarch in the family that commissioned the Rolls-Royce. The flower's petals shimmer from almost black to dark red-burgundy and pomegranate depending on the light and the angle of view. Two hues represent this fierce luster on the car: a deep red called True Love and a darker red called Mystery. Painters applied the iridescent True Love to the body with a secret base coat followed by five layers of clear lacquer, each lacquer layer blended with a slightly different tone of red. Rolls-Royce says it took more than 150 experiments to perfect the final product. True Love appears again on the Pantheon upper grille, the shade painted on the backs of the grille vanes. Rolls-Royce 3D-printed the lower intake in a composite material, accented with 202 stainless-steel ingots painted in True Love. Mystery bows on the 22-inch alloy wheels, contrasted with millwork that exposes the alloy spokes underneath. And a new chrome plating process created the darkly reflective Hydroshade tint of the brightwork. Removing the custom roof with its electrochromic glass panel reveals a cockpit that Rolls-Royce used to set new standards for its craftsmanship. The buyers wanted parquetry with a motif of scattering rose petals. Rolls-Royce decided the best way to achieve that would be to create and finish 1,603 Black Sycamore veneer triangles by hand, and lay 503 red veneer pieces asymmetrically among them to represent the petals. The woodwork runs across the instrument panel and in an element along the doors, then down the tail. The application was so intense that a single artist worked in one-hour stints no more than five hours a day in a sound-insulated room "to ensure the focus required."  Then there's the treasure in the instrument panel. The commissioning family went to Swiss watchmaker Audemars Piguet for a custom timepiece, a 43-millimeter Royal Oak Concept Split-Seconds Chronograph GMT Large Date.