Rimowa Cocktail Case Severely Overvalue Silverplate.

 

We were all set to write a scathing critique of the new limited edition Rimowa cocktail set, poking fun at the individual ridiculousness of its components, and how foolish anyone might be to consider it.  But the wind was really taken out of our sails when we noticed that it's sold out.

Brevity is the soul of wit, and so we will simply observe the following;  A number of individuals chose to spend £4,300 on an aluminium case, silver plated cocktail shaker, and to silver plated jiggers, and silver plated stirring spoon.  

We love luxury goods. that's what this little blog is about.  However, a sterling silver cocktail shaker set from Asprey can be had for £5,150, just £800 more, and a Demi-Shaker in solid silver for only £2,150.  This isn't merely overvaluing Silverplate, it's faintly ridiculous.  However, it sold out, so more fool us maybe.

Bang & Olufsen Release Beosound Premiere at a Lower Price Point than Current Top End Soundbar.

Bang & Olufsen have announced and released a brand new Soundbar into their range, the Beosound Premiere.  With the same type of directional audio lens type technology employed in many of its other models, this is likely to present an all in one audio solution for those desiring it.  Or the centrepiece in an ultra high end surround sound cinema setup.

However, what we find most interesting and compelling about this is its price point.  At £3,900.00 as a starting price, it is less than 50% the price of the Beosound Theatre, currently B&O's top Soundbar.  This is an odd decision.  Especially given the brands recent pricing and market positioning decisions.  See for example the grossly overpriced Beo Grace earbuds.  

Yet celebrating might be unwise.  This is still a considerable amount more expensive than the Resound Stage, which currently costs £2,300.00, and which appears to show low stock on the UK site.  This means that the Stage will probably be discontinued, and the Premiere will be the new low end Soundbar.  That makes more sense in respect of the direction Bang Olufsen is moving in.  With that direction being one of nonsensical out of touch pricing.

It's a real pity the brand is moving this way.  We have mentioned it before, but it bears repeating.  This seems a violent counter-reaction against their 2010's "Beo Play" range, which was an attempt to produce a budget range.  That rightly failed, but the new movement is taking the brand into he stratosphere in the worst way.  Adjusted for inflation their prices are considerably more than they were 20 years ago.  Which might be one of the reasons they are struggling financially, which a cursory look at their annual earnings report demonstrates.

We very much hope this doesn't continue.  If it does the brand risks being purchased by a company that will strip away everything that made it great, such as (horror) LVMH.

 

Leandesk Presents a Luxurious Space Saving Anywhere Desk Idea.

The fact is anyone living in an urban environment is likely to be needing to overcome severe constraints on the space they have available.  Decades of Neo-liberal policy have made it so, and so the best solution is to make the new reality as palatable and attractive as possible.  Therefore elegant space saving design ideas are literal life savers, and the Leandesk is one of those.

Designed by an English furniture designer who observed the way yachting furniture utilises cables and ropes, yet remains remarkably stable, the Leandesk implements these utilitarian ideas in an attractive wooden frame, that unfolds, leans, and can be a sitting or standing desk.  Then when not in use, can be mounted on a wall hook. 

There's no question that the origins of this are steeped in the type of privilege that only someone who has access to yachting can know.  But that doesn't detract from it being effective, stylish, and undeniably luxurious.  Available in two sizes, and in various woods, starting from £450.00 from their website.

Bang Olufsen Centennial Collection Colours Actual Hit.

 

Bang & Olufsen are celebrating being in business for 100 years in the only way they seem to know, by releasing a special limited edition collection.  And similar to nearly every other limited edition they release, it is absolutely no different in any meaningful or material manner, and is simple a change in paint.

However, as the somewhat obvious title of this brief entry indicates, we're fans this time.  Regular readers will be well aware of our disdain for B&O's so called limited editions, and that they add nothing.  Along with the healthy disgust we have for their Atelier ranges that are grossly overpriced for a different colour way.

However, the Centennial collection is liked by us for two reasons.  Firstly, the colours chosen are genuinely attractive.  The Brown leather with the H100, looks stunning for example.  Second, and perhaps more importantly, the premium here isn't a premium, it's either a very small increase over the conventional pricing, or less.  For example, the Beosound A5 in Century Weave is £1,500, while in the evergreen dark oak it's £1,600.

Montblanc Hope Second Time is the Charm with Digital Paper.

 Readers of the luxury consumer press might have come across glowing and effusive praise for Montblanc's exciting new Digital Paper.  The new device is effectively a writing tablet, Wirth accompanying Montblanc Meisterstuck pen,

The marketing material suggests this is Montblanc's first foray into the digital writing space, and that it represents a remarkable new direction for the storied firm.  This is extremely odd.  As the brands own website still stocks and sells "Augmented Paper", their first attempt to break into the digital writing space. Available at this link at time of writing.

The older Augmented Paper, which has existed for over 10 years, is a conventional piece of paper, with special pen, and sensors, that turns writing into digital text via the sensors and a program.  Granted, this is clearly quite different from a tablet one writes on, but it is still profoundly odd that they wax lyrical on the new tablet, giving the impression throughout that they never dipped their toe into technology before.

We like making suggestions and predictions here, and would love to again.  Yet a pen company releasing a new digital product suggesting it's their first, while an existing digital product exists in their range really doesn't make much sense.  Even less so when in consideration of the fact the older product never sold well.

The sensible choice would have been to quietly discontinue the unpopular Augmented Paper, and release the Digital Paper to much fanfare.  But they didn't, so let's look on the bright side, you as a consumer have choice!  You can go for the Augmented Paper, pad with pen, for around £1,000, or the new Digital Paper tablet for £750, plus Digital Pen for £230.  Enjoy.

Tissot Re Release Rock Watch for a new Generation.

In the late 1980s Tissot released a number of watches made from natural materials, including the WoodWatch.  The most famous, and most collectible to this day, was the RockWatch in 1985.

Made from a single piece of granite from Switzerland's Jungfrau Mountain, each piece is unique, as it's a result of the variations of the stone, making them special in a way few luxury consumables can be.

We've seen a huge increase in specialised small watchmaking houses creating pieces that sell out.  For example Kurono Tokyo.  This reissue of a classic echoes this, and in 999 limited pieces, it also demonstrates the same ethos of severely limited runs.

Available no for £995.00, this is sure to be another future classic. 

 

Hermes Anti Trust Birkin Lawsuit Dismissed Pending Appeal

 

Readers of this little blog will be well familiar with the amount of times we have discussed Veblen goods, so should by now clearly understand them as a concept.  The Birkin bag from Hermes is one of these, as demonstrated by the fact the image in this article is a screen capture from a Wikipedia article on the product.

Another point of interest in the Birkin story is its lack of availability.  Like steel Rolex watches, Ferrari's and Cristal champagne, the supply is deliberately restricted to increase demand.  A classic Veblen good tactic.  However, a number of consumers took considerable.e offence to this, and filed a lawsuit in America alleging Anti Trust.

However, in a 17 September 2025 Judgement, the Northern District court of California ruled that this action had no merit, and indeed took the decision to do so with prejudice, debarring the Claimant from further action.  

This doesn't prevent them from appealing, and the Claimant has done so.  However, it is a significant victory, and well demonstrates that choosing to throttle your stock to increase demand doesn't necessarily qualify as anything other than a smart business decision.

Our view on this is simple.  Hermes is one of the last true luxury brands,  While luxury conceptually can be subjective, and mean things to an individual such as "quality time", Hermes does remain however an institution that manages to retain the aura of luxury despite changing times, and is evergreen in that.  Its sales practices might be slightly suspect, but ultimately, that's part of the allure.   

Bang Olufsen Beo Grace Fail to Impress Prior to Reviews

 

Bang & Olufsen has continually failed to impress in one area of their product ranges, that being their in ear headphones.  They haven't managed to capture the market since the days of their A8 headphones, and with their latest wireless earbuds they appear to be harkening directly back to those Halcyon days.  Yet forums and tech journalism is not persuaded.

Those who consume design led magazines and newspapers might be fooled, as several of the higher end publications have written in the most glowing terms about these.  Waxing lyrical on the high design, and stunning feature set.  Yet a glance towards outlets that regularly write about technology, along with forums for B&O, show a far more circumspect view, which firmly seems to have declined to drink the marketing Kool Aid.

Amongst these more realistic groups the 4.5 hour battery life has been derided as beyond disappointing.  While the claims of battery replaceability having been simply laughed at.  The major reason for this is the price, which is £1,000, or $1,500.  This makes them at the same level as IEM's, yet while IEM's can offer world class sound, these seem to lack high resolution codec, only supporting AAC, SBC and LC3.

It's difficult to discern what the marketing team at Bang Olufsen are thinking here with the pricing.  The H100's are pricey, but they offer an entirely different value proposition.  Over ear headphones can last for many, many years.  In ear headphones won't.  No amount of marketing guff will change that.  We can't help feeling that using these is more likely to get you laughed at than admired, as they are simply overpriced at their release.

Brunello Cucinelli Eyewear Demonstrate's Dominance of Jacque's Marie Mage

 

It's difficult to conceive the absolutely seismic impact that Jacque's Marie Mage has had on the luxury eyewear industry.  The brand has encapsulated the idea of storytelling, the mythologising of very specific artisanal manufacturing, specifically heavy Japanese acetate, and the concept of "limited editions.  It has weaponised these and created a brand which produces products that are both overwhelmingly in demand, selling out consistently, while also being astronomically priced, for example the starting price for frames is $900.00, going up to several thousand dollars.

The idea of pricey glasses isn't new.  Cartier make frames that are excessively priced as routine.  However the manufactured image JMM has fostered allows them to dominate the marketplace.  Whether you know it or not you have seen your favourite celebrity wearing this stealth wealth yet loud brand. With an example of how extraordinary their popularity is being the period movie, Babylon, starring Brad Pitt, set in 1920's Hollywood, where Pitt insisted on using his JMM Zepherin glasses, despite the brand only having launched in 2014 nearly 100 years after the period the film is supposed to be set within.

It's often said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but more often than not in consumer goods, it reflects a desire to capture a market that has moved in a given direction.  And unquestionably luxury glasses manufacturers are copying JMM in hopes they can grab some of that halo of success.  One overwhelming example is the Brunello Cucinelli "Mr Brunello" sunglasses, and their remarkable similarity to JMM glasses.

From the bold design, to the description which heavily references "bilayer acetate", to the packaging which even replicates JMM's red colouring, as the images on this article show, with JMM on the left, and Cucinelli on the right, anyone failing to see the parallels is clearly fooling themselves.  

In our view, JMM does it better. There's little to say here.  JMM had a vision, they followed it, and continue to produce products in line with it.  We don't find them without fault.  Their constant claim of limited numbered editions, while constantly producing the same frame with the minutest difference is annoying.  But they are still stunningly well made glasses that redefined luxury glasses.  Until something else comes along they continue to lead the way, and imitators beware, lest ye be called out by irrelevant commentators like us.