Estate of the Day

There's no denying it's been a tough couple of years for luxury real estate but how have our estate of the day properties fared this year? I decided to break it down, month by month to see what is still on the market. Today we are looking at May which brings us my favorite property in Vermont, Above the Clouds, which is still on the market at $16 million. This is also the month we first saw 49 Margin Street, an enviable waterfront commercial complex still on the market for $55 million and, for double that price, Cave Cay in the Bahamas still sitting pretty at $110 million. The Amityville Horror House sold but The Chimneys, a classic New York estate, still is on the market for $20 million.

Estate of the Day

There's no denying it's been a tough couple of years for luxury real estate but how have our estate of the day properties fared this year? I decided to break it down, month by month to see what is still on the market. Today we are looking at April, a month that saw us heading to London, Tuscany and British Columbia among the usual stops of Beverly Hills, Greenwich and other wealthy U.S. communities.

We checked out Charleston's most expensive home and probably one of the top listings in South Carolina. Sword Gate House, shown above, which is still holding firm at $23 million as is a Coeur d'Alene, Idaho home listed at $17 million. And whether you interested in an art gallery of a house in San Francisco, a Tuscan villa or Hamptons classic, we've got some decent price reductions in this batch.

Estate of the Day

Saratoga Springs is famous for horse racing and it's hard to find an equestrian property in the area more ready for horses than Stone Bridge Farms. The estate is a thoroughbred breeding and training facility. The property is three parcels together, a total of more than 425 acres near Saratoga Springs.

There are two parcels currently being utilized for the broodmare operation that measure approximately 335 acres total. That property contains two 12-stall broodmare barns with modern foaling facilities, a 24-stall yearling barn, round barn, mega-dome arena, 27 paddocks, run-in sheds, including two large sheds with four stalls each, and two residences. A 92-acre parcel includes the Georgian Neo-classical main residence and the Cape style guest house. It's also home to the only year-round operating synthetic track on the east coast, an indoor riding arena, 2 enclosed eurosizers, 47 stalls, 31 paddocks of which 17 are covered. The entire property is priced at $13.5 million, with the 92-acre parcel available separately for $7 million.

Estate of the Day

There's no denying it's been a tough couple of years for luxury real estate but how have our estate of the day properties fared this year? I decided to break it down, month by month to see what is still on the market. Today we are looking at March.

One of the most expensive homes, the Lake Bluff, Illinois home Landsdowne, built for the heirs of the Rand McNally map empire, remains on the market at $15.465 million. It was a month for penthouses and several of them are still on the market. You can pick up a Palms Place Las Vegas penthouse for $4 million, one of the most luxurious penthouses in Coral Gables, Florida has had a couple million pared off its price and a stunning Tribeca penthouse has held firm at $28 million. The complete breakdown is after the jump.

Today's Jewelry

IWI watches, based in England, was started by Ian Walsh who learned the (watch industry) ropes while at Tag Heuer. IWI watches are still made by him, hand-made in the UK. Working in the auto racing world and having passion for it, Ian designs IWI watches with a distinct British sense of motor sport aesthetic. 

Most IWI watches feature a round, lugless case design with the crown fixed to the top of the case. They look a bit like wrist mounted stopwatches, and have colors that seem to mach the colors of racing suits and race cars. IWI also has a pair of chronograph watches that are the CH-O and CH-R. These titles simply stand for Chronograph Orange or Red. I quite like the simple designs and integrated quasi-bund style strap. The thick leather straps have red or orange contrast stitching and have over them 45mm wide steel watch cases. The style looks really cool. IWI didn't invent this concept, but it isn't commonly used. The large watch case are also stopwatch in style (also known as "bullhead") with the crown and pushers places on the top of the case. 

The dials are neat looking and straight forward. Colorful, and easy to read. Inside the watch is a Swiss ETA automatic movement. Either a Valjoux 7750 or Valjoux 7753 I would guess. Possibly an ETA 2894 though. The watches are said to each be limited to 500 pieces. Price for the IWI CH-O or CH-R is 3,295 British Pounds. 

Estate of the Day

Sales began today on The Ascent, a new 49-unit resort condominium project at the base of Beaver Creek Ski Resort in Avon, Colorado. The first sales offering includes some 25 units initially with two-, three- and four bedroom residences up for sale. 

Units have upscale appliances and finishes with knotty alder cabinetry wood flooring, granite countertops, GE Profile stainless appliances, GE stack washers and dryers, Jacuzzi tubs, gas fireplaces, high-speed Internet wiring, ceramic bathroom flooring, and a designer's palette of muted paint colors and premium finishes throughout. Property amenities are designed for vacationers with a fitness area with lockers and a steam room; indoor pool; indoor and outdoor hot tubs; and outdoor fireplace and deck; sports lounge; youth game room; reading lounge with a fireplace; ski lockers with boot warmers and a ski season shuttle to Beaver Creek and Vail.Prices start at $349,000 for a two-bedroom on the second floor and zoom up to $1.099 million for a four-bedroom penthouse, prices that are approximately 50-67% of the 2008 pricing.

Today's Jewelry

Hip-hop musical artist Usher commissioned a special one of a kind watch from New York based jeweler and watch maker Tiret. The Usher watch has an oblong oval shaped case (in an undisclosed material that is likely gold) with a diamond designed portrait of Usher on the dial. Containing two Swiss ETA chronograph quartz movements, the watch technically can tell the time in two places. Given the lack of indicators the chronograph mechanisms are more or less worthless, but the point of this pieces is giving Usher the ability to look at himself as though he were made up of diamonds. How many people really get that privilege?

Using all natural stones, the watch has almost 10 carats of diamonds on it and 1106 stones all over the watch. Look at the size of the diamonds on the bezel! Diamonds include white as well as naturally yellow diamonds. Tiret says that the watch was recently featured in a diamond exhibit at the Natural History Museum in London - where other high-end diamond decorated watches were displayed. While not mechanically complex, the special Tired watch for Usher is an interesting look into the life of Usher, and at the types of products that Tiret makes. According to them, the brand only makes custom timepieces and jewelry at this time. Usher is said to have paid $250,000 for the bespoke timepiece.

Usher, a known owner of several watches, does not claim to be a serious watch enthusiast. He prefers the showiness of timepieces as well as the jewelry component. Actually, given many of the watches that Usher has, this Tiret is of the most showy. Usher seems to prefer more classic mechanical timepieces with a masculine edge to them. The box that Tired supplied the Usher watch in doubles as a humidor for 78 cigars and also has a motif of Usher's face on it. 

Estate of the Day

Today's home in the tony Boston suburb of Brookline, Massachusetts is an older home that has been renovated into a fantastically luxurious family abode. The six-bedroom home has marble floors, crown moldings and large carved fireplaces. The master bedroom has his & hers closets, a private balcony and a master bathroom with a spa tub. The gourmet kitchen has gleaming granite counters, custom cabinetry and top-of-the-line appliances. The well-laid out kitchen even includes space for cookbooks. The home also has a spacious media room, home gym and large carriage house. It is listed at $7.25 million.

Today's Jewelry

Dievas has released a limited edition of just 50 pieces set of this new, very cool, but with a sinister-looking face, "Reaper" watch.The military pilot-style watch is meant to honor the MQ-9 Reaper UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) drone built by General Atomics. The Reaper is pretty cool. but the connection is quite ironic as the Dievas Reaper is a pilot style watch and the Reaper plane does not require a pilot. 

At 42.5mm wide, the steel case is blackened with something Dievas calls 6SteelBlack (might be some type of PVD application process). The dial is really where all the "wow" is, with its mix of black on black and "fluro" yellow. The neon yellow hands and square hour markers (all with applied SuperLumiNova luminant) are really remarkable looking against the black colors of the dial. The rotating bezel is bi-directional and can serve to indicate a second timezone. 

The watch has a sapphire crystal and the case is water resistant to 50m and has an exhibition caseback. Inside is a Swiss ETA 2824 automatic movement. Dievas pairs the Reaper with a black calfskin leather strap that has been treated to be water resistant. The back of the strap is yellow.Price for each of the 50 Dievas Reaper pieces is $1,080, and you can get one here. 

Today's Jewelry

With design features hearkening back to the 1950s and 1960s, and as dedicated to some of the original "long-haul" aircraft, Breitling offers a completely new timepiece collection with the Transocean. While Breitling regularly updates or adds to its existing timepiece collections, the release of something totally new is special. The Swiss brand puts a lot of thought in to its designs, so I take a close look at the new pieces they release. With retro being still very "in," Breitling has hit a home run with the Transocean for fans of the retro trend, as well as fans of the brand. 

Interestingly enough, the Transocean moves away from a core element that exists in almost every current Breitling watch - a rotating bezel. The lack of this design element so popular to Breitling watches really make you take are second look at the piece to see what brand it is. While the dial is extremely true to Breitling's core aesthetic, it has been toned down, and given a more genteel personality. Applied metal (steel or gold) baton style hour markers and recessed chronograph subdials help add depth to it. Aside from the tachymeter scale, there is little to busy up the face. Lume is placed as thin strip in the hands and as dots behind the hour markers. The angularity of the hand and hour markers add a utilitarian and purposeful looking, contrasting the roundness of almost all the other design features. 

Retro concepts carry to the style of the pushers as well as the flared lugs (this style lug was so popular in the 1960s). An interesting design note is the "double" bezel." The polished bezel gives way to the domed sapphire crystal over the dial but you can see another strip metal directly under the crystal next to the exposed bezel - interesting. Breitling will offer four versions of the Transocean Chronograph to start. At 43mm in width the dial will be available in black or "mercury silver," in a steel or 18k red gold case. 

The watch uses Breitling's now well-known in-house made Caliber 01 automatic chronograph movement. You can see the movement through a sapphire caseback window. The 01 is known as a relatively affordable in-house made chronograph movement compared to some of Breitling competitors. Breitling also provides the watch movment with a COSC Chronometer certification. The Transocean in comes with an optional mesh metal bracelet, and all versions are available with a leather or crocodile strap. Not sure about all the prices, the steel version is said to have a starting price of $7,600. As an added bonus, the first 2,000 steel and 200 red gold Transocean watches will be available as limited editions only. After that the Transocean will be part of Breitling's standard product line. 

Estate of the Day

Today's home, Villa Lewaro in Irvington, New York is a National Historic Landmark. The home, also known as the Anne E. Poth Home, was the home of Madam C. J. Walker from 1918 to 1919, believed to be the first female, and first African-American, self-made millionaire (she made her money selling shampoo and other hair care). The mansion is an Italianate villa house designed for Walker by Vertner Tandy, the first registered African-American architect and was constructed during 1916-1918 at an estimated cost of $250,000, a fortune at the time. The name Villa Lewaro was coined by a visitor, Enrico Caruso, from the first two letters of each word in Lelia Walker Robinson, the name of her daughter, who later went by the name of A'Lelia Walker.

The home was used as a conference center on race relations issues. Walker died there in 1919 and it was inherited by her daughter A'Lelia Walker who owned it until she died in 1931. It then became the Anne E. Poth Home for Convalescent and Aged Members of the Companions of the Forest in America. The home is on more than three acres. The 30-room mansion has eight bedrooms and elaborate details including the original bronze chandelier, stained glass windows, intricate moldings and coffered ceilings. The renovated kitchen provides access to the outdoors. The property includes a large renovated carriage house and a reflecting pool. It is listed at $6.8 million. 

Today's Jewelry

Thankfully we are no where near Valentine's day - yet. The oft-hyped holiday strikes fear into the hearts of many men poised with the daunting task of offering their mate not only the perfect gift, but the perfect day. Swiss Blancpain gives men another reason to worry with the 2011 version of their "Saint Valentin" watch for Valentine's day. I wrote about last year's model here. The 2011 watch is very classic in style, and even the iconic Blancpain features are subdued. The watch is a triple calendar style with moon phase. Meaning it has an annual calendar complication, the time with a subsidiary seconds dial, and a smiling moon phase indicator. 

The watch is mostly white in tone, with a 35mm wide steel case, bezel lined with 49 diamonds, more diamonds on the mother-of-pearl dial, and two hearts. No Valentine's day watch can resist the inclusion of red hearts! The first is used as the hand on the date indicator dial on the watch face, and other other is a bit higher-end on the luxury scale being a heart-shaped ruby located on the bezel at the 12 o'clock position. 

Blancpain includes their in-house made Calibre 6763 automatic movement that is visible through the sapphire caseback window. A watch like this feels like a men's model turned femme - which inherently it is. The watch doesn't exclude girliness, but it rather a stately gift for a mature and sophisticated woman (that has a penchant for fine mechanical watches). Blancpain will make only 99 pieces of this 2011 Saint Valentin watch and it should be available early next year. Interestingly enough, it comes in a box that is little locked treasure chest. There is an accompanying white gold heart (wearing a corset) that is opened to reveal the key. Personally I would want a written letter from her saying that whatever is in the box will satisfy her Valentine's day expectations. 

Estate of the Day

Prolific author Tom Clancy bought three penthouse condominiums at the Ritz-Carlton Residences in Baltimore around this time last year. Now the Baltimore Sun is reporting that Clancy has picked up three more units at the waterfront complex. His first deal was for three combined penthouse units which equaled nearly 12,000 square feet of space with four bedrooms, six balconies, a home theater and three semi-private elevators. He bought the additional properties this fall for almost $2.2 million, far less than the $12.6 million he paid last year. The luxury project has struggled to find buyers and lowered prices over the summer. Now Clancy has a total of over 17,000 square feet at his disposal. He owns the entire penthouse level of one of the complex's six buildings. Prices in the complex range from $500,000 to $4 million and other buyers are also buying a couple of units and turning them into one larger space.

Today's Jewelry

In French "Furtif" means stealthy - so assume that its use in this new Hysek watch's name is a joke. There is nothing "under-the-radar" whatsoever about this new square skeletonized watch. Reminding me of a Roger Dubuis in theme (and movement), this Hysek Furtif Skeleton Tourbillon features a square titanium case and in-house made movement with the time and a flying tourbillon. While the piece is interesting, I am not really inspired by the design through pictures. Maybe I need to see it in person. The articulating lugs are interesting, and I like the gold crown and screws - to match the gold elements on the dial. Skeletonization of a movement and dial in an angular watch often looks good.

In a sense I write about the Hysek brand because I am a fan of the man who started it - Jorg Hysek. Problem is that Mr. Hysek is no longer affiliated with the brand (and has his own stuff like HD3). For super villains of the world who need a piece on their wrist to match their complex, dark, and stealthy mannerisms, this watch might do. What I really want to see if a guy in shorts mowing his lawn with one of these one. The watch will be limited to just 30 pieces and be available soon.

Today's home is a Georgian Colonial that was built on the the East Side of Providence, Rhode Island back in 1928. The home offer city living with a gracious style. Particularly delightful is the oversized living room which is open to a sunroom with delicately arched windows. Other rooms include a formal dining room, family room with a wood burning fireplace, wet bar, custom built-ins and two seating areas.The kitchen has granite counters and a large breakfast room. There are a total of seven bedrooms with a master suite that has a vaulted ceiling, atrium doors to a terrace, a marble bath with whirlpool and steam shower, dressing area, and his and hers walk in closets. The home is on a 23,766 square foot lot with two adjacent buildable lots available for purchase at $500,000 each with the purchase of the home. The home is listed at $2.995 million.

Estate of the Day

Today's estate is for the modern cowboy or pioneer ready for a rustically luxe life on 160 acres of prime Sawtooth Valley ranch land. The land is surrounded by Forest Service land and has 360 degree views of the Sawtooth and White Cloud Mountains. The estate includes two custom residences with a total of 8,000 square feet of space. Both homes are on the bank of the Salmon River. One home features a long deck which includes a bubbling hot tub with mountain views. The home interiors feature field stone fireplaces, log walls and tile and hardwood floors. This ranch is listed at $8 million.

Today's Jewelry

Using their popular UN-24 "dual time" automatic movement, Ulysse Nardin released this female version of their Executive Dual Time watch. Though not perhaps inline with traditional Ulysse Nardin aesthetic, the Executive Dual Time collection has been a good seller for the Swiss brand. The dials all have have segments of mother-of-pearl, matched with various colors (such as the above watch in purple). Also note the available diamonds on the dial. 

The second timezone is located "digitally" on the left of the dial. That is the second timezone hour indicator, and the minutes are read with the main minute hand. There is also a "big date" indicator and subsidiary seconds hand. Nice looking and functional right? The case is 40mm wide and available in steel or 18k rose gold. The white bezel is in ceramic, as are the pushers on the left of the case to change the second timezone. The strap is either in white rubber or alligator. The Executive Lady collection is unique in style and mixes modernity with some classic aesthetics nicely.

Estate of the Day

Clean and contemporary can work well in the spare landscapes of the west. Case in point is this modern home on 15 acres in Indian Springs, Wyoming. The four-bedroom home uses contemporary elements of steel, concrete, crisply detailed wood siding and intersecting rooflines. The home is comprised of three distinct structures. The use of local earth tones and copper-clad projections add texture and shadow to the exterior. The interior uses a more refined version of stone, wood and metal elements. The main-level structure houses living room, dining room and kitchen and has angular custom bronze and mica chandeliers. A Bulthaup kitchen opens to dining, living and terraces. The home features intimate spaces tucked within larger rooms. A two-story library leads into four bedrooms, with views to surrounding mountains. There is a large deck off master bedroom. The Indian Springs community has a private clubhouse, pool, tennis courts and horse stables. This home is listed at $7.65 million. 

Estate of the Day

Today's home in the tony Boston suburb of Brookline, Massachusetts is an older home that has been renovated into a fantastically luxurious family abode. The six-bedroom home has marble floors, crown moldings and large carved fireplaces. The master bedroom has his & hers closets, a private balcony and a master bathroom with a spa tub. The gourmet kitchen has gleaming granite counters, custom cabinetry and top-of-the-line appliances. The well-laid out kitchen even includes space for cookbooks. The home also has a spacious media room, home gym and large carriage house. It is listed at $7.25 million. For more pictures please click on the link below,

http://www.luxist.com/photos/hillside-road/

Today's Jewelry

It was only a matter of time before Jaeger-LeCoultre did a "heritage" version of their already "in the past" Reverso watch. A timeless classic, the Reverso has come in dozens of versions, becoming one of the brand's most signature timepieces. As the name of this new "Tribute" watch suggests, the original Reverso watch was released in 1931. The idea behind it was to be a timepiece that could be worn while playing polo - but that would also be less susceptible to damage given that watch crystals were made of glass back then. 

The design gave the rectangular case the ability to flip over while wearing the watch. When turned over, the original Reverso had an all metal surface where the watch face would be. This space was also popular for custom engravings and personalized messages. At least one professional polo player told me that you would not want to wear a watch during a serious polo match. I think that is obvious to most people, but the Reverso really hasn't been about that in decades. 

Estate of the Day

Singer Pat Boone is taking to the sea. Utopia Residences announced that Boone and his family havejust acquired a luxury apartment onboard the new residential ocean liner, Utopia. The Utopia will circle the globe and visit cities hosting sporting and cultural events such as the Cannes Film Festival, Monte Carlo Grand Prix, The Olympics, Carnaval, Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival, Melbourne Cup and other worldwide events. Pat Boone said, "I am excited to take my family to these world class events on the world's most luxurious ship. Everyone in my family is thrilled about having future family reunions on the Utopia and traveling the world without leaving our home on the sea." 

The ship has not officially launched its international sales of its 200 residences yet. As we reported last year, the project is a $1.1 billion super cruiser being built in Korea.The 1,000-foot, 105,000-ton ship will be completed in 2013. The 200 floating apartments will range from 1,400 to 6,600 square feet and last year we heard that they had a starting price of $3.6 million. There will also be a 204-room hotel on board, a fact that makes it different from a similar concept, The World of Residensea ship which is all owned units.

Utopia Residences has opened a showroom on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills and is also selling through Douglas Elliman in New York City. The Utopia venture is being financed by a majority of New Mexico investors and the project's lead investors are the Chant and Robb families. David Robb serves as Utopia's chairman while Chris Chant is its president. Frank Carlucci, the former U.S. Secretary of Defense and co-founder of The Carlyle Group, is also involved and the project is backed by Frontier Group, a private equity firm founded by Carlucci.

Today's Jewelry

Shop around for an automatic wristwatch and you're likely to find mechanisms that will keep their time on the shelf for a day, two days, maybe more. Panerai's latest, however, is capable of keeping a power reserve for a whopping ten days without moving it an inch.

The ultra-exclusive Luminor 1950 10 Days GMT Limited Edition is constricted to just 100 examples, all of which will be sold at the Swiss-Italian watchmaker's store in the Taipei 101 building in Taiwan. In addition to the ten-day power reserve and the usual hours, minutes and seconds hands, it features a date window, a secondary time zone display and an AM/PM indicator. Nice work if you can get it, but it'll set you back $17,250 if you can.

Estate of the Day

Florida homes can often be a mixed bag architecturally but this one seems to combine luxury with elements of classic style for a look that is undeniably lavish but still charming and livable. Part of the appeal comes from the use of curves and arches. The home is nearly 9,900 square feet of living area with a total of over 14,000 square feet total that includes an outdoor area for entertaining that has a pool crossed by a small bridge. The six-bedroom home has a large open kitchen given a rustic touch through the use of natural stone, a look that also adds interest to the master bath. The home is designed for fine living with a large wine cellar, multiple dining areas, a home theater and a library. The property has a dock with direct Gulf access and a guest house. It is listed at $7.495 million.

Today's Jewelry

Applying classic decorative techniques (called "fleurisanne engraving) known in the small (but popular for watch making) Swiss town of Fleurier, Chopard will offer just 15 pieces of this limited edition in-house made L.U.C Tourbillon Esprit de Fleurier watch. The movement - as you should be able to tell - is hand-engraved throughout with floral motifs. You see just part of it through the partially skeletonized dial, but the entire movement is decorated with that style. Plus, Chopard uses 18k gold for the main movement plates. 

The movement itself is the calibre 4TT3NGM hand-wound movement with a massive power reserve of 216 hours (8 days) - through four barrels. There is a power indicator on the dial telling you when to it needs to be wound. Other functions include a tourbillon (that doubles as the subsidiary seconds hand) as well as hour and minute hands in blued steel. The movement is also a COSC certified Chronometer. 

The Esprit de Fleurier comes in a 40.5mm wide case in 18k white gold. Chopard cleverly made this a "two-tone" watch without making it obvious. Very nice for lovers of traditional watches with decorative effects. Just 15 pieces will be made by Chopard, and they won't be cheap. 

Estate of the Day

Canoe Hill in Millbrook, New York is a stately country house on 64 acres. The main home is an original early farmhouse that was handsomely renovated and expanded in 2005. The home has large rooms designed for modern residents. The kitchen is spacious with fireplace seating and a sunny dining area. There is also an outside rotunda with a fireplace that can be accessed from the living room.The two-story great room has a large floor-to-ceiling stone fireplace. The six-bedroom home has a total of eight fireplaces. The property includes a guest house with two bedrooms, a swimming pool and tennis court lit for night play. This home is listed at $7.6 million.

Today's Jewelry

New by Swiss DeWitt is a watch called the Twenty-8-Eight Regulator A.S.W. The fascinating watch contains a very technically sophisticated movement, as well as a design and high-end appeal that relates directly to the brand's love of 1920s era American art deco aesthetics. The watch has a dial with an image meant to evoke New York City area art deco buildings. Not sure if there is a specific building in mind, but you get the point. This is not the first watch with means to evoke art deco building, but the concept is so rich, I invite as many interpretations that brands can bear to design.

There are a lot of interesting little details in the watch that can be hard to see. For example, much of the dial is a "smoked" sapphire crystal that allows you to see the movement underneath it, but still provides the presence of a dial. The dial is composed of a building-like motif with a large opening for the tourbillon surrounded but a sunray style design. Functions for the watch include the time as well as a power reserve indicator. 

Estate of the Day

It's the time of year when we hear Bing Crosby crooning "White Christmas" You could celebrate your own Christmas inside Bing Crosby's estate in Rancho Mirage, California. 

The home is on more than an acre of land in the Thunderbird Heights community. The five-bedroom home combines an Asian theme with a dose of with Hollywood memorabilia. Legend has it that President John Kennedy met with Marilyn Monroe here back in 1962 and one two-bedroom suite in the house is named the Kennedy Suite and decorated with images of the young president and Marilyn Monroe. The Kennedy suite has a full-sized living area and a private entrance. The master suite has a fireplace and a spa. Much of the home opens to an outdoor swimming pool and spa with fireplaces and a custom-designed putting green. This estate is on the market for $3.495 million dollars. The home is also available as a vacation rental. More images are available on the estate's photo website.

Today's Jewelry

etails on these watches are really skimpy. What I do know is that English watch brand Arnold & Sonwill release 25 sets of these limited edition "Hornet History Collection James Cook" watches. Each set includes three watches - each with a different dial that include a trio of scenes from Cooks famous voyages. 

The dials are apparently not 100% hand-painted, but rather "hand-touch up painting." Really not sure what that means, but the miniature painting style dials fit the personality of the timepieces quite well - with their 18k pink gold case and retro navigational instrument theme. The first dial depicts "the landing at Botany Bay in Australia." Next you have "the discovery of Antarctica," and finally the gruesome sounding "Death in Hawaii" (where James Cook died in a riot). The voyages of James Cook are well recalled by historians today. For people with too much money and times on their hands. They can pick up one of these sets and retrace Mr. Cook's steps... (paddle rows?). 

The watches themselves has exclusive automatic movements and a series of functions. In addition to the time, the dials have a GMT hand (shaped like the sun), a big date indicator, and a rotating bezel that is used for a third time zone indicator. The four crowns on the case seem a bit overkill, so I am not sure what is going on there. Overall the pieces are neat, and the set is great for the well-off English explorer lover/collector/amateur. Each of the 25 sets of three watches will retail for 156,000 Swiss Francs. 

Today's Jewelry

German-made UTS watches are among the best for no-nonsense active types. With a distinct cult following, UTS watches have minimalist branding and intensely functional designs. As the refer to them, "the watches are designed by an engineer, and you'll feel it every day." The cases are made in-house by UTS, and the durability of these watches is said to be outstanding. One of the only drawbacks is that the difference between the various UTS watch models is often slight. 

This new UTS Adventure GMT watch is a follow up on the Adventure Automatic. The cushion shaped case is in a very high-grade steel and is 46mm wide. Water resistant to 500 meters, the watch contains a newer Swiss ETA Valgranges A07.171 automatic GMT movement. There is lots of bright SuperLumiNova on the dial, and the legibility is top-notch. I like how the red colored GMT hand is in the center of the dial with a complete 24 hour scale. The watch comes on various straps or UTS's famous metal bracelet. Price is $4,000 and the Adventure GMT watch is limited to 200 pieces only.

Estate of the Day

The outside of this Staten Island, N.Y., English Tudor was used to portray Don Corleone's residence in the classic 1972 film The Godfather. The home is in Staten Island's Todt Hill / Emerson Hill section, known for its large, pretty homes and good-sized lots. This home is surrounded by park-like grounds and inside boasts 12 rooms that comprise 8 bedrooms, 3 full baths, 1 half-bath, 1 three-quarter-bath, 2 fireplaces, and an English pub basement that includes a rec room and a storage room. There's also a living room, formal dining room, den, butler's pantry, and a laundry room with a chute from all three above-ground floors. Need more space? There's also a 4-car garage. For outdoor living, there's an in-ground pool. 

This home has some personal meaning for me. I grew up right near it, and the band that played in the opening scene at daughter Connie's wedding played at my parents' wedding. My parents also like to tell the story about how they and some neighbors hung out near the home during the filming one day and were given some cookies, albeit stale, from the wedding scene. 

Judging from the photos, the owners didn't bother to hire a professional stager, or even clean up much. The home appears to have good bones but needs needs refreshing and updating. It's listed for $2.9 million with Connie Profaci Realty. Check the link on her site for more photos.

We must thank sharp-eyed reader Caroline R. for telling us about this iconic home for being for sale. She sums it up well: "Considering the house's history it would make an exciting 'Estate of the Day' for the film buff, the gangster aficionado, or a real-life wannabe Don Corleone."

Estate of the Day

I would have guessed that the Washington D.C. home belonging to the late Senator Ted Kennedy and his wife Victoria would have sold quickly but it has been on the market since last January with no sale in sight. Now the home's price has been reduced to $6.995 million (when it was first on the market the price wasn't listed but it was expected to be in the $8 million range). The six-bedroom home was purchased in 1998 for $2.775 million and is located in the genteel Kalorama neighborhood. It has a classic facade with a rather White-House-like entrance complete with a columned portico and a hanging lamp over the front door.

The elegant home has a stately feel. The living room has cream colored decor and paintings reflecting the Kennedy love of the ocean. A long sun room has fan windows and a few Kennedy pictures on a table but the room that appeals most is Kennedy's narrow wood-paneled library which features a fireplace. The home includes an eat-in kitchen and a home gym set up with an Endless Pool. Mrs. Kennedy isn't leaving Washington, she has purchased a smaller three bedroom in the area for $1.65 million.