Luxury

When I hear the phrase 'light-up jewelry,' the image that typically comes to mind is one of flashing plastic rings that were given away as favors at 10th-birthday parties back in the day. (Or of ravers.) However, there seems to be a luxe version of just about everything these days (case in point: Dance Dance Revolution) and as I learned from Yanko Design, luminescent jewelry is no exception.

The "Aurora" accessories designed by Kyeok Kim are intended, according to the designer, to "reinterpret the meaning of ornamentation on the body by projecting various patterns of light on … Read more

I suppose it's unofficially Modernist Monday here at Crave. Yes, I know that's not quite as thrilling as Party Friday, but you have to admit it's still kind of cool to learn about household items that resemble abstract art. With the surrealist power strip earlier this morning and now this wacky air filter, you certainly could say that we're on a bizarre-appliance kick.

A few weeks ago we looked at an air filter that resembles an iPod wrapped in wallpaper (in a good way), and now here's another one to add to the mix of … Read more

Listen up, bargain-hunting audiophiles: There's been a major price reduction in a high-quality turntable from Japan's ELP. Its flagship product, the "Laser Turntable," is being marked down by more than 30 percent. How much is that, you say? Details, details. OK, the bargain-basement price is a mere $9,900 or $14,000, depending on which model you choose.

Before you close your browser, you should know that this turntable not only offers superior sound quality for records in good condition, but it also plays vinyl discs that have been badly worn down or even warped. "… Read more

The whole all-in-one concept seen so often in computer and electronics equipment is hardly confined to high-tech hardware. In fact, here's an example where "convergence" has touched transportation as well--aquatically, no less.

The "Dockitjet" combines a jet ski and speedboat into a one seagoing vehicle that looks like something right out of a 007 movie. An infltable watercraft serves as a dock that its manufacturer says can fit practically any jet-powered ski in just minutes and comfortably seat up to six people, according to Gizmag.

This sounds fine, if you're the more adventurous type. … Read more

How quickly things change. Just a couple of months ago, the likes of Sharp and LG were vying for bragging rights over the largest TVs at the CES show in Las Vegas, with sets around 108 and 102 inches. Now, Italy's Tecnovision has dwarfed those models with what it's understandably billing as "the world's largest television" on display at CeBIT in Germany, a 205-inch HDTV--practically big enough, Tech Digest says, to fill an entire wall. There's no information on specs or pricing, but we suspect that its name alone, "Luxio," is … Read more

An anonymous zillionaire, apparently from the Middle East (as deduced by photos of in-flight map monitors that show Arabic text and Dubai as an origin point), has tricked out his very own Airbus A380, and it's pretty darn awesome. Nicknamed the Flying Palace, it's equipped with a boardroom, a luxurious cocktail bar, and plenty of space for chilling out.

In fact, if it weren't for the windows, you wouldn't even think it were an airplane.

I'm going to see if we can get our own A380 for Crave. It'd contain, naturally, a luxury Dance Dance Revolution arcade, … Read more

Okay, I might like Dance Dance Revolution, but I'm not this hardcore about it by any means. Nevertheless, apparently some people are. JustDDR.com is selling a souped-up DDR deck called the "Metal Pad DDR Platinum Pro." The foot pads on this luxe dance machine are made of stainless steel, so that you can bring your home arcade a major notch above the norm. The pricing information is in Japanese, so I'm not positive how much it costs, but I'm sure it ain't cheap.

Now that's heavy metal.

(Via Red Ferret)

Imagine if you had one of these in your yard. It's a floating fountain that you can place in your decorative pond of choice (provided it has at least a foot of water in it) and it'll create an array of water that's 10 feet in diameter. Plus, it's illuminated by 42 LEDs that make it an awfully pretty sight. There's even a sensor that will make sure that the lights are only on when it's dark out. Sure, it costs $850, but that's a small price to pay for such coolness. (Right?)… Read more

It's hard to imagine a cell phone these days made without any plastic, but that's what a new luxury phone maker promises to do. A European brand called Belleperre says it will craft handsets from such expensive materials as gold, sapphire, leather, hardwood and steel--"zero percent plastic"--with a broad choice of colors and styles including "classic calfskin, real reptiles, fashion prints or metallic leather," according to Gizmag.

Although Bellperre claims to use the largest piece of scratch-resistant sapphire crystal built into any mobile phone, its handsets supposedly are no heavier than those … Read more