A practical, opinionated guide to buying an engagement ring at the high end — covering the 4Cs, diamond shapes, colored stones, Graff to Jessica McCormack, bespoke commissions, and what actually holds value.
The Leica M11 costs $9,000 for the body alone. A Sony A7R V outperforms it on every spec for half the price. The honest case for and against Leica in 2026, plus why the Fujifilm X100VI is the real threat.
Edward Green, John Lobb, Gaziano & Girling, Berluti: what hand-welted construction means for longevity, the bespoke fitting process, and where ready-to-wear at $1,800 genuinely competes with bespoke at $5,000.
From La Marzocco Linea Mini to Decent DE1 to Breville Bambino — what actually affects the espresso in your cup, where the diminishing returns hit hardest, and when a $500 machine beats a $5,000 one.
Hastens, Vispring, and Savoir make extraordinary mattresses. But a $30K bed in a warm, light-polluted room loses to an $8K mattress with proper temperature control and blackout. Here is where the money actually matters.
Rimowa dents. Globe-Trotter chips. Louis Vuitton zippers fail. A real comparison of premium luggage brands on durability, warranty honesty, and what airline handling actually does to a $3,000 bag.
Rolex allocation at authorized dealers isn't a queue — it's a relationship. Here's the insider playbook for getting the call without spending a fortune first.
A strategic guide to building the Hermès purchase history needed to get offered a Birkin or Kelly. What to buy, what to skip, realistic spend ratios, and whether the math actually works.