Smartbuy issue dated June 15, 2011

SmartbuyWednesday, June 15, 2011

G A D G E T S | A U T O | L U X U R Y www.blsmartbuy.com

Business Line

UIs of the futureBend ‘em, wear ‘em, imagine ‘em! Page 4

Team SmartbuyEditorial

Anushya [email protected]

Ketaki [email protected]

Mahananda [email protected]

[email protected]

Design

Bryan [email protected]

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2 June 15, 2011Smartbuy

WHAT’S HOT this week

This 3D gaming laptop from ASUS is associated with X-Men: First Class. It is powered by the latestIntel Core i7 processor and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560M graphics for great 3D performance. It features16GB DDR3 RAM and 1.5TB storage with two hard drives. Connectivity options include a Blu-ray drive,

USB 3.0 port, HDMI 1.4-out and digital audio-out. A full 3D screen makes it a gamer’s delight. Rs 1,24,990

Mutant gaming ASUS G74S 3D

This gaming keyboard is part of a Star Wars: OldRepublic product line being launched by Razer. Itfeatures a full-colour multi-touch LCD panel, and

incorporates ten adaptive tactile keys. Theinterchangeable gold backlit faction symbols let

you show your allegiance to the Galactic Republicor the Sith Empire. And if you’re a die hard fan,you can even convert the entire keyboard from

alphanumeric to Aurebesh.$199.99

May the Force be with you

Razer Star Wars: TheOld Republic Gaming

KeyboardWith a 1.2 GHz dual-core processor underthe hood, the Samsung GALAXY S II is one ofthe fastest smartphones you can flaunt. Withprobably the slimmest form factor among itsrivals and the unmatched Super AMOLEDPlus screen, the latest from Samsung,provides fast web browsing and multi-taskingcomparable to a PC-like environment alongwith supreme graphics quality and instantlyresponsive 3D graphics on the large screen.The Samsung GALAXY S II has beenequipped with an 8-meg, high-profile cameraand camcorder with 1080p Full HD recordingand playback.Rs 32,890

The world in yourhands

SamsungGALAXY S II

The cover picture is for representativepurposes only. The image copyright

belongs to Walt Disney Pictures.

The Acer Iconia Tab A500 reviewed in Smartbuylast week was sourced from online electronics

shopping website www.letsbuy.com.


Dell has introduced the latest in the XPSseries, the 15z that offers Intel Core i5 andCore i7 processors with a 15.6-inch FullHD (1080p) display for greatentertainment and web-browsingexperiences. The laptop sports a backlitkeyboard and gives you over seven hoursof battery life – all housed in a luxurious,eye-catching and elegantly crafted case,less than an inch thick.Rs 69,900 onwards

More than inspired!

Dell XPS 15z

With its new range of smart tellys rangingfrom 42 inch to 55 inch, LG is set to bring thethird dimension right into your living room.Loaded with the Film Patterned Retarder(FPR) technology, these TVs give clear 3Dpictures with less crosstalk, dizziness and eyefatigue. These tellys have earned the ‘FlickerFree’ certification making them the world’sfirst 3D TVs to receive the tag. Improving thepicture quality is LG’s 3D Light Boost, a thinfilm that ensures 3D images are shown attheir full brightness. Rs 94,990 onwards

The star at home

LG Cinema 3D TV

This pair of USB-powered stereospeakers is the perfect accessory foryour laptop. It connects to anysource that uses a 3.5mm headphonejack, so you can plug in your MP3player and enjoy music instantly. Itscompact size allows it to fit into yourhandbag when travelling.Eliminating a power cord removesthe hassle of a cluttered desktop.Rs 625

On the go sound

Logitech Z110

Touch thefuture. Or not!


FUTURE trends

Mahananda Bohidar

Today, almost all personal tech gadgets work ontouch-based input. Like every innovation intechnology that seems to be a rage at present, thistoo will probably become redundant in a couple

of years. But does that mean we regress to the old-worldphysical keys and keyboard interface? Far from it!

Look ma, no handsBased on a technology called Mimesign (developed byElliptic Labs), your next trick to manipulate your brandnew touch screen tablet, handset or even your Smart TVcould be to make simple gestures in thin air. It’ll bepossible to operate devices by touchless gestures. Earlierthis year, an iPad dock unveiled by Elliptic Labs at CES2011 displayed a touchless sensor based on ultrasonictechnology that lets you change tracks with just a swipe inthe air.

The Microsoft Kinect has already brought motion-sens-ing devices to our homes but what might make the experi-ence much more immersive is something along the lines ofSixthSense, a natural, gestural user interface that lets youintegrate and manipulate information within the physicalspace around you.

The $350-prototype is a bundle of a pocket projector, amirror and a camera. These are integrated in a pendant-like device with the projector and camera hooked up toyour mobile phone. Any application on your mobile devicecan be projected on any surface around you. You can playaround with the interface as the camera tracks your ges-tures and physical objects using computer-vision basedtechniques.

Holographic delightThose of you who’ve seen the Robin Williams-starrerFlubber might remember the curvaceous holographic ava-tar that his pet robot ‘Weebo’ takes one fine night! Well,you might not have a virtual femme fatale walking aboutyour room but in a couple of years you might certainly owndevices that project holographic displays to serve thefunction of a mobile phone or even a laptop! All you mightneed is a device capable of projecting a mobile application- Phone dialer, Skype, messaging client, Sudoku…you getthe drift – on any surface available. An Israeli visual

Emot

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POC

head

set

Sony

Xperia

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Insisting that using a mouse, a screen and a keyboard tointeract with a computer system seems rather unneces-sary, Underkoffler has done away with these peripheralsand build an interface that can be “transferred” from onesurface to another. For example, if you are browsingthrough your summer vacation pics on a display, you canpass it on to a second one with a swipe of your hand whenyou are done with it. Notwithstanding the increasedchances of carpal tunnel syndrome, this interface can letyou interact with multiple screens and more than oneperson within the workspace.

Get naughty with see-throughsNo, we aren’t talking about Liz Hurley’s saree drapes. Theglass on your bathroom flashing your POA for the day, thebottom of the car’s windshield with directions or trafficupdates is the kind of freedom that transparent displaysmight provide in the future.

We’ve already seen sneak previews of what’s comingwith devices like Sony Ericsson Xperia Pureness

with its transparent monochromatic screen andSamsung IceTouch PMP with its transparent

AMOLED screen. But instead of a miniature,semi-transparent screen Samsung has giv-en us a peek of its new 22-inch transparentAMOLED displays. These could find a fitin advertising, heads-up displays for auto-mobiles, aircrafts and probably even deep-sea divers or hardcore gamers coupledwith a 3D display. And this is just thebeginning of the revolution; all of usmight be cooler versions of the Termi-nator or Robocop walking down thestreet about 10 years from now.

communications designer, Ivan Tihienko, had come upwith a concept holographic UI called Ringo that couldeven let you play Air Hockey by projecting it on yourbedroom floor or on the streets. This kind of user interfaceopens up tons of new ways to interact with your digitaldevices. If you’re looking for directions, your mobile de-vice could just project it around you on to the road andguide you till your destination, you could send messagesSWPYE-ing across your bedroom wall or even play AngryBirds on Page 2 of your science textbook without yourfolks ever finding out!

The real transformerImagine tapping a thin layer of plastic by your bedside tohit snooze on your alarm-clock, pull out and stretch thesame to read the morning news and retract it to make a callto your boss telling him you’ll be late for work just becauseyou wanted to finish that episode of South Park, right onthe same display!

All this and more could be possible with OLED/AMOLED displays that can be more flexible than NataliePortman in Black Swan! Less than a month ago, the Flex-ible Display Center at Arizona State University and Uni-versal Display Corporation released a full-colour, flexibleAMOLED display prototype for use in thin, lightweight,bendable and unbreakable devices capable of displayingfull-colour, full-motion video. Funded by the US Army,the research resulted in 3.8-inch diagonal QVGAdisplays that could potentially be used in ultra-light portable devices. Sony had been thefirst one to showcase a flexible OLEDultra-thin display three years ago, butis yet to launch a commercially viableproduct. With lots of research andattention going the flexible displayway we might not have to wait fortoo long till we get our hands on one.

Time for mind gamesThink. That’s all you might have todo to execute any task you want toon a system in the future. Sup-pose you want Mario to jump on


the Koopa Troopas coming his way, all you have to do isthink of it and your user interface will make it happen onscreen. Emotiv Systems, a company that has been workingon brain-computer interfaces has a designed a headset,Emotiv EPOC, that lets you do exactly this. A bunch ofenthusiastic hackers hooked up an Emotiv EPOC headsetalong with a software hack and tried it with the PC versionof Angry Birds and Voila! The birds definitely do hurlthemselves at the pigs when all the player did was just sitand will it to happen! Designed with 14 electrodes, theEPOC can recognise four mental states - excitement, bore-dom, meditation and frustration – as well as rotations,movement and facial expressions like laughing, smilingetc. Now, this is just being marketed as the $299 gamingheadset, but imagine the possibilities of a neurotechnol-ogy-based interface! All computer peripherals might be-come redundant when you can type on-screen as you thinkof the letters, click when you wink and start Skype-ingwith your best friend with just a smile!

Mirror on the wallRemember Tom Cruise magically leafing through pho-tographs and videos on an uber-cool transparent glass wallwith his bare hands? Well, it won’t bejust a case of spe-

cial

effects on the silverscreen anymore. One of the science

advisers who was invited to work on the in-terface shown in Steven Spielberg’s Minority Re-port, John Underkoffler, has designed the ‘SpatialOperating Environment’. The interface that works likethe real-life version of the film’s amazingly impressive,“tai chi-meets-cyberspace computer interface” couldpossibly be one of the most exciting interfaces that couldbe available in the future.

Microsoft Corp.’s touch sensitive Surface: Bloomberg

Concept cellphoneby Mercator

SixthSense byPranav Mistry

[email protected]

BASIC OPTIONBelkin Retractable Comfort Mouse

This light, comfortable, budget mousedoes feel a little cheap in certain respects,with a loose and shaky scroll wheel that’snowhere near as sturdy as the others. Itperforms fine, but doesn’t fill us with confi-dence about its longevity. The Belkin’s re-tractable cable can be lengthened orshortened to suit your working area, andfeels fairly durable. The Comfort Mouseisn’t going to revolutionise how you work.However for a pittance, you can’t really askfor much more, plus the fact that it’s USBrather than Bluetooth means no subse-quent battery costs.Love: Low price, retractable USB cableHate: Dodgy scroll wheel, not wirelessRs 699

PERSONALISED PERFORMANCELogitech Performance Mouse M950

An exceedingly customisable device,this mighty mouse is built like a tank andshould take years of hammering. The scrollwheel is fantastic. You can press a buttonto let it run on after you let go or go notchby notch and it’s the comfiest on test, with aseparate thumb space. You can charge itfrom both the mains or your computer viaUSB. Mac owners have to install Logitech’ssoftware to make this work, and it’s notcheap. But it is the best of a strong bunchon offer here. Love: Great build quality, customisableHate: Slightly pricey, extra softwarerequired for Mac usersRs 6,995

Mice even To

This material is translated or reproduced from T3 magazine and is the copyright of or licensed to Fu

You can have the mostpowerful PC in the

world, but without theright controller it

would be like having aBentley with a brokensteering wheel. We’veinvestigated ‘mice’ forevery business need,but which ones are

worth a place on yourdesk - and which

should you lay someManchego on a trap

for and wait patientlyround the corner?

LAPTOP peripherals

PROFESSIONALLY ADAPTIBLEKensington SlimBlade

This portable wireless mouse comeswith a tiny receiver that plugs into yourlaptop. Its scroll wheel is sturdy, and if youpress it left or right you can scroll sidewaysas well as up and down. It’s so responsiveyou can actually use it on your trouser legas opposed to a desktop or train table – it’sideal for presentations, as a result. You’llneed some strength to move the stubbornon/off switch on the back, and it takes twoAAs – lasting six months – rather thanhaving a rechargeable cell. Overall per-formance is very solid for the price,however.Love: Solid and versatile scroll wheel,very responsiveHate: Power button isn’t user friendlyRs 2,799

LOOKS AREN’T EVERYTHINGMicrosoft Arc Touch

This unusually attractive mouse iscurved for use, but you can also snap it flatto power down, so it fits better in your bag.It comes with a tiny receiver too, and lastsfor six months on a pair of AA batteries,according to Microsoft, but it’s otherwiseslightly disappointing. The buttons aretough to depress, making clicking more ofan effort than it should be, and the scrollpad between them is hard to find with yourfingers. With speed dependent on howhard you push, making it work seems basedmore on luck than skill.Love: Folds flat, long battery lifeHate: Stiff buttons, uncomfortable to useRs 3,600

TRAVELLER’S CHOICESwiftpoint Mouse

You hold this tiny wireless mouse like apen. With the wheel on the side you useyour middle finger to scroll; right click isbelow the left button and you can also holdthe left button and scroll to zoom in, whichis very handy. Once you get used to it, thecompact size is great if you’re travelling;the palm rest of your laptop is a big enoughflat surface to use it. It has a rechargeablebattery built in and lasts three weeks be-tween charges. It also cleverly docks mag-netically on a tiny USB receiver to powerup.Love: Absolutely tiny, great zoomingfunctionHate: Unusual form takes a little gettingused toRs 3,600

<<< Also consider

Apple Magic trackpadA MacBook-style trackpad that con-

nects via Bluetooth. Set it to right clickwith a two-fingered press or a prod of thebottom right corner. Brush three fingersacross to navigate web pages, pinch tozoom and rotate pics with a twist. It’s in-tuitive, but a handy addition rather than areplacement for your full-time mouse.Rs 4,000

m would love!

uture Publishing Limited, a Future plc group company, UK 2011. Used under license. All rights reserved


AUTO focus

S. Muralidhar

Creating new segments within the category ofluxury automobiles has been a Mercedes-Benztradition of sorts. But, when the R-Class was firstintroduced, there was a lot of speculation about

whether this was going to capture a new niche. A luxury family tourer? Will there be takers for a cross-

over-like, individual buyer oriented seven-seater? Andisn’t the buyer going to have to be older for a family vanthat can best be the second luxury car in the family?

These are questions I sought answers for when I tookthe R-Class for a long-term test drive. Here are my experi-ences with the new generation R350 4MATIC.

DesignExterior design is clearly not the best feature to rememberabout the new R-Class. Looking like an over-grown, yetmuscular version of what is intrinsically an estate or week-end Merc, the seven-seater R-class’ size will be more oftenthan not the reason why heads will turn rather than anyexclusivity in its design.

The Mercedes-Benz character is all together easy to seein its design language, though, there is no kink or crevicethat can be called an R-Class signature to be remembered

by. Aside of its chunky, heavy front that offers it somedistinctiveness, the R-Class’ design is a combination ofstrong, simple strokes like the heavily creased belt-lineand the crossover-like gradually sloping-to-the-rear roof-line.

The rear of the R-Class is the tighter, more cohesive partof the vehicle, which can best be described as a luxuryfamily van.

Gathered together at the rear, the trademark Mercedes-Benz design elements are all there. The classic tail-lampdesign, large rectangular twin exhausts peeping out of theoversized rear bumper, and the LED/ reflector strips onthe bumper are all classic SUV traits.

The only thumbs-down feature at the rear is the rathercompact rear glass on the hatch door. Combined with a

thick C-pillar and the absence of a rear camera, it makesreversing the R-Class a bit of a pain in the neck (literally)even though you get some assistance from the proximitysensors that start shrieking as you get uncomfortably closeto any object.

Mercedes calls this system PARKTRONIC and it can geta bit annoying at times while driving in peak hour traffic.

Talking of SUV traits, it is pretty clear where the R-Class’ size and features come from since it is the largersibling of the M-Class and the GL-Class. Built on the W251chassis, the R-Class is one unique ultra-luxury behemothfrom the Mercedes stable.

The wheelbase of the (long wheelbase version) R-Classis more than ten feet…imagine a Nano sitting between thetwo wheels of the R with a few inches to spare!

The raised stance, the headlamp and bonnet grille de-sign, the door mirrors, the tall seating position and thelarge steering wheel are all features that again make yourefer back to the Merc SUVs.

The standard 18-inch alloys shod with broad 255/55tyres fill out the wheel arches nicely and further theR-Class’ impression of size and strength. Despite the R’sbulk and its nearly two and half tonne kerb weight, its Cdvalue (co-efficient of drag – measure of aerodynamism) is

Mercedes Class, family size

Photos: N. Sridharan


an impressive 0.32 – as much as the Ferrari California!

InteriorGrab the handles, pull open the heavy doors and step intothe R-Class and your immediate reaction is likely to be“Wow!”. The interior of the R 350 4MATIC that I testdrove is as precise and as pleasing as most Mercedesvehicles can get. Giving me the impression of being evenmore plush and well-matched than the Merc SUVs, theR-Class’ cabin is no compromise in both space and luxury.

It is a bit of a haul-up to get into the driver seat (verySUV-style), and then you are surrounded by plush blackstitched leather seats and trim, wood veneer inserts on thedash and doors, a Harman Kardon Logic 7 surround soundsystem, a rear seat (second row) entertainment systemthat includes two 8-inch LCD screens, a sliding panoramicsunroof and three-zone automatic climate control.

The spaciousness of the R-Class cabin is evident inevery one of the three rows of seats. The middle or secondrow gets the potential for the most legroom, almost asmuch as in an S-Class.

The third row (two seats) will feel more cramped, butatleast they get individual air-con vents located on the sidepanels. Sitting on the driver’s seat the third row looks likeit is so far back that your conversations might take a whileto reach occupants there.

But at least you won’t need to raise your voice since thecabin is as quiet as any other car that bears the three-pointed star.

Engine and performanceOne other reason for the rather quiet interior of the R-Class is probably also the choice of engine/ powertrain.Featuring the 3.5-litre V6 petrol engine that is very refinedand adequately powerful, the R350 4MATIC also featuresthe famous Mercedes 7G TRONIC automatic transmis-sion.

The 3,498cc, V6 engine generates a peak power outputof 272 bhp at 6,000 rpm and a peak torque of 350 Nmbetween 2,400 to 5,000 rpm.

Stepping on the gas in the R-Class pumps up the engine,but the hulking luxury van as a whole takes just a briefwhile to get into a fleet-footed mode.

The 7TRONIC transmission offers the choice betweenfully-auto mode and the steering mounted paddle-shiftersmanual mode. There is also a choice between Comfort andSport suspension settings.

The R350 4MATIC’s top speed is 230 kmph and the 0 to100 run comes up in a fairly respectable 8.4 seconds.

The V6 engine’s forte is refined performance and ex-treme levels of reliability. But, fuel efficiency is not one ofits specialties. During my long term test drive it consumedan average of 15.2 litres of petrol per 100 kms while in citydriving conditions and about 10.9 litres per 100 kms on thehighway.

The best part about the R-Class is of course, its ridequality. Soft and ‘soaky’ is the feeling you get about thesuspension, especially at the rear seats. The R350’s AIR-

MATIC suspension easily deadens potholes and speed-breakers alike giving you the impression of gliding overthese undulations on the road.

Put it in sports mode, take on the paddle shifters andstomp the throttle and the R immediately seems to crouchand get more road grip as it readies to get into nimblershoes.

The steering is delightfully precise and it gives thedriver the ability to point the R-Class to the right spot onthe road, though the steering wheel feels just a tad bit oversized to hold.

Cruise control and other similar bells and whistles thatare Mercedes trademarks are all there. So is the case withthe focus on safety – PRE-SAFE, airbags, ESP and daytimedriving lights are all there.

BottomlineThe R-Class is best suited for existing Mercedes car own-ers, who are looking to buy another family tourer stylevehicle to accommodate seven passengers in the samelevel of luxury and comfort that they are used to in thebrand’s sedans.

But, the R-Class will be severely hamstrung by theabsence of a diesel engine in its range. The only power-train on offer is the petrol and that makes it a thirsty beast.There is no official word on whether a diesel powertrainwill make it here any time soon.

[email protected]

Collage on Page 10


Interior shots: S. Muralidhar


MELANGE luxury redefined

Adding two more sealily extract productsto its White Plusrange, Clarins nowoffers a WhiteningRepairing NightCream and GentleBrighteningExfoliator. Availableat select lifestylestores.Rs 1,800 (exfoliator) andRs 2,900 (night cream)

Lilies tothe rescue

William Penn haslaunched the Defi

Grill ball point penfrom S.T. Dupont,

which drawsinspiration from

sports car design andis crafted in a

composite carbonfibre body with apalladium-plated

metal frame.Available at its stores.

Price on request

Make a note

Crafted in red leather and embossed lizard-skin motif,Montblanc wins some hearts with its Boheme Red wallet

with soft orange lambskin inners and brown jacquardlining. Available at its boutiques.

Price on request

Seeing red

The new range is out. Viavero givesthe men some classic and dapper looks

with its latest collection of Oxfordscrafted in Nappa leather. Check out its

stores across India for more.Rs 7,850

Manly tip-toe

Quirky prints and floral blastsmake Fossil’s new collection ofbags, belts and clutches acheerful accessory to add to yourwardrobe. Available across selectLifestyle and Shopper’s Stopstores.Rs 1,300 to Rs 6,750

Go Bohemian


Wrapped around our finger, kissing our wine, shining through the curio case or gracing theoffice desk- we all covet crystals. But the joy of possessing a heritage piece of your own is

unparalleled. Here are five of the best crystal brands you can ever lay your hands on. A glorious past, an eclectic range, a promising future and loyal fans, they have them all,

and much more, says ANUSHYA MAMTORA

THE GUIDING LIGHT: BACCARATThe Maharajah of Gwalior ordered a verylarge chandelier, weighing a ton, to deco-rate his new palace. The Czar Nicolas II’sSt. Petersburg Winter Palace shimmerswith a few too. Baccarat’s exquisite chan-deliers crafted in exclusive crystal have litup the most prestigious of palaces, royaland presidential residences, famous cathe-drals and mansions. The company that wasstarted way back in 1764 by the Bishop ofMetz is the oldest crystal brand that hasstood the test of wars and revolutions. It’snot just lighting products Baccarat is fa-mous for, its tableware and paper weightsare also world renowned. The best way torelive its history is to visit the small townby the same name in Paris and see yourcrystal hand-blown to life.

Design mainstay: French inspirations,Bohemian-Venetian techniques and inter-esting use of red, amethyst and green col-our blocks.What’s on sale: Lighting and furniture,decoration, tableware, figurinesLust list: Zenith Midnight Chandelier,After Nine clear, amethyst and olive greencrystal, Lucky Butterflies in olive greencrystal

THE SCENT OF GLASS: LALIQUE1885. The period when Art Nouveau was atits best. So were Rene Lalique’s creativejuices. A renowned jeweller, he took theart of the era to dizzy heights with hisspectacular jewellery. But his true callingas a master glassmaker of the Art Decomovement took the form of exotic crystal,

which soon became synonymous with hisbrand, Lalique. And apart from flora andfauna that are inspirations for many artists,it was the female form that became therecurring theme in most of his masterpiec-es. The most iconic of the lot is the Bac-chantes collection, which elegantlycaptures the sensual feminine form in theform of vases. However, what sets Laliqueapart is its exquisite perfume bottles. Ele-gant, painstakingly precise and a delight tohold. Design mainstay: Realist depictions, yetstylised at times, with nature and its beau-ties being the most prominent motifs What’s on sale: Tableware, lighting, deskaccessories, perfumes, figurines, jewelleryLust list: Tourbillon Vase Cap Ferrat blue,Amethyst Crystal Flacon perfume, Limited

Edition 1998 “Ondines” perfume

THE KING OF SCULPTURES: STEUBENGLASSIf you glance at the simplistic depiction ofthe ‘Arctic Fisherman’, the sheer lucidityof the crystal, the bent Eskimo, the prettyfish and the clear water beneath the iceswarms you with its charm. That’s themagic of Steuben Glass. Founded in 1903by Thomas.G. Hawkes and Frederick Car-der at Corning, New York, the brand be-came a pioneer in fine glass products of cut,engraved and free-blown design. To Steu-ben’s credit is the Aurene and Intarsia spe-ciality of glass that has become itstrademark. While the former has an iri-descent translucent finish, the latter is fas-cinating with its overlapping colour inlays,

LUXURY

Crystal chrysalisLalique

collectibles

and can be seen acrossits collections.Design mainstay: Col-laborating with con-temporary artists andchurning out master-pieces What’s on sale: Barware,tableware, decoratives,figurines, sculptures,desk accessories,hand coolersLust list: The ArcticFisherman, AfricanTwilight and LightHouse sculptures,

the eye-catching decanter of the Tortoisecollection and the pretty frog on the lilypad.

QUALITY IS STYLE: WATERFORDRolls-Royce. Bentley. Bose. Harley-David-son. Waterford Crystal. In a research sur-vey report published a decade ago, thecrystal major rubbed shoulders with anelite clique, for brands famous for theirunmatched quality. So much is the expec-tation of excellence from a champagneflute! Waterford was the brainwave of twobrothers, William and George Penrose,who set up the company in 1783 in theheart of the Irish harbour town, Water-

ford. Despite economic turbulence and acentury-long hiatus, the brand re-

vived in 1947, dipped into its fa-mous heritage and once again

made ten-course meals, luxu-rious.

Design mainstay: The tradi-tional cutting pattern of

Waterford is evergreenand used across their

products

What’s on sale: Dinnerware, drinkware,home décor, collectibles, lighting, pensLust list: Museum Serving Plate withDome Cover, Martini glass sets, Bal-let Ribbon Essence champagne flute

THE FASHION ICON: SWAROVSKIThe iconic swan logo is perhaps themost recognisable among crystal col-lectors and fashionistas alike. But notmany know of the interesting historybehind the famous brand.

It started with the invention of arevolutionary crystal cutting machineby Daniel Swarovski in 1892, followedby sew-on crystal studded ribbons, andprecision optical instruments, before mak-ing a grand entry into decorative crystals.

The best part about the brand is that youdon’t need to spend a fortune to start yourown little collection. Whether in theform of a little cat or a quirky pendant,the brand is for all to experience.Design mainstay: Quirky touches, funplay of colours, simple designs. Itsanimal figurines are a hitWhat’s on sale: Jewellery, fashionaccessories, watches, home ac-cessories, figurines, fragrancesLust list: Duck J figurine in blueviolet crystal, Simba, the opti-mistic lion cub

[email protected]

Swarovski

Steu-ben Glass

Steuben Glass

Lalique

TASTER’S choice

Richard Vines

Two bottles of the world’s oldest Champagne,which spent about 170 years at the bottom of theocean, sold for €54,000 ($78,400) at an auctionin Finland today.

The second lot, containing vintage Veuve, fetched€30,000, which the auction house - New York-based winespecialist Acker Merrall & Condit - said was the most paidfor a bottle.

“The important thing for this event is that this was aworld record for an auction,” Richard Juhlin, an authorityon Champagne, said in an interview after the event. “I’m alittle surprised the bidding didn’t go higher. If you hadspeculators bidding against each other, it could have sky-rocketed.”

Collectors have been paying higher prices for Cham-pagne, especially for prized vintages, said Juhlin, who hadforecast that the bottles might fetch €100,000, 10 times theminimum price of €10,000. Bidders applauded at theVeuve price, given by the same Singapore-based Internetbidder who minutes before gave €24,000 for a bottle ofJuglar.

The bottles were sold in Mariehamn, capital of Aaland,a Finnish-controlled archipelago of 6,500 islands in theBaltic Sea, where divers discovered the precious cargo in apreviously unknown shipwreck.

Madame ClicquotStephane Baschiera, president of Veuve Clicquot, said in astatement before the sale, “We have worked closely withthe government of Aaland since the discovery of the ship-wreck to help salvage and protect the precious wines,which we know now were tasted by Madame Clicquotherself.”

About 145 bottles were found intact, including Veuve

Clicquot, Heidsieck - today made by Vranken-PommeryMonopole - and Juglar, which became part of Jacquesson.Veuve also offered 15 rare bottles from its own cellars andwas a partner in the sale.

Christmas Cake

Two bottles were cracked open in November and I got totaste the Juglar, which was remarkably fresh. The fizz hadalmost gone and it was too sweet for today’s palate, yet itretained a distinctive smell of orange and raisins, like aChristmas cake. It might still be served as a dessert wine.The Veuve was lighter and more floral, with layers ofcomplexity.

The original destination of the Champagne isn’t known.Anders Naasman, one of the divers, said it may have beenheaded for the Tsar’s court in St. Petersburg. It was wellpreserved because it lay horizontally, under pressure, at alow temperature in the dark, 50 meters below the surface.

Porcelain PlatesWhile the exact age isn’t yet known, marine archaeologistsestimate the twin-masted schooner on which the bottleswere found is from the second quarter of the 19th century.Plates on board were manufactured by the Rorstrandporcelain factory between 1780 and 1830.

When one of the Champagne bottles was brought to thesurface, the pressure change caused the cork to pop. Onediver took a swig from the bottle expecting it to taste ofseawater and realised that it was good. The team dranksome from plastic beakers, resealed it and took it to a localsommelier, Ella Grussner Cromwell-Morgan, to taste thenext day. And what a discovery it has been!

(The author is the chief food critic for Muse, the arts and leisuresection of Bloomberg News. Opinions expressed are his own.)

Ocean bed toauction table

Photos: Bloomberg


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Documents

Smartbuy issue dated June 15, 2011