A plateful of exotica
Foods that were foreign to the Indian menu are now becoming the pathway to good health and high living
Mukesh Khosla

Some years ago it began as a fad but is now showing the signs of becoming a full-blown craze. The market for whole grain foods, exotic fruits and vegetables, nutritious seeds, herbs and oils is growing exponentially.

Fruits and vegetables like quinoas, asparagus, avocados, zucchinis, sundried tomatoes, rocket leaves, dragon fruit, Swiss chard, passion fruit, blueberries and many such exotic items, unheard of some years ago, are now becoming the pathway to high living and good health.

Then there are whole grains like Arborio rice and durum wheat; seafood like pink salmon, light tuna and nuts like pecans, cedar and Brazilian nuts as also fungi and herbs. The sanguine Buddhist vegetable stews, fiery and enticing Thai salads, Chinese mushrooms made with herbs and heady arugula pesto and seared scallops dunked in tomato compote.

It is perhaps the best time to say goodbye to artery-choking dishes and hello to a genre of eating that sits lightly on the stomach and the conscience.

Star treatment

The ordinary salad has given way to unusual stuff like mangosteen

An increasing number of posh diners are introducing their clients to foods that have never earlier been on the Indian menu. These are touted as being low in calories and high on health. No longer are chefs passing over a ratatouille or a green salad as a side dish. These are now being renamed and dressed up in fineries and given the star treatment at all top eating houses. The ordinary leafy green salad has given way to unusual stuff like adzuki beans, Belgian endives, arugulas, anise, lettuce romaine, snowpeas, bok choy, mangosteen and rambutan. Stir frying has now been enshrined in the hall of culinary fame for being the best way to cook vegetables and lauded by chefs from Delhi to Dublin and from Hyderabad to Hong Kong.

Fiery and enticing

Standard desserts like cakes and pies have been replaced by strawberry cheesecakes and mousse choux pastries

Curries have yielded to dishes like chargrilled mushrooms with a mélange of vegetable pearls. Instead of serving standard desserts like cakes, tarts and creamy pies now what you get are strawberry mascarpone cheesecakes, gateau au noix and mousse choux pastries.

Leading hotels and restaurants are inviting overseas chefs to introduce Indians to superfoods that feature on the menu of many upmarket restaurants in the West. These are rustling up recipes which are said to work miracles for the human body.

Oyster and caviar remain a gourmet’s choice

Recently, Imperial, one of Delhi’s classiest hotels, invited celebrated American chef John William Haueter to familiarise the Indian palette with some cutting-edge snacks that not just spell health but also class and high taste. On offer were exotica like oyster and caviar, sundried tomato in artichoke terrine and foie gras tart with apricot chutney.

Hotel ITC Maurya, too, brought to Delhi the celebrated ‘Singapore Takeout’, a travelling pop-up kitchen where Chef Benjamin Seck served up a mouth-watering selection of Singapore-inspired dishes to Delhi’s culinary aficionados. Two of the best-selling dishes namely nyonya prawn curry with lacy pancakes and the vegan rendition of popiah goreng (deep fried spring rolls) filled with cabbage and carrots were a hit with the Delhiites.

Health benefits

Goji berries are known for their cancer-fighting and anti-aging qualities

Broccoli, for example contains Vitamins A, B6, C and K. Lean fish and flaxseeds contain Omega-3 fats which are vital for normal metabolism. Avocado contains healthy unsaturated fats that are highly beneficial for cholesterol-related heart diseases. Then there are special foods like edamame (baby soy beans in pods), wakame (Japanese seaweed) and goji berries that are known for their cancer-fighting and anti-aging qualities.

Even breads have undergone a change. Gone are the days when your daily bread bought from a neighbourhood mom-and-pop store and made from the harmful white refined flour (maida). These are rapidly being replaced with the superhealthy breads. On offer are crusty five-grain breads, an all-bran Swiss bread called zopf, Italian ciabatta, French baguette, gluten-free bread and German rye bread called pumperknickel.

Chefs, bakers and food stores are seized of the need to cater to the health-conscious customers. “The consciousness among clients is a signal strong enough for every top eatery to sit up and take note. Taste is important, but there is also a concern about not eating foods high in fat. So, there is a growing demand for health foods with culinary refinement and fulsome flavours,” says dietician Rekha Manchanda.

The proof that fine diners have started vying with each other in internationising Indian food is in the newer and more delectable health food creations. Indian food is being redressed like never before. Not just to give it a global appeal but to virtually convert it into a novella cuisine.

Changing tastes

At the turn of the century when a rooftop restaurant at a luxury hotel in Delhi began offering exotic foods there was a wave of excitement. A sampling of the menu went something like this….Lettuce & sprouts in mint chutney; mushrooms in hung curd dressing; royaul of mixed bell peppers; grilled summer vegetables with pesto sauce.

For the rich and the famous, foie gras is a perennial favourite

Starters? Not really. These were the main dishes offered in a dinner buffet. Well-heeled people thronged to the restaurant and delightfully washed these down with light French wine or pine sherbet flavoured with eucalyptus honey. The new millennium is seeing the advent of a more health conscious society calling for lighter and healthier foods. Salads, herbs, fungi and fruits, traditionally used as side dishes, are coming to the forefront.

While classics such as garden greens, Waldorf and Russian salads are still the order of choice for many conservative gourmets, the more adventurous palates and creative chefs have been pushing salads to new frontiers.

Even as health foods gain popularity among global travellers, chefs at leading Indian hotels for the past few years have been trying out innovative recipes to meet the new demands which have more to do with successful people’s increasing girths than their taste buds. With exotic new foods arriving in India leading chefs have suddenly discovered that health foods need not be bland or tasteless. They can be as appetizing any oil-and-spice-rich foods.

 

Fusion of flavours Seared scallops retain the touch of luxury on the plate Says chef Benjamin Seck, “I have always been proud of my heritage and of the diverse cultures in Singapore. ‘Singapore Takeout’ is the perfect opportunity for me to share my dishes with India and to also show how Singapore-inspired flavours and local ingredients can be incorporated into various cuisines.”  Sandeep Bansal, a BPO owner, has opened a Sushi (Japanese delicacy made from fermenting fish with rice) restaurant in the hi-tech city of Gurgaon. It is not uncommon to see people queuing up every evening for a seat. Explaining his secret of success Bansal says, “There are Americans, Europeans Japanese, Koreans and people from a number of other countries who have settled in Gurgaon. They are constantly looking for change. Besides there is a stream of people coming from Delhi everyday who, too, were bored of eating the same kind of stuff available everywhere. Our sushi is a great alternative as it offers something adventurous and exotic.” So what are these superfoods and how do they benefit you? The answer, according to dietician Madhur Sayal, is simple. “These are foods that contain essential nutrients required by the body.”

Turbo power on your wrist
An Expression of watch-making skills, the tourbillon, which remains a collector's item, adds to the stature of the wearer
Seema Sachdeva

Two centuries after it was invented by French Swiss watchmaker Abraham-Louis Breguet in 1795 for use in Napolean’s carriage clocks, the tourbillon, a special mechanism in watches, has created a stir in the world of watches. The tourbillon (French word for “whirlwind”) came into being to counter the effect of gravity on a mechanical watch. This crème de la crème of collector’s item on your wrist is enough to tell the world that you have arrived.

Though the moving mechanics of a tourbillon has fascinated connoisseurs for centuries, it is interesting to note that the watch was not commonly known until recently. When Breguet got the licence for patenting the tourbillon in 1801, the watch was considered too technical and sophisticated for civilian use. Till 1823, the year when Breguet died, only 35 tourbillon watches had been sold. The mechanism became sought after only during the early 21st century.

Until the 1970s, the Swiss mechanical watch market had 50 per cent of the world watch market share but the Quartz revolution, or the onslaught of quartz watches in the 1970s and the 1980s, almost wiped out this industry. It was, then, that the tourbillon came to the rescue of the mechanical watch industry. High-end Swiss watchmakers found that the tourbillon, which, until now, was being used for pocket watches, could be marketed well as it was interesting to see this watch in action. The tourbillon, which was then shifted to the front of the dial, was put in a wristwatch for the first time in 1986.

Many variations

Early 21st century saw many luxury watchmakers coming up with a range of variations on the tourbillon.

From the flying tourbillon to double and multi-axis tourbillon, besides the gyrotourbillon and astrotourbillon, various watchmakers came out with their versions of this mechanism.

In 1920, came the first flying tourbillon. This is not supported by a bridge, or cock, at the top and bottom but is cantilevered and supported from one side. Among the other marvels is the gyrotourbillon, which has two tourbillon movements revolving one inside the other.

Besides this, there is the astrotourbillon. Here the tourbillon is at the centre of the watch, where, with a special arrowhead bridge, it functions as a second hand. One of the watches that deserves a mention is Freak by Ulysse Nardin, which is among the most unusual tourbillons in the world. Here, the entire movement rotates inside the case, turning once per hour.

The latest addition to this elite club is MikrotourbillonS. The first tourbillon chronograph capable of certification-level precision timing, it is by far the fastest and most accurate tourbillon.

These delicately crafted beauties, however, will make your pocket lighter by a few million dollars.

The Indian market

High-end luxury watchmakers are opening up to the hitherto untapped Indian watch market. Assocham has predicted that the market size of the country’s watch industry, which is currently growing at 15 per cent per year, will be worth Rs 15,000 crore by 2020 due to the emergence of a strong middle class and a large number of high net worth individuals. International luxury watchmakers are looking forward to exploring the potential of this market, which is presently estimated at Rs 5,000 crore. High-end luxury timepieces like the tourbillon and minute repeater account for about 20 per cent of the sales.

According to Yashovardhan Saboo, CEO of Ethos Limited, “The definition of luxury watches has undergone a change over the years. A decade back, any watch that cost more than Rs 25,000 was considered premium luxury while today the range starts from above Rs 2 lakh. The awareness about different brands, besides high disposable income, is a major reason for the emergence of this high-end luxury watch market in India. For these watches, the wedding market is being seen as having major potential. Then, there is professional gifting, besides a small number of those who are buying these to celebrate an occasion.”

“India today is the best place to buy a luxury watch since the MRP of brands like Omega are among the lowest here. Most of these brands are keen on developing the Indian market. Therefore, while they have revised their international prices, they are not revising these prices in India,” he adds.

Chinese checkers

The exclusivity of the tourbillon has been affected since the entry of cheaper Chinese tourbillons in the market. These tourbillons, which come for 1/10th the price of their Swiss counterparts, are, of course, not the same standard. However, one can’t rule these out as a viable option for those who appreciate this mechanism. While this is good news for those who cannot afford expensive Swiss models, it is causing speculation about the possibility of another Quartz crisis, to which the Swiss luxury watch industry may not be able to quickly adapt to.

Montblanc

The 47 mm Grand Tourbillon Heures Mystérieuses with white gold case, Montblanc Calibre MB M65.60 has a manually wound movement. The watch, available at Montblanc boutiques across the country, including Chandigarh, has a silver-coloured hand-guilloched solid gold dial with a one-minute tourbillon at 12 o’clock, hour-minute hands indicated on mysterious sapphire crystal disks. The Grand Tourbillon Heures Mystérieuses, which is limited to eight pieces only, comes in black alligator-skin strap with 18 K white gold pin buckle.

Price: Rs 1, 47,20,000

Jaquet Droz

Jaquet Droz Grande Seconde with the tourbillion complication comes in a white-gold case with a Côtes de Genève dial or a red-gold case with a Grand Feu enamelled dial and a power reserve of seven days. The tourbillon carriage is crafted from sapphire crystal, also used for the figure-8 shaped ring applied to the dial. The tourbillon is placed at the heart of the seconds subdial, off-centered at 12 o’clock. The watch is available at Johnson’s Watch Co, New Delhi.

Price: Rs 57,89,000

Dior

The 42 mm Dior Christal Tourbillon watch has a contrasting theme of baguette diamonds and sapphire crystals, set against the backdrop of polished 18K white gold. The transparent red sapphire crystal dial comes with Dior logo. The watch, with an 80-hour power reserve, has tourbillon carriage’s red sapphire crystal pyramid that come with 21,600 vibrations per hour. The watch has 214 diamonds and 66 rubies in it. The watch is available at Dior Boutique, Johnson’s Watch Co, Kapoor Watch & Co, New Delhi, and Ambi Mall, Gurgaon.

Price on request

Zenith

The first classic tourbillon with a three-hand display in the Captain tourbillon collection follows the design codes of the 1950s captain watches. The dial has a brushed silver-toned centre, a grained silver-toned hour circle and a polished minute circle with a velvet finish. The tourbillon, which has 25 per cent higher number of to-and-fro balance movements than on other constructions, is available at Johnson’s Watch Co, New Delhi. The watch, which comes in an alligator leather strap, has a bezel with 46 baguette-cut diamonds precious stones.

Price: Rs 39,16,000

Frederique Constant

With less than 1 cm thickness, the limited edition model Gentlemen’s Slimline Tourbillon Manufacture from Frederique Constant is individually numbered. The alligator leather strap watch, with a 48-hour power reserve, comes in two models — polished all-stainless steel case and shining stainless steel main body with 18-karat solid rose gold bezel. Both the models, available at Ethos, feature a 60-second tourbillon, in which the seconds hand is an integral part of the rotating tourbillon cage. There’s a fine view of the tourbillon cage at the 6 o'clock position.

Price:Rs 25,00,000

Hublot

Sleek and contemporary, the limited series Classic Fusion Black Ceramic Skeleton Tourbillon from Hublot is truly striking with its satin-finished and polished black ceramic case and resolutely graphic skeleton tourbillion movement. On the dial, the hands are similar in design to those on the very first Hublot watches. The timepiece, which has a black alligator leather strap stitched onto black rubber, has a 120-hour power reserve and is watertight to 30 m. Hublot watches are available at Ethos Studio, Chandigarh, Kapoor Watch Co. and Johnson watch Co, New Delhi.

Price: Rs 52,71,000 (€75, 300)

Girard-Perregaux

Presented in two limited editions — in white and pink gold, the 40 mm Girard-Perregaux’s new 1966 Tourbillon with Gold Bridge houses a silvered dial with the classic sunburst-motif. Four applied hour markers give aesthetic balance besides the leaf-shaped hour and minutes hands over the dial. The tourbillon sits at 6 o’clock. This new arrival features a tourbillon bridge fashioned in an unusual shape called “bassiné”, with rounded arms. The self winding mechanical movement comes with a power reserve of 48 hours.

Price on request

Patek Philippe

With an annual production limited to just two watches, the Sky Moon Tourbillon 5002p is the most complicated wristwatch ever built by Patek Philippe. It is the first double-faced wristwatch with the front dial crafted from gold with a silvery opaline coating and the rear dial showcasing the astronomical functions and a complete presentation of the nocturnal sky. The tourbillon, crafted from steel, displays the apparent movements of the stars, the orbit of the moon, the moon phases, as well as the hours and minutes in sidereal time. The manually wound watch has 694 individual parts.

Price on request

Vacheron Constantin

The Patrimony Traditionnelle 14-day Tourbillon is the first Vacheron Constantin watch to be officially approved according to the new Hallmark of Geneva criteria. The new mechanical hand-wound tourbillon movement, Calibre 2260 has the tourbillon combined with small seconds at 6 o’clock. The watch, which is available at Vacheron Constantin Boutique, New Delhi, and Dia store, Mumbai, has a 14-day power-reserve display. The 12 o’clock positioning of the latter indicator on a silver-toned opaline dial, as well as the external minute circle, are inspired by pocket watches.

Price on request

Breguet

The design of Classique 5335 Grande Complication Tourbillon Messidor salutes the master's ingenious invention. Driven by a hand-wound movement, it has an uncluttered tourbillon. The design features curving, swirling bridges and bars. The dial has pink gold ornaments set into a sapphire crystal. The watch, available at Johnson Watch Co, New Delhi, has a power reserve of 50 hours.

Price: Rs 85 lakh

TAG Heuer

TAG Heuer's most ambitious luxury chronograph to date, the MikrotourbillonS is the world’s fastest tourbillion and the first-ever tourbillon on a 1/100th of a second chronograph that can be started and stopped since there's no cage. Capable of certification-level precision timing, it has two rotating tourbillons visible on its dial face, one for time telling and one for timekeeping.

Price: £1,75,000

Jaeger-LeCoultre

The Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Grande Tradition Tourbillon a Quantieme Perpétuel comes with a perpetual calendar. Available at Ethos Summit, the watch comes with a self- winding mechanical movement. The Calibre 978, with a 48-hour power reserve, has a unidirectional self-winding rotor fashioned from case-matching 18 karat yellow gold.

Price: Rs 41,30,000

Breitling

Manufactured at 24 per year, the Bentley Mulliner Tourbillon is a limited edition watch customised to the tastes of the buyer, who can choose the case material, dial colour or the shade of the crocodile leather strap. The watch, available at Ethos, is equipped with the original “30-second chronograph” mechanism with 15-minute totaliser and pointer-type date display.

Price on request

Cartier

The Rotonde de Cartier minute repeater flying tourbillion comes with titanium or pink gold casing and a 9402 MC movement. There are 47 jewels encased in it while 447 parts occupy the 45mm-diameter case which comes with the Geneva Seal. The watch, available at Ethos Summit, is light and the sound produced by its strikes is extremely clear.

Price: Rs 2,10,38,000

 

How a tourbillon works In horology (the art of making watches), a tourbillon is an addition to the funtioning of a watch. In a watch, the escapement, often called its heartbeat, helps to operate it in a precise manner by releasing increments of time at regular intervals. The functioning of this escapement is, however, affected by gravitational pull and the position in which a watch is placed. A tourbillon helps to counter this effect of gravity. In such a watch, the escapement, balance spring and balance wheel are mounted in a cage, which rotates at 360 degrees around its own axis. This ensures that it never stands still in one position. This helps in negating the adverse effect of gravity on the watch and thereby, giving a more accurate timing. In a way, a tourbillon defies gravity. The claims about the accuracy of its time have, however, been challenged by many. Despite such debates, a tourbillon remains horology’s most ingenious invention. What has been attracting collectors to the tourbillion, however, is the visible mechanics of the watch. The hole in the dial of the watch exposes the tourbillon cage. The tourbillon showcases mechanical perfection with elegance and also gives its owner a chance to see time in a beautiful way. Since the timepiece is highly complicated in nature, it requires a great level of expertise and precision to manufacture. Luxury watchmakers like Breguet, Patek Philippe, Vacheron Constantin, Audemars Piguet, Girard-Perregaux, etc. were among the earliest to explore its potential.

PACESETTER Anuj Aggarwal
Giving mobile telephony a different ring
Anuj's company Altruist provides a variety of value-added services and IT solutions to leading telecom operators around the world
Aditi Garg

Anuj Aggarwal's success belies his age. Chairman and MD of Altruist Technology private Limited, this 35-year-old beganthis venture with his elder brother in 2005. Their company provides a variety of Value-Added Services (VAS) solutions and IT solutions to leading telecom operators around the world. They are involved in management and marketing of various services that can be availed on their mobile phones like Cricket Scores, Music, Voice Mail, Horoscope and many more. They ensure applications for making friends, downloading ringtones, videos and songs and the like, all at the click of a button from your mobile.

The duo set up the company which has its head quarters at Shimla. His Master's in Finance, coupled with his background as a marketing consultant and his brother's experience at Spice Telecommunications made them a formidable force. What started as a small enterprise has turned into a fledgling international company today, all because of an unwavering vision and perseverence. The company has offices around the world and it is working with 60 operators in 40 countries. Their headquarters in Shimla has a 200-strong staff. The Chandigarh branch in DLF has 130 employees, there are 40 in Gurgaon, 20 in Mumbai and roughly 130 more in London, Sweden, Morocco, US and Africa. The staff deals with marketing, development and operations. They are competent and experienced at judging the market requirements and developing appropriate software. They also have an alliance with various brands and operators that enable them to offer mobile marketing services.

Anuj believes that an individual should pay back to society. A village near Shahbad has been adopted by the company and is prospering. A charitable school, a free dispensary and a clinic with two doctors is being run there and the villagers really appreciate this. Anuj wants to enable the youth to become independent, so other initiatives by the company is a stitching school and a computer centre for which they provide the infrastructure as well as the staff. They are also putting up 215 towers in Jammu and Kashmir for city surveillance and working with state governments of Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan to improve citizens' lives. He has green fingers and grows vegetables on a piece of land. Being amidst the greenery and seeing his efforts bear fruit, makes him a truly happy and contented man. Spending time with his family is another thing that he looks forward to after his gruelling schedule on any given day.

Since it is associated with the biggest names in telecommunications globally, like AT & T, Airtel, BT, MTN and Ethisalat, the company is slated for growth by leaps and bounds. The solutions that their company provides span applications for entertainment, enterprise and e-commerce, voice-based integrated services and data services. They are leaders in their field and have a formidable international reputation. Meeting expectations of clients by providing services that are of value to them so that they keep coming back, is their mantra for success.

bling it on

HEAD-TURNING TURNTABLE

It’s back to the past where music is concerned. Real aficionados are shunning high end digital music devices like the iPods and new age media players and falling for the charms of the timeless turntable that revolutionised sound a few decades ago. But they are not buying music boxes of the seventies and eighties. A number of top manufacturers are launching sleek new versions. Clearaudio is one of them. Ovation, its stunning wood turntable will not just knock your socks off with its looks but also with its state-of-the-art technology. It bridges the gap between crystal-clear sound and excellent tonal balance. Real value for money—provided you have that kind of money to blow on music!

Price: $5,500 (Rs 3,02,500)

SCENT OF A MAN!

Ali MacGraw has done it. So have Catherine Deneuve, Candice Bergen, Nicole Kidman, Audrey Tautou and Vanessa Paradis. All these gorgeous divas have endorsed the world’s most famous perfume---Chanel No. 5. Now for the first time since it was launched 91 years ago, the iconic brand has hired a male to promote what is primarily a ladies’ product. And this is no ordinary male. It is the original Hollywood hunk Brad Pitt. According to the company, “It is the first time we’ve had a man speaking about a women’s fragrance. We think very much that the perfume is a seduction between a man, a woman and the perfume.” And how much did one of the costliest actors charge for the ad? No questions, please.

Amount charged by brad pitt: Undisclosed

DIVINE FRAGRANCE

It may be just be six years old, but Christain Dior’s J’adore L’absolu has already achieved iconic status becoming the choice of celebrities. Now Dior ha added more potency to this floral, fruity fragrance for women by commissioning French artist Jean-Michel Othoniel to design a special-edition bottle. The new look glass-blown bottle is refined, voluptuous and exceptional and in a limited edition of 300. The exquisite perfume in an exquisite bottle not just smells divine but spells class as well

Price: $3,500 (Rs 1,92,500)

STYLE ON THE CUFF

You can have the time of your life wearing these. The Automatic Cufflinks by celebrated Swiss luxury watch maker Richard Mille are as intricate and exclusive as its horological timepieces. Made of titanium studded with diamonds, the cufflinks have 38 moving parts that work in sync and open and close the cufflinks with just a click. The satin-brushed, bead-blasted and hand-bevelled surfaces ensure that these cufflinks will make you stand out in even in the classiest of crowds.

Price: $13,400 (Rs 7.37 lakh)

SOUND OF MUSIC…& MONEY

The Woodstock festival of 1969 inspired generations. For three days people made music and love. Minds (and drugs) were free. Rock 'n' roll and music history was in the making. The one artist who stood out was Jimi Hendrix whose chaotic strumming on his Fender Stratocaster became an icon of Woodstock and the world’s biggest symbol of protest. For years the legendary guitar which like its late owner has been the object of desire of millions of his fans has now gone under the hammer. And the price it fetched is music to the ears of aficionados of memorabilia.

Bought for $288,580 (Rs 1,58,71,900)

ULTIMATE SUV

It has been defined as the most ridiculous luxury SUV of the world, but ultra wealthy car connoisseurs would give anything to own it. Latavian company Dartz has launched the Black Snake to coincide with the Chinese Year of the Snake. Based on the Mercedes GL 63 AMG the 557 hp the SUV can go from 0-100 kmph in 4.9 seconds. It has a Bang & Olufsen audio system and one can choose the interiors—snake skin, crocodile belly or ostrich skin. The grille has golden flourishes and the hood is covered in leaf gold made to look like snake scales. And best of all, there will be a monthly supply of some of the world’s most expensive caviar for the first two year of its warranty.

Price: $100,0000 (Rs 5.5 crore)

TATTOOS TO MEASURE

We all know of made-to-measure clothes and custom-made accessories but what about bespoke footwear? If you have the moolah, then one of world’s leading shoe makers Christain Louboutin will give you a pair that will have the tattoo of your choice. All you have to do is to select the tattoo and the company will forward it to its Indian manufacturing unit and within three months the shoes will grace the feet of the wearer. So instead of getting your body pierced you can now make a statement by tattooing your shoes.

Price: Ranging between $1,400 & $5,400 (Between Rs 77,000 & Rs 2.97 lakh)

NEW CONVERSATION PIECE

It’s a company that hasn’t touched base with India. But soon enough you will hear about Gresso, the Russian manufacturer of luxury mobile phones as it readies to make its presence felt. After amazing handsets like Grand Monaco Luxury and Avantgarde White Diamonds, Gresso has now launched Cruiser, the world’s first single piece polished titanium shell handset which has round key buttons made of steel. Each of 21 keys is hand-polished with precision, which gives them a nice matt gloss. Limited to just 555 pieces, its exclusive appeal can push you many notches up on the style quotient.

Price: $2,500 (Rs 1,37,500)

SPARKLING BUBBLY

It celebrates the heritage of one of the best known champagne brands of the world. The special Moët & Chandon limited edition bottle hand-crafted by French artisan Arthus Bertrand, sports golden leaves. Dressed with an engraved medallion and real wax seal, both of which bear the celebrated stamp from Epernay, the champagne producing commune of France, the bottle also features a handcrafted re-interpretation of Moët’s signature tie, which has appeared since 1886. It also comes with a special pen, which can be used for writing a special message for the person you are gifting it to making it a drink no champagne lover can resist.

Price: $1,050 (Rs 57,750)

RAINBOW IN YOUR SHOWER

If you believe in colour therapy this gizmo can turn your shower into a spa. The Rainbow Showerhead has LED lights that illuminate with the pressure of water cycling every two seconds from red to blue and then to green, yellow, white, orange and violet. No batteries are required and the lights go off as soon as the water if switched off. Besides adding colour to your bathroom these rainbow lights dancing in the water provide a calming and revitalizing effect on the body and mind creating stress-busting magical vibes.

Price: $30 (Rs 1,650)

Note: All prices are converted at the rate of Rs 55 a dollar