Bike is too small a word for a machine like this. It is no coincidence that they called it the ‘Cielo’, which is Italian for ‘Heavens’.
The frame is constructed from refined carbon fiber and expertly hand crafted and engraved titanium to create a bicycle that holds true to its name. It is the best of everything; a combination of the most exotic modern materials, hand crafted precision, and performance to match.
Frame US$4,300, complet`
Clover Coffee Machine
Even if you can afford one of these beauties (list price of around US$11,000 - but they change hands between coffee aficionados for around twice that) you probably wouldn’t be able to buy one. There was a waiting list for these fountains of caffeine delight, and then Starbucks, impatient at the thought of waiting any longer bought not a machine – but the whole company.
Apparently no one actually knows - or even cares - how the appliances works, it simply produces the finest coffee this side of the Horsehead Nebula. And for twenty-two bucks a cup it should be good.
Look out for them in Starbucks outlets. They’ve introduced four so far in the Seattle area – so expect a long wait before the Clover arrives here. If you get tired of waiting you could always go searching for one of your own. Or perhaps just buy the company.
Anywhere from US$11,000 for the machine, or US$millions for the company, or US$22 for a cup, more information at cloverequipment.com
S. T. Dupont
Look at this for a cool pen. The perfect combination of old world luxury with modern technology. Inside the slender lines of this fountain pen nestles a USB key with a capacity of 4 GB.
200 quality control checks, 150 manual operations involved in its manufacture, 100 hours of work, 6 layers of Chinese lacquer, and yet it took me only an unguarded second to lose it.
Get one if you can, and look after it.
st-dupont.com
Hasselblad H3DII
You won’t find a camera to compete with this on any level. Starting with the superlative quality of every Hasselblad camera and going on to count every one of the 39 megapixels, this beautiful box of ingenuity has every photographer from Albuquerque to Zanzibar salivating at the thought of it. Slightly less appealing is the US$43,000 price tag.
The specifications are too numerous to mention, check it out for yourself at hasselblad.com
First published in Men's Passion issue #7 October 2008
