Luxury
Crystal and Gold Encrusted Skateboards? Why Not?
If you’ve spent any time at all on a board, you’re required at some point in your life to hang a deck on your wall to let guests know that while you no longer live on the streets, the streets still live in you. These limited edition decks made by No More Essentials are the […]
The Magic Of The 2021 Rolls-Royce Black Badge Cullinan
On my way to Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Auckland in Newmarket, I was making a mental note of road widths, corner angles, gradients and traffic, mapping out a safe route for my test drive with the 2021 Rolls-Royce Black Badge Cullinan. I was going through this exercise because the 2.7-tonne SUV is technically speaking, a beast […]
The Future Of The Home Box Office
I have to confess that I haven’t yet seen Shadow in the Cloud, the 2020 World War II action horror film directed by New Zealander Roseanne Lian and starring Chloë Grace. There is no good reason for this as it actually looks really cool. Well, unless you count Covid’s momentary impact on cinematic movie releases […]
M2 2022 Luxury Watch Preview: Rolex
Rolex Oyster Perpetual Datejust 31 The three new expressions of Rolex’s Datejust 31 have just gone floral, with flower motifs made in three different finishes – sunray, matt or grained. This lends the watch an elegant texture with subtle deftness. The first watch comes in azzurro blue combining oystersteel and white gold and a fluted […]
M2 2021 Luxury Watch Preview: Rolex
M2 brings you its top watch picks in a series featuring the best of this year’s luxury timepiece releases. Rolex Oyster Perpetual GMT-Master II If you are a regular international traveller, then this is the timepiece for you. In addition to the conventional hour, minute and second hands for local time, the Oyster Perpetual GMT-Master […]
M2 Luxury Watch Guide 2021: Rolex
Rolex Oyster Perpetual Cosmograph Daytona The perfect piece for those out there who know they were born to go fast. Introduced in 1963, the Cosmograph Daytona is inextricably linked to the world of motor racing. It allows drivers to measure elapsed time and read average speeds on its trademark tachymetric bezel. The watch pays tribute […]
Find Your Signature
A Celebration Of Wine And People Encapsulated In This Historic Barossa Red
Yalumba has announced its 48th vintage of The Signature wine set for its 2018 Barossa Cabernet and Shiraz. Each year, Yalumba honours an individual who’s left a mark on the culture and traditions of Australia’s oldest family owned winery. This year’s dedicated Signatory was announced to be Yalumba’s Managing Director, Nick Waterman, by fifth-generation proprietor […]
Wine Going Vegan
When you hear me talk about vegan wine, you might wonder what animal products could possibly be doing anywhere near a barrel of crushed grapes. After the grapes get picked, but before it makes it to your glass, they go through a stringent process to become the wine they were always destined to become. Part […]
A Must Stop On Life’s Wine Journey
The enjoyment of wine is a lifelong journey. As a teenager you start off by sucking down a bladder of Chateau Cardboard from the supermarket bargain bins to get you into party mode. In your early twenties you start taking wine bottles to dinner parties, usually decided by price but sometimes by the number of […]
Leave a Mark
The Intersection of Business & Luxury. Sponsored by Montblanc.
New Montblanc Smart Watches Inbound, Here’s Everything You Need To Know
Smartwatches are becoming more and more the norm. It started innocently enough with non-watch wearers taking up Fitbits on their wrists. Then suddenly the idea of maybe having a smart device on your wrist doesn’t seem like a totally outlandish idea. Until recently, smartwatches seemed to be the domain of the geek, but as more […]
Four Carry-on Trolleys To Make Travel A Stylish Breeze
The world is starting to open its doors again and that means it’s time to get yourself some solid and stylish luggage cases. A quality case is the difference between you losing a wheel and looking like a chump and getting where you need to be on time and looking like a champ. Going through […]
Here’s Your Ultimate Leather Accessories Collection
Here’s Your Ultimate Leather Accessories Collection Montblanc is making a name for itself as it expands its Meisterstück luxury leather collection. The collection aims to be the pinnacle of luxury leather goods, and with contemporary round shapes and a flare of new design details, it certainly achieves this goal. The latest collection also features a […]
M2 2022 Luxury Watch Preview: Cartier
SANTOS DE CARTIER CHRONOGRAPH WATCH Louis Cartier presented his first Santos De Cartier in 1904 to his good friend it was named after, Alberto Santos-Dumont. It lays itself bare with visible screws and a modern square design. Long after this gifting, Cartier is revisiting this iconic watch with the Santos De Cartier Chronograph Watch (W2SA0008). […]
M2 Luxury Watch 2022 – Cartier Tank Must Watch
Cartier knows it’s one of the best. Everything about the Tank Must Watch screams confidence. It knows what it is, it doesn’t need to prove anything to anyone. First produced in 1917, the prototype of the Tank watch by Louis Cartier was gifted to General Pershing, who was commander of the Western Front during World […]
M2 2021 Luxury Watch Preview: Cartier
M2 brings you its top watch picks in a series featuring the best of this year’s luxury timepiece releases. Cartier Ballon Bleu The Ballon Bleu de Cartier floats through the world of watchmaking, defying gravity with its ethereal charm. This model features a convex-curved 36mm steel case with a width of 12mm and is water-resistant […]
Tailored
Prepare For Winter With The Z Zegna FW Collection
We’re coming out of the sweltering summer months and arriving into the cooler seasons. That means it’s time to start rethinking our wardrobe. Z Zegna has once again brought a Fall/Winter 2021 collection that breaks down the boundaries between practical technicality, sophisticated leisurewear and romantic elegance. This season cardigans bring out an elongated silhouette and […]
Adidas And Gucci Collide With ‘Exquisite’ Results
If you were trying to make a sports/high fashion collaboration from any two brands in the world, could you get much bigger than Adidas and Gucci? Arguably the two biggest names in their respective fields, the German sportswear powerhouse and the Italian high-end icon have combined forces for a special collection, which was revealed for […]
Close the Dior, It’s Cold
Dior’s Men’s Ready to Wear Winter 22-23 looks have made their way across the runway and into our wardrobes. Designer Kim Jones, Creative Director of Dior Homme, look back at the beginnings of the fashion house for their inspiration going into the future. “I wanted to look at the archive, at the purity of the […]
Into the Fold
Proof That If You’re Ever In Doubt – You Must Press On
Sometimes you just know in your gut that you’re right – even when it seems like everyone around you refuses to be a believer. As William Goldman wrote for Paul Newman in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid; ‘I got vision while the rest of the world wears bifocals!’ History is littered with such examples; […]
4 Limited Edition Penfolds Wines You Have to Get Your Hands
If you’re heading over the ditch to Australia now that the borders are getting back to normal, make sure you have plenty of room in your bag for what you’re going to be hauling back. Penfolds has a slew of limited edition wines for you to try. If you aren’t planning on doing any traveling […]
Asian Fusion Dinner Dishes and 9 Wines To Pair Them With
While we commonly associate wine pairings, there’s a wine for everything, and that includes Asian fusion food. M2 had the opportunity of talking to sommelier Anong Klinyoo, who founded A-LLURE, making it possible for Kiwis to have an authentic Thai wine experience. As an aside, Klinyoo shared with me nine Asian Fusion dishes and their pairings. […]
Nature Of Time
The New Watch From Grand Seiko’s Series 9 Tells The Link Between Nature & Time
Watches and clocks are not the only way to tell the time; nature supplies us with many other options. We can track the sun’s path across the sky during the day or the changing pattern of the stars in the night sky. We can even see the changing seasons of each year by observing whether […]
Never Be Late With The Grand Seiko Spring Drive Chronograph SBGC240
M2 brings you its top watch picks in a series featuring the best of this year’s luxury timepiece releases. A special edition brought out to celebrate 140 years since the creation of the company that would become Seiko. This Grand Seiko Spring Drive chronograph SBGC240 may be the most precise chronograph in the world as […]
We’re Going Green With Envy For The Grand Seiko Spring Drive 8 Days SBGD207
Hidden away in the forest to the east of Lake Suwa in Shinshu, Japan is Mishaka Pond; a beautiful body of water that features a unique verdant green. This colour so caught the eye of the Micro Artist watchmakers in their studio nearby they decided to use it to create this collector’s edition Spring Drive […]
The Maverick Who Launched Single Malt Whisky To The World
While single malt whisky might generally be considered to be the bee’s knees (technically speaking) compared to blended, the category has only really been around since the early 1960s. Prior to this, Scotland’s commercial whisky industry was based on blended whisky. As a bit of context to the difference between single malt and blended, there […]
This 50ml Bottle of Scotch Just Sold for £6440
We’ve covered expensive liquor here before. Usually these expensive drams have had to gussy themselves up by bedazzling their bottles with jewels to be worth anything at all. But not Scottish distiller Springbank’s single malt scotch, oh no. The small bottle which was distilled in December 1919 fetched £6440 at auction. Just 24 full size […]
Glenfiddich: A Maverick Legacy
In today’s age of IPOs, mergers, VC funds and hostile takeovers, it’s a rare thing to find a family-owned company of the likes of Glenfiddich that has not only set the benchmark for whisky with 130 years of heritage, but is also continuously experimenting, pushing processes and breaking rules as they shape the future of […]
M2 Latest Issue
Doing The Right Thing Should Be Easy, Shouldn’t It?
During a strategy day a few years ago, the board at Pure SEO conducted a session to determine what drives us as people and explore why we had surrounded ourselves with this team, culture and environment. The strongest theme to emerge from that session was trust. Trust is what motivates me as a business owner...
The Future is in Dubai
Located in the South-West region of the United Arab Emirates, the glimmering diamond of Dubai is and will always be one of the most stunning cities in the world. Its landscape seems to be forever changing, with constructions popping out of nowhere and developing almost overnight. Renowned for many different reasons, from the ultra-modern buildings...
The Creative Explosion of Devin Abrams
Creativity is such a complex thing to grapple with for an artist. It can lurk, almost like a dormant hand-grenade, in the back alleyways of the brain. It is one of those traits that every artist seems to have an opinion on and clear understanding of, but can never explain. Its definition is malleable and...
Trending
The VISION AVTR: Mercedes-Benz On The Mind
Imagine a future where with nothing but a thought, you could turn up the radio, open your windows, or change the lighting. We kind of forget that Brain interfaces aren’t actually science fiction anymore. There are setups that allow for basic utility within VR gaming, and the tech is already being used as a viable […]
The DIY Solution
Where there’s a will; there’s a way. Steve Jobs loved computers but didn’t want to have to go all the way into the ‘computer room’ to write his programs – so he focused on bringing the computer over to his desk. He achieved that goal by inventing his mass-produced desktop Apple II. Benjamin Franklin as […]
Get It Zegna This Winter
Zegna’s new collection reflects their newly rebranded visual identity “our road”. The road in question is a real place, winding through the mountains of northern Italy crossing Oasi Zegna the free access natural territory of Piedmont. The collection gently assesses what a contemporary style should look and feel like: functional and individual, comfortable yet not […]
