Yamamoto is not making a wine, a whisky or even a sake; none of the products that we might equate with age-old artisanal methods, and for which some are ready to pay handsomely. At his family firm, Yamaroku Shoyu, he makes what is considered to be one of the best soy sauces in the world. He knows that, for many people, soy sauce is a cheap condiment, something akin to ketchup, perhaps. “Getting across that the making of really good soy sauce is a slow process, not an industrial one, is a significant challenge,” he admitted. “Even many Japanese people are unaware of this.”

Certainly Japanese makers have periodically taken other producers of “soy sauce” to task, pointing out that, for example, an American-made soy protein-based product labeled “soy sauce” is often only partially brewed, or not brewed at all, or packed with sugar. For the Japanese, the best soy sauce is worthy of connoisseurship and deserving of the kind of appellation contrôlée protection afforded Champagne or Cognac. There has been some movement toward making this happen: while not all Japanese soy sauces carry formal protection, certain high-end, regionally specific varieties, such as Shodoshima Island soy sauce, produced on the island of Shodoshima in the Seto Inland Sea, have gained recognition through regional branding and quality associations.

The making of soy sauce in Japan, after all, is deeply historic. The process may be superficially simple; soy sauce is made from fermented whole soybeans, along with water, salt and wheat, with fermentation taking at least several months. But it’s also one that’s been refined over nearly eight centuries, since around 1254, when a Zen priest called Kakushin is said to have returned from China with the method for making Kinzanji miso, the liquid byproduct of which became the first proto-soy sauce known as tamari. From the 1640s wheat was added to the mix, giving rise to the lighter shoyu style of Japanese sauce best known today. In Japan many of these makers, from Kishibori to Shibanuma, are nothing less than cultish, with the country’s more than 1,000 soy sauce breweries each keeping their precise recipes very close to the chest.

Small wonder, too, that the resulting sauces may have shared their roots but have given rise to a spectrum of styles and flavors; not just the aforementioned tamari but also koikuchi, which accounts for some 80% of production, made using roughly equal amounts of soybeans and wheat; usukuchi, saltier and lighter, owing to the addition of a sweet liquid made from fermented rice; shiro, made using much more wheat than soybeans; and the dark, intense saishikomi.

“Whereas other cuisines rely on spices, Japanese cuisine is based around five key seasonings, and one of them, soy sauce, is critical for its saltiness and distinctive umami quality, even if outside of Japan there’s a tendency to use too much of it, which can be problematic when the best varieties are so expensive,” explained the Japanese chef Yuki Gomi, author of Sushi At Home (Penguin). “It’s why it’s worth paying for the expensive kind, aged 20 years or more, if it’s used properly.”

Expensive because, as Yamamoto explained, the best of them are fermented in vats exposed to the sun. Tradition dictates that this adds flavor, and, indeed, some suggest that attempts to replicate the process industrially, indoors, don’t achieve the same depths of flavor. These sauces also undergo perhaps three years of fermentation, so it’s not a fast process, either, using koji mold, a carefully cultivated microorganism that converts starches to sugars. The process can only be sped up by raising temperatures, which affects flavor.

Yet such a traditional approach doesn’t mean there isn’t room for experimentation. One trend has been to leverage soy sauce’s umami properties in unexpected products. Kamebishi, a company founded in 1753, has devised a Soy Chocolat, a Belgian chocolate with a freeze-dried soy sauce that has been aged for three years. Heiwado, based on Shodoshima in Kagawa Prefecture, has created the Heiwado Shodoshima Crème Caramel. Yamato and Yamakawa Jozo both make soy sauce syrups, which they suggest you might pour over ice cream. Soy sauces have also been used in cocktails.

Not that these esteemed Japanese makers hold total dominance over artisanal soy sauce. Hawaii, for example, has had its mild Aloha Shoyu since 1946, a product that grew out of Japanese immigration to the islands. “People are often surprised to learn that Hawaii has a long-standing soy sauce tradition of its own,” noted Aloha’s spokesperson Alexus Rapoza. “It’s an example of a cultural journey showing how a traditional ingredient can evolve and become part of everyday life in new places.”

Indeed, much as craft movements have reshaped beer, chocolate and salt, soy sauce is slowly seeing further innovation thanks to the creation of microbreweries such as Tomasu, out of Rotterdam, which ages its soy sauce in Scottish whisky barrels, and Bourbon Barrel Foods, out of Louisville, the US’s first homegrown, high-end soy sauce. “I did it because nobody else was doing it,” said founder Matt Jamie, whose soy sauce is aged in bourbon barrels, giving it a subtle oaky undertone, and retails for around US$2 an ounce, compared with maybe 24 cents for an industrially produced soy sauce.

“In fact, the first time I went to Japan was to appear on Japanese TV to talk about it,” Jamie added. “Of course, there’s an artisanal version of so many products now, but [in many markets] the expectation of soy sauce is still a commodity. There’s still some work to be done on the perception of soy sauce. I even sell my soy sauce in Japan. They get that we respect how it should be made.”

On my wrist, a Navitimer B01 Chronograph 43. I pulled this silver-dialed example from the catalog for some quality time with two complicated machines. At $10,300, with a COSC-certified in-house movement and 70-hour reserve, it feels worth the money. The 43mm case sits solid on my 6.75-inch wrist but not so large as to be overstated. Design-wise, the silver dial falls more in line with Breitling’s original aesthetic than with unorthodoxies like the new rainbow dial variants or the curious Corvette, Mustang and Shelby Cobra Top Time B21 models, which run a cool $51,500. There are enough dial markers here to recall the glory days of the brand’s focused fixation on aviation and aerospace, touchpoints which recently received a priceless boost when all four Artemis II astronauts elected to wear new Breitling Cosmonautes at least once during the mission which made them the longest distance space travelers in history. The timepieces were worn in tribute to the custom Navitimer created for Scott Carpenter’s 1962 Mercury 7 mission. Both Carpenter’s one-off and the new Cosmonaute, which was released in a limited edition of 450, feature a special 24-hour dial to help distinguish day from night.

The Aston Martin/Breitling pairing is new. In February, the brands announced a global, multi-year partnership, leaving ex-partners like Bentley and Girard-Perregaux in the rearview. For Breitling, the alliance marks a shift. Following the brand’s acquisition by private equity in 2017, CEO Georges Kern steered away from macho aviation swagger toward more generalist upscale positioning, instituting an air/land/sea directive that sought a wider audience than flight-obsessed avgeeks. For Aston Martin, it’s a signal that the brand’s ambitions extend well beyond the road car business, which has been struggling, into Formula 1 and the broader luxury ecosystem. I’ll admit to some cognitive dissonance when I first caught wind of the union. It had been nearly five years since Breitling’s 19-year marriage to Bentley ended, and the psychic residue of that association is hard to shake. But here I am, in Malibu, with a Breitling on the wrist and an Aston Martin wrapped around the rest of me.

Climbing into the DB12 S doesn’t present a precise matchup between timepiece and cockpit. Sure, both are adorned with wing logos and hide (alligator, in the case of the watch strap). But the Aston’s guiding principles are a contradictory combination of reductionist forms and an exuberance of color thanks to the $11,200 interior tritone option, which alternates chevroned and perforated seating panels in orange, cream and navy. When all is said and done, the DB12 S doesn’t come cheap: starting at $272,000 and finishing at $400,300 after all options (including $23,100 in “Import Costs”) are added up, the Aston punches considerably higher than my borrowed Breitling, which costs less than that jaunty interior trim option. At least the caseback view of the timepiece’s movement feels special, offering levels of finish that would feel at home in anything this side of a hypercar.

There are few spots on the planet that beat Malibu’s lacy network of canyon roads for spirited driving, and the DB12 S feels more capable on these tightly knotted stretches of tarmac than you might expect. While the Vantage S can get downright pugilistic in its attack on decreasing-radius corners, the DB12 S comes across as dimensionally larger but nonetheless ready to rumble. Turn-in grip is excellent, and the larger car rotates better than its 2-ton curb weight suggests it should. The large knurled dial on the center console switches drive modes, producing appreciable differences in suspension stiffness and power delivery. As with all of the physical controls in the Aston, it clicks with satisfying heft.

While the Breitling’s deployant alligator strap echoes Aston’s old money appeal, the ornate markers and contrasting subdials feel more aligned with the pre-digital era when jeweled analog gauges ruled. Regardless, there’s a strong sense of occasion to canyon carving with a Navitimer on the wrist. While you’re unlikely to slide the counter-rotating bezel for slide rule calculations on the fly, the weight and technicality of Breitling’s analog design feels like a flash of flair against Aston’s predominantly digital cabin. Bathed in bright, clear SoCal daylight, the timepiece pops against the posh leather and Alcantara surfaces.

The Aston’s ability to squirt ahead thanks to its eager V8 creates gratifying seat-of-the-pants sensations that defy its elegance. Driving an Aston like you stole it on Mulholland, Stunt Road and Pacific Coast Highway is heady stuff, the kind of drive that reminds you of everything that’s special about combustion-powered motoring. There’s thrust at foot, grip on hand, and an imperious presence that makes most sports cars feel ordinary in comparison. Likewise, the Navitimer offers a bit of anachronistic exceptionalism on the wrist, the silver dial glinting within the sleek cabin as the tachometer climbs toward redline. The car offers high performance expressed through sophisticated turbocharging and torque vectoring; the watch, through mechanical traditions that predate the automobile itself.

The Navitimer is the opening chapter of the Breitling/Aston Martin story; it’s fair to say that at $10,300 it doesn’t quite match the occasion of a nearly half-million-dollar super coupe on price alone. A more level playing field might have been offered by something like the Breitling Premier B15 Duograph 42, a gorgeous $27,900 piece in 18k red gold that weighs a regal 169.8 grams. If we’re playing for keeps, Breitling even offers a Premier B21 Chronograph Tourbillon 42 Limited Edition at $77,500, still less than a fifth of the price of a well-equipped DB12 S. And if you believe the more terrestrially priced Breitling’s don’t stack up to Aston’s elevated offerings, fear not. I have it on good authority that a vintage Aston-inspired limited edition collaboration might be coming sooner than you think.

The stunt: on Saturday, Swatch will begin selling the Royal Pop, a series of eight Bioceramic pocket watches in Lépine and Savonnette formats, powered by a hand-wound version of Swatch’s Sistem51 caliber and loosely based on AP’s Ref. 5691, the first Genta-designed Royal Oak pocket watch. They bear the Royal Oak’s octagonal bezel, exposed screws, and integrated lug geometry, and retail for $400 and $420. The design has belonged to Audemars Piguet since Gérald Genta drew it in 1972, and in the 54 years since, it has never been produced outside Le Brassus.

When a commenter on the original MoonSwatch Instagram post asked “What’s next, a Swatch Royal Oak?”, the official AP account replied: “When do we launch?” That was 2022. Three years later, the collaboration is real, the product has leaked, and lines are already forming.

“AP is donating all the money they get to fund watchmaking, and they get a ton of free press and mindshare out of it. It’s brilliant,” said Eric Ku, collector and co-founder of Loupe This. “It was obvious from the onset that AP wouldn’t dilute the brand by making a plastic clone of their halo watch, and in pocket watch form I think this is really brilliant and fun. It’s a playful way to engage with younger audiences, and to plant seeds for the future.”

AP overtook Omega in the Morgan Stanley rankings last year, generating an estimated CHF 2.6 billion in revenue on roughly 53,000 watches, with the Royal Oak accounting for approximately 88% of that number. The company has said its entire share of Royal Pop proceeds goes to a watchmaking preservation and training initiative. AP isn’t structuring this as a revenue play. What the collaboration offers AP is something Le Brassus can’t manufacture on its own: reach.

Halim Trujillo, founder, editor-in-chief, and publisher of Watch Collecting Lifestyle, wasn’t as sanguine. “The Royal Pop is something categorically different and considerably more consequential. Audemars Piguet is an independent manufacture. No shared parent, no group allegiance, no corporate rationale that makes this an internal decision.”

For Trujillo, the issue isn’t the pocket watch format or the price point, but what the Royal Oak represented before Saturday.

“For decades, Audemars Piguet operated as one of the most daring materials laboratories in watchmaking, not just in the Royal Oak Offshore collection, but across the broader Royal Oak family,” he continued. “Tantalum in 1986. Forged carbon in 2007. Cermet in 2010. Bulk Metallic Glass in 2021. These were not marketing decisions. They were engineering commitments, each one a first for the industry, each one executed on a watch that collectors would spend years hunting. The Royal Oak has gone mass market, and AP’s brand equity goes with it.”

Adam Craniotes, founder of Red Bar Group, sees it differently. 

“Aside from printing bags full of money, which this collaboration most certainly will do, it further cements Audemars Piguet as an ‘it’ watchmaker among the coveted 18-34 demographic. I have little doubt that it will pay dividends far down the line with a not statistically insignificant number of present Royal Pop customers becoming future Audemars Piguet customers as they ‘age in’ to their jobs and income, and recall their initial introduction to the grand maison fondly.”

The case for the Royal Pop rests almost entirely on the MoonSwatch playbook. By November 2022, eight months after launch, Swatch Group CEO Nick Hayek told the Neue Zürcher Zeitung more than a million units had sold. Morgan Stanley estimated the watch carried a 90% gross margin and generated roughly a fifth of Swatch Group’s operating profit that year. Hayek said Speedmaster sales at Omega’s own boutiques rose more than 50%.

Ku raised another point. “AP is well aware that people will be 3D printing bracelets for these things before long, and it will end up becoming an entire cottage industry. AP is a very smart company and anyone that thinks this is a marketing misstep is just wrong.”

The Swatch brand reported CHF 214 million in revenue in 2021. By 2023, Morgan Stanley put that figure at CHF 660 million, with the MoonSwatch accounting for roughly 73% of brand sales. Swatch jumped from 22nd to 13th in the LuxeConsult rankings, passing Jaeger-LeCoultre, TAG Heuer, and Tudor. Swatch Group doesn’t break out model-level numbers beyond Hayek’s initial disclosure, so everything after the first million is analyst math, but Morgan Stanley’s volume figures tell the story: 3.2 million units in 2021, 5.8 million in 2023, 4.9 million in 2024. By 2025 the brand had slipped to 15th, though before the MoonSwatch it sat outside the top 20 entirely.

Swatch Group’s net profit fell 89% in 2025, from CHF 219 million to CHF 25 million, driven largely by China, and on Tuesday an activist investor backed by ISS and Glass Lewis unsuccessfully challenged the Hayek family for a board seat for the second consecutive year. Swatch gets the product and the margin, AP gets the exposure.

“I’m so against it,” Gueit said, adding, “I’m sure it will do fantastic, but I don’t understand why they need to bring down the image of the company. It’s really disappointing. Even though some are getting really excited about it. Even before the official reveal I had friends reaching out to me asking if I could get them one.”

Alexandra Cheney contributed to this story.

Today, as collectors increasingly seek rarer gemstones with distinctive hues, spinel has become one of the most exciting stones in the market. After a period of relative dormancy, its modern renaissance can be traced back to 2007, when a 115-pound spinel was discovered in Mahenge, Tanzania, revealing the intense, neon-pink hue that would become synonymous with the region. Although much of the crystal was heavily included, it yielded enough fine material to thrust spinel into the spotlight and cement its status as one of the most striking and coveted gemstones in the world.

While demand surged quickly, momentum took time to build, and it wasn’t until the past three to five years that the industry saw a strong gain. “Now it’s accelerated very much. People are looking for things that are different. Being different in this sea of gray and this sea of blankness is very important,” said Anup Jogani, a Los Angeles-based gemstone dealer.

Many in the industry point to the 2015 sale of the Hope Spinel at Bonhams London as a turning point in its broader acceptance. The 50.13-carat octagonal step-cut spinel sold for a record-breaking $1.5 million, signaling a new level of recognition for the gemstone.

Colored stones have also gained significant traction, in turn propelling the rise of spinel, prized not only for its vivid neon color but also its durability and relative lack of treatment. “Spinels are very durable stones, very rare and they are beautiful, so as people want more unique stones they have gravitated towards spinel,” said David Nassi, a manager at Mya Nassi, a gem supplier in New York.

Long featured in high jewelry by houses such as Cartier, Tiffany & Co., and Harry Winston, spinel is only now coming into broader focus. It’s no longer just connoisseurs driving demand; first-time buyers and even designers new to the stone are increasingly seeking it out, with interest spanning markets from New York and Rio de Janeiro to Paris and Shanghai, where the Chinese market in particular has played an important role.

That growing interest has been further fueled by increased visibility and education, particularly through social media, where dealers and designers are introducing spinel to a wider audience. “There has been more education around it. I know I try to share a lot about them on my Instagram. When you’re educating people, they get excited about that new material, and they want to invest in it,” said Vanessa Fernandez, a fine jewelry designer and bench jeweler.

Sourcing top-quality spinel today has become progressively difficult, particularly at the high end, where supply has begun to dwindle. Fine material from Tanzania’s Mahenge deposit remains especially prized, and color continues to drive demand, from the vivid neon reds and pinks associated with Mahenge to the electric cobalt blues of Vietnam and even emerging lavender hues. The difference between an exceptional spinel and an average one comes down to the intensity and purity of its color, alongside clarity, but ultimately, how it is cut is critical.

One of the attributes that makes spinel so special is that like a diamond, it’s a singly refractive gemstone, resulting in a pure, uninterrupted color with a distinctive inner glow. Its largely untreated nature further enhances its appeal, particularly in contrast to rubies and sapphires, where treatment is common. While some buyers may be priced out of ruby, many are seeking spinel on its own merits, drawn to its rarity, durability, and vivid color that is simply not replicated elsewhere.

“A client who wants a ruby will be very specific about getting that material. I currently have a client who is looking for a super red spinel and she’s not asking me for a ruby. She’s looking for that intense Jedi color. Could she ask me for a ruby? She could, but she knows it’s going to look different,” said Fernandez.

For some, spinel may offer an alternative at a lower entry point, but it has become its own category, with prices at the top end rising sharply. Dave Bindra, vice president and head of acquisitions at B&B Fine Gems in Los Angeles, who acquired one of the first polished Mahenge parcels, noted that “cobalt blues have stabilized, and lavenders continue to climb. While the top-echelon neon reds and pinks doubled in the last 12 months, jumping more than in any other period since 2008.”

With supply tightening and demand broadening globally, many see continued room for growth over the long term, positioning spinel not as a substitute, but as a gemstone whose identity and value are being defined on its own terms. “This is another reason why I would push to buy spinel,” said Bindra. “You’re getting in at a level where they’re probably going to appreciate to that of unheated rubies. There is probably going to be a day where there are spinels that sell for millions of dollars per carat, within a 10-to-20-year horizon.”

Timepieces have taken center stage in mobility long before the advent of the automobile, but a handful of recent multimillion-dollar Rolls-Royce vehicles showcase this classical pairing of time and movement. The custom-ordered Coachbuild vehicles represent productions of one and one only, and timepieces are equally bespoke. Together, they add up to functional art estimated to be valued beyond $30 million for the four pairings listed below.

“The importance of watches has come to a new level,” Matthias Junghanns, Head of Interior Design, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, told Crown & Caliber.

Much like the old days, these modern marvels of time serve as both talking pieces and talismans for the larger vessel that contains them. They can be removed from the singular wood-grain dashboards of the vehicles and worn as wristwatches or displayed as clocks. They’re as portable as their matching Rolls-Royce vehicles are transportable.

What makes Coachbuild special? Most everything. The studio of Rolls-Royce modifies an existing chassis with a 6.75-liter twin-turbo V12 that makes at least 563 horsepower and 627 pound-feet of torque. From there, just about everything else from the woodgrain to the timepieces are custom-made to the client’s favorite watch brand and specification. 

“A timepiece is a very very personal choice and personal preference so we are not making the choice for the client,” Junghanns said. “It’s the clients who ask us to work with the watchmakers, and the client then defines every aspect of the commission.”

These four commissioned cars and their clocks—with one more Droptail model to come—represent the pinnacle of bespoke craftsmanship and wealth. 

“We try with both creative teams to create two masterpieces,” Junghanns said.

Rolls-Royce La Rose Noire Droptail

• Model: La Rose Noire Droptail is the first of four full-size two-seat roadsters
• Timepiece: Royal Oak Concept Split Seconds Chronograph GMT Large Date by Audemars Piguet
• Introduced in: August 2023
• Estimated Rolls-Royce Coachbuild cost: More than $30 million, according to Bloomberg

The first Droptail in a Coachbuild series of four, the La Rose Noire aspires to be a love story on wheels shared between a husband and wife with deep ties to France. La Rose Noire references the Black Baccara rose of France and Rolls-Royce claims this Droptail is the most complex work it’s ever created. The expression of falling rose petals stems from 1,603 pieces of Black Sycamore veneer shaped into triangles that grow from small to large down the tail and again in the curved inner parquet panel behind the two seats. The intricacy of the black and red wood triangles throughout flows from the equally intricate timepiece.

Made exclusively for the client by Audemars Piguet, the Royal Oak Concept measures 43 millimeters and has a self-winding Calibre 4407. It features a flyback chronograph for a simple, single button push to reset and restart the timer. Another button powers a clasp that opens like talons to remove the timepiece from the dash and strap it to a wrist, so the owner can carry the essence of La Rose Noire wherever they go. The power reserve lasts 70 hours, and of course the titanium watch has custom red counters and a red inner bezel that matches the blood red hue of the La Rose Noire. Once removed, a handcrafted rose stands out from a white-gold coin in the opening in the fascia. Other subtle Baccara Rose engravings on the speaker frets were crafted by the Swiss watchmaker.

Rolls-Royce Amethyst Droptail

• Model: Rolls-Royce Amethyst Droptail is the second of four full-size two-seat roadsters
• Timepiece: Les Cabinotiers Armillary Tourbillon by Vacheron Constantin
• Introduced in: August 2023
• Estimated Rolls-Royce Coachbuild cost: $37 million, according to Hagerty

The Amethyst in this Coachbuild’s name honors the birthstone of the patron’s son. The patron, whose family business grew from selling precious gemstones into a multinational corporation, requested amethyst cabochons, or smooth, rounded gems, be inset into certain parts of the interior and exterior, such as around the Spirit of Ecstasy hood ornament. The second of four commissioned Droptails, the Amethyst embraces nautical themes, with a split-deck and a removable hardtop that opens up to a lower rear deck outfitted with what Rolls-Royce calls that largest wood surface it’s ever produced. The rear deck was designed not just for beauty but to create downforce for better high-speed stability. The textured open-pore wood appears inside as well, curving behind the front seats and wrapping around the dash, door panels, and the timepiece, off-center to the passenger side.

The name of the timepiece represents two parts of the Geneva watchmaker’s storied arsenal. Les Cabinotiers is a specific workshop known for handmaking unique timepieces in consultation with the client, similar to Coachbuild out of Goodwood. The Armillary Tourbillon is bi-axial with a double retrograde display with lightweight titanium hands that move along arcs instead of full rotations. Derived from Reference 57260, which Vacheron Constantin says is the most complicated timepiece in the world, the display evokes traditional speedometers. The bi-axial tourbillon with two nested cages rotating at a speed of 60 seconds per rotation form a sphere of constant motion, which Vacheron deemed necessary given the watch’s vertical position in the dash. Rolls-Royce and Vacheron Constantin also designed a special holder so it can be removed from its place of prominence in the dash and showcased elsewhere. The oversized crown looks like a classic hand-wound chronometer, and it’s easy to wind to ensure 58 hours of power. The instrument dials flash bits of amethyst colors and the white-gold baseplate features a handcrafted sunburst in textured, geometric engraving known as guilloché.

Rolls-Royce Arcadia Droptail

• Model: Arcadia Droptail is the third of four full-size two-seat roadsters
• Timepiece: Custom-made clock by Rolls-Royce
• Introduced in: February 2024
• Estimated Rolls-Royce Coachbuild cost: $31 million, according to the New York Post

The third and penultimate installment of the Droptail belongs to a client with a “distinct affinity for architecture and design” and was presented to them in Singapore early in 2024. The cream-on-tan leather interior reflects both the duotone exterior and the open-pore Santo Straight Grain wood used in even more prominence and perhaps more natural understated elegance than the other two commissioned Droptails. The sensitive wood also stretches across the shawl panel that sort of walks the plank of the armrest tail then curves behind the seats where the tail starts, which is the only design element linking the commissioned Droptails. In the Arcadia, that wood section is said to be the largest continuous piece ever made in a Rolls-Royce.

The wooden dash fascia holds another Rolls-Royce superlative: the clock purports to be the most complex Rolls-Royce face ever created. The assembly took five months to develop and it stands out like a lavish piece of jewelry in a medium celebrating the natural world. The guilloché pattern here is three-dimensional metal and has 119 facets to reflect the brand’s 119-year anniversary when the client first saw their commissioned car in 2023. The 12 polished hour markers, or chaplets, are only 0.1 mm thick, but there’s a little inlet bridge in each chaplet that Rolls says ensures its reliability. Even though the bespoke British brand didn’t reference a watchmaker partner with this bedazzled clock, it says that its testing and validation standards are “higher than those of the watch world.”

Rolls-Royce Boat Tail

• Model: Arcadia Droptail is the third of four full-size two-seat roadsters
• Timepiece(s): A pair of Bovet 1822s in Amadeo cases
• Introduced in: May 2021
• Estimated Rolls-Royce Coachbuild cost: $28 million, according to a Rolls-Royce dealer in Florida

The Boat Tail followed the Sweptail in Rolls-Royce’s Coachbuild history of one-off multi-million dollar customizations. The Sweptail kicked off the Coachbuild’s modern series in 2017 and prompted Rolls to call it the automotive equivalent of haute couture, or hauto couture, if my editor allows such cringe. The Sweptail featured a handcrafted clock with titanium hands, but it lacked the exclusivity and rarity of the timepiece of its successor, the Boat Tail. The Boat Tail also ushered in Coachbuild as a permanent fixture in Rolls-Royce, blending car, yacht, and airline design with exclusivity of the highest order.

Similar to the Droptail, the Boat Tail consists of three commissioned models. The signature design element includes a kind of butterfly door that opens up out of the tail, hinged on either side at the center. A chest and double refrigerator lie in wait, as do rotating cocktail tables and built-in stools, and in the Rolls-Royce way, a parasol that telescopes up and out over the setup. This is tailgating of the highest order.

And the owner will never miss kickoff or the umpire calling “Play” with the his-and-her pair of Bovet 1822 timepieces. They measure 44 millimeters in diameter, and with their Amadeo case they can be reversible or made into a pocket watch on a chain, a pendant watch on a necklace, as a table clock, or serve as a dashboard clock. A 60-second tourbillon with a heavier balance wheel enables precise time in all those various uses, including the static one in the dash. It takes manual winding and has a five-day power reserve. A miniature Spirit of Ecstasy logo handcrafted in gold spreads her wings at the bottom.

Explorer yachts are a distinct class of super-yacht built not for glamour but for endurance: long-range vessels with ice-strengthened hulls, massive storage capacity, and the ability to stay at sea for weeks or months at a time without resupply. They are, in short, designed to go anywhere on earth. And increasingly, their buyers want to.

While these vessels remain a niche interest, even within the niche that is super-yachts, the last decade has seen a steady rise in interest in explorer yachts. Sanlorenzo now sells an explorer yacht every two years, an impressive rate for super-yachts. These are the kind of vessels purposely designed for their capabilities rather than their style, built with huge storage areas for everything from food to submersibles. They’re extra-long range, ice-strengthened with a highly maneuverable hull, a limited draft, maybe a heli-pad and, yes, a massive crane capable of lifting 30-foot tenders out of the water.

With that idea in mind Gianni Agnelli, the industrialist, style icon and Fiat heir, is said to have commissioned the first explorer-style yacht in the 1980s, the 32.8m-long F100, built by the Italian company CRN; arguably he was ahead of his time and the concept did not catch on.

The explorer yacht market is growing rapidly – according to the yacht brokerage Interparus the 5.3% annual growth rate in sales of superyachts from 2018 to date is “largely attributable to the population of exploration yachts”. 

 “Customers are realizing that maybe a yacht isn’t just for hosting parties off St. Tropez,” said Maria Roberta Morso, press officer at Italian shipbuilder Cantiere Delle Marche, adding, “but can provide a solution for long-term living at sea. And with the instability of geo-politics lately perhaps that’s an encouragement too.”

Although relatively new to the market, Cantiere Delle Marche specializes in explorer yacht-building. Established in 2010, the company was this year awarded two Boat International Design & Innovation Awards for its RJ and Tremenda explorer designs. In Q4 of 2025, the company delivered the third of its Flexplorer model yachts: with a 6,500 nautical mile range – that will get you from London to New York and back. Standard super-yacht ranges are typically between 2,000 and 5,000 nautical miles. Another explorer yacht is currently being outfitted, complete with a full-sized pickleball court.

Amorso noted that explorer yachts are conservative relative to the cutting-edge of super-yacht construction and technology. While, for example, newer electrical propulsion might potentially afford even longer ranges, explorers tend to stick with the combustion kind.

The “key to any explorer is its reliability, because it’s going places where no expert assistance or specialist parts will be available,” she said. An accessible combustion engine, much like an internal combustion engine in an automobile, is easier to repair if necessary.

But, stylistically at least, the trend is toward a morphing of forms: the traditionally light, sleek, “white yacht” styling combined with the off-the-grid capabilities, a concept Cantiere Delle Marche has pioneered with its Tremenda model. “Externally there’s less of the rough, sturdy aspect that characterizes explorer yacht design,” she said. It’s the industry recognizing that some owners may not want to sail through the Arctic Ocean, but nonetheless like the idea of cruising the Mediterranean Sea for the summer without having to refuel. They still want to fit in with their peers, aesthetically speaking.

That’s the marine equivalent of new SUV design: off-road capabilities are hidden beneath a more polished, urban exterior. Similar to the SUV market in which some drivers feel a splash of mud adds authenticity to their ride, so some explorer yacht owners don’t mind the odd knock either.

“If they’re sailing through ice they know their hull is going to get scratched up and that fixing it will be expensive, but they don’t care because it shows that they can take their boat anywhere,” said Enrique Tintore, SeaXplorer design manager for the Netherlands-based Damen Yachting. The company has been building expedition-capable vessels since 2015, when it launched its SeaXplorer line at the Monaco Yacht Show, combining the luxury pedigree of its Amels superyacht brand with the heavy-duty shipbuilding capabilities of the broader Damen Shipyards Group, which traces its roots to 1918. The flagship of the SeaXplorer range is the 105-meter Xplorer 105, a concept design accommodating 24 guests across 12 cabins, with a twin helideck, a submarine, a scuba dive deck, and a forward garage capable of storing a 13-meter chase boat along with four additional tenders. Its 8,000 nautical mile range is sufficient for a trans-Pacific crossing.

“People commissioning yachts are younger now, have come into their money faster and seem to have a different attitude. They want to be able to work anywhere, as, increasingly, they can, and are more action-driven. And that’s being reflected in their choice of vessel.”

Lilac- and scarlet-colored wildflowers line hiking and biking trails throughout the valleys of Aspen Snowmass’s four mountains, which are also the backdrop for performances and live music by big-name acts like Kacey Musgraves. On the region’s Gold Medal Waters-designated waters, anglers can sport their Rolex Submariner or Panerai Luminor Submersible fly fishing for trout or floating with Wild Willow Outfitters, pausing riverside for a catered picnic. 

Celebrity chefs herald in the start of summer at the annual Food & Wine Classic, but Colorado produce is celebrated all season long at the Aspen Saturday Market and the city’s growing number of restaurants, which include locally loved institutions like Michelin-starred Bosq, as well as transplants like Milan-born Sant Ambroeus, whose new cocktail bar, Il Baretto, debuts this summer in a neighboring wooden cabin. “By far, the most exciting thing about cooking in Aspen and our area is the abundance of produce and meats that come from our local farmers,” says Bosq’s chef-owner Barclay Dodge, who looks to the surrounding forest to bring edible finds to his tasting menus. “We have such an amazing group of small farmers that take great pride and intention in what they do.”

This season, the city will welcome another newcomer, underground izakaya Hai Sí, helmed by Kyoto-born chef Yoshi Okai, previously of Austin’s Uchi and Uchiko. Infusing Spanish touches into traditional Japanese, the multi-course menu ranges from spruced up nigiri to patatas bravas with tomato miso and tofu crème fraîche and pan con tomate with uni, boquerones, and pata negra jamón ibérico. 

From the city’s best burger to splurge-worthy shopping, dive into our guide to Aspen.

Stay

The brick facade housing Aspen’s Hotel Jerome was built back in 1889, when Colorado’s silver boom was in full force, and it was the only one in town to survive both the silver crash and Great Depression. Rooms embrace the city’s historic western charm through modernized touches like sumptuous, chocolate leather headboards and sleek oak stag heads. J-Bar—whose 7X Ranch wagyu burger is said to be the best in town—is where everyone from cowboys and miners to journalist and author Hunter S. Thompson once held court. Snag a seat at one of the leather studded stools and sip Colorado craft beer before dining next door at the hotel’s seasonally driven Prospect, whose flower-filled courtyard features a roving bar cart that serves up crisp martinis and caviar tastings.

Eat

At family-owned Bosq, Dodge and his wife, Molly, have helped redefine Colorado mountain cuisine by championing the flavors, local farmers, ranchers, roasters, and foragers of the Aspen Valley. The tasting menu-only restaurant is the sole in the city to carry a Michelin star for its refined take on rustic cuisine with plates like puffed grain-encrusted lamb grilled on oak branches and juniper-grilled lobster with buttermilk-mussel emulsion. Dessert nods to childhood campfire fare with a s’mores-inspired take while drinks look to the forest with cocktails crafted from locally foraged blue spruce. The wine list also follows the restaurant’s philosophy of sourcing from small, family-owned wineries, with the majority of the bottles certified biodynamic or organic.

Drink

Discreetly tucked between downtown’s designer boutiques and galleries, Hooch is easy to miss if you’re not looking for it. Descend the staircase to the den-like space that feels equal parts saloon and speakeasy with its brick-clad and wooden walls, worn-in leather couches, and crystal chandeliers hanging overhead. Craft cocktails riff on classics, like the Old Fashioned-inspired “The Gentleman,” a blend of bourbon, Lillet Blanc, and génépy herbal liqueur. If you prefer to sip your drink neat or on the rocks, you’ll also find an impressive collection of rare spirits.

Indulge

You can’t say you’ve been to Aspen until you’ve shopped western wear at the flagship Kemo Sabe, whose customizable hats have become a staple at après-ski. Go for the iconic Kemo Sabe Grit, the shop’s own line of beaver and rabbit felt hats produced by hand following a century-old process. If you want to embrace the full spirit of the west, you can also custom design a pair of boots—which take about 18 weeks to craft at the Kemo Sabe Grit Boot Ranch in Texas—or pick up a hand-engraved sterling silver buckle designed by expert silversmiths. 

Explore

Aspen Mountain may be a winter favorite for its unparalleled après-ski scene at Cloud Nine Alpine Bistro, but in summer, the popular spot for an al fresco lunch is the Sundeck—especially on Sundays when some of the top bluegrass bands in the state are playing at the 11,000-foot-high perch. Hike to the top along the steep Ute Trail, which starts downtown and climbs nearly a thousand vertical feet in under a mile to the namesake Ute Rock. Catch your breath while taking in sweeping shots of Aspen before pushing another 2,000 vertical feet to the top, where you can linger over a long lunch and relax on the way back down to town in the comfort of the Silver Queen Gondola.

Of course, there are brands outside of these corporate structures. Patek Philippe has belonged to the Stern family since 1932 and operates with the insularity of a private bank. Audemars Piguet remains in the hands of descendants of its two founding families, a governance structure nearly as old as the Vallée de Joux workshops where its watches are still made. Chanel, controlled by the Wertheimer family, runs its own manufacture in La Chaux-de-Fonds and occupies a seat on the board of the Watches & Wonders Geneva Foundation alongside Rolex and Richemont. It also holds minority stakes in F.P. Journe (20%, acquired in 2018), MB&F (25%, acquired in 2024), Bell & Ross, and Romain Gauthier. In each case, the founders retain creative control; Chanel functions as a long-term partner rather than a parent company. Hermès builds watches through its La Montre Hermès subsidiary with the same quiet vertical ambition it brings to leather.

Further still from the org chart are the true independents: individual watchmakers working at the bench, producing dozens or low hundreds of watches a year entirely under their own names. Philippe Dufour, Kari Voutilainen, and Rexhep Rexhepi represent a tradition in which the watchmaker is the brand, the manufacturer, and in some cases the sole finisher of every component. There is no corporate structure to diagram. Their influence on what collectors value and what the larger houses aspire to has become impossible to ignore.

The graphics below offer a comprehensive, though not exhaustive, look at who owns what across the industry, and a starting point for understanding the business behind the watches.

(Illustrations by Katherine Galiste)

Founded in 2017 by Alex Levin, EMC is based in Frenchtown, New Jersey, and does exactly one thing: frame-off restorations of the military-spec Mercedes-Benz 250 GD Wolf. Each build requires more than 2,300 hours of in-house work, from stripping the body to bare metal and treating it for corrosion to rebuilding the drivetrain, brakes, and suspension. The company produces roughly 24 trucks a year, sourced exclusively from retired NATO and Bundeswehr service vehicles. Powertrain options range from the original OM602 diesel to upgraded, more powerful Mercedes turbodiesels and, as in this China Blue Wolf, the GM LS3 V8.

I was recently able to sample a particularly special EMC truck in Miami, Florida, called the 620 GE Wolf. Finished in the company’s China Blue paint, this rig began life as a ’90s NATO-spec 250 GD. Back when the names of German vehicles were logical, 250 GD meant it had a workaday 2.5-liter five-cylinder diesel that made so little power most people (i.e. Americans) think of them as essentially novelties. Which is why EMC succumbed to near-constant customer demand and stuffed a good ole 430-hp 6.2-liter Chevrolet LS3 crate motor under the Wolf’s hood (hence 620). Doing so changed the D (diesel) to an E (gasoline). They also shoehorned in a GM six-speed automatic. EMC performs all this Frankensteinery at its factory in Poland.

While the experiment might sound unholy, the results are indeed fantastic. Instead of lumbering around like an old army truck, the 620 GE feels modern. Perhaps not as fleet as, say, a current G550, but really not far off. As a glorified beach cruiser (probably the primary use case, let’s be real), EMC’s creation is superb. Aside from having modern, more than adequate power, the up-jumped Wolf feels engineered. Should you want to actually do G-Wagen things with your modded G, the 620 GE Wolf still has a ladder frame and two locking differentials (the military Wolf has two, as opposed to three on the civilian G-Class — like the one you’d buy in, say, Beverly Hills). Even with only front and rear lockers, this truck should go wherever you damn please.

Aside from radically improving the powertrain, EMC allows customers to fully customize the paint, leather, and wood, the latter being slathered around generously including underneath the two optional (but psychographically mandatory) jump seats. How much are we talking? $252,000 is the starting point for the Chevy power. This is by no means cheap but in this case, the totally improved NATO G-Wagen feels worth the money. I’ve driven a former military 250 GD with the gutless five-banger and literally got left in the dust by a Stanley Steamer. Yes, a 100-plus-year-old steam car was quicker. Also, have you checked G-Wagen prices lately? A standard G550 will set you back $155,750 with nary an option. The G63, which outsells the G550 by something like two-to-one, begins life at $198,150. G-Wagens ain’t cheap. In other news, fork found in the kitchen. Now, EMCs with weaker, more diesel engines can be had for as little (zoink) as $185,000. After driving the American horsepower version, I’m thinking a good portion of the customers will opt for the V-8. I’m here to reassure them they’ll be quite happy if they do.

The EMC 620 GE Wolf starts at $252,500. For more information or to commission a build, visit expeditionmotorcompany.com.

What’s driving that shift is the power catamaran: a vessel that offers ballroom-size interior and exterior spaces, twin hulls that run fast and fuel-efficiently, rock-steady stability, and a rapidly expanding range of hybrid and all-electric power options. Collectively, those attributes are converting buyers who once wouldn’t have considered anything but a monohull.

Among those leading the transition is Florida-based Aquila Yachts, which has quickly grown into the world’s foremost power catamaran brand. Its current 14-model lineup ranges from a 28-foot center console to an opulent 70-footer with six cabins and deck space for a party of 40.

“Part of the appeal is that the designs of power catamarans have changed exponentially over the past decade,” Alain Raas, Aquila’s Global Brand Director told Crown & Caliber. “Before, they were boxy and not very attractive. Now, there’s more of a focus on style and European flair, which is attracting new buyers.”

The numbers bear out Raas’s case for scale. The newest power cats offer 20-to-25 per cent more interior volume compared to a monohull of similar length. “That means in something like an Aquila 50 Yacht, priced from roughly $1.6 million, you’d have to move-up to a 70-foot monohull to have the same amount of space,” he said.

No powercat builder knows more about space than Poland’s Sunreef Yachts. The yard’s recently unveiled, roughly $22 million, 119-foot Ultima 111 arrives with a vast 37-foot beam, cabins for 10, and internal dimensions more akin to a sprawling Manhattan penthouse than anything found at sea.

Sunreef’s bold, head-turning designs have attracted the attention of tennis legend Rafa Nadal, who swapped his 76-foot Italian-built MCY 76 monohull for a custom 80 Sunreef Power he christened “Great White.” Formula 1 racer Fernando Alonso is also a fan, commissioning an electric 60 Sunreef Power Eco, with its hull and superstructure covered in energy-providing solar panels.

“More and more monohull owners are looking for increased space, longer cruising capability and higher levels of customization,” explained Sunreef founder and president, Francis Lapp, adding, “multihulls are extremely well-suited to meeting these expectations.”

Sunreef is also staking its future on green propulsion. The yard recently delivered the 100 Sunreef Power Eco, its first all-electric 100-footer, fittingly named “Double Happiness.” Powered by four 180kW electric motors and a 990 kWh battery bank charged by wall-to-wall solar panels, Lapp says the yacht delivers silent, emission-free and reduced-cost cruising.

The Chinese-built Oceanwalker S60, priced from roughly $3.5 million,  which debuted at last fall’s Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, makes its case on sheer exterior volume. Its flybridge alone offers over 500 square feet of entertaining space, while below decks, every cabin boasts around seven feet of headroom.

The S60 is no slouch on speed either, hitting 22 knots on twin 600-hp Volvo turbo diesels, a respectable clip for a 60-footer. For those who demand more, Ireland’s Safehaven Marine offers a different order of magnitude altogether: the astonishing 70-foot T-2000 Voyager, powered by a pair of 2,000 hp MAN V12 diesels, can slice the roughest of chop at over 60 knots.

More than 20 builders are now feeding the ever-increasing demand for power catamarans. In addition to Aquila, Sunreef and Oceanwalker, major players include France’s Fountaine Pajot and Lagoon, Taiwan’s Horizon, South Africa’s Leopard and Two Oceans, China’s Iliad, Italy’s Silent-Yachts, and Bulgaria’s Omaya. Bluegame, part of the Italian Sanlorenzo Group, is pioneering the so-called “narrow-beam” power cat trend with its BGM75, as is France’s Prestige with its sleek M48.

“No, power catamarans will never replace monohulls going forward, but the split is certainly going to get a lot narrower. There are just too many benefits of two hulls,” added Aquila’s Raas.