Most Expensive Business Card

Black Astrum today launch the Signature Card range of bespoke diamond encrusted business cards, targeting ultra high net worth individuals across the world.
A full set of cards can contain in excess of 30 carats. The average selling price per card is around the £1000 mark, sold in sets of 25, 50 and 100 cards.
“The Signature Card allows our members to express themselves in a truly unique way” said Sufian Khawaja, Black Astrum’s concept director.

Using precision cast Swiss made materials and diamonds of the highest quality, the Signature Card is designed to make an immediate statement.
Originally produced as a one-off commission for a wealthy Middle Eastern family, the card elegantly encapsulates the pre-eminence of the individual.

Rolls-Royce beats 107-year sales record

Rolls-Royce announced Monday that sales rocketed to an all-time high in 2011, driven by demand from China and the United States.
The group, which is owned by German auto giant BMW, said in a statement that production leapt 31 percent to 3,538 cars in 2011.
That was the highest-ever output in the 107-year history of Rolls-Royce. The 2011 performance beat the previous record of 3,347 cars set in 1978.

Rolls-Royce also said China and the United States were now the “most significant individual markets” for the maker of ultra-luxurious vehicles.
The company said sales surged last year by 47 percent across the Asia Pacific region, by 17 percent in North America and by 23 percent in the Middle East.
In September, Rolls-Royce unveiled plans to expand its factory to meet strong global demand for the group’s personalised range of Ghost and Phantom models.

Louis Vuitton to collaborate with Yayoi Kusama

Louis Vuitton has collaborated with Yayoi Kusama on a series of products including leather goods, ready-to-wear, accessories, shoes, watches and jewelry.
Marc Jacobs worked with the Japanese artist on the range, which hits Louis Vuitton boutiques early July. Special window installations are also scheduled.
The artist is best known for her interest in polka dots, which she has famously applied to tree trunks, entire rooms and even people.

The collaboration ties in with a major retrospective of Kusama’s work which hits London’s Tate Modern February 9 following spells in Rome, Madrid and Paris.
Jacobs has collaborated with contemporary artists such as Richard Prince, Stephen Sprouse and Takashi Murakami in the past.
In 2009 a range inspired by Stephen Sprouse’s motifs such as graffiti prints coincided with a retrospective of the artist at New York gallery Deitch Projects.
Louis Vuitton isn’t the only French fashion house with close links to the art world: during last year’s Art Basel Miami Beach fair Christian Dior unveiled an accessories line in partnership with German contemporary artist Anselm Reyle.

Senate committee approves casino bill

A Senate committee approved a hotly debated bill yesterday that would allow up to three resort casinos in Florida and slot machines at pari-mutuel facilities throughout the state, CBS News reported.

The bill, which still has to make it through the full Senate and House, would permit up to three resort casinos to be built as part of mixed-use developments. The facilities would include such amenities as restaurants, shopping and convention facilities. According to the News Service of Florida, the Regulated Industries Committee approved the bill 7-3.

“Now, I think people are going to wake up tomorrow and realize the threat is real,” said Mark Wilson, president of the Florida Chamber of Commerce, which opposes the bill. [CBS]

Asia leads the way in Miami commercial investment

From left: renderings of Genting's Resorts World Miami and Swire Group's Brickell CitiCentre

While it garners an overwhelming share of the coverage, Latin America isn’t the only foreign region betting heavily on Miami real estate. As Seeking Alpha noted, Asian investors – led by Malaysian-based Genting – are now focusing on the city.

Asian companies like Miami because of the rapid growth of its tourism industry, Seeking Alpha said. In 2010 it hosted a record 12.6 million people, and the city is expected to draw more than 17 million in the near future. That growth supports businesses throughout the city and compelled Swire Pacific to plan for a $700 million Brickell CitiCentre, a retail, office, hotel and condominium project.

In 2011, Miami attracted $471.5 million in foreign commercial real estate investment, compared to $142 million and $120.3 million for Palm Beach and Broward counties, respectively, and $205 million for all non-South Florida counties combined.

Thanks to Genting, $252.3 million of the $951.2 million of foreign investment in Florida’s commercial real estate market came from Malaysia, the most of any foreign country. 

Jordache files foreclosure on Versace mansion

       

According to the South Florida Business Journal, Jordache filed a foreclosure lawsuit one week after buying the property’s $25 million mortgage from German bank WestLB Dec. 16. Earlier that same month owner Casa Cusaurina filed a lawsuit against WestLB claiming the loan documents weren’t an accurate reflection of the initial mortgage agreement. Theproperty has been in mortgage limbo for months. [SFBJ]

Jordache moved to foreclose on the current owners of the famed South Beach mansion where fashion icon Gianni Versace was shot dead in 1997. The property, at 1116 Ocean Drive, is now a 23,462-square-foot hotel owned by Casa Cusaurina.

Miami Heat player Mike Miller selling Hillsboro Shores home by auction

Miami Heat forward Mike Miller is joining a growing number of luxury homeowners choosing to sell their homes by auction, according to the South Florida Business Journal. Interested buyers will have to bring a $250,000 deposit to bid on the home, which is located in Hillsboro Shores. “It gives me an opportunity to sell the home in a quick time frame,” said Miller, who put the 9.968-square-foot home on the market in November. [SFBJ]