Hunt with Eagles on Dunhill's Luxury Adventure Tour

Famed London luxury goods firm Dunhill is collaborating with UK adventure travel firm Black Tomato on a new series of excursions replicating a famed Dunhill journey in 1930. In that year Dunhill's Clement Court traveled overland from Paris to Japan to secure the very finest Japanese lacquered goods for the firm. Dunhill and Black Tomato are now offering modern versions of Court's epic journey, with appropriately luxurious accommodations and adventuresome activities along the way. The excursions are designed to demonstrate that "luxury is something more discerning, more elusive and more unique than just a price tag", as they put it.

The concept of discovery and exploration has been a hallmark of the Dunhill brand since 1893, as reflected in its most recent collections. The luxury packages are priced from about $4,500 and include destinations such as Paris, Moscow, Mongolia and Japan. Experiences include a private tour of the Louvre in Paris while the museum is closed, a flight in a Russian fighter jet above Moscow, learning eagle hunting in Mongolia (above) and bathing in Japan's oldest mineral hot springs. Guests can also opt to recreate Court's entire journey, including 10 days in a private cabin on the Golden Eagle Trans Siberian railway, starting at about $44,000.

Grand Seiko Luxury Watches Finally Available Wordwide

One of Japan's best kept horological secrets - Grand Seiko - will very soon be available world wide. For years (and years) watch lovers longingly looked to Japan at the prestigious high-end Grand Seiko timepieces that were available exclusively in that domestic market. Grand Seiko has been around for 50 years, and this month will officially be available around the world. Until now, only a few places like Hong Kong (I believe) were able to sell Grand Seiko timepieces.

Seiko announced that Grand Seiko would be available world wide last March, but didn't disclose any specific schedule. News has just been released that this month Seiko will offer the entire Grand Seiko collection (with the likely exclusion of a few special models) to 20 new markets around the world - including in North America, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Oceania.

Grand Seiko watches are hand-made in Japan by highly skilled watch makers - probably the very best in the country. I personally visited these manufactures and wrote about them here. Most watch lovers agree that Seiko has 'gold' with Grand Seiko. The collection includes timepieces of three varieties based on the movement. One collection has quartz movements, another has purely mechanical movements, and the third collection contains Seiko's now famous Spring Drive movements (that is a beautiful combo of mechanical watches with high accuracy quartz regulation).

A brand new website has been released for Grand Seiko here. The well-done site includes information on all the available models, and clearly describes the many benefits and selling points of Grand Seiko watches (not everyone has someone like me to sit there and passionately explain why they should like these timepieces). I am not alone in my ability to be impressed by these watches. The designs are classic, the quality is superb, and the movements are beloved among collectors. The best part is that compared to their distant Swiss cousins, these watches are a good value. Prices (for mechanical and Spring Drive models) generally seem to be in the $4,400 - $9,700 range. My current favorite model is the Grand Seiko SBGE001 with a GMT Spring Drive movement. When Grand Seiko watches come to a store near you (there is a store locator on the site), I highly recommend you check them out.