Aston Martin Cygnet heads into Production

Imagine the following scenario: You live in a major European city, say London or Paris. You drive an Aston Martin. Sounds pretty good so far, right? Now imagine that you hardly ever get a chance to drive your Aston Martin because of traffic congestion. Heartbreaking. So what do you do? You get the new Aston Martin Cygnet.

Shown until now in concept form, the Cygnet has now been approved for production, which is set to begin next year. The car is based on the spritely Toyota iQ, but more luxuriously finished, by hand, at Aston's factory in Gaydon, Warwickshire, England, and made to order. Further details – including pricing and specifications – are expected to follow later this year.

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.

Piaget Finds A Spot On Bond Street With New Boutique Store

Piaget luxury watches and jewelry finds a new home for one of its uncommon boutique stores on Bond Street in London. "Go to luxury shopping streets" around the world are filling up with not just watch stores, but brand boutique watch stores (as opposed to multi-brand stores). Richemont Group, who is the parent company of Piaget, is responsible for the majority of these locations in what can be seen as part of a new marketing and sales strategy. For consumers, it helps showcase the brands as a destination versus just one product out of many in a store.

The Piaget boutique on Bond street for example is able to tell the whole story of the brand's current collection - which ranges from sophisticated to sporty men's pieces, as well as extremely artistic high-end jewelry watches for women. From a distribution perspective, such boutiques serve another potential purpose. As Richemont gears up more brands for online sales, boutique stores double as fulfillment centers for shipping product. This way, Piaget has a local distribution center for online sales made in the UK. This would not be possible or as simple with the traditional model that includes selling product to independent third-party retailers. As far as I know, Piaget is not yet a brand that is available for sale online, but given the direction sister Richemont brands are taking - it could very well be a reality sooner than later.

Dunhill Offers the Ultimate Croquet Set for $6,000

Famed London luxury goods firm Dunhill is now offering the ultimate gentleman's croquet set featuring the finest wood and leather detailing. Priced at about $6,000, the four-player professional grade set comes housed in a handmade mahogany chest secured with saddle leather straps, designed to fit perfectly in the trunk of your Bentley or Rolls-Royce. The mallets feature Rockwood heads fitted with brass rings which help add weight and protect the mallet faces from damage. The hickory handles are covered in luxurious Dunhill leather. The solid wooden balls come in a special black leather Dunhill case along with matching clips and markers, and the hoops are constructed of solid cast iron.

Rare Roger Moore Lamborghini at Auction

A rare 1969 Lamborghini Islero GTS (above) driven by Roger Moore in the cult 1970 flick The Man Who Haunted Himself, his last movie before taking up the role of James Bond, has been added to the lineup at RM Auctions' upcoming Automobiles of London sale next month. Estimated to fetch up to $215,000, the highly-coveted car would be quite a collector's catch even without the celebrity provenance. One of 100 Islero GT "S" models and one of only five RHD examples ever built, the car is considered by many to be a hidden gem. Ferruccio Lamborghini himself drove an Islero. Moore was recently reunited with the car in London where he autographed the sun visor, the original driver's handbook and a special plaque. These come with the car, along with an impressive collection of documents, including the original factory invoice, a photographic record of the recent total restoration and a letter from Valentino Balboni, the legendary Lamborghini test driver, confirming this is the actual movie car.

Landlord Lists London's Prada Store Location For Sale

Lochlann Quinn, once the chairman of the Allied Irish Bank, has put a pricey piece of real estate up for sale: the Prada location at 16 Old Bond Street in London. The Independent reports that the commercial real estate will be listed with property consultant Fineman Ross for around £30 million. The sale of the freehold of the building would also include the offices above the Prada store. The total rent is said to be more than £1 million a month. Old Bond Street, which in the Mayfair district of London, has been a fashionable shopping street since the 18th century. The southern part is known as Old Bond Street while the northern part is New Bond Street. Old Bond Street is home to a variety of luxury retailers including Tiffany & Co., Chanel, Gucci and De Beers.