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Boutique watchmaker De Bethune recently introduced the De Bethune DB 28 (www.debethune.ch), a watch that mixes the futuristic with the vintage.

The ability to predict the weather with godlike accuracy began with a single invention: the barometer. In 1643, a student of Galileo discovered that by measuring air pressure one could forecast sun, rain, wind, or thunderbolts, and barometers soon went from meteorological tools to status symbols of the elite, with ...

With my waders pulled up to my armpits I sloshed into Tasmania’s Great Oyster Bay and pushed my way to the shallows where the baby bivalves floated by the thousands. Since my arrival on Australia’s remote island state several days earlier, I had lunched daily on the plump, delectable shellfish, ...

Separated from Australia by the 150-mile-wide Bass Strait, Tasmania is a land apart—a place of wild and beautiful landscapes, friendly and gregarious people, a pleasantly temperate climate, wonderful wine and food, and inviting accommodations.The Red Feather Inn (www.redfeatherinn.com.au), in northern Tasmania near the city of Launceston, epitomizes the quaint country ...

In the late 19th century, Baron Oppenheim of Florence regularly hosted princes, pashas, and artists at Villa Cora, the city estate he built for his young wife.

More than a dozen years after it debuted, &Beyond Sossusvlei Desert Lodge remains a lone oasis in the stark and hauntingly beautiful landscape of Namibia’s private 445,000-acre NamibRand Nature Reserve. The remote game lodge, which underwent renovations last year, unveiled in Febru-ary the transformation of its 10 split-level villas into ...

The Jantar Mantar Observatory in Jaipur, India, is an 18th-century sculpture garden of massive astrological instruments that are as impressive for their architecture as they are for their accuracy. The stone designs served as inspiration for the developers of the Pink City’s newest star: Devi Ratn, a boldly contemporary resort ...

The Jantar Mantar Observatory in Jaipur, India, is an 18th-century sculpture garden of massive astrological instruments that are as impressive for their architecture as they are for their accuracy. The stone designs served as inspiration for the developers of the Pink City’s newest star: Devi Ratn, a boldly contemporary resort ...

Ballyfin Demesne, a 600-acre estate 90 minutes by car from Dublin, features a Regency-style main home designed by father-son architects Sir Richard Morrison and William Vitruvius Morrison in the 19th century. Operated for years as a school, the grand manse and its wooded surrounds are now taking reservations. The school announced ...

Ballyfin Demesne, a 600-acre estate 90 minutes by car from Dublin, features a Regency-style main home designed by father-son architects Sir Richard Morrison and William Vitruvius Morrison in the 19th century. Operated for years as a school, the grand manse and its wooded surrounds are now taking reservations. The school announced ...

Rigid inflatable boats are known best for their utility in rescue or military missions. But for years Oak

The Devialet D-Premier (www.devialet.com), a 1.25-inch-thick, 240-watt-per-channel stereo amplifier made in France, remains as cool as it looks. Audiophile amps are ranked by design type, with Class A models positioned at the top, although they consume obscene amounts of electricity and cast off enough heat to warm a living room. ...

Mornings on Hangzhou’s West Lake begin with a subtle symphony. Docked wooden sampan boats creak and moan, rhythmically bobbing with the lake’s waterline.

My lesson with Lars Magnusson seems to be paying off. The 36-year-old founder of Wyoming-based driven-shooting outfitter Blixt & Company has just walked me through the weight-forward, upright-stance, gun-to-cheek position that proper clay and wing shooting demands

As combat garb, suits of armor have been obsolete for centuries. But its sculptural qualities can render a suit timeless as a decoration for the home, whether the armor is an antique replica or an exceedingly rare and valuable original