In The Shadow of a Magic Mountain

Flanked by New Zealand’s majestic peaks, Flockhill Homestead blends refined luxury with rugged pragmatism—whether you’re sampling freshly foraged produce or kicking back beside an open fireplace. Prepare to be beguiled.

By Jill K Robinson 28/12/2023

Beyond Lake Pearson and Sugar Loaf peak, the rose-gold brushstrokes of early morning spread slowly across the sky. It’s a moment of magic, turning the expansive lake into a liquid mirror that reflects the dawn’s brilliance in a flood across the land—all the way from Arthur’s Pass to the delicate mounds of feathery brown tussock at my feet that glow in the whispered light of daybreak.

I’m not always an early riser, but I can’t resist this dramatic daytime welcome to Flockhill Homestead, tucked in the Craigieburn Valley on New Zealand’s South Island. I’d arrived via a 75-minute drive from Christchurch in the velvety darkness of night, beneath a canvas of stars drawn over the region like a Merino wool blanket. Where I stand now, on my room’s private terrace, the only sounds are birdsong and the occasional bleating of sheep. The hustle-bustle of everyday worries seems a million miles away.

For these reasons and more, I’m not the only person drawn to Flockhill. The 14,600-hectare working sheep station and experiential luxury lodge in the magnificent Southern Alps blends into the alpine landscape as if it’s always been here. The result is a feeling of being in your own national park, where you can spend your day adventuring among scree slopes, limestone outcrops and braided rivers, returning to your elegant room and a delicious meal showcasing the flavours of the rugged and wild region. Flockhill’s remote location makes guests feel like they have the national park to themselves.

Aotearoa, the country’s Māori name, has long appealed to travellers wanting to indulge in the nation’s raw nature and relaxed attitude. Once they do, many have chosen to move here, to fulfill their career and lifestyle ambitions in equal measure in a true life-work balance—a need that became heightened during the Covid-19 pandemic.

In 2023, for example, provisional migrant arrivals from the United States to New Zealand grew to 4,264 from 1,479 in 2022, and, according to the World Bank, it’s the best place to do business. Tech billionaire Peter Thiel has become a citizen, and Chance the Rapper has long been vocal about his plans to move to the country.

New Zealand is now also easier to get to from the United States, thanks to new direct flights to Auckland from New York on both Qantas and Air New Zealand. United Airlines recently launched direct flights to Christchurch from San Francisco, and convenient direct flights from Sydney to Christchurch abound on Qantas and Air New Zealand.

Introduced in 2022, after a build of two years, Flockhill Homestead sits among the natural beauty of this sprawling landscape.

“We are refreshingly new, building a lodge that accommodates a modern way of living that does not disturb or infringe upon its surroundings,” says Andrew Cullen, Lodge Manager. The welcoming four-bedroom retreat, made with natural timber and stone, offers views of the dramatic surroundings, from Lake Pearson and Sugar Loaf Peak to Purple Hill and beyond.

The sumptuous interior is a refined counterbalance to the rugged outdoors, featuring art from New Zealand artists, blankets handmade from local New Zealand lambs’ wool, all-wool mattresses and handblown glass pendant lights from Auckland-based Monmouth overhanging the dining room table—itself made of black Mataī (black pine). Guests enjoy meals with the best foraged and sourced New Zealand ingredients (made using Nordic-style cooking techniques by the Homestead’s private chef), the finest wines from the country’s growing areas, and ample moments of relaxation on the outdoor terrace or in the swimming pool.

Adding to Flockhill’s barefoot luxury footprint, the property is introducing 14 villas and a restaurant, due to open in December 2024. Each villa complex will boast a lavish lounge and a fireplace with king rooms on each side, enabling larger families or groups of friends to be housed together. The calming palette, outdoor textures, welcoming fire and floor-to-ceiling windows promise to inspire guests to surrender to the beauty of the surrounding wilderness.

Sugarloaf, the new restaurant, is named after the iconic Sugar Loaf peak that towers on Flockhill’s horizon like a guardian angel. The eatery’s location between the west and east coasts of the country’s South Island allows chef Taylor Cullen to forage and procure native, local and home-grown produce from land, sea and freshwater realms—giving guests the chance to experience New Zealand’s rich essence.

New Zealand-born and European-trained, Cullen hails from big-name restaurants in Sydney, most recently as Head Chef of Chiswick in Woollahra, with Matt Moran. “It’s the dream,” says Cullen. “To study, play with and live amongst this immersion of nature, food, architecture, adventure and wild terrain littered with native ingredients—what a daily gift it is to share it all with others.” Cullen’s goal is to grow and use upwards of 90 percent of produce on the station and be able to sustain the restaurant’s needs year-round.

All the optional activities within the station’s property bring guests back to nature; get a tour of the farm, focused on the station’s creatures and habitat; experience a day in the life of a flock by attending a station muster, where a farmer and his dogs herd sheep from high-country scrub and pastures; take a mountain-bike tour among the Flockhill wilderness; brave chilly water to climb smooth boulders in the Cave Stream Scenic Reserve; hike along the waterfall trail or to a boulder field with 360-degree views of mountain ranges, basins, pasture and limestone outcrops.

“I grew up on the Canterbury Plains with Flockhill on my doorstep,” says Tim Heine, Flockhill’s new Activities Manager. “The ever-changing geography and sense of beauty and wilderness here is unparalleled.” Heine is especially excited about pack rafting, a new activity launching in December 2024, which will explore the entire southern edge of the property, including three distinct gorges on the Broken River.

Guests interested in getting deeper into the culture by embarking on a Flockhill culinary adventure can fly via helicopter to the heart of Canterbury’s limestone country and join dogs sniffing out prized truffles that will be incorporated into a refined lunch. For an intimate look at the art of Māori pounamu (greenstone) carving, a rail journey on the TranzAlpine brings you to the studio of a longtime artist who gathers pounamu from local rivers and mountainsides on the West Coast.

It’s a rare gift to make time seem to stand still, but Flockhill does it so seamlessly. The property’s efforts to keep the balance between luxury and pragmatism in this remote wilderness ensures that this land will be preserved for generations to come. Even while standing here to witness the effects of the spinning
Earth, I feel connected to the land in a deeper way. It’s a feeling I’ll take home with me, nourish, and perhaps—if I’m lucky—return to see again.

Homestead rates from NZ$9,200
per night (around $8,500), two-night
minimum. Villa rates from NZ$3,450
per night (around $3,190),
two-night minimum.

Photography by Lisa Sun

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Omega Just Unveiled 9 Watches in Its New Constellation Observatory Collection

The line-up shows up a bevy of metals and colours, too, as well as two new calibres.

By Nicole Hoey 31/03/2026

Omega’s latest watch is in a universe of its own.

The Swiss watchmaker just unveiled its new Constellation Observatory Collection today, the next step in its Constellation lineage and the first two-hand hour and minute timepieces to ever earn Master Chronometer certification. And if you were paying attention to any of the dazzling watches spotted at the Oscars this year, you would’ve caught a glimpse of the new line already: Sinners star Delroy Lindo rocked one of the models on the Academy Awards red carpet, giving us a pre-release preview of the collection.

Developed at Omega’s new Laboratoire de Précision (its chronometer testing lab open to all brands), the collection houses a set of nine 39.4 mm watches. The watches underwent 25 days of scrutiny there, analysed via a new acoustic testing method that recorded every sound emitted from the timepiece to track irregularities, temperature sensitivities, and more in the name of all things precision. (Details such as water resistance and power reserve are also thoroughly examined.) This meticulous process is all in the name of snagging that Master Chronometer label, meaning that the timepiece is highly accurate and surpasses the threshold for ultra-high performance. The Constellation Observatory Collection has now changed the game, though, thanks to its lack of a seconds hand.

A watch from the Constellation Observatory Collection, with the Observatory dome on display. Omega

“Until now, precision certification has required a seconds hand,” Raynald Aeschlimann, president and CEO of OMEGA, said in a press statement. “The development of a new acoustic testing methodology has made that requirement obsolete. It is this breakthrough that has enabled us to present the Constellation Observatory, the first two-hand watch to achieve Master Chronometer certification.”

In addition to notching its place in history, the collection also debuted a new pair of movements: the Calibre 8915 and the Calibre 8914, each perched on a skeletonised rotor base. The former’s Grand Luxe iteration will appear on the 950 Platinum-Gold model in the collection, which offers up that base in 18-karat Sedna Gold alongside a Constellation medallion in 18-karat white gold with an Observatory dome done in white opal enamel surrounded by stars. The second Calibre 8915, the Luxe, will find its home on the other precious-metal models in the line, either made with the brand’s 18-karat Sedna, Moonshine, or Canopus gold seen across the case, the hand-guilloché dial, and, of course, the movement itself. (Lindo chose to rock the Moonshine Gold on Moonshine Gold iteration, priced at approximately $86,000, for Sinners‘s big night at the Oscars.) As for the Calibre 8914, it can be found in the collection’s four steel models.

 

Omega Constellation Observatory Collection
A look at a gold case-back from the collection. Omega

Each model is a callback to myriad design features on past Omega models. That two-hand dial, for one, comes from the 1948 Centenary (the brand’s first chronometer-certified automatic wristwatch), while the pie-pan dial (seen in various blue, green, and golden hues throughout the line) and that Constellation medallion caseback both appear on watches from 1952. The star adorning the space above 6 o’clock also harks back to 1950s timepieces from Omega. And to finish off the look, you can opt for alligator straps in a variety of colours, or perhaps a gold iteration to match the precious-metal models; the brick-like pattern on the 18-karat Moonshine bracelet was also inspired by Omega watches from the ’50s.

We’ll have to keep our eyes peeled for any other Constellation Observatory timepieces (or any other unreleased models from the brand) at the rest of the star-studded events headed our way this year—perhaps the Met Gala?

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Best Combustion Supercar: Ferrari 12Cilindri Spider

A modern classic in the making, combining naturally aspirated power with elegant restraint to deliver performance that feels as refined as it is visceral.

By Vince Jackson 20/04/2026

In a year when carmakers of all persuasions sheepishly extended hyperbolic electric targets, it’s fitting that the monastic puritans of Maranello—who, lest we forget, won’t finally yield to the sin of battery power until October with the Elettrica—opted to make combustion their major power play.

As an uncertain future of AI omnipresence barrels towards us, the 12Cilindri—an analogue, open-topped tribute to Ferrari’s late-’60s/early-’70s grand tourer, the Daytona—represents a defiant fade into the past, a pause for breath, a fleeting return to The Good Times when nascent technology provoked excitement rather than existential dread.

Guiding this automotive nostalgia trip is, as the nomenclature suggests, a naturally aspirated 6.5-litre V12 engine, generating an unceasing wave of power as it sears towards the 9,500 rpm redline with relative nonchalance. That’s because the 12Cilindri is not a mouth-foaming attack-dog. It scales performance heights with the refinement of the finest Italian works of art; its “Bumpy Road” mode facilitates comfy al fresco GT cruising, and even the imperious powerplant is mannerly at most speeds.

For all the yesteryear romance, progressive technologies and engineering, such as a world-class 8-speed transmission, advanced electronic aids and independent four-wheel steering, are baked into the deal. The 12Cilindri’s clean, stark design somehow toggles between retro and modern; and while vaguely polarising, one can’t ignore its magnetic road presence.

In terms of aesthetics, Ferrari describes the 12Cilindri as being “ready for space”; in many ways, a fantasy vehicle that transports users to another dimension is probably what the world needs right now.

The Numbers

Engine: 6.5-litre V12

Power: 610kW

Torque: 678 Nm

Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch auto

0-100 km/h: 2.95 seconds

Top speed: 340 km/h

Price: From $886,800

Photography by SONDR.
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Inside Loro Piana’s First Sydney Boutique

A first Australian address brings the Italian house’s textile-led approach to retail full circle.

By Horacio Silva 26/03/2026

On the fourth floor of Westfield Sydney, near the Castlereagh and Market Street entrance—in the space formerly occupied by Chanel—Loro Piana has opened its first Australian boutique. It is a significant address change for that corner of the mall, and a meaningful one for the Italian house, which has sourced Australian merino wool for decades but until now had no retail presence here.

The facade is understated—creamy, tactile, more about texture than theatre. Inside, the store unfolds across a single, expansive level divided into distinct men’s and women’s wings. The separation is clear without being heavy-handed: womenswear leads from soft accessories and leather goods into ready-to-wear, while menswear occupies its own assured territory, with tailoring and outerwear given proper breathing room. Footwear (supple loafers, luxurious slides, pared-back sneakers) is particularly strong, and the sunglasses are a quiet standout: mineral-toned frames with a disciplined elegance that feels entirely of the house.

That same restraint carries into the interiors, where the surfaces do much of the talking. Walls are wrapped in the company’s own linen and cashmere; carpets are custom, dense underfoot, softening the acoustics and the pace. Oak and carabottino wood add warmth without fuss; marble accents introduce a cool counterpoint. The effect is a composed space calibrated around material, proportion and restraint.

The Spring 2026 collection now in store underscores that sensibility. Silhouettes are elongated and fluid; cashmere, silk and featherweight merino move in sandy neutrals, creams and muddied earth tones, with flashes of marigold and pale turquoise breaking the calm. Tailoring is softly structured and projects confidence without aggression. Leather goods arrive in buttery skins that feel almost pre-lived, as though time has already worked its magic.

What distinguishes Loro Piana, particularly in a market that has grown noisier by the season, is its refusal to perform luxury in an obvious register. There are no oversized insignias telegraphing allegiance. Instead, the status is encoded in fibre count, in hand-feel, in how a coat hangs from the shoulder. It assumes the wearer knows and, crucially, does not need to announce it.

Sydney’s luxury landscape has matured in recent years; global houses no longer test the waters but commit to them. Yet Loro Piana’s arrival feels different. It is not trend-driven expansion but material logic. For a country whose sheep stations have long contributed to the house’s fabric story, this boutique reads almost as a thank-you note written in cashmere.

 

Photography: Courtesy of Loro Piana.

 

 

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This Stylish, Water-Resistant Dopp Kit Might Be the Last One You Ever Buy

Patricks’s limited-edition wash bag is designed to keep liquids in and out, so it can come along wherever your travels take you.

By Justin Fenner 11/03/2026

If all you’re going to do is look at it, a leather Dopp kit from a fashion house is a fine choice. But if you take travelling seriously—and do it often, for business, pleasure, or both—such a bag will inevitably end up blemished with droplets of water or stained by errant flecks of toothpaste. Get stuck with a cavalier team of baggage handlers, and it can even get soaked in your favourite fragrance or anti-ageing serum.

But Patricks, the high-performance Australian grooming brand stocked in Harrods and Bergdorf Goodman, has a solution. Its limited-edition bathroom bag, called BB1, is purpose-built to protect everything inside and out. Conceived by industrial designer George Cunningham with brand founder Patrick Kidd, the cuboid design is executed in a water-resistant recycled nylon you can rinse clean. It’s lined with a thin layer of shock-absorbing foam to safeguard your products, but if a bottle somehow gets cracked in transit, the two-way water-resistant zippers and sealed seams (which keep liquids from seeping in or out) ensure that whatever leaks won’t ruin your cashmere. Inside, two dual-sided zippered compartments are ideally sized to fit toothbrushes, razors, and other small essentials.

And though its clean lines and rugged construction make it undeniably masculine, its greatest feature is borrowed from women’s makeup bags. Like the best of these, BB1 unzips to lie flat, giving you unobstructed access to everything inside. Well, you and the 999 other gentlemen who move fast enough to snag one. $289

Courtesy of Patricks

1. Hanging Loop 

The G-hook system isn’t just a stylish handle: You can also use it to hang the bag from a hook or secure it to your carry-on.

2. Two-Way Zipper

The closures are water-resistant in both directions, meaning liquids won’t get in or out.

3. Fold-flat Construction

BB1 opens to 180 degrees, letting you scan its 4.2-litre capacity at a quick glance.

4. Technical-Fabric Shell

The durable recycled-nylon is easy to maintain and woven to survive splashes and leaks from your go-to products.

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You Can Now Place Bets on the Future Prices of Rolex Models

And which models will get discontinued next, thanks to a new collaboration between Kalshi and Bezel.

By Nicole Hoey 11/03/2026

You can bet on pretty much anything these days, from when Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce will get married to who will be the next James Bond—and now that includes the Rollies on your wrist, or on your wishlist.

Prediction market platform Kalshi, regulated in the U.S., and luxe watch marketplace Bezel have teamed up on a new platform called Watch Futures that allows users to splash down cash on where they think the prices of a particular luxe timepiece are going, whether that’s a Rolex Submariner or a coveted Patek Philippe, Time & Tide reported.

You can also place a wager on which models might be discontinued, as well as any future launches from the top watchmakers on the new platform; with Watches and Wonders coming up, it’s certainly a well-timed launch that could see a lot of activity as a slew of new releases are announced at the event.

Watch Futures is all based on Beztimate, Bezel’s system (once used only internally) to help it accurately calculate the market price of a timepiece. It draws data from real-time transactions, live bids, verified sales, and other market offers to spawn its own series of independent valuation models to establish a watch’s value. From there, it’s up to bettors to place their wagers, and then the platform will showcase any price fluctuations or other updates as time goes on.

This new platform could have some pretty large implications for the watch industry.  As any horological savant would know, the internet and collectors alike are constantly chattering about which models are on the way out or when a certain timepiece of the moment’s time in the limelight will fade, of course, having a large impact on the prices of said model. And now, a Watch Futures user can have a direct stake in where a model is headed—and if they own said timepiece, it can be a protection from dwindling values on the marketplace, say, if a user places a bet on their model losing value and that actually comes to fruition.

To see Watch Futures in real time (and scope out how some pieces in your collection are faring), you can use the Kalshi app or its website.

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