Simple Luxury

Eight of the finer things in life that give joy in the owning -- or at least in the looking

There are certain things so well crafted or technically precise that they make you feel smarter just for owning them, others so wonderful to look at that holding them in your hands brings a smile to your face, and some so simple and useful that they become part of your daily life, even part of your identity. Here are a few we've discovered.

Tighe Meteorite 1/1 Fountain Pen - $10,000
In this age, when clipped e-mails and stick-on notes serve as long-form epistles, a man needs a fountain pen to make a statement. And often the statement is made even before putting pen to paper. Consider the conversation starter shown here: Its base was etched from 4-billion-year-old Gibeon meteorite by Grayson Tighe, one of the most highly regarded pen makers. "Something man-made could never duplicate this amazing material," he says. The nib is the most important component of any fountain pen. This one is made of 18-karat yellow gold and tipped with iridium and rhodium for durability and smooth ink flow. While this pen is one-of-a-kind, Tighe will offer limited-edition meteorite fountain ($7,500) and roller-ball ($7,400) pens (18 of each will be made). 905-892-2734, tighepen.com


2006 Harley-Davidson FXDI35 35th Anniversary Super Glide - $16,795
The motor company's firstborn factory custom cruiser became an instant icon of American motorcycle design. Thirty-five years later, Harley-Davidson is bringing it back through an exclusive run of 3,500 serialized remakes, updated with an electronic fuel-injected 1450cc air-cooled V-twin with a six-speed Cruise Drive gearbox. Cocky as ever, the commemorative Super Glide has a "1" emblazoned on its gas tank; the glacier-white-pearl paint, patriotic graphics, and chrome highlights that adorned the original body; a fat 160mm rear tire; and of course, Harley's trademark exhaust sound. 414-343-4056, harley-davidson.com


Zai skis - $3,500 (bindings and poles included)
In the Swiss Alps, in the town of Disentis, near the headwaters of the Rhine, a former Solomon and Völkl ski engineer named Simon Jacomet created the Zai alpine ski. From the Swiss language Romansh, zai means "tough," and this beautiful plank is that and more. The surface of the ski is hand-matched brown ash framed with lacquered Titanal (a light-weight blend of aluminum and titanium). It's eye-catching to say the least; you'll be the talk of the lift line. There are practical benefits, too: The natural flex of the poplar core makes the ski handle well over both hardpack and powder. The exclusive nano-carbon bottom coating developed by Zai allows for faster skiing and precision turning. (See zai.ch for more information.) For this season, only 1,000 pairs will be made, and the skis are available in the United States through just one retailer, Gorsuch,
in Colorado. 800-563-0629, gorsuchltd.com


Tasai Damascus Cabinet Chisels - $2,300 (set of 10); Hirotomo 10½-inch drawknife - $240
Any woodworker worth his sawdust knows how much easier it is to build furniture with
a quality tool designed for the task. For tongue-and-groove work, many craftsmen won't use anything but Japanese hand-forged tools. Among the best are those made by artisan Akio Tasai, a blacksmith for more than 50 years. Tasai uses a special high-carbon laminated blue steel for his chisels, which are tough enough to cut hardwoods without losing an edge.
He burnishes the metal to achieve a wood-grain appearance that distinguishes each chisel as a Tasai. For rough shaping, the ideal tool is the 10½-inch drawknife from Hirotomo. Hand-forged from high-carbon white steel, the sharp blade stands up to heavy use. The knife's handles are made from magnolia and balanced perfectly to transfer all the energy from your upper body into the cutting blade so you are not wrestling to keep it aligned. 800-537-7820, thejapanwoodworker.com


Corum Gold Bridge Watch - $18,000 (pink gold)
The first thing you notice about this watch is its guts. Visible through the transparent face, the movement looks, well, broken, or as if it's missing something important. Working parts in most watches are typically overlapping circular gears. Here, they are aligned linearly, as if someone squeezed them between the teeth of a vise. This creates a window on each side to view -- what's that? -- the hair on your wrist! The watch has been reintroduced after 20 years as part of Corum's 50th-anniversary celebration. What's new is the "slipping spring" winding system that prevents overwinding of the delicate movement. (You have to do the old-school twist only once every 40 hours.) Order quickly. Only 150 numbered timepieces, 50 each in white gold, yellow gold, and pink gold, have been made. 949-788-6200, corum.ch


Bowers & Wilkins 802d Loudspeakers - $12,000 per pair
Diamonds are superfluous on most luxury items -- watches, high heels, wedding rings -- but these gem-equipped speakers actually back up the bling. The technology: Tweeters move faster than any other part of a speaker and, as such, are highly susceptible to distortion. The softer the tweeter, the worse the trickle-down of corrupted sound. That's why manufacturer Bowers & Wilkins, which employs 20 full-time audio engineers at its "University of Sound" in England, crafted the tweeter dome of this speaker from some of the hardest stuff on earth, industrial diamond. The result: the cleanest, clearest tone in the audio industry, the company claims. And audiophiles -- such as the engineers at the Beatles' erstwhile studio, Abbey Road, and the technicians at Star Wars director George Lucas' Skywalker Ranch -- agree. 978-664-2870, bwspeakers.com


Ralph Lauren RL-CF1 Red Dining Chair - $13,500
It's a fair guess that designer Ralph Lauren would rather be driving his limited-edition McLaren F1 than doing most anything else -- except perhaps having a nice meal at home, where he can still feel as if he's in the driver's seat. Last year, Lauren took inspiration from the F1 to design this sleek yet comfortable dining chair, part of the new Black Mountain furniture series. The chair is handmade from 54 layers of carbon fiber and has a cushiony black-leather seat and back. Four fit nicely around the RLX Dining Table ($28,500). This is an experience to savor.
888-475-7674, rlhome.polo.com


Martin D-100 Deluxe Guitar, $100,000
C.F. Martin & Co. has been building guitars and ukuleles since the 1830s. In 2004, the company, based in the hills of eastern Pennsylvania, celebrated the making of its millionth guitar with a limited-series acoustic six-string. (Just 50 have been built, signed by chairman C.F. Martin IV, and numbered 1,000,001 to 1,000,050.) The D-100 Deluxe is crafted from hand-selected Brazilian rosewood and Adirondack spruce and adorned with Victorian- and Baroque-style inlays of herringbone pearl and abalone on its back, pickguard, headplate, fingerboard, and bridge.
Since this museum-quality flattop has Waverly gold hand-engraved tuners; an end pin topped with green-tourmaline dots bordered in 14-karat-gold settings; and bridge pins, nut, and saddle fashioned from fossilized ivory, one might be hesitant to pluck out "Turkey in the Straw" on it. But that's why the company, which has equipped the likes of Eric Clapton, Tom Petty, and Stephen Stills, and also offers custom-made guitars for any artistic inspiration and budget. Just add talent. 610-759-5757, martinguitar.com