Stuff’s Festive Gift Guide (online edition) – Luxury gifts for loaded wallets
Brett Venter
Some folks have all the money. Correspondingly, they have no need for gifts. That’s why the luxury gift category was created. If they’ve already got everything, then it’s time to think outside the box and hand over something that makes no sense in a household that occasionally rules out certain meals because they’re “too expensive”.
If you’re one of the luxury types, we’re not mad at you. We are, however, somewhat envious, if only because you can seriously consider handing over one (or more) of the items on this list to your loved ones. And if this handful of premium presents doesn’t cut it, we’ve got a larger list in the print version of Stuff’s annual gift guide.
Bang and Olufsen Beoplay H100
Bang and Olufsen’s H100 headphones are so advanced that even the bag they arrive in is more impressive than other products’ feature lists. The bag… listen to this… the bag will let the H100s retain their charge for at least a year. Why you’d spend almost forty grand on a set of high-end headphones and then leave them in a bag for a year is a mystery but maybe it’s just something millionaires do. These over-ears fit the definition of luxury by virtue of their build quality, their combination of touch controls and the revolving dials that tweak specific settings, and then there’s the brilliant noise cancelling and audio the Swedish specialists are famous for. But, again, they’re almost forty grand.
Look, there are more expensive smartwatches on the market. Garmin makes a few. But there are few that scream ‘luxury’ as effectively as Apple’s flagship wearable. That it does so with a roughly two-day battery life is a testament to how amazing the rest of the tech is. If there’s an advanced sensor worth having it lives in the Apple Watch Ultra 2. Apple’s software supporting the whole is second to none, and there are features like GPS backtracking and fall detection that make it a brilliant device in its own right. The fact that it looks like it costs all the money doesn’t hurt either.
Amazon has been searching for a premium Kindle to offer users for years. The gold standard for Stuff will always be the Oasis but the new Scribe might well be the luxury option for most others. It’s certainly the most expensive Kindle we’ve ever encountered and it’s the only one that comes with its own stylus. The 10.2in display makes for a brilliant reading experience whether you’re all about words-per-page or are into large print. It’s fully waterproof, supports all of the Paperwhite’s lighting modes, and also allows users to scribble on or take notes on its E-Ink surface. That’s the major new function but we reckon that 16GB to 32GB of native storage doesn’t hurt either.
If you don’t own a frying pan that seamlessly transitions to the oven for baking, you’re either poor or it just never occurred to you that your mansion needs one. In the latter case, this wonder from Le Creuset will take care of all your pan-to-oven needs, in a variety of sizes. Since you’re all about kitchen luxury, it may be an idea to get one of each size, from 20cm to 30cm (with stops at 23cm and 26cm). There are around 24 shades of finish so you probably don’t want to get one of each of those too. Do you? Where would you put them? Actually, if you’re wealthy enough that becomes someone else’s problem. Chef!
There’s nothing quite so luxurious as having extremely fancy coffee at home. The Breville Barista Express will facilitate your luxury caffeine habit by spitting out premium Italian-style coffee (the pump is made within the Roman successor’s borders) on command. The reservoir holds two litres of water, the beans are ground on command by the conical burr grinder, while water is heated to exactly 93° for the ultimate in brown wake-up juice. A steam wand and steel milk jug complete your options, whether it’s prime espresso or a relaxed cappuccino to cap off an excellent Christmas roast.
