By Lázaro Pérez-Moré

WITH NEARLY 1,000 RESIDENTS settling in Florida every day, ranch land is quickly becoming a limited commodity. Pine Creek Sporting Club is an exclusive, members only, champions clays and wing shooting club created by Stephen Myers in Okeechobee, FL, a special site dedicated to the outdoors lifestyle. Mr. Myers and his family are stewards of the land and deeply committed to preserving and perpetuating Florida’s ranch lifestyle and outdoor heritage for generations to come. A home in Pine Creek Sporting Club becomes an heirloom destined to be part of each member’s own family legacy, to be cherished, enjoyed and passed on to future generations.
The beautiful grounds of this development allow members to enjoy nature in a pristine state. Landscapes stretch to the horizon with pines, loblollies, hundred-year-old live oak trees and sable palms overlooking fields of glistening palmettos. This native habitat supports an abundance of wildlife including white tail deer, Osceola turkey, quail, dove, sandhill crane and wild hog, as well as the more than 400 species of indigenous and migratory birds that inhabit South Florida.
Ranch life here provides access to miles of bridle paths for quiet sunset rides, along with bike and nature trails for exploring, wildlife viewing and photography, or listening to the symphony of birds gliding on the wind currents overhead. The community consists of twenty-two 40+ acre ranch sites and 20+ members’ cabins. It features 350 acres of quail fields ready to be worked by a brace of very birdy pointers, two dove fields ripe with millet, a sports field for families to enjoy softball or soccer and a beautiful clubhouse complete with porch rockers and a fire pit aglow with memories. The club stables have the capacity to board your horses or your child’s first pony.
At Pine Creek, shooting sports feature guided quail, pigeon, pheasant and turkey hunts, and the range facilities include five stand, sporting clays and tower shoots. White tail deer and wild hogs may be hunted on a member’s own private land or in prescribed areas with shotguns or bows. The club hopes to attract the most privileged and discerning outdoorsmen. Members may select from a variety of ranch home designs as well as cabins and are able to work with their architect of choice to give their home its own unique ranch ambiance. This environmental community is designed for full family participation and enjoyment, where families can cultivate new friendships with like-minded folks who share the same values and interests. SA

Images courtesy of Pine Creek Sporting Club

PAULO POMPÉIA GAVIAO GONZAGA and his daughter, Cecilia Gonzaga recently toured the site of the 2009 Lusitano Collection Auction. The event will take place at the Jim Brandon Equestrian Center in West Palm Beach February 19 and 20. Buyers will be able to bypass the normal bureaucracy involved in importing a horse. Each of the 30 Lusitanos being shown on February 12, have their certified health certificates. Interested buyers may arrange appointments for riding tryout. The reputable Palm Beach Equine Clinic will be evaluating all horse X-rays and tests as well as conducting on site vet checks for all the 2009 Lusitano Collection horses. Cecilia Gonzaga is excited about the auction. “Trained in dressage by professional riders, these noble horses have been specially selected; they are larger, have an eager-to-please temperament, and best of all, they are not pre-owned. Buyers benefit from buying directly from the breeder,” said Gonzaga.
The Lusitano, part of the Iberian horse family, gets its name from Lusitania, the name the Romans gave to a province where now sits the Iberian nation of Portugal. It is trustworthy, brave and versatile, perfect for pleasure trail riding as well as dressage competition. In 2008, Luiza Almeida, rode a Lusitano during the Olympic Games competition and will be riding one during this year’s auction. Festivities for the occasion include a cocktail party followed by the Showcase Parade of Horses into a hacienda-like environment complete with hanging chandeliers, water fountain and lush tropical trees. Guests will be treated to a gala dinner and live entertainment. This event is poised to attract the attention of breeders and riders from California, Texas, Mexico, Colombia, Belgium, Denmark and Guatemala. A portion of the sales will benefit the American Cancer Society. SA

For more information visit www.lusitanocollection.com

FAMED JEWELRY designer Houman has created a collection that defines our mixed emotions about love. The collection is called Luz, which means Light in Spanish. Luz refers to that person in your life that you cannot forget, an old love song, a talk in a moonlit park with no one around, a walk through the old part of town during a trip to a medieval city. That is your Luz, a muse, an inspiration and hopefully, your love. In his 1891 novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde writes about the essence of true love and relationships—faithfulness. In his account he says, “Faithfulness is to the emotional life what consistency is to the life of the intellect— simply a confession of failures.” It may sound as a sentence, but in reality, relationships change and there is a wide range of emotions that inhabit our hearts during and after the relationship has ended.
In this collection, Houman is interested in exploring the emotions attached to love from obsession to anger to lust without forgetting love itself, cheat, anger, the feeling of being alone, to keeping of secrets and flirting, to the acceptance that we are one. One is the realization of our potential, next to the person we love or by ourselves. “Each piece describes one emotion and the collection expresses how that emotion translates into another. I am trying to describe that in a three dimensional way,” says Houman of his narrative of emotions about romance. A tale that mesmerizes our sense of beauty and aesthetics and makes us reflect on our feelings and emotions. The jeweler prides his work on the deep personalization behind each and every one of his creations. Every ring is custom made for the individual, ergonomically designed for a couture fit. They are worn by both men and women.
The pieces in this collection, vaguely influenced by Art Deco sculpture are so intricate and precise that the use of 3D computer aided technology is necessary to provide the exact fit and dimensions and bring to life innovative pieces of fine jewelry. You may think of them as customized jeweled pieces of art. Houman, winner of the prestigious Platinum Guild Award has created other signature collections: The Heart Collection and the Floating Collection. Luz is just the beginning of an evolving and exciting journey for the designer.

GLOBAL LUXURY LIFESTYLE GROUP Quintessentially opens a new world of unparalleled service and insider knowledge to a highly discerning clientele. After launching in the UK in 2000 and landing stateside in 2003, Quintessentially now operates 45 offices worldwide and shows no sign of slowing down.
As the concierge becomes an essential part of the luxury lifestyle, Quintessentially has emerged as the definitive leader in the field. Providing in-the-know advice and arranging access to anything and everything—from the finest hotels and most in-demand restaurants to sold-out shows and exclusive private events—Quintessentially is well-equipped to offer the best of the best in this new, luxury-driven realm.
After eight successful years in the business and with a supremely connected global staff and partnerships with scores of luxury brands, Quintessentially provides international access 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year. Members save time, money and hassle, allowing them to better enjoy the lifestyle they desire.
Catering to the evolving luxury marketplace, Quintessentially now offers a number of services beyond their famed concierge service: an events production company, a personalized property service, a bespoke luxury wine club, an art advisory and collection management company, a once-in-a-lifetime experiences company, luxury chauffer service and more.
From accessing the inaccessible and locating impossible to find items, to securing a certain service or arranging for unique benefits and discounts at some of the world’s most exclusive vendors, Quintessentially has redefined modern service and convenience.
Wherever you may be and whatever you may need—from Bahrain to Barbados—Quintessentially has you covered.

By Liz Shaw

CERTAIN FRAGRANCES CAN CARRY A MEMORY. Nostalgia stirs with the recognition of a scent as the mind grasps at a distant memory beyond reach. What if a perfume could take one beyond a lifetime of experience and recall the romance of the days of queens and pharaohs? With a decadent drop from the fine line of perfumes by Clive Christian, a rich history is within arms reach.
The Clive Christian name is known for an unconditional devotion to luxury. Having established the Clive Christian brand in lavish interior design, expense has never been a limitation. When England’s Crown Perfumery fell into difficult times, Christian endeavored to save the rich history by absorbing the company. Explaining this decision, Christian said: “To have the Crown Perfumery, which was the most prestigious perfume house, probably of its time at the turn of the last century, and to then revalidate all those principles, it just made sense.”
Those principles come down to an absolute commitment to quality. Just like his interior designs, the quality of the perfumes would not be compromised by cost. “We developed from that point onwards a recognition that things were costing more than originally planned. I looked at the perfume market and realized not to be afraid of the cost,” reasoned Christian. “Fine perfume had lost its way so I authorized the perfumers to actually ignore all costs…and to ignore the sustainability of the ingredients, that is, even if we couldn’t repeat the perfume. I wanted to get the very best I could regardless of cost.” The result: No.1 – The World’s Most Expensive Perfume, contained in a crystal stopper bottle in a most concentrated form. The line also includes 1872 and X for men and women.
Interestingly, 25 years prior to becoming involved with the perfumery, Christian’s eldest daughter Victoria found an aged green perfume bottle with a crown shaped top in the floorboards of the family’s manor; it turned out to be one in the same as that produced for the aristocracy by Crown Perfumery. “It got the use of the crown on top of the bottle from Queen Victoria as a symbol of its quality,” explained Christian. Having always loved perfumes, Victoria joined her father’s company once Clive Christian took over the reigns of Crown Perfumery, and she is now a global ambassador for the fragrances that she is so passionate about.
During a VIP presentation at Neiman Marcus Bal Harbour, Clive and Victoria Christian unveiled the designs of the silk handkerchiefs, visualizations of each scent’s ingredients, which accompany the perfume in crystal bottles. Silk is the natural complement to pure perfume kept in a crystal stopper, used to remove any of the skins oils from the stopper, keeping the perfume uncontaminated. Guests of the event were given a sensory experience, tasting caviar and champagne blindfolded as the perfumes were fanned through the air. Blindfolded or not, it is clear that Clive Christian has restored the art of perfume in these exquisite scents. SA

Photographed by Niels Johansen