Gentlemen’s Favourites

Hugo van Kuffeler sources the ultimate British luxury brands for Him

Transport

The Brompton bike is becoming a British institution, with evangelical fans claiming it to be the future of transport in London. Each bike can be folded into a compact package a little larger than its wheels. Folding and unfolding in 10 to 20 seconds allows you the freedom to cycle or take London transport as the bike can be carried onto the train or into a cab. Our favourite is the S2L, at only 10.8kg, it’s priced at £585 RRP.

Tel: +44 (0)20 8232 8484 | www.brompton.co.uk

Protective Clothing

In 1992, Colombian entrepreneur Miguel Caballero started a company driven by his country’s need for specialist security clothes to protect the wealthy from the revolutionaries in Colombia. On the outside, most of the clothes look like their ordinary counterparts: a polo shirt, a blazer or an overcoat. On closer inspection, however, items can withstand automatic weapon fire or a knife attack and are customised to accommodate the finest technological protection on the market. Weighing just 1.8kg, the jackets offer the same protection as a 4.5kg police vest. There are four grades of protection, with the lowest being able to withstand bullets from up to a .38 revolver and level four offering resistance to an Uzi mp5. Temperature can be regulated to below 17 degrees, allowing individuals to keep their cool in dangerous situations. Customers vary from executives to public figures ‒ including King Abdullah of Jordan, Venezuela’s President Chavez and Colombia’s President Uribe. All pieces are made-to-measure and priced between £3,400 and £7,700.

Miguel Caballero
www.miguelcaballero.com
Available at Harrods
T: +44 (0)20 7730 1234

Gifts

Either as a gift for someone else or for a little self-indulgence, invest in a bespoke luxury version of your favourite classic board game, Monopoly. Made from the finest leather, the streets, stations and iconic corners are intricately inlaid by hand and set within a Dauphin calf leather frame. You can truly personalise your Monopoly set by changing the street names and the cards, and even choose sterling silver or gold playing pieces to reflect items within one’s personal life – from luxury cars to super yachts. There are also editions to reflect hobbies or past-times, such as the Polo edition, which includes a pair of boots, polo hat, mallets, Champagne bottle and Aston Martin. ‘My aim,’ says Kats Palmer-Tomkinson, who set up the business three years ago, ‘is to provide my clients with an exciting variety of contemporary and unique gifts which cannot be found elsewhere.’ Individual bespoke gifts start from £150.

Memento www.memento.uk.com
T: +44 (0)20 7460 0871
E: info@memento.uk.com

Time

Ironically, it has been said that time moves slowly in the watch industry. Not so for Giles and Nick English, brothers and founders of Bremont. The watch maker has just built an ‘amphibious watch’ using its own Trip-Tick™ three-piece construction, providing it with water resistance to a depth of 500m. The Bremont Supermarine 500 has been named as a tribute to the brothers’ love of the iconic British aircraft manufacturer responsible for the Supermarine s6b Schneider Trophy Seaplane and of course the incredible Supermarine Spitfire.

Bremont www.bremont.com
Available at Harrods
T: +44 (0)20 7730 1234

Sport

Smythson’s new Scuba Diving Journal is a must have for diving enthusiasts. The soft bound black pigskin leather log book can be personalised with initials or names. The signature watermarked pale blue interior contains pages to fill in dive location, time in water, visibility, depth, diving conditions, under water aquatic life, etc. Smythson’s Scuba Diving Journal £155.00

Smythson www.smythson.com
40 New Bond Street,
London W1S 2DE
T: +44 (0)207 629 8558