Word: royals
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...Zone (a Lebanese chain). The problem with luxury shopping in Dubai?and the great irony?is that, according to these world-class shoppers, you can't find "anything" in the stores. As Nof explains, "If Fendi receives five bags, they send them to the sheika's house (royal women get first pick). What's left over goes to personal shoppers for their clients, so that by the time [merchandise] gets to the shop?well, the best pieces of the season don't get to the shop!" She adds, "And I won't wait. I always have a contact person...
...years ago, De Taillac struck a deal with Munnu Kasliwal, one of three brothers and two cousins who own and run Gem Palace, a gem wholesaler and retailer with specialized cutting and polishing workshops around town. The Kasliwals have parlayed a privileged relationship with the royal families of Rajasthan going back generations into an international following of wealthy jewelry junkies who go for Munnu's unusual pieces (a gold bird perched on a ring, pecking a dangling diamond briolette) and swear by Gem Palace's quality and old-fashioned cuts. The emporium in Jaipur has an Old World feel...
...wedged around the stone. "The gold is so pure the workers cannot touch it," Kasliwal says. He nods at a packet of uncut rubies. "Burmese, exceptional quality. They already have so much life," he says, valuing them at $1.5 million, and then he takes a call from the royal family of Qatar...
...International Council of Cruise Lines, insists that the low incidence of reported crimes reflects the generally safe environment on the ships. Despite cases like Kelly's, he notes, cruise employees are vetted more rigorously than hospitality workers onshore and undergo a background check by the U.S. State Department. Royal Caribbean reported that its violent-crime rate last year was 15 incidents per 100,000 people on board. "We're approximately 30 times safer than American communities in general," says the company's head of fleet operations, Captain Bill Wright, who maintains that Royal Caribbean discloses every incident, even petty thefts...
That is undoubtedly an uphill battle, given the resources the industry has to oppose it. Carnival, the world's biggest cruise company, netted a record $353 million in the last quarter alone. And the George Smith case didn't stop Royal Caribbean from ending the year with a record profit of $716 million. The industry can use those deep pockets to stave off concerned lawmakers. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, from January 2004 to July 2005, the cruise industry spent $2.9 million on federal lobbying, nearly $1 million more than Wal-Mart did during the same period. That...