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Jay-Z becomes the latest investor in Hong Kong-based timepiece platform Wristcheck.
The hip-hop star and mogul has invested in Hong Kong–based startup Wristcheck, a consignment platform co-founded by collector Austin Chu. The company focuses on buying, selling, and trading premium timepieces online. The move underscores the company’s potential in a market whose stodgy reputation is being increasingly revamped by fresh disruptors. With Jay-Z’s endorsement, Wristcheck seems poised to solidify its status as a leading platform for watch enthusiasts—and to significantly impact Hong Kong’s entrepreneurial landscape.
Accessories brand Aupen partners with LVMH Métiers d’Art and will relocate to France.
Ethically focused handbag brand Aupen has partnered with LVMH Métiers d’Art and will relocate its entire production to France, a move intended to cement its dedication to quality and high standards. The collaboration grants the brand access to LVMH’s top French production facilities, including Tanneries Roux and Jade Groupe, marking a significant milestone in its supply chain journey. Aupen’s inaugural designs under this partnership will debut in January.
Morphosis exits Saudi Arabia’s $500 billion The Line project and hands it off to DMAA.
Morphosis Architects, the firm behind the master plan of Saudi Arabia’s ambitious The Line project, has exited the development, with Austrian firm Delugan Meissl Associated Architects (DMAA) taking over. The Line, part of the larger NEOM initiative, aims to create a 105-mile-long linear city, although recent reports suggest a scaled-back focus on completing an initial segment for 300,000 residents by decade’s end. The project has faced criticism over alleged human rights abuses, including the use of lethal force against local tribes.
The British Museum’s Round Reading Room reopens to the public after 11 years.
The British Museum’s historic Round Reading Room has reopened to the public. Originally designed by Sydney Smirke and inspired by the Pantheon in Rome, the architectural marvel was once frequented by Karl Marx and Arthur Conan Doyle. Visitors can now freely explore the space, which had been closed since 2013 for storage and archival purposes.
SpaceX is awarded NASA’s 2030 commission to destroy the International Space Station.
NASA has chosen SpaceX to de-orbit and dismantle the International Space Station (ISS) in 2030, marking the end of an era of transnational cooperation in space. The ISS has served as a symbol of international collaboration among Europe, Russia, and the U.S. for more than two decades, but is now too aged to continue functioning. As China and Russia pursue independent space ventures, future space stations may not carry the same geopolitical significance.
Today’s attractive distractions:
Norman Rockwell’s Freedom of Speech enters its next chapter as meme fodder.
Anish Kapoor is tapped for a U.K. billboard commission to get the vote out.
Debts force self-help serial Chicken Soup for the Soul to file for bankruptcy.
Wild Thang, a toothless Pekingese, is named World’s Ugliest Dog.
