MC Recommends: Vespa x Justin Bieber’s limited-edition scooters and Chef Vicky Ratnani’s massive burgers

Vespa x Justin Bieber limited edition scooter: The white scooter with fire stickers is available in three iterations—50cc, 125cc, and 150cc.

Vespa x Justin Bieber limited edition scooter

The iconic Italian company—as much a style icon as a scooter company— has collaborated with several lifestyle influencers over the years, including luxury brands such as Dior and Giorgio Armani. Their newest collab is with pop sensation Justin Bieber—a marriage of contemporary pop culture and age-old Italian craftsmanship. The white scooter with fire stickers is available in three iterations—50cc, 125cc, and 150cc. In a nod to technology, the TFT instrument console gives you a 360-degree view of the landscape you are driving—the countryside, the pain points along the way, and such. The limited-edition scooter is sold with the right merchandise—a bag, a pair of gloves, and a white helmet.

Montegrappa’s ode to Formula 1 racing

The exquisite craftsmanship of Montegrappa is informed by centuries of Italian artisan heritage and its roots in Bassano del Grappa, on the bank of the Brenta river in northeast Italy, where it has been running an atelier for over a century now. Their limited-edition pens are investment-worthy, such as this F1® SPEED yellow gold-plated pen which comes in two iterations — a ‘podium’ black fountain pen and a ‘racing’ red (as the brand defines the palette) roller blade pen. Inspired by glamourous Formula 1 racing and particularly the next-generation 2022 F1 car, the flared brass and carbon barrel body has yellow gold-plated trim and an 18k gold nib. Even the bling in F1® SPEED is elegant: High-gloss lacquer, metal plating and enamel are the lush materials used to hew out the pen.

The F1® SPEED.

Arjun Rathi Design’s candy lights

The coming together of the ideas of two design virtuosos—Arjun Rathi, who runs the Arjun Rathi Design Studio, and glass artist Ismail Plumber who runs Studio Golden Glass, has given us an interestingly named Sugar Collection, a new range of sculptural light pieces. They are inspired by our love for everything sweet—Indian desserts and candy. The idea was to interpret the textures and colours of the dessert world in design lighting. The collection juxtaposes blown glass, hand-blown by Indian and Czech glassblowers, with handmade ceramic forms and industrial metal in customisable hanging, standing, wall, and ceiling light fittings. The Orange Candy edition is inspired by the Indian orange candy and is crafted using hand-blown glass with an orange ombre, while the Candy Floss edition is a tribute to our childhood favourite, the pink candy floss, and made from Indian hand-blown glass with a signature pink ombre.

Arjun Rathi Design’s candy lights

Jacob & Co’s watches, which went into space, are now in India

On April 8, when the first mission to space featuring an all-private crew took off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a cabin mate for the AX-1 crew was a luxury watch from watchmaker-jeweller Jacob & Co. The idea was to launch the brand’s Astronomia watch into “the unmapped vastness of space”, as the watchmaker said. The watch, which Jacob & Co. makes in rose and white gold or dressed up with diamonds, features a space-like view: a moon-shaped diamond and an orb painted like the earth rotates around the Astronomia’s dial.

The niche brand, given to high optics, is now in India via Ethos Watches retail distribution network. The luxury horology brand has a reputation for melding high-precision Swiss timepieces distinguished by complex watchmaking with high jewellery craftsmanship. The watches are often crafted out of precious metals and are largely produced in limited runs.

Jacob & Co. watch.

Chef Vicky Ratnani’s instragrammable burgers

Chef Vicky Ratnani, the chef with millions of followers on Instagram, knows how to play to the gallery. He also knows how to cook good food. His Speak Burgers, a gourmet brand he launched with model-actress Kashishh Rajput and car-guru Alberto Bestonso, puts out exotic burgers and sliders for you to dig into. Think Baja Style Beer Batter Fish Burger (fish patties marinated in beer in a burger bun!), Buttermilk Fried Chicken Burger, Harissa Lamb Burger, or the Mother Earth Mushroom Burger. The burgers are indulgent, due to the size of the patties, the large Brioche bun, and the other good stuff in it. Ask for his Mango-Jalapeno ketchup that he generally serves with Kettle Chips. My personal favourite is Veggiestan. In a world where burger joints are feeding mock meat burgers to vegetarians (weren’t they meant to encourage meat-eaters to, well, give up meat?), this giant of a burger is stuffed with charcoal-smoked potato and roasted vegetable patty, nestled between pickled cucumbers and a soft, airy potato bun.

A burger from Speak Burgers by Vicky Ratnani