• Italic is a new online brand that prides itself on selling luxury goods (bags, accessories, apparel, home goods) without the labels.
• It's able to do this by partnering directly with manufacturers who have decades of experience producing for luxury designers such as Prada, Givenchy, Burberry, Celine, and Miumiu. 
• The leather crossbody ($135), backpack ($200), and tote ($250) we reviewed from the company were beautifully constructed and also functional for everyday wear. 

Direct-to-consumer brands have seen huge success in the last decade. Whether it's because Millennials have become disillusioned by the excesses of designer luxury or they're just itching for a way to shop that's different from how they've always done it, this generation is particularly drawn to online-first, direct-to-consumer companies like moths to a flame. 

"We cut out the middleman," the snappy phrase that once vividly captured the value of a D2C brand, however, is quickly becoming stale. Shoppers now see that, shrug, then say, "...and?" It's not enough to eliminate traditional suppliers and retail distribution methods. They want to know that there's something inherently revolutionary to the way the product is produced, whether it's a beauty product created entirely from customer demand or a comforter that's fully compostable.

Italic is an online brand that wants to flip the idea of luxury on its head by producing goods with partners that manufacture for designers like Prada, Givenchy, and Burberry. In doing this, it's able to create original designs, ensure designer-caliber quality, and offer very competitive prices all at once.

Read more: This Kickstarter sensation is making luxury women's watches for less than $250 — here's what we thought

Italic first launched in late 2018 and created buzz as a $10-a-month, members-only marketplace. If you joined, you got access to label-less, high-quality bags and accessories at more affordable prices. Founder Jeremy Cai says that eventually the volume of sales Italic was doing, along with learnings from managing the customer experience, warranted opening up the marketplace to everyone. 

At Italic, you can now freely shop men's and women's bags, accessories, and apparel, as well as home goods like bedding. The selection isn't large, but it seems careful and curated, confidently assured that shoppers don't actually need pages and pages of options. There are $400 leather moto jackets, $100 sheet sets, and a variety of handbags, the most expensive of which costs $250 and was produced by the same manufacturers making bags for Prada. 

Cai says, "Italic is the culmination of decades of growing up with a manufacturing family and working in technology. I had always thought it backwards that manufacturers take home the smallest margin in the supply chain despite making the actual products being sold for many times the cost. Italic bridges the gap between consumers and luxury goods by partnering directly with the manufacturers instead of purchasing inventory like a brand." 

Many of these manufacturers have operated for decades making bags and accessories for labels that some can only dream of buying one day. It's a risk for them to join forces with a young unknown like Italic, but Cai says that other factors are also threatening these legacy names, and in the end, it's really a win-win relationship.

He points out, "While it wasn't easy by any means to convince manufacturers to incur inventory risk for the first time in their histories, most of these companies are facing rising labor costs, uncertain global trade, and a near total reliance on wholesale. Many were already looking for a way to sell directly to consumers but without the enormous overhead of building a brand." 

Read more: These celebrity-loved shoes used to cost hundreds more when they were sold in luxury stores — but a new strategy has made them much more affordable

If you like nicely made things but could care less about the status that comes with flexing a designer label, then you're the perfect Italic customer. Because making anything akin to a designer dupe would tread into tricky legal waters, especially considering the products are made in the exact same factories, all of Italic's designs are original and unique to the brand. Still, with options like zip card wallets and oversized acetate sunglasses, they remain classic and familiar. 

We tried a few of Italic's bags to see whether they really lived up to the high expectations. When we first received them, we immediately ooh-ed and aah-ed that they looked and felt good. Over the past month, as we actually carried and used them in our day-to-day lives, it became clear that the bags would become favorites — functional, beautifully made, and well-priced. 

Keep reading for our reviews of Italic's handbags and backpacks. 

Shop all luxury goods at Italic here

Luna Quilted Leather Crossbody Bag

Luna Quilted Leather Crossbody Bag, $135, available at Italic

How much it should cost: $350-$395

Made by the same manufacturer as: Celine and Prada 

Our review: This ultra-soft and smooth lambskin leather bag looks and feels gorgeous. With its textured, quilted exterior and a simple and roomy interior compartment, it's both a fashionable and practical bag choice when I go out to a nice dinner or want to look put-together as I travel. Gold hardware runs throughout, from the chain strap to the side buckles to the feet on the bottom of the bag that prevent the ivory color from getting dirty.

Based on its substantial feel and fashion-forward half-moon shape, I would've expected the bag to cost at least $200, but am eternally grateful that it doesn't. Since I usually only carry them on especially active days, all my crossbody bags tend to get a little worn down, but this is one crossbody I'll be sure to care for properly. —Connie Chen, Insider Picks reporter 

Claire Leather Double-Gusset Tote

Claire Leather Double-Gusset Tote, $250, available at Italic

How much it should cost: $785-$1,250 

Made by the same manufacturer as: Prada and Miumiu 

Our review: I was pleasantly surprised by how much I've used and loved this bag since it appeared on my desk a couple months ago. It's deceptively spacious inside, which makes it great for carrying to work, and I love that it has multiple handle options so I can swing it over my shoulder if I need a free hand.

The interior has two large, open pockets on each side with a zippered divider pocket in the middle. I can easily fit my 13-inch laptop, charger, and daily essentials in one side, along with a pair of flats, my lunch, and a small umbrella in the other. Honestly, I kind of feel like Mary Poppins when I carry it!

I got it in the dusty blue color (the picture above shows it to be a little darker than it really is), which looks relatively neutral even when paired with colorful outfits, but it also comes in black for a more basic option. —Sally Kaplan, Insider Picks editor 

Fleur Leather Mini Backpack

Fleur Leather Mini Backpack, $200, available at Italic

How much it should cost: $580-$695 

Made by the same manufacturer as: Celine and Miumiu

Our review: Since my main interaction with Italic was limited to targeted Instagram ads before testing this, I came into the experience pretty skeptical. Lots of new brands claim to bring you luxury at a fraction of the cost, but really only a few of them do.

However, after a few weeks of using the Italic mini backpack, I can say that the hype is worth it in this case. I was impressed. I've tested a lot of bags in two years at Insider Picks, and Italic's Fleur Leather Mini Backpack is one of the best in its quality and usability.

The leather feels supple, soft, and substantial to the touch, but frankly, it also just looks nice. It's the kind of nondescript black backpack that people bother to ask you about at happy hour. Simple, but can't-put-your-finger-on-it good: a phenomenon more commonly known as luxury. The price is still steep, but if it's a comfortable splurge — or you're thinking of dropping more on something similar from Celine or Miumiu — it's worth checking this out first. —Mara Leighton, Insider Picks reporter 

• Billionaires may splurge on multi-million-dollar estates and luxury cars, but that doesn't mean they're digging deep in their wallets for the best and most expensive foods.
• Some tech billionaires are well known for their outrageous and unhealthy eating habits.
• These are some of the richest in the tech world who have spoken publicly about their diets.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
•  

Just because billionaires have the money to pay for pricey personal chefs or high-end healthy foods doesn't mean they're adhering to diets that are good for them.

Some of the richest people in tech have some pretty terrible — or bizarre — eating habits.

While some experiment with the latest health fads, like the Paleo diet and veganism, there are other tech billionaires who enjoy eating chocolate for breakfast or skip eating altogether for days.

So even though there are some wealthy techies whose diets you'll want to copy to replicate their levels of success, there's no guarantee they'll put you in good health.

Here are some of the diets and foods that tech billionaires swear by:

SEE ALSO: From Elon Musk to Bill Gates, here are all of the notable tech billionaires who own private planes to jet themselves around the world

Richard Branson, the founder of Virgin Group, estimates he drinks 20 cups of tea a day. "I'm not sure how I'd survive without English Breakfast tea," Branson told the Daily Mail in 2016.

Source: Daily Mail

Branson said back in 2010 that he eats fruit salad and muesli for breakfast. Occasionally, he'll also eat kipper, a herring-like fish.

Source: Business Insider

Branson lives on his private Caribbean island, Necker Island. The billionaire fills his days with exercise, time with his family, and business meetings, which he prefers to schedule "over lunchtime" to help "lighten the mood." For dinner, he prefers to hold group meals "where stories are shared and ideas are born."

Source: Virgin Group

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has said he avoids early-morning meetings so that he has time to eat a healthy "leisurely" breakfast without any "fatty convenience foods." He's said he uses the extra time to spend mornings with his soon-to-be ex-wife, Mackenzie Bezos, and their four children, but that's likely changed considering their coming divorce.

Source: Business Insider

Billionaires are known for being eccentric, and that doesn't stop with their eating choices. In a meeting with a company Amazon had considered (and eventually went through with) acquiring, Bezos reportedly ordered a breakfast of Mediterranean octopus with potatoes, bacon, green garlic yogurt, and a poached egg.

Source: Business Insider

Later in the meeting, Bezos used his breakfast as a metaphor for Amazon's business strategy: "You're the octopus that I'm having for breakfast. When I look at the menu, you're the thing I don't understand, the thing I've never had. I must have the breakfast octopus."

Source: Business Insider

Investor Mark Cuban said in 2014 his breakfast consists of a cup of coffee and two cookies from a company called Alyssa's Cookies. These cookies are high protein, high fiber, and low carb.

Source: D Magazine

Cuban has said these cookies are "all I will eat anymore." He enjoys the cookies so much that he helped launch the business, and has invested in the company.

Source: Business Insider

Microsoft founder Bill Gates has said that he loves Diet Coke, so much that he drinks three or four a day. "All those cans also add up to something like 35 pounds of aluminum a year," Gates wrote in 2014.

Source: Quartz

Gates' eating habits aren't much better. He's said he eats Cocoa Puffs for breakfast, but his wife, Melinda, says he skips the meal altogether. He also apparently loves cheeseburgers. Joe Cerrell, a managing director at the Gates Foundation, has said that anyone who has lunch with Gates should expect to have cheeseburgers, "no matter who you are."

Sources: Business Insider, Telegraph

"If you get the lunchtime slot with Bill, you’re eating burgers," Cerrell told the Telegraph in 2016. "Someone will always be sent to get bags of McDonald’s. I don’t think Melinda lets him have them at home."

Source: Telegraph

Steve Jobs was known for his odd eating habits. The Apple cofounder would sometimes eat only one or two foods at a time, for weeks. At one point, his diet was strictly carrots and apples. At another time, he was a "fruitarian"— a diet where Jobs could only eat fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and grains.

Source: NBC News

Jobs apparently thought that his vegan diet caused him not to emit any sort of body odor, which he took to mean he didn't need to wear deodorant or shower regularly. Sometimes, Jobs would fast, using the days of not eating to "create feelings of euphoria and ecstasy."

Source: NBC News

For a man who works 80 to 90 hours a week, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk doesn't necessarily adhere to a strict diet. Musk has said he doesn't usually eat breakfast, but when he does, he'll eat a Mars bar — apt for a man who's trying to get to the red planet. "I'm trying to cut down on sweet stuff, and I should have an omelet and coffee,” Musk says.

Source: Entrepreneur

Lunch is just as inconsequential a meal as breakfast is for Musk — whatever his assistant brings him during meetings, he'll "inhale it in five minutes." Instead, Musk focuses on dinner, which often take place over business. Musk said in a 2015 Reddit AMA that his favorite foods are French cuisine and barbecue.

Sources: Entrepreneur, CBS News

For Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, breakfast isn't something he's too picky about. He'll just eat whatever he's feeling for that day, because he "doesn't like to waste time on small decisions."

Source: Business Insider

But that doesn't mean Zuckerberg hasn't experimented with any wild diets. The Facebook CEO famously set a "personal challenge" for himself in 2011 to only eat meat from animals he had killed himself. His "kill what you eat" diet included goats, pigs, chickens, and lobsters.

Source: Fortune

Zuckerberg wasn't shy about sharing the food he had killed himself with friends and house guests. He once hosted Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey and treated him to goat he had killed. Dorsey said he remembers that the goat was served cold, so he stuck to salad for dinner.

Source: Business Insider

But it's not as if Dorsey is known for standard eating practices. In 2012, the Twitter CEO revealed his daily breakfast at the time was two hard-boiled eggs with soy sauce.

Source: Forbes

Dorsey has also dabbled in mainstream diet fads. He used to be a vegan, but too much beta-carotene (the orange pigment found in carrots) caused his skin to turn orange. In 2013, Dorsey was following the Paleo diet, the hunter-gathering regimen that forbids eating refined sugars, grains, and processed foods.

Source: Business Insider

More recently, Dorsey has been "playing with fasting for some time." In a podcast appearance in April, Dorsey said he only eats one meal a day — dinner – during the work week, then fasts the entire weekend. It's part of a diet trend popular in Silicon Valley called "intermittent fasting."

Sources: Twitter, Business Insider

"The first time I did it, like day three, I felt like I was hallucinating," Dorsey said on the podcast. "It was a weird state to be in. But as I did it the next two times, it just became so apparent to me how much of our days are centered around meals and how — the experience I had was when I was fasting for much longer, how time really slowed down."

Source: CNBC

However, Dorsey's diet has caused some concern from people on the internet. Users on Dorsey's platform, Twitter, have said his fasting diet sounds more like an eating disorder.

Sources: Business Insider, Twitter, Twitter

• On Friday, the Obama family checked into Le Mas des Poiriers, a luxury vacationrental in the Provence region of France that costs approximately $62,274 (55,000 Euros) per week to rent, according to Midi Libre.
• The lavish farmhouse is said to have been built during the 18th century, and currently covers 62 acres of land, according to the location's website.
• Visitors can stay in any of the property's nine bedrooms, use the on-site tennis court, or lounge by its private pool.
• The space is said to be entirely secluded, and visitors have access to private housekeepers and a culinary team comprised of chefs and waiters.
• Visit INSIDER's homepage for more stories.

As a former First Family, the Obamas can't vacation as freely as average citizens.

Not only must they take safety concerns into consideration, but they also need to think about the privacy levels of all travel destinations they visit. However, there are plenty of locations around the world that offer both seclusion and protection.

On Friday, Midi Libre reported that the Obama family was expected to arrive in the commune of Villeneuve-lès-Avignon in the south of France for a weeklong vacation. While there, Michelle, Barack, and their two daughters Malia and Sasha are reportedly staying in Le Mas des Poiriers, a luxurious farmhouse that costs approximately $62,274 (55,000 Euros) per week to rent, according to Midi Libre.

The 18th-century estate crosses 62 acres of land and is full of luxurious amenities

Le Mas des Poiriers was built in the 18th century, according to its website, and covers 62 acres of land. The site is said to "offer true seclusion," and is located in Provence, France, near the city of Avignon. 

The exterior of the main building can be seen in the photo below, taken by photographer Jamie Beck of Ann Street Studio.

Outside, the home is covered in lush gardens — as shown in the photo below, also taken by Beck — which are currently handled by Dominique Lafourcade, an "artist-landscape gardener," according to their website.

The grounds are also home to pear orchards that produce six tons of fruit each year, according to the Le Mas Des Poiriers website.

Read more: The Obamas spent Father's Day at a Michelin-starred restaurant in the south of France where a meal costs $118 per person

Inside the main house, which is said to measure 13,000 square feet, visitors can find seven different bedrooms, one of which is shown in the photo below, taken by photographer Nadia Meli.

For even more privacy, the location also offers two bedrooms in an adjacent cottage, one of which was photographed by Meli.

Arguably one of the home's best features is that visitors don't have to cook their own meals. According to the location's website, the house is "professionally staffed with a culinary team of two chefs and two waiters, as well as full-time housekeeping."

The home's kitchen is also filled with vintage paintings and rustic chandeliers, as shown in the photo below taken by Meli.

And when not lounging indoors, travelers can also partake in Le Mas des Poiriers' private pool and on-site tennis court, as shown in the photo below, taken by director and cinematographer Bryan Rowland.

To learn more about Le Mas des Poiriers, visit the location's website.

Representatives for Le Mas des Poiriers did not immediately reply to INSIDER's request for comment.

• Read more:
• Michelle Obama shared a heartfelt Mother's Day Instagram post about how important it is for her daughters to travel and seek out 'new perspectives'
• Michelle Obama says 'What do you want to be when you grow up?' is the worst question you can ask a kid
• The Obamas are worth $40 million — here's how they make and spend their money
• Michelle Obama dedicated a Valentine's Day Spotify playlist to Barack, and it includes Beyoncé, Bruno Mars, and Michael Jackson

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: WATCH: The legendary economist who predicted the housing crisis says the US will win the trade war

• The largest homes currently on the market in the US range from 32,000 to 70,000 square feet.
• We teamed up with Zillow to take a look at the largest homes for sale, from a historic Virginia manor to a recently renovated Bel Air mansion.
• Visit BusinessInsider.com for more stories.

The largest home for sale in the US is a whopping 70,000-square-foot abandoned Philadelphia mansion. To offer some context, that's about 15,000 square feet larger than the White House.

We teamed up with Zillow to look at the largest homes currently on the US housing market, including Red Sox owner John Henry's Florida vacation home and Cher's former Beverly Hills estate. Other luxury properties in the top 25 range from a historic Virginia manor to a recently renovated Bel Air mansion with room to park 80 cars.

Read more: There are too many multimillion-dollar mansions for sale in Los Angeles, and real-estate agents are going to extreme lengths to get them off the market

Many of these homes have been on the market for years, as luxury homes have become hard to sell. Previous reporting from Business Insider's Lina Batarags shows that customized houses — like many of the country's largest — are hard to sell as they include extremely personalized features that do not appeal to every buyer.

Keep reading for a look at the largest homes for sale in the US:

SEE ALSO: Millennials don't want to buy baby boomers' sprawling, multi-bedroom homes, and it's creating a major problem in the real-estate market

NOW READ: 13 luxury real-estate agents reveal what it's really like working with millionaire and billionaire clients

25. A Beverly Hills mansion previously owned by Hollywood names such as Cher and Eddie Murphy is now up for sale. The home has 32,000 square feet of space.

Cher's former home includes a 7,000-square-foot guest house in addition to the 20,000-square-foot main house. The Moroccan-style buildings also include a luxury stable on the 14-acre property.

Price: $48,000,000
Size: 32,000 square feet
Bedrooms/Bathrooms: 11 bedrooms, 17 bathrooms
Location: Beverly Hills, California

24. A massive home in Colorado is over 32,000 square feet.

In addition to spacious bedrooms, the property — located south of Denver— includes a cigar lounge, a professional wellness studio, and a guest cottage.

Price: $19,750,000
Size: 32,254 square feet
Bedrooms/Bathrooms: 6 bedrooms, 13 bathrooms
Location: Englewood, Colorado

23. Reasonably priced compared to other luxury homes of its size, a 33,000-square-foot Wisconsin mansion is on the market for a little over $3 million.

The home sits on almost 55 acres and includes two master suites and kitchens.

Price: $3,095,000
Size: 32,775 square feet
Bedrooms/Bathrooms: 6 bedrooms, 7 bathrooms
Location: Liberty Lake, Wisconsin

22. Priced at almost $15 million, a Utah luxury home features 33,000 square feet of space.

The luxury home offers direct access to all four of Park City's ski resorts, and also includes 20 lockers to store guests' winter gear.

Price: $14,950,000
Size: 33,000 square feet
Bedrooms/Bathrooms: 14 bedrooms, 22 bathrooms
Location: Park City, Utah

21. A large equestrian property is available in Florida for $23.6 million.

The equestrian estate — known as La Victoria Farm— includes two gated entrances to the main residence and barn.

Price: $23,600,000
Size: 35,785 square feet
Bedrooms/Bathrooms: 7 bedrooms, 12.5 bathrooms
Location: Wellington, Florida

20. Another Florida property includes almost 37,000 square feet of floor space.

The beachfront property includes a library, home theater, and a barber shop. The French Normandy-style home is currently llisted for almost $60 million with Ashley McIntosh, Gary Pohrer and Vince Spadea of Douglas Elliman.

Price: $59,900,000
Size: 36,993 square feet
Bedrooms/Bathrooms: 7 bedrooms, 16 bathrooms
Location: Palm Beach, Florida

19. For $10 million less, a 36,000-square-foot Bel Air mansion is also on the market.

According to the compound's Zillow listing, the luxury home includes approximately 20,000 square feet of entertainment space alone.

Price: $49,900,000
Size: 36,000 square feet
Bedrooms/Bathrooms: 8 bedrooms, 20 bathrooms
Location: Los Angeles, California

18. A 36,000-square-foot Santa Ana home offers views of Catalina Island and Newport Beach.

The luxury home includes a 15-car garage, along with a "panic room."

Price: $19,900,000
Size: 36,000 square feet
Bedrooms/Bathrooms: 20 bedrooms, 26 bathrooms
Location: Santa Ana, California

17. Known as "The Oaks," a 36,000-square-foot country estate sits on lakefront property.

The estate — located on Lake Thonotosassa in Florida— includes the main house, a 2-story guest house, a boat house, and a horse barn.

Price: $22,000,000
Size: 36,361 square feet
Bedrooms/Bathrooms: 8 bedrooms, 26 bathrooms
Location: Thonotosassa, Florida

16. A luxury estate in the Philadelphia area consists of almost 37,000 square feet.

The $10 million mansion includes three separate wings surrounding a stone courtyard. The property also includes a tower where guests have 360-degree views of the 29-acre spot.

Price: $10,000,000
Size: 36,957 square feet
Bedrooms/Bathrooms: 9 bedrooms, 15 bathrooms
Location: Fort Washington, Pennsylvania

15. A $23 million Dallas mansion is over 37,000 square feet — and includes its own outdoor waterpark.

Located behind 20-foot-tall gates, the estate also includes sports courts on the 4-acre property.

Price: $23,000,000
Size: 37,133 square feet
Bedrooms/Bathrooms: 10 bedrooms, 17.5 bathrooms
Location: Dallas, Texas

14. Another massive Bel Air mega-mansion is on the market, complete with glass walls throughout the home for unobstructed views.

Nicknamed "The Billionaire," Business Insider's Katie Warren previously reported the luxury home received a hefty $100 million price cut this year.

Price: $150,000,000
Size: 38,000 square feet
Bedrooms/Bathrooms: 12 bedrooms,31 bathrooms
Location: Los Angeles, California

13. A large Virginia estate is also on the market.

The stone manor was built in 1776 and includes a carriage house and additional residences.

Price: $29,950,000
Size: 38,500 square feet
Bedrooms/Bathrooms: 22 bedrooms, 16 bathrooms
Location: Warrenton, Virginia

12. A 40,700-square-foot estate is available in Knoxville Tennessee.

The luxury home — known as "The Village Collina"— offers views of the surrounding Great Smoky Mountains.

Price: $14,995,000
Size: 40,768 square feet
Bedrooms/Bathrooms: 8 bedrooms, 13.5 bathrooms
Location: Knoxville, Tennessee

11. John Henry— owner of the Boston Red Sox, The Boston Globe, and Liverpool Football Club — lowered the asking price of his 41,000-square-foot Boca Raton mansion in April.

The lakefront property is known as Tashun or "House of Peace" and features 19 bathrooms. Boston Red Sox owner John Henry cut the asking price by $10 million— the home is now on the market for $15 million.

Price: $15,000,000
Size: 41,010 square feet
Bedrooms/Bathrooms: 7 bedrooms,19 bathrooms
Location: Boca Raton, Florida

10. A 43,000-square-foot mansion is for sale in Summerland, California.

The luxury home is currently listed for $65 million.

Price: $65,000,000
Size: 43,000 square feet
Bedrooms/Bathrooms: 11 bedrooms,14 bathrooms
Location: Summerland, California 

9. Another massive Beverly Hills property is on the market for a whopping $150 million.

The 43,000-square foot luxury home is newly rebuilt, and it includes parking space for up to 80 cars when entertaining.

Price: $135,000,000
Size: 43,000 square feet
Bedrooms/Bathrooms: 17 bedrooms, 30 bathrooms
Location: Beverly Hills, California

8. Known as "Brisa Del Mar," a 43,000-square-foot home is available in Lantana, Florida.

The luxury Florida home includes an eat-in kitchen and a private dock.

Price: $26,695,00
Size: 43,386 square feet
Bedrooms/Bathrooms: 10 bedrooms, 14 bathrooms
Location: Lantana, Florida

7. A large property in upstate New York includes its own tennis court.

The 44,000-square-foot property is driving distance to Manhattan and includes eight bedrooms and eight bathrooms. Currently on the market with The Julian Team of Compass, the property includes a private boat dock.

Price: $6,200,000
Size: 44,039 square feet
Bedrooms/Bathrooms: 8 bedrooms, 8 bathrooms
Location: Hewlett, New York

6. A former corporate retreat — known as "Serenity Ridge"— includes over 45,000 square feet of space.

According to the property's listing, the home was originally built as a family or corporate retreat. As a result, it includes an entertainment wing, multiple dining areas, and a 29-car garage. The property is currently on the market for $12.9 million and includes an art collection.

Price: $12,900,000
Size: 45,212 square feet
Bedrooms/Bathrooms: 11 bedrooms, 24 bathrooms
Location: Parker, Colorado

5. A 50,000-square-foot Utah mansion joined the luxury market a little over a month ago.

The spacious home includes an impressive double-staircase entryway along with an indoor swimming pool.

Price: $25,000,000
Size: 49,568 square feet
Bedrooms/Bathrooms: 6 bedrooms, 9 bathrooms
Location: Springville, Utah

4. A 50,000-square-foot property in Westlake Village, California received a $25 million price cut in March.

The hilltop home includes a 5,000-square-foot master suite, along with a collector's museum and four pools "inspired by the Monet Gardens of Giverny, France."According to the home's Zillow listing, the impressive property also includes a working 5-acre organic farm.

Price: $59,995,000
Size: 50,255 square feet
Bedrooms/Bathrooms: 12 bedrooms, 33 bathrooms
Location: Westlake Village, California

3. Located on Lake Windmere in Florida, a 51,000-square-foot private estate sits on 18 acres of private property.

According to Zillow, the Georgian-style mansion has views of Disney fireworks every night and includes a massive chef's kitchen. The home has double the number of bathrooms as it does rooms.

Price: $28,500,000
Size: 51,000 square feet
Bedrooms/Bathrooms: 7 bedrooms, 14 bathrooms
Location: Windermere, Florida

2. The 50,000-square-foot Muy Grande Ranch and Resort is currently for sale in North Michigan.

The property includes 12 suites 1,400 square feet apiece and can accommodate a total of 40 guests. In addition, the ranch includes personal cabins and a ranch keeper's house.

Price: $6,400,000
Size: 55,000 square feet
Bedrooms/Bathrooms: 21 bedrooms, 30 bathrooms
Location: Millersburg, Michigan

1. Lynnewood Hall ranks as the largest home for sale in the United States, with 55 bedrooms and 70,000 square feet — over 15,000 square feet larger than the second-place ranch.

According to the estate's Zillow listing, "Lynnewood Hall one of the largest surviving Gilded age Mansion in the Philadelphia area." The Neoclassical mansion has 110 rooms total and was built between 1897 and 1900 for industrialist Peter A.B. Widener. The historic home — which has sat empty for at least a decade — will require millions of dollars in renovation.

Price: $11,000,000
Size: 70,000 square feet
Bedrooms/Bathrooms: 55 bedrooms, 20 bathrooms
Location: Elkins Park, Pennsylvania

• Read more on these luxury homes:

• The RealReal, a venture-backed e-commerce platform for selling pre-owned luxury goods, is expected to start trading on Nasdaq Friday under the ticker symbol "REAL."
• The company set a price range of $17 to $19 per share, which at the high-point would value the RealReal at $1.6 billion.
• Like most high-growth tech companies going public, the RealReal isn't profitable. Though the company did grow its revenue 55% from 2017 to 2018.
• Click here for more BI Prime stories.

If you want to buy a Chanel purse for half its retail value, check out the RealReal. And if you want to buy shares in the RealReal, check out Nasdaq.

The RealReal, a San Francisco e-commerce company known for matching bargain-hungry fashionistas with used designer goods, is expected to started trading Friday on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol "REAL."

Though ride-hailing companies Lyft and Uber started the 2019 IPO cycle off with ominous sell-offs, the market has shifted to a more optimistic outlook, buoyed in part by strong investor interest in the vegetarian-meat company Beyond Meat, which is up more than 500% from its opening IPO price.

The RealReal is the first big tech IPO since Slack's direct listing on June 20. Slack is now valued around $18 billion, up from its last private funding round valuation of $7.1 billion. 

In a filing last week, the RealReal set a price range for its upcoming IPO at $17 to $19 per share.

At the mid-point, The RealReal could raise around $246 million, with an initial market cap of $1.5 billion, a slight bump from its last private valuation of $1 billion, which came from a $50 million funding round in March. At its high-point, the company would be worth $1.6 billion.

The IPO is led by underwriters Credit Suisse, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, and UBS.

Here's what else you need to know ahead of the RealReal IPO.

From Pets.com to VC darling

The luxury consignment company was founded in 2011 by CEO Julie Wainwright, an experienced tech executive who infamously took Pets.com public in 2000, and then shut it down just months later. The online pet retailer, with a marketing budget that far outsized its revenue, became a symbol of the dot-com bubble, and Silicon Valley's smoke and mirrors.

The chief financial officer taking the RealReal public is Matt Gustke, who spent nine years in senior roles at eBay before joining the ticketing marketplace StubHub as CFO and head of strategy. 

In a video to retail investor, Wainwright said the idea for the RealReal came to her while she was shopping in a luxury goods store with a friend who didn't usually buy pre-owned items. The friend ended up buying something from the store's consignment section because, she told Wainwright, she trusted that the store had thoroughly vetted the authenticity of the items it sold.

Now after eight years as a private company, the RealReal has sold 9.4 million items and paid out more than $1 billion to sellers on its website on the promise that it authenticates every piece of merchandise sold on its platform.

The RealReal raised a total of $338 million in venture funding, according to PitchBook, starting with a seed investment from 500 Startups. Among the RealReal's biggest investors is Michael Kumin with Great Hill Partners, whose stake will equal 12% of the company after its IPO, as well as Maha Ibrahim, an investor with Canaan Partners, who will own 10.6%, and Chip Baird with Perella Weinberg Partners, who will own 9% after the IPO.

Wainwright will own 7.2% of the company after it goes public.

Like most high-growth tech IPOs, including Uber and Lyft, the RealReal is still losing money. The company lost $75.8 million on $207 million in revenue in 2018. This is compared to 2017, when the company lost $52 million on $134 million in revenue.

Read more:Investors have seen triple-digit returns on some 2019 IPOs, but UBS think there are 2 key reasons it could cool by midsummer

These losses have added up. As of March 31, the company had an accumulated deficit of $281 million.

Still, the RealReal is a high-growth company. Its revenue was up 55% from 2017 to 2018, and its gross profits of $136.9 million were up 56% in the same period.

The company said in its investor pitch that it has a plan for profitability, driven by its long-term strategy to grow its EBITDA margins to 25%, though it did not disclose when it plans to reach that goal or profitability.

High-growth retailers are hot

Just three weeks ago, the luxury retailer Revolve raised $212 million in an IPO that valued the company at $1.3 billion. Like many IPOs this year, Revolve priced its IPO at $18 per share, but its first trade valued the stock at $34 per share. Revolve shot up to a high around $47 but now hovers around its $34 opening price.

Investors interested in e-commerce companies also have their eye on Beyond Meat, the vegetarian-meat retailer, which priced its IPO at $25 per share on May 27 and surged as high as $201 per share in the following weeks.

In its pitch to investors, the RealReal said its biggest competition isn't other online retailers but brick-and-mortar stores where people resell their stuff. But the company also positioned itself as a marketplace — an online platform that connects buyers to sellers.

Read more: Fresh off its IPO, Chewy might be the next company to get crushed by Amazon 

The company also told investors that the total addressable luxury goods market was expected to hit $294 billion in 2018, and that number is rising. The more people that buy new luxury goods, the more goods there are to resell on the RealReal, according to its pitch.

When Lyft went public in March, its bankers also positioned the ride-hailing platform as a marketplace. Lyft's bankers compared the company to food delivery platform GrubHub, the luxury retailer Farfetch, the creative goods site Etsy, the freelancing platform Upwork, the online travel operator Booking Holdings, and the home-services site ANGI (Angie's List), sources told Business Insider at the time. It's unclear which companies the RealReal was compared to by its bankers.

As a consignment shop, the RealReal relies on outside resellers to list their inventory on the website. Most of its revenue comes from its "take rate"— the fee it charges to the sellers on its platform. In the first quarter of 2019, it charged 35.3% to resellers on every transaction.

The company generates revenue from the orders made on its website and mobile app, as well as its three retail stores, according to the S-1.

This business model creates some unique risk factors. The RealReal disclosed in its S-1 that it may fail to generate enough "pre-owned luxury goods," and that the luxury market may be hit particularly hard during a market downturn since consumers could spend less money. 

The company also listed counterfeit merchandise as a risk to its success. The RealReal emphasizes its authentication process. Unlike the resale platform eBay, the RealReal examines every piece of merchandise, stores it and handles the delivery. However, it said in its S-1 that counterfeits could harm its business.

"Our success depends on our ability to accurately and cost-effectively determine whether an item offered for consignment is an authentic product, a genuine gemstone or piece of jewelry or a validated work of art," the company wrote. "While we have invested heavily in our authentication processes and we reject any goods we believe to be counterfeit, we cannot be certain that we will identify every counterfeit item that is consigned to us."

SEE ALSO: Autonomous vehicle tech company Velodyne Lidar has hired bankers for an IPO in a high-stakes moment for the emerging industry

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NOW WATCH: MacKenzie Bezos pledged to donate more than half of her life's fortune. Here's how she went from one of Amazon's first employees to an award-winning novelist.

• Luxury restaurants are entertaining kids with scavenger hunts and movie screenings so parents can enjoy their dining experience, reported Alina Dizik for The Wall Street Journal.
• Millennial parents are strongly influenced by their kids' requests, and restaurateurs are seizing the opportunity.
• Luxury apartment developers are also catering to kids by creating outrageous amenities for them in hopes of attracting millennial parents.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Fine dining restaurants are catering to a new kind of customer: young kids.

From Minneapolis and Las Vegas to Washington, DC, and New Orleans, luxury restaurants are employing creative means to entertain kids so their parents can enjoy a $115 steak free of distractions, reported Alina Dizik for The Wall Street Journal. Tactics include everything from political scavenger hunts and movie screenings (complete with caviar and crumpets) to manners courses, play spaces, and turtle feedings.

David Portalatin, food industry adviser at the NPD Group, told Dizik that parents most likely choose a dinner location based on their child's request, which restaurateurs see as an opportunity. "Kids have a lot of power to influence their parents," more so than those in previous generations, Portalatin told her.

But their pull stretches beyond the luxury dining scene and into luxury real estate.

Read more: Luxury buildings are adding extravagant amenities just for kids, from video-game rooms to elaborate playrooms with trampolines and pools

Millennials now comprise the largest share of home buyers— 36% — and they live in urban areas at a higher rate than any other generation, Business Insider's Katie Warren reported. According to a SunTrust Mortgage survey, more than half of homeowners with a child under the age of 18 said the child's opinion played a "major role" in their home-buying decision. For millennial parents, this increased to 75%.

And apartment developers in New York City hoping to attract those millennial parents are designing high-end residential buildings with kids in mind.

These buildings offer outrageous amenities just for children, including trampoline rooms, video game rooms, music studios, study rooms, teen lounges, separate pools, and "imagination centers"— a fancy term for elaborate playrooms.

SEE ALSO: The cost of raising a child is at an all-time high, and it's partly because parents feel pressure to buy kids what their friends have

DON'T MISS: Rich parents are paying millions to be able to walk their kids to school

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NOW WATCH: How $100,000 custom pool tables are made for celebrities like Justin Bieber and Taylor Swift

• Luxurystreetwear is gaining momentum among rich millennials.
• The streetwear subculture has been around for decades, but social media and the rise of athleisure have recently brought it to the forefront of fashion.
• Luxury brands like Gucci and Louis Vuitton are incorporating streetwear styles to their looks to appeal to millennials.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Two different fashion worlds have collided, and it has created a new kind of millennial uniform: luxury streetwear.

The streetwear subculture has been around for decades, originating in skate, surf, and hip-hop cultures, Benjamin Schneider, a research analyst at Euromonitor International, told Business Insider. According to him, the most popular streetwear brands today, like Stussy and Supreme, grew slowly throughout the 1980s and '90s and developed cultlike followings.

"As athletes and hip-hop artists gained influence throughout the 1990s, so did the sportswear brands they wore, increasingly bringing brands like Adidas, Champion, and Nike into the streetwear ecosystem," he said.

But it wasn't until social media that streetwear really exploded onto the scene — bold logos and graphics resonated with image-obsessed consumers.

"Now that Instagram is the definitive medium for discovering fashion, traditional luxury brands like Gucci and Louis Vuitton have adopted the defining characteristics of streetwear, finding bold logos and exclusivity to be key to reaching younger generations," Schneider said.

It's making Gucci cool again — in 2015, the brand brought on Alessandro Michele as creative director, and he led the brand in a millennial and teen-friendly direction by helping Gucci embrace streetwear and the influence of popular culture, Business Insider previously reported. Celebrities like Lil Pump and Kylie Jenner have further popularized the brand through Instagram and music.

And it's working: Gucci nearly doubled its sales in 2018, with consumers under 35 accounting for 55% of those sales. Michael Kors, Fendi, and Ralph Lauren have also partnered with streetwear brands.

Read more: Millennials and teens are making Gucci cool again. Here's how the brand nearly doubled its sales in 2018.

Millennials have a thing for athleisure

But social media isn't the only factor behind luxury streetwear's skyrocketing popularity — millennials' appetite for athleisure is also a driving force. 

"They like streetwear's casual and comfortable silhouettes like t-shirts, hoodies, and sneakers, which have become increasingly accepted in work and social spaces alike in the US in the midst of a larger casualization trend," Schneider said.

And now that streetwear has gone high-end, millennials are also gravitating toward the trend because of its effect on their perceived social status. Luxury streetwear now numbers among other purchases and symbols, like fancy baby strollers, second passports, and "ugly" sneakers, that people use to demonstrate their status.

The consumers of luxury streetwear may be a niche group — but it's a group that carries a lot of influence on social media. And while the style is seen on both women and men, it's more popular among the latter, according to Schneider. The male millennial knows what the different brands represent, Schneider said, as well as when and where products will be released and how to get them.

SEE ALSO: From Converse to Air Jordans, sneakers have been a status symbol for decades — but millennials are redefining what that means in 3 major ways

DON'T MISS: Rich millennials are creating new trends and status symbols — here are 7 ways they're redefining what luxury looks like

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: How $100,000 custom pool tables are made for celebrities like Justin Bieber and Taylor Swift

• The RealReal is going public and could be valued at $1.6 billion when it begins trading on Friday.
• We visited the luxury reseller's NYC location where an authentication expert walked us through how to spot fake designer goods. 
• We looked at two versions of Adidas Yeezys, Hermes Birkin bags, Chanel shoes, Louboutin heels, and Rolex watches to try and figure out which one was real and which was a cheap counterfeit.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. 

We went to The RealReal, a luxury resale store, where an authentication expert walked us through how to spot fake designer goods. We looked at two versions of Adidas Yeezys, Hermes Birkin bags, Chanel shoes, Louboutin heels, and Rolex watches to try and figure out which one was real and which was a cheap counterfeit. Exactly what should you be looking for when buying expensive shoes, handbags, and jewelry?

EDITOR'S NOTE: This video was originally published on December 17, 2018.

Join the conversation about this story »

• Fyre Festival was a music festival planned for the Bahams in 2017 that dissolved into chaos and turned into a nightmare scenario for hundreds of attendees.
• The event's promotional video, showing a picturesque island with models and yachts, was used to attract attendees into buying tickets costing up to $12,000.
• The place where the promo video was filmed is an island in the Bahamas called Saddleback Cay, and it's now up for sale for $11.8 million. 
• Take a look at photos of the up-for-sale Saddleback Cay, Fyre Festival's intended location, and where the failed event ended up taking place instead.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Fyre Festival was supposed to be an exclusive music festival in 2017 featuring tons of influencers and partying on sandy beaches, before it descended into chaos and became a catch-all term for failed events.

Much of the hype going into the festival stemmed from the insane promotional blitz the organizers embarked on, getting hundreds of powerful influencers and personalities to post about Fyre Festival. The campaign was accompanied by a two-minute teaser video to announce the festival, showing beautiful models, yacht parties, and bright blue waters — it seemed like all of it could be yours if you attended Fyre Festival.

Now, that island is for sale. Although it's not where the famed Fyre Festival ultimately happened, it's where organizers Billy McFarland and rapper Ja Rule first envisioned for the festival to take place, and where the promo video was filmed.

The private island, called Saddleback Cay, can be yours for $11.8 million.

Take a look at some photos of the island Fyre Festival organizers first set their sights on, and how it compares with the location they ended up settling on — and the event that ultimately didn't happen.

SEE ALSO: How to use TikTok, the short-form video app Gen Z loves and that's ushering in a new era of influencers

This is Saddleback Cay, a private island that's part of the Bahamas. It gets its name from its shape as seen at sea level, which resembles a riding saddle.

Source: HG Christie

It's one of hundreds of Caribbean islands that make up The Exumas archipelago, and is situated off the northern tip of a bigger Bahamas island called Norman's Cay.

Source: Bahamas

Norman's Cay is where the closest airstrip to Saddleback Cay is located, making the private island accessible for private flights.

Source: HG Christie

Per the the real estate listing for the island, Saddleback Cay spans 35 acres. The land includes a small 500-square-foot property with one bedroom and two baths.

Source: HG Christie

Saddleback Cay also has a total of seven sand beaches, and access to ocean areas for bone fishing and deep water fishing.

Source: HG Christie

It's also where Fyre Festival organizers decided they wanted their music festival, and where they went in December 2016 to shoot their promotional hype video.

The company behind the festival was Fyre Media, cofounded by rapper Ja Rule and an entrepreneur named Billy McFarland. To advertise for the festival and shoot the promo video in the Bahamas, Fyre hired Jerry Media, a marketing agency behind the @F---Jerry Instagram account.

Jerry Media has faced tons of criticism for stealing jokes, and passing them as their own in posts on their @F---Jerry Instagram account. Jerry Media also helped to produce the Netflix documentary about Fyre Festival.

For the promo video, the Fyre team pulled out all the stops and spared no expense to shoot footage that would lure potential customers to buy tickets for Fyre Festival.

The team brought out multiple yachts, a private plane, and dozens of A-list celebrities to Saddleback Cay for the promo shoot.

Source: Netflix

The Fyre team flew out some of the most influential and recognizable supermodels in the world to be included in the shoot, such as Emily Ratajkowski, Alessandra Ambrosio, and Bella Hadid.

Source: Netflix

The role of the film crews was simple: "capture everything." Multiple film crews were brought in for the shoot: one team to follow the models, and another to capture the work and conversations of McFarland and his Fyre team.

Source: Netflix

The Fyre team was specific in the shots they wants: boats gliding through the water in a V-formation, models swimming underwater, and celebrities dancing around a bonfire.

Source: Netflix

The team even made sure to shoot the models with some of the feral pigs known to inhabit an island in the Bahamas — though not even on the same island where the video was shot.

The goal of the shoot was simple: to make Fyre Festival seem like an exclusive party with a crew of beautiful people that you wouldn't want to miss.

However, the promo video landed the Fyre team in hot water. The team decided to mention the island was once owned by drug lord Pablo Escobar, something the Bahamian authorities specifically asked them not to do in their promotion.

Source: Netflix

However, Saddleback Cay was never owned by Escobar. Its neighboring island, Norman's Cay, is known for being part of Escobar's drug smuggling route, but that's the closest association that could be made to the Colombian kingpin.

Source: Forbes

The Bahamas banned Fyre from using Saddleback soon after, leaving the organizers only six to eight weeks to find somewhere else in the Bahamas for Fyre Festival. The team was able to secure a spot on Great Exuma, one of the Bahamas' bigger islands.

Source: Netflix

The area of Great Exuma that Fyre chose was a deserted area called Rokers Point Settlement. It's located nearby a massive Sandals resort.

Source: Netflix, Sandals

However, the new festival location was nothing like the picturesque views of Saddleback Cay seen in the promotional video.

Instead, Roker's Point Settlement was an unfinished housing development under construction, with concrete slabs on the ground and dangerous drops into a water basin.

Even more, Fyre distorted the look of Roker's Point in further promotional material. To echo its earlier promise Fyre Festival would be held on a private island, Fyre altered its venue map to make it appear as if Roker's Point was an island, instead of a part of Great Exuma.

Source: Netflix

However, that became the least of Fyre's problems in the weeks leading up to the festival. The team was wholly unprepared to fulfill its promises of a luxury music festival.

Attendees — who paid anywhere from $1,200 to $12,000 per ticket — came to the Bahamas expecting a music festival. Instead, upon getting to the festival site, they were met with chaos, confusion, and views that looked nothing like the ads or the promo video.

Source: Business Insider

Instead of luxury tents, guests were shown emergency hurricane tents and had to fight to get mattresses to sleep on.

Source: Business Insider

Guests were promised gourmet catered food from top chefs. Instead, they were fed cheese sandwiches as they sat stranded on the island.

Source: Business Insider

Attendees were left to scramble to find flights back home, and Fyre Festival was canceled hours after the first concert-goers saw the reality that was the event. Fyre Festival has since become a term referring to events that have ended in massive failure and scams.

Source: Business Insider

However fake Fyre Festival was, the island used for promoting the event is still there. Saddleback Cay can be yours for $11.8 million.

Source: HG Christie

Watch the Fyre Festival teaser video released in January 2017 ahead of the event, filmed on Saddleback Cay:

Youtube Embed:
//www.youtube.com/embed/mz5kY3RsmKo
Width: 560px
Height: 315px

• Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and MacKenzie Bezos announced earlier this year they were getting divorced after a 25-year marriage.
• The couple officially finalized their divorce Friday, and the settlement from the split will leave MacKenzie Bezos with a partial stake in Amazon.
• MacKenzie Bezos' share is worth an estimated $38 billion, and makes her the third richest women in the world.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

The marriage of Amazon's power couple, which has spanned the transformation of the company from online bookstore to massive e-commerce platform, is officially over.

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and his ex-wife, MacKenzie Bezos, officially finalized their divorce Friday, Bloomberg reports. As a result, MacKenzie Bezos is set to gain millions of shares of Amazon worth an estimated $38 billion.

When the Washington judge signed court papers Friday to formally dissolve the marriage, the terms of the couple's divorce settlement were made official. The Bezoses announced in April what their divorce agreement entailed: MacKenzie Bezos would grant the Amazon CEO all of her interests in the Washington Post and Blue Origin, and voting control over her stake in the company. Jeff Bezos would get 75% of the Amazon stock the couple co-owned, while MacKenzie Bezos would be left with the rest.

Read more:Jeff and MacKenzie Bezos' $38 billion divorce settlement is set to become official this week

The remaining 4% stake left to MacKenzie Bezos is just under 20 million Amazon shares, worth an estimated $38 billion. A regulatory filing disclosing the shift in ownership, as required by the US Securities and Exchange Commission, is expected this month, Bloomberg reports.

The massive cash injection shoots MacKenzie Bezos to the ranking of third-richest woman alive, according to the Bloomberg Billionaire's Index. In the rankings, Bezos will sit behind Francoise Bettencourt Meyers and Alice Walton, who each have net worths upwards of $50 billion.

MacKenzie Bezos also said in April she had signed the Giving Pledge, a promise taken by some of the world's wealthiest to donate at least half of their assets to charity in their lifetime or will.

Meanwhile, Jeff Bezos' post-divorce net worth stands at an estimated $121 billion, and he remains the world's richest person. He has noticeably refused to sign onto the Giving Pledge, though he praised his ex-wife on Twitter for her philanthropic commitment.

Before the split, the Bezos couple was married for 25 years. They first started dating before Amazon was even born, and have four children together. They first announced in January they were getting a divorce.

SEE ALSO: Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is reportedly dropping $80 million on a Manhattan penthouse and the 2 apartments below it — take a look inside

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NOW WATCH: 23 useful iPhone tricks and hidden features to make your life easier

• These luxury cruise cabins are among some of the fanciest in the world. 
• Fitted with furnishings by high-profile designers, private spas, sweeping decks offering stunning ocean views, and on-demand butler services, these suites are truly fit for a king.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

What's better than living like royalty, with a private butler and the finest home amenities on Earth?

Having it all on board the finest cruise ships in the world, of course!

Read more: A new luxury cruise will take guests around the world to 6 continents in 117 days — here's a look inside the ship, where suites cost up to $165,999 per person

If you're looking to roam the seven seas in style, look no further than these elegant cruise ships. Two-story duplexes, sweeping decks, and expansive floor plans make these rooms perfect for a celebrity or wealthy cruise-goer.

Here are seven of the most expensive luxury cruise cabins in the world.

SEE ALSO: 10 of the best cruises to take if you're retired

First up: The Duplex Suite on the MSC Meraviglia. The two-level, four-person suite features a master bedroom on one level and a double sofa bed on the other.

Guests can sun-bathe or enjoy a whirlpool bath on the private balcony. And inside, guests can take advantage of two walk-in wardrobes and bathrooms with both a bathtub and shower.

Next, you need to check out The Haven Deluxe Owner's Suite. You can find this 1,500-square-foot suite aboard Norwegian Joy, a Norwegian Cruise Line ship.

The suite features two bedrooms, two balconies, two marble bathrooms, a living and dining area, and a wet bar. There are plenty of places to sleep in the suite — between a king bed, a double sofa bed and a double Murphy bed, it can accommodate up to six guests.

Some of the amenities include a bottle of champagne on embarkation day, plush robes and towels, and Bulgari toiletries.

Let's move along to this duplex dream. The Royal Caribbean ship Symphony of the Seas is home to this Royal Loft Suite. The 1,744-square-foot, two-deck suite features two bedrooms, two bathrooms, and sleeps up to six guests. It also includes a private, 843-square-foot balcony.

The Royal Loft Suite seats eight in its impressive dining room. The living room features a grand piano and ceiling-to-floor windows with sprawling ocean views.

You're going to want to check out this next luxury cruise cabin. Oceania Cruises' Owner's Suite is perfect for anyone in search of an uber-luxurious cruising experience. The suite has an area of more than 2,000 square feet and spans the entire beam of the ship, making this the perfect luxury room for large groups.

The suite includes a large living room, king-size bedroom, two walk-in closets, indoor and outdoor whirlpool spas, and a dramatic entry foyer complete with a music room. All furnishings inside the Owner's Suite were designed by Ralph Lauren, making the suite feel more like a New York City penthouse than a cruise cabin.

To truly make you feel like royalty, all suites onboard Oceania Cruises come with a private butler service that includes in-suite dining, shoe shining, laundry services, and personalized touches like evening canapés.

Next up, a suite offered by Regent Seven Seas Cruises. You can find the Regent Suite aboard the Seven Seas Explorer, though you'll pay a pretty penny to stay in this luxury cabin. The cabin itself includes two large bedrooms, two private balconies, a heated mini pool spa, a spacious living area, and a private solarium. This suite accommodates up to six guests.

A custom Steinway grand Maroque piano by Dakota Jackson can be found in the expansive living area of the suite. Lush furnishings and plenty of natural sunlight make this luxury cabin perfect for entertaining or relaxing with friends and family.

The Regent Suite also features an in-suite spa with a sauna, steam room, and jetted tub — perfect for relaxing after a long day exploring the ship's destinations. By booking this luxury suite, you also have access to unlimited laundry and dry cleaning, a personal butler, and a bottle of Veuve Clicquot champagne upon your arrival.

If you really want to set sail in style, the Balmoral Suite aboard Cunard Line's Queen Mary 2 may fit the bill. This classic suite features comfortable and stylish furnishings throughout its duplex layout. The Queen Mary 2 is the largest ocean liner in the world and was named by Queen Elizabeth II in 2004.

The Queen Mary 2's duplex suites range from 1,471 to 2,249 square feet, allowing for an extremely comfortable stay on this historic ship.

As the largest suite available on a Celebrity Cruises ship, the Celebrity Edge's Iconic Suite stands out as the height of luxury at sea. The suite spans a whopping 1,892 square feet and includes two lavish bedrooms, two full bathrooms, a butler's pantry, and premium dining and beverage packages.

Floor-to-ceiling windows offer stunning views of the water, while a full dining room and spacious living area make this luxury cabin perfect for large groups and entertaining. If you're not already convinced that this cabin is the height of at-sea luxury, a private butler service will attend to your every need onboard this high-end cruise line.

A sweeping deck offers panoramic views of the ocean. Guests can also lounge on the outdoor sun bed, enjoy the outdoor spa bath, and take in the stunning scenery from the provided deck chairs.

• • Read more:
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  • A cruise ship worker reveals what it's really like to work on a cruise ship
  • Disappointing photos show what cruise ships look like in real life
  • Cruise-ship workers reveal how much money they really make

• The Venice Simplon-Orient-Express has unveiled three new incredibly luxurious suites.
• The iconic train's new Grand Suites come with free-flowing champagne and a 24-hour steward.
• They've been named Vienna, Prague, and Budapest in homage to three of the cities the train visits.
• It's not cheap though — a classic one-night journey in a Grand Suite starts from £6,200 ($7,700) per person.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

The Venice Simplon-Orient-Express has unveiled three new incredibly lavish suites.

Already considered the pinnacle of luxury, the new suites will provide passengers with the ultimate in train travel decadence.

The new Grand Suites will be part of the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express from 2020, according to Belmond.

They're named Vienna, Prague, and Budapest, after three of the iconic cities the train visits every year, and join three existing suites, Venice, Istanbul, and Paris (which together were named World's Best Suite for 2019 in the Ahead awards.)

Read more:What it's like to travel on the Belmond British Pullman, the luxurious sister train to the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express which has welcomed royals and celebrities for decades

Needless to say, staying in one of the new suites is a far cry from the sweaty, squished commutes most of us associate with train travel.

Each Grand Suite features underfloor heating and comes with free-flowing champagne and a personal steward who'll be at your beck and call 24/7 — you'll need someone to keep your glass topped up, after all.

Naturally, the suites have been decorated in the lavish 1920's style for which the Orient Express was so famous, with the aim of paying "tribute to the romance and glamour of Europe and the golden era of rail travel," according to Gary Franklin, Vice President of Trains & Cruises at Belmond.

They feature marble en-suite bathrooms with showers, double beds, a private living area, bathrobes, hand-embroidered cushions, and plenty of silk, gold and mahogany.

However, each suite has also been designed with small accents to pay homage to the particular city after which it's named. The Prague suite, for example, features rich golds and maroons, to evoke the city's theatrical feel.

Meanwhile Vienna's imperial nature will be reflected in its suite through ornate and classical gold and emerald hues, and the Budapest suite has taken inspiration from both the Gothic and Ottoman architecture of the city.

To complete the luxurious experience, guests will be given private transfers to and from the train.

The VIP lifestyle doesn't come cheap though — a classic one-night journey in a Grand Suite starts from £6,200 ($7,700) per person.

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• 'Crown Collection by Disney' gives guests the opportunity to enjoy the most-luxurious experiences the Orlando parks have to offer.
• The 'Crown Collection' places all of the exclusive offerings and services under one umbrella, making it easier for guests to take their experience to the VIP level.
• There is a long list ranging from tasting dinners with wine pairings to private events. 

• Visit INSIDER's homepage for more stories.

It's a warm Florida afternoon and Matt Paule, a private guide at Walt Disney World in Orlando, is escorting a small group of guests past a guard at the back entrance to Animal Kingdom. Skipping the throngs of people waiting at the main entrance, Paule leads them straight into the World of Avatar and into the FastPass line for Flight of Passage, the park's hottest attraction.

There are plenty of advantages to hiring a VIP guide but time—the most valuable commodity at expansive Disney—is definitely the biggest. Knowing the right people can do more than put you at the front of long lines—it can get you last-minute reservations at hard-to-book restaurants, luxury vehicles that transport you directly from park to park, and valuable insight into Disney history and inner workings.

VIP tours are part of the recently-dubbed Crown Collection by Disney, which brings together the most-luxurious experiences at its Orlando parks and allows guests to choose and customize their own experiences. "The Crown Collection combines all the curated offerings and personalized services under one umbrella for guests seeking to take their experiences to the next level," said Paul Oppedisano, vice president of premium services.

There's a long list of options in Crown Collection, from private events to Delicious Disney, themed tasting dinners with wine pairings. But here are a few of the top highlights that Disneyphiles of all ages will want to take advantage of.

VIP Tours: VIP private guides, like Paule, lead groups of up to 10 people on customized tours for an hourly rate between $425 and $650, with a seven-hour minimum. There are also non-private tours with set agendas, such as the Ultimate Day of Classics and the Ultimate Day of Thrills tours, which run from $99 to $349 per person.

Disney Signature Services: This services offers pre-arrival vacation planning to guests staying in a suite or club-level room at a Disney resort hotel. A dedicated cast member assists with everything from dining reservations to in-room celebrations and special requests.

Special Events: If you've ever considered having an original song or musical penned and performed for your friends or family, Disney Special Events can make it happen. With access to some of the best storytellers, songwriters and creative geniuses, nothing is impossible—including the creation of new characters to help tell your story.

Sunset Sails: Watch fireworks while sipping Champagne and eating chocolate-covered strawberries aboard Disney's Grand One yacht. Sailing around the Seven Seas Lagoon and Bay Lake near the Magic Kingdom, the 52-foot Sea Ray accommodates up to 18 people with hourly rates starting at $349. The butler, however, will cost you extra.

Luxury Accommodations: There's no dearth of upscale bungalows, villas and suites at Disney World Resorts, but the pièce de résistance continues to be the Grand Floridian. This Victorian-style property provides concierge service, a club-level lounge, a spa and two of Disney's top restaurants: the Victoria & Albert, with its refined degustation menu and coveted chef's table, and the contemporary Citricos, which features an open kitchen and private dining room.

Wine and Culinary Experiences: The Crown Collection includes access to fine dining at Disney's best resort restaurants, as well as reservations at Disney Springs, which continues to raise the bar on the culinary and cocktail scene. Master sommelier George Miliotes has opened Wine Bar George—the only master sommelier–led wine bar in Florida. Nearby, the fifth location of Chef Jose Andres's Jaleo also pulls in the crowds, many there to sip on its clever (and addicting) foamy margarita.

Golden Oak: For Disneyphiles who just can't get enough, single-family luxury homes are available for purchase at the gated Golden Oak development, built on Disney property and offering member-only access to the Golden Oak Clubhouse and its notable restaurant, Markhams. The ultimate address is in the Four Seasons at Golden Oak neighborhood, which comes with access to many of the amenities at the Four Seasons Orlando.

Club 33: Although often kept under wraps, the exclusive Club 33 is a members-only club that has recently expanded to four of Disney's Orlando parks. You'd better be a super-fan for this one: Members are heavily vetted and fees are even steeper at $25,000 for initiation, plus $10,000 per year.

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• Michelle Obama took a short trip to the West Coast, where she rented a seven-bedroom, 12-bathroom mansion in Hollywood Hills, currently on the market for $22.9 million.
• The mansion features the "first-ever open-air shark aquarium," a temperature-regulated walk-in wine cellar, and an entertainment room with a tequila and vodka freezer.
• There is speculation that the purpose of Obama's stay was to investigate an area for a permanent new home.

• Visit INSIDER's homepage for more stories.

It's been a busy few months for Michelle Obama. She started out at the end of June with a relaxing, über luxurious trip to Provence, where she and Barack Obama spent a family vacation with their daughters, Sasha and Malia, at a fancy villa in Avignon. The former first family then headed to Lake Como, where they went on the ultimate double date getaway with George and Amal Clooney, and now they're back stateside.

The Obamas currently maintain a home in the Kalorama neighborhood in D.C., but the erstwhile first lady is still jetting around the country. Earlier this week, she was with Gayle King at the Essence Festival in New Orleans, and then she headed to Los Angeles. She reportedly was attending meetings related to her and Barack Obama's production company, Higher Ground Productions, as they signed a multi-year deal with Netflix in the spring. She also headed to Bryan Lourd and Bruce Bozzi's home to chat about the Obama Foundation and non-profit work, according to Deadline.

And she lived her best life while there, as she rented a glitzy new-construction mansion for her short trip on the West Coast, which was first reported by TMZ. She stayed in a palatial seven-bedroom, 12-bathroom abode in Hollywood Hills, which is currently on the market for a hefty $22.9 million.

It's not clear if Obama's husband or children joined her for her stay, but she definitely had more than enough room for any pals to come hang out at the 12,800-square-foot abode.

The modern house features imported materials, gas fireplaces and custom automated walls of glass throughout, which slide up for an indoor-outdoor living layout. The most unique aspect is definitely the "first-ever open-air shark aquarium," with a living wall canopy. Interesting.

The open kitchen is equipped with white counter tops and a center island and is adjacent to a temperature-regulated walk-in wine room. There's also an entertainment area with a tequila and vodka freezer, per the listing Compass broker Tomer Fridman shares with Westside Estate Agency broker Kurt Rappaport.

The master suite has its own gas fireplace, with a living area, walk-in closets and even its own kitchenette. There's also a large private terrace as well as a bathroom with double vanities, a separate tub and walk-in, step-up rainfall shower.

The home also includes a full movie theater, a humidor room and a very well-equipped true wellness center, complete with a resistance pool (a true necessity), a plunge pool, dry sauna, gym, and massage room.

Outside, there's a zero-edge pool and spa with multiple entertaining and lounging spaces.

According to TMZ, Michelle Obama is rumored to be checking out the area for a potential permanent home. Now that Barack and Michelle Obama's youngest daughter, Sasha, has graduated from her high school in D.C., the family could be looking at other options, especially with that Netflix deal. If they do make the move to the West Coast (or at least pick up a residence in the city), we wonder how the bedroom situation will work out—Michelle Obama previously explained that Sasha got the best room at the Kalorama home, as it's a two-room suite and "all decked out." The former commander in the chief didn't fare quite as well, and is in need of some new closet space—perhaps he'll finally get that in Los Angeles.

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• Michelin is awarding stars to more informal restaurants, according to luxury restaurant group D&D London's CEO.
• But Michelin's method for assessing stars hasn't changed. Instead, simple restaurants are improving their offerings, and it's attracting foodies who seek authenticity and quality.
• Michelin is recognizing this shift in luxury dining, where the experience is becoming less fancy and more fun.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Walk into a Michelin-starred restaurant today and you may find rustic tables and diners in sneakers instead of white linen tablecloths and waiters in coattails.

Michelin stars have long been associated with gourmet restaurants — but the brand's reach has expanded, Des Gunewardena, CEO and chairman of UK luxury restaurant group D&D London, told Business Insider: "Michelin has embraced the overall trend through the years of restaurants becoming less formal, more social venues rather than formal, starchy temples of gastronomy."

Gunewardena is behind more than 40 restaurants worldwide, which have been frequented by celebrities and royalty throughout the years, from Elizabeth Taylor and Princess Diana to Naomi Campbell and Sir Elton John.

That portfolio includes Michelin-starred restaurant Angler in London and most recently, queensyard, a restaurant in New York City's new $25 billion Hudson Yards neighborhood— the most expensive real-estate development in US history.

"You don't have to have serious waiters and hushed rooms to enjoy great food," Gunewardena said. "Even very informal restaurants in Shoreditch [an artsy area in London akin to New York City's East Village] are packed to the rafters with raucous young customers enjoying fantastic food [and] are now being awarded Michelin stars."

This evolution reflects diners' evolving demands — they're moving away from artifice and seeking quality food served with informality, fun, and authenticity, he previously told Business Insider.

Read more: The CEO of an international luxury restaurant group opening a spot in Hudson Yards says diners want 3 main things — and it shows just how much fine dining has changed

Restaurants are stepping up their game for the informal foodie

Restaurants are catering to this new customer, who's looking to pair good food with a good time.

"Diners today, wherever they live, are looking for good quality, memorable, and authentic experiences when they eat out — and this is generally pushing up the standard of cuisine found across the board," Gwendal Poullennec, the international director of the Michelin Guides, told Business Insider. "With this in mind, the level of cooking found in traditionally more simple establishments (pubs, brasseries, taco restaurants, hawker stalls etc.) is improving to cater for these more discerning foodies."

The Michelin Guide has adapted to this shift and is recognizing these establishments, wherever they are around the world, he added. He cited the 2019 Michelin Guide California as an example, thanks to the state's visible signature "high-quality, yet laid-back dining ambiance."

In fact, Los Angeles is getting a Michelin guide again, nine years after the guide's former director said people in LA aren't "interested in eating well,"Business Insider's Katie Warren reported.

Ultimately, the shift is creating a new kind of luxury dining experience in which fine dining is less about the fancy trappings and more about the overall quality. 

"Chefs today are becoming more and more innovative in what they create in the kitchen and they want to reflect this creativity and innovation in the total dining experience they offer to their customers," Poullennec said. "This can not only be seen in the way their staff are dressed, the furnishings and tableware, but also in the locations that they choose for their restaurants — which could for example be very simple, industrial spaces."

It's important to note that the Michelin method of assessing restaurants for stars hasn't changed, only focusing on the food on the plate based on five different criteria, according to Poullennec: quality of the produce, cooking skills, harmony of flavors, personality of chef expressed in the cuisine, and consistency over time and across the entire menu.

SEE ALSO: 5 restaurants in NYC earned the highest Michelin rating for 2019 — and 2 of them have topped the list every year since the ranking started

DON'T MISS: Los Angeles is getting a Michelin guide again, 9 years after the guide's director said people in LA are 'not real foodies'

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• There are a variety of luxury add-ons and experiences to be had at Disney World. 
• Some of the most expensive experiences include private VIP tours, Deluxe Villa accommodations, and fine dining. 
• Extravagant vacation add-ons include chartering a private yacht, taking a private safari, and eating at Cinderella's Royal Table.
• For the truly Disney-obsessed, Disney World offers a nighttime wedding package at the Magic Kingdom and the option to purchase a home inside the resort. 
• Visit INSIDER's homepage for more stories.

When it comes to a truly magical vacation, not much can compare to the wonder of Disney World. 

But could it be even more magical? For a select few the average Disney experience won't do, and for those more luxury-minded travelers, Disney World offers a wide variety of top-of-the-line experiences and add-ons. 

From special events to private tours, here are some of the most luxurious and expensive things you can do at Disney World. 

You can tour the legendary suite in Cinderella’s Castle for a reported $12,000.

One of Disney World's most mythic experiences is to stay in the suite located inside Cinderella's Castle. Unfortunately, money can't buy you a night in this exclusive room. The only way to stay the night in Cinderella's Castle Suite is to either be invited or to win a sweepstakes.

However, guests can access the suite as a part of the extravagant "World Of Dreams" tour. Costing a reported $12,000 for six guests, the 12-hour tour includes exclusive backstage access to the parks, private transportation, front-of-the-line priority to all of the park's attractions, all meals and beverages, and a tour of Cinderella's Castle Suite.

Guests can have year-round access to all of Disney World’s parks for $1,219 per person.

If you live near the "house of mouse," you can purchase an Annual Platinum Plus Pass to visit the park anytime you please. 

Annual Pass holders get access to every Disney World park, including their newest park called Star Wars Galaxy's Edge. In addition, these special pass holders receive parking, Disney PhotoPass downloads, and discounts on select dining and merchandise.

Disney World offers luxurious dining options costing more than $200 per guest.

When it comes to eating at Disney World, guests are not limited to the park's themed restaurants and food courts. Disney offers an array of exquisite fine-dining experiences.

The park features "Delicious Disney: A Chef's Series" events throughout the year. Each dinner is based on a classic Disney story and includes a menu of themed dishes created specifically for the event. A seat at a "Delicious Disney" dinner will run from $349-$399 per person but the site notes that it varies. 

Located at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, Victoria & Albert's is one of Disney World's most high-end restaurants. The restaurant is a recipient of the prestigious AAA Five Diamond Award and the Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star Award and is the only restaurant in Florida to have received both. 

The menu features American cuisine made with luxurious ingredients from all over the world, including Russian Osetra caviar, Italian truffles, and Japanese beef. For an upgraded experience, guests can enjoy a meal at the Victoria & Alberts Chef's Table. For $250 per person, plus an additional $150 for wine pairings, guests can enjoy a three-hour, multi-course service in the heart of the Victoria & Alberts kitchen. 

For nearly $200 per person, guests can enjoy dinner, dessert, and a fireworks show at Cinderella’s Royal Table.

The ultimate experience for fans of the classic Disney tale is the Signature Celebration Package at Cinderella's Royal Table. The package includes a personal welcome by Cinderella and Prince Charming, an extravagant dinner with multiple courses, and a souvenir box of Cinderella-themed treats. 

After dinner, guests are taken to priority seating to view the Magic Kingdom's iconic fireworks show. The fireworks viewing party includes a dessert bar of delicious sweets like chocolate-covered strawberries, Disney-themed desserts, and delicious beverages. 

This one-of-a-kind dining experience will set you back $199 per adult and $169 per child.

The cost of private, VIP tours of Disney World begin at $425 per hour.

The most exclusive way to explore Disney World is with a private, VIP tour. Led by your very own Disney tour guide, this customizable tour accommodates up to 10 guests and takes you on a journey through the park's top attractions. 

Included in the tour is private transportation, VIP viewing areas for Disney World's parades and shows, and top-level hospitality throughout the park. 

You can charter a yacht to view the Magic Kingdom’s fireworks show from the water for about $400 per hour.

If you're looking to avoid the crowds during the Magic Kingdom's must-see fireworks show, Disney World offers the option to charter their Grand 1 Yacht to enjoy the show from the water. 

Accommodating 18 guests, the Grand 1 Yacht cruise includes a variety of snacks, drinks, and decorations if you're celebrating a special event. For an added cost, guests can also add a private dining menu to their cruise.

You can also book a different yacht for between $299-349.

Guests can book a Grand Villa at the Grand Floridian Resort & Spa for around $2,500 per night.

Known as one of Disney World's most elegant resorts, the Grand Floridian Resort & Spa overlooks the water and is located just one Monorail stop away from the Magic Kingdom.

The resort's most extravagant rooms are their Grande Villas. They offer more space, separate bedrooms, a full kitchen, as well as a washer and dryer. The most expensive villa is the resort's three-bedroom, lake-view villa. At $2,507 per night, the villa will accommodate up to 12 adults.  

Experience a Disney safari for around $200 per person.

At Disney's Animal Kingdom, guests can enjoy the park's Wild Africa Trek, a private, VIP, guided journey through the park. This three-hour experience takes guests on a tour of Disney's Animal Kingdom and features the chance to see the park's amazing wildlife.

The private tour guide will give you insight into the park's operation while a professional photographer captures all the important moments of the experience. Guests are also given a special souvenir to take home. 

For adults, this trek runs $189-$249 per person.

For a reported $180,000, you can get married at Disney World and have the whole park to yourself.

In 2016, Disney announced that couples could book an unforgettable nighttime wedding experience at the Magic Kingdom after the park closes. 

Included in the "Magic Kingdom Park Evening" wedding is a ride down Main Street USA in Cinderella's horse-drawn carriage, a ceremony directly in front of Cinderella's lit-up castle, and wedding details customized for you by Disney's wedding consultants. 

The reported cost of this fairytale wedding at Disney World? About $180,000. 

For a more budget-friendly wedding, couples can book from a variety of unique wedding packages starting at $3,500 for an intimate ceremony accommodating four guests.

If just visiting Disney World is not enough, you can live at the park for $2 million and up.

For extreme lovers of Disney, the Golden Oak Club at Walt Disney World Resort is a multi-neighborhood community of private homes located inside the resort. 

Beginning at $2 million, the purchase of a home in any of the Golden Oak Club area gets you membership into the club, giving you access to all of the luxurious amenities one would expect from living at Disney. 

Some of the perks of living at Disney World include a private clubhouse complete with a pool and gym, exclusive restaurants, club-sponsored activities and events, concierge services, and complimentary transportation to the Disney World parks.

• If you're looking for affordable fine jewelry, specifically minimalist gold pieces, Stone and Strand should be at the top of your list. 
• It sells solid gold jewelry and conflict-free, fairly sourced diamonds and gemstones in a variety of beautiful, elevated styles. 
• We tried pieces from Stone and Strand to show you what they really look and feel like. They're even daintier than they appear online, and as versatile and luxurious as we expected. 

Lately, we've been seeing and sporting a lot of dainty, minimalist gold jewelry. It's a popular look right now, but because it's so simple and versatile, it's also one of the few trends that will age gracefully as a smart, long-lasting investment. 

There are a handful of online jewelry startups where you can shop these types of pieces — the tiny, sparkly, and highly covetable rings, necklaces, earrings, and bracelets made for luxurious, everyday wear. One we love is Stone and Strand.

Stone and Strand was founded by Nadine McCarthy Kahane, who conceived of the idea of a better high-end jewelry shop while pursuing her MBA at Wharton. 

Stone and Strand makes and sells its own fine jewelry and also serves as a marketplace for other like-minded jewelry designers to sell their creations, which come in and out of the site on a constantly rotating basis. 

The majority of its gold pieces are made with 14-karat solid gold, and all diamonds and gemstones used are 100% natural and conflict-free. With these high-quality materials, you can find surprisingly accessible prices. While they're not cheap by any means, the difference becomes clear, and the decision made obvious, when comparing Stone and Strand's prices to those of traditional fine jewelry brands. 

The experience of shopping on Stone and Strand also feels more intentional, curated, and enjoyable. There's always something new to shop, and the designs cater to a variety of personalities, from the tough and rebellious to stylish traditionalists. 

Like fellow brands Mejuri and Vrai & Oro, Stone and Strand seduces jewelry-obsessed shoppers with beautiful photos of its pieces. Hand models with slender fingers stacked with rings of various thickness and textures, carefully perched earrings and necklaces that perfectly catch the streams of light trickling in from a nearby window — you know what I'm talking about.  

They're gorgeous, no doubt, and they give us a hint of the effect we expect when wearing these pieces: for our days to feel a little more elevated and special, whether we're simply heading into another day at work or dressing up for a special event. 

We wanted to see, however, how Stone and Strand's jewelry pieces looked and made us feel in real life, not just through our screens. Could the same promises of beautiful, everyday luxury transfer over effectively, and on women who weren't jewelry models? 

We tried an earring, ring, and necklace from Stone and Strand. See how they looked on us and why we loved the pieces below. 

7mm Chain Double Piercing Stud, $95

I don't have a lot of ear piercings, but I wanted to do something creative and cute with the two that I do have. This chain stud caught my eye because it was simultaneously delicate and edgy. I love how subtle it is, and it's such a reward when someone with a sharp eye notices and compliments it. Because of its small size, it can be a little tricky at first to put in, but the ultimate effect is worth the effort. 

There are so many more pieces from Stone and Strand that I'd love to own because I can truly see myself wearing them all the time. I also have these double hoop earrings, which I wear at least once a week and are the only earrings I bring while traveling (when I don't want to pack anything I don't need). —Connie Chen, reporter 

Baguette Diamond Line Ring, $285

I have quite a few little gold stacking rings, and though I do have some hesitations about the price for how teeny tiny the diamonds are this one is still, by far, my favorite. I got it because my engagement ring features baguette diamonds, and I thought this would be a nice complement. I was right, it looks very cute next to my Heidi Gibson Oval Gatsby ring, if I do say so myself. I wear it every day.

However, I'd say it's only worth the cost if this is an easy-to-swallow price for you. If you're looking for a "bang-for-your-buck" kind of ring, this isn't it. It's very understated and dainty — worth it for those who like tiny diamonds, less worth it for those who want something that'll stand out. Oh, and beware the corners of the diamond arrangement — they can catch on delicate materials (and your partner's hands, if you hold them often).

—Sally Kaplan, editor 

Teeny Round Diamond Necklace, $215

I ordered the Teeny Round Diamond Necklace, and I really haven't taken it off since I first put it on more than four months ago. I prioritize finding everyday jewelry that looks high end, doesn't cost a fortune, and can wear well with virtually any outfit. In other words, subtle elevation. Stone and Strand nails that niche.

This necklace's stone is smaller and more dainty in person than I had expected, but that turned out to be completely fine. The price for quality is fair, and the slight-of-hand advantage of a faint bright glimmer atop your collarbone is exactly the upgrade I was looking for. —Mara Leighton, reporter 

Shop fine jewelry at Stone and Strand

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• The Soneva Fushi resort in the Maldives is looking for a 'barefoot bookseller' to work in their pop-up book shop. 
• The pop-up shop was created by Ultimate Library, a UK book collection company that works with resorts. 
• The resort is looking for a literature lover who can commit six months and guide guests on book recommendations and lead workshops. 
• In your free time, you can enjoy the beautiful beaches, clear water, and the luxury resort amenities. The deadline to apply is September 1st, 2019. 

• Visit INSIDER's homepage for more stories.

Ultimate Library, a "bespoke" book collection company in the U.K. that works with hotels and resorts, is looking for a literature lover to send to the gorgeous Soneva Fushi resort in the Maldives to be their "barefoot bookseller."

This is the second year the company has listed the temporary position, sending its first lucky bookworm to the resort in 2018. The pop-up bookshop officially opened last December, according to Lonely Planet.

The pop-up book shop will open again in October, and they'll need a brand new shopkeeper to leave their old world behind, at least temporarily, to spend their days in the land of crystal clear waters, sandy beaches, and luxury resorts where you can lounge in hammocks all day and all night.

The chosen candidate will be expected to help resort guests with all their book-related needs, including finding reading material and hosting workshops and events. They will be expected to commit to six months at the shop as well as one month's training. According to Lonely Planet, Ultimate Library is looking for someone with a passion for reading and knowledge of literature, excellent communication skills, and who can write a blog about their experience. Experience with photography and tutoring is a plus.

Actually going barefoot does not seem to be required.

The deadline to apply is Sept. 1, 2019. More information can be found on the Barefoot Bookseller website, as well as the application page.

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• Online jewelry startup Mejuri prides itself on taking a "non-typical" approach to the fine jewelry business. It's one of our favorite places to shop for affordable, minimalist gold jewelry. 
• It also sells engagement rings (from $650) and wedding bands (from $195) that feature a variety of cuts, asymmetrical cuts, pretty gemstones, and a half-sizing convention. 
• These rings are made-to-order from high-quality materials like 14-karat solid gold and conflict-free diamonds. They can be engraved with up to 30 characters to make them feel more personal. 

The practical romantic in me has to wonder, do I really want someone spending thousands of dollars on an engagement ring that's excessively flashy, expensive, and not something I'd realistically want to wear every day? It's an easy no from me, but it does seem to be the option many feel compelled to follow simply because everyone else is doing it and there aren't many accessible choices otherwise. 

Canadian jewelry startup Mejuri has stepped in with its own interpretation of engagement rings and wedding bands to save couples from wasting money on pieces that don't fit their personality or style. The collection features various cuts, asymmetrical settings, pretty gemstones, and a half-sizing convention, all to emphasize a "non-typical" approach that has always characterized the online company. 

The engagement rings range from $650 for a pear cut, peach morganite and diamond ring to $1,350 for a round cut, blue sapphire and diamond ring, while wedding bands range from just $195 for a solid yellow or white gold band to $975 for a diamond-encrusted band. The rings and bands pair beautifully together, whether you balance out a more complex design with a simple band or play off the sparkle of a ring by introducing additional diamonds on the band.  

They're made with high-quality, long-lasting materials, including 14-karat solid gold, Gemological Institute of America-graded gemstones, and conflict-free diamonds. The made-to-order rings can be engraved with up to 30 characters to make them feel more personal and truly one-of-a-kind. 

Mejuri also offers 45-minute sessions with a stylist at its Toronto showroom or remotely via video chat, who can give in-depth advice and ring sizing in a private, low-pressure environment. 

If the choices at cookie-cutter jewelry chains overwhelm you or inspire disappointment rather than excitement, Mejuri's engagement and wedding rings will remind you there are unique and affordable alternatives out there.

We've featured some of our favorite rings and band combinations below. Shop all engagement and wedding rings at Mejuri here.

An elegant pear cut peach morganite ring

Pear Cut Ring, $650, available at Mejuri

The same ring with a sophisticated blue sapphire gem

Pear Cut Ring, $1,295, available at Mejuri

Thin Band, $195, available at Mejuri

An eye-catching cluster of differently sized diamonds

Diamonds Cluster Ring, $2,000, available at Mejuri

Thin Band, $195, available at Mejuri

A round cut peach morganite ring that is best accentuated by a rounded crown band

Oval Ring Cut, $675, available at Mejuri

Diamond Crown Band, $555, available at Mejuri

A simple round cut sapphire ring accompanied by a pair of diamonds

Round Cut Ring, $1,350, available at Mejuri

Eternity Band, $975, available at Mejuri

• Adam Sebba is the CEO of Cookson Adventures, an ultra-luxury experiential travel company.
• In this role, he says that he'd rather work with outsiders — including former military officers and a one-time fashion director — than typical travel industry insiders.
• He also never sends employees to industry conferences; instead, they attend science lectures, film screenings, and art exhibitions.
• Here's why: The travel industry is stagnant and ripe for disruption — and to stand out in the noise of any crowded marketplace today, you have to be unique and eclectic.
• Take calculated risks when you hire people, he says.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

I work in luxury travel — and yet I don't hire anyone with a travel background to work here.

Ok, you caught me. One of our directors, Nick, does come from a travel company. But one travel guy in the entire company isn't bad. 

We also have ex-documentary makers, a round-the-world sailor, a private jet executive, a submarine pilot, a yacht broker, former military officers, a scattering of polar explorers — including one who lived on Antarctica — not to mention a finance director who worked in fashion and healthcare. 

I started my business career at a well-known management consulting firm. "It always helps to bring fresh insight," a partner advised me, "if you have one person from a completely different industry on a case." This mantra stuck with me, and now later in my working life, I've found the tactic working again. 

The traditional travel industry, like so many other sectors, is stagnant and ripe for disruption. Even experiential travel companies can suffer from a lack of imagination. Originality is sacrificed for scalability and trips become off the shelf, 'one size fits all' packages. To stand out in the noise of any crowded marketplace today you have to have a differentiated customer offering. 

So, not only does our unique and eclectic mix of backgrounds work, it's essential. Because the three things that make our team different all boil down to this mix of people.

SEE ALSO: I run an adventure travel company. Here's what you should do instead of Everest

1. We’re breaking the mold

We don't send people to travel shows; instead, they attend science lectures, film screenings, archaeological seminars and art exhibitions. And that's how we source the truly different. "There are unexplored and breath-taking cave paintings in China," an art historian imparted to us at the Venice Biennale. "There's a lost city," a South American archaeologist confided "deep in the Colombian jungle that used to be controlled by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia."

And last year, a scientist told us that he believed that there was an undiscovered species of killer whale circling the Southern Ocean. So, we designed an experience with these scientists at its heart; and it led to the almost unbelievable discovery of a new species — the 'type D killer whale' with a pointer dorsal fin and a smaller white patch by its eye — during one of our trips to Antarctica.

2. We evoke emotion

One of our mantras is "location is subordinate to experience" or in other words, it's not about where you go, but how you feel when you're there. What emotions does your experience evoke in your family; what lasting memories do you create with your friends?

To think like that, you have to behave differently — and we've found that when you've been indoctrinated into the traditions of an industry, it's hard to break out. 

3. Making the impossible possible

I joined the Army the day before 9/11 and served in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Northern Ireland. During my service, I learned that the military teaches you how to execute missions with scarce resource and creative planning. To build a luxury camp in the middle of primary rainforest requires complex logistics and a mission-focused approach. That's why we have two former army captains on our projects team.

So, what have we learned from hiring such eclectic and talented people? Three things.

• If you want to truly do something new, there's no cookie-cutter person you can hire ready to hit the ground running.
• Take calculated risks when you hire people. Prize transferable skills above industry experience.
• Above all, invest time in developing and training people.

We've found that when you get these things right, the "power of difference" can be transformational.

Adam Sebba is the CEO of Cookson Adventures, which crafts travel experiences that mix adventure and luxury for its global client base.