Saturday, May 08, 2021

Graham Stephan Rolex Datejust...



 THE ONE


$500 Million Estate


Beverly Hills


Image of THE ONE in Beverly Hills appears courtesy of The Society Group



Graham Stephan


Rolex Datejust

I am a huge fan of high-end modern architecture, most of which is located in Beverly Hills, Bell Air and in the Hollywood Hills in Southern California. I have been following Graham Stephan on YouTube since he started his channel a few years ago. Graham reminds me of Tom Cruise for some reason. I always wondered why he didn't wear a Rolex, so recently I could not help but notice when he recently started rocking a stainless steel Rolex Datejust as seen in the photo below. Congrats on your Datejust Graham. It looks great on you and wear it well!!!


I first noticed Graham wearing his Rolex Datejust in a fascinating video review of the all-new $500 Million Beverly Hills Estate named 'THE ONE', which is arguably the most expensive private residence on earth—or certainly one of them.


Ironically, Graham's review was of Producer Michael's amazing tour of THE ONE which can be seen below in the 3 part series which features THE ONE developer, Nile Niami who is a fascinatingly charismatic and talented developer. 


One element of Nile's house I thought was REALLY cool was the Cigar Lounge which features a wall covered with backlit vintage playboy magazine covers as seen below.



That being said, my personal opinion—as a designer—is Nile went too far over-the-top with this house in the sense it is just way too big to be appreciated. At times this architecture reminds me of the Winchester Mystery House where you will have a door open to a brick wall, or a flight of stairs they lead to the ceiling. 

You really notice this with details like the balcony above the office with the shelves that go up to the top of the 35 foot ceiling that are NOT accessible. Le Corbusier, the famous Swiss architect put it best when he said:

"As a car is a machine for driving,
 
and an airplane is a machine for flying

—a house is a machine for living in.

...A house as practical as a typewriter."

—Charles-Édouard Jeanneret  

(A.K.A. Le Corbusier) 


Ironically, at one point when Producer Michael tours the guest home Nile posits the guest house is more his cup-of-tea than the main estate itself. This really illustrates the power of fellow 20th century modern architect, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe's notion that "Less is more".




Below is Graham Stephan's review of Producer Michael's tour video...