The Ghost Story

The term Rolex Ghost Dial is a nickname for rare variants of Rolex Datejust watches from the 16XXX series. These timepieces have gray dials with white text and silver-toned hour markers. On 1stDibs, find a selection of Rolex Datejust watches.

The story behind Balenciaga begins with Cristóbal Balenciaga.

As a child in the quiet fishing village of Getaria in Spain's Basque region, he worked alongside his seamstress mother. Showing immense talent, he earned commissions as a teenager from local patron Marquesa de Casa Torres, who paid for his tailoring education in Madrid.

In 1917, Balenciaga established his first fashion house, named Eisa, for his mother, in the trendy resort town of San Sebastián. He soon followed it with boutiques in Madrid and Barcelona, drawing such clientele as the Spanish royal family. When the Spanish Civil War put a hold on his prospects in Spain, the designer moved to Paris, opening a house on Avenue Georges V in 1937.

Balenciaga continued designing until 1968, when he retired after three decades of influential work and his fashion house went dormant. The rights to Balenciaga were acquired by Jacques Bogart SA in 1986. Under designer Michel Goma, who focused on ready-to-wear, the brand experienced a resurgence, with his first collection introduced in 1987.

Find a large selection of Balenciaga apparel and accessories on 1stDibs.

The Blue Willow pattern depicts elements of a story inspired by Chinese legends, featuring two lovers that run away to be together. They are ultimately transformed into doves. Find an array of porcelain pieces featuring the Blue Willow pattern on 1stDibs.

The story behind the Japanese cat traces back to ancient folklore. In the tale, a cat saves the life of a samurai who turns out to be quite wealthy. To show his thanks, the man made a very generous donation to the temple. In Japanese culture, cat sculptures and figurines are symbols of good luck and known as “maneki-neko.” Find a range of Japanese decorative objects on 1stDibs.

The story behind Hamilton watches goes back to the late 19th century. As railroad tracks were laid across the United States and steam locomotives began traversing vast distances, the American railroad system ran into a problem. Time was not standardized across the country.

Therefore, in 1883, the railroad companies established the four time zones as we know them today. However, train conductors were not always synchronized, leading to deadly railroad accidents. Enter watchmaker Hamilton, founded in 1892. Railway workers would be required to wear a pocket watch to keep on schedule, and the watchmaking industry — especially pocket-watch manufacturers such as Hamilton — benefitted. The company’s timepieces eventually earned the moniker “The Watch of Railroad Accuracy.”

Hamilton transitioned from pocket watches to wristwatches in 1914, as it supplied timepieces to American troops fighting in World War I. The new style of watch also appealed to aviators, and Hamilton aeronautical watches became all the rage among pilots, particularly those flying for the new U.S. Airmail service.

The general public’s interest in Hamilton watches grew rapidly in the 1920s. Legendary polar explorer Admiral Richard E. Byrd timed his historic flights over glaciers and chunks of sea ice with a Hamilton pocket watch in the late 1920s. Hamilton’s Piping Rock watch, an Art Deco-inspired design featuring elegant Roman numerals set in black for the hour markers, debuted in 1928 and was gifted to the New York Yankees to celebrate their World Series win that year. The model was also featured in the film Shanghai Express alongside the brand’s Flintridge watch, further expanding Hamilton’s popularity. (Hamilton watches can also be seen in the films The Frogmen, Blue Hawaii, 2001: A Space Odyssey and Men in Black.) In the second half of the 20th century, Hamilton became well known for several innovations: It developed the first-ever battery-operated electric watch, the Ventura, in 1957, as well as the first-ever digital wristwatch, the Hamilton Pulsar Time Computer, in 1970. Three years later, superspy James Bond donned a Pulsar in Live and Let Die.

Today, the company is part of the Swatch Group, and its headquarters and production facilities relocated from Pennsylvania to Switzerland in 2003.

On 1stDibs, find a wide range of Hamilton watches.

The story behind Louis Vuitton is one of craft and innovation in the worlds of fashion, jewelry and furniture. The company's modest origins can be traced back to when its founder, Louis Vuitton, left his provincial French city of Anchay in the early 1830s to make a new life in Paris. When he arrived, he toiled as a box maker and packer for more than a decade and built relationships with royals and members of the upper class while working for the empress of France, Eugénie de Montijo. In 1854, Vuitton launched his namesake company with a humble workshop on rue Neuve des Capucines and advertised his services with a small poster that read: "Securely packs the most fragile objects. Specializing in packing fashions." Long before his brand would become known globally for its exemplary top-handle bags and stylish totes, Vuitton produced stackable and rectangular trunks. The most common trunks of the era were round, which weren't ideal for toting and storing. In 1858, Vuitton debuted his lightweight, handcrafted canvas trunks, which were sturdy, rugged and equipped with convenient compartments. Travel's popularity broadened in the late 19th century, and Vuitton's trunks could easily be packed into train cars and ships; upright trunks offered hanging wardrobe storage that would allow his clients to transport their sophisticated garments without worry. Demand increased, and the company grew. When Louis Vuitton died in 1892, control of the luxury house was passed onto his only son, Georges Vuitton. In 1914, a Louis Vuitton store opened at 70 Champs-Élysées. The largest travel-goods store in the world at the time, it became the company's flagship. Today, the fashion house remains one of the most iconic producers of leather goods in the world. Find a diverse assortment of Louis Vuitton bags on 1stDibs.

The real story of the Mona Lisa may never be known for certain. However, most art historians believe that Lisa del Giocondo, the wife of a silk merchant from Florence, posed for the painting. Biographies of Leonardo da Vinci and other historical documents from the Italian Renaissance suggest that the del Giocondos commissioned the work to hang in their new home and to mark the occasion of the birth of their son. On 1stDibs, find a large selection of fine art.

The Louis Ghost chair is made of clear or tinted polycarbonate, a durable, yet lightweight type of thermoplastic polymer. Phillipe Stark designed the chair in 2002, drawing inspiration from traditional Louis XVI armchairs. Shop a selection of Phillipe Stark Ghost chairs on 1stDibs.

Kartell Louis Ghost chairs are made of lucite. Designed by Phillipe Starck for Kartell in 2002, this clear chair is crafted from a single piece of plastic, making it a beautifully elegant piece. On 1stDibs, find a range of authentic Kartell Ghost chairs from top sellers.

To tell if a Ghost chair is real, turn it over and examine the underside of the polycarbonate seat. A genuine piece will feature the Kartell name embossed on its surface. If the name appears on a paper label or tag, your chair may be a replica. Also, any errors in spelling or discrepancies in the font are usually signs of a counterfeit. Because there are convincing reproductions on the market, you may wish to seek the opinion of a certified appraiser or knowledgeable antique dealer when authenticating your chair. Find a wide range of Philippe Starck Louis Ghost chairs on 1stDibs.

The real story behind Big Eyes is the life of artist Margaret Keane. She was born Peggy Doris Hawkins on September 15, 1927, in Nashville, Tennessee. When she was two years old, her eardrum was permanently damaged during a mastoid operation. Keane learned to watch the eyes of the person talking to her to understand them, influencing the drawings he began creating as a child. At age 10, she took classes at the Watkins Institute in Nashville. At age 18, she attended the Traphagen School of Design in New York City for a year. She initially earned money by painting clothing and baby cribs in the 1950s until she began painting portraits. Early on, Keane experimented with kitsch. She began painting her signature "Keane eyes" when she started to create portraits of children. Keane's works are now in collections all over the world, including the Museum of Contemporary Art in Madrid, the National Museum of Western Art in Tokyo and the Memphis Brooks Museum in Memphis, Tennessee. On 1stDibs, shop a diverse assortment of Margaret Keane art.

Philippe Starck designed the Louis Ghost chair for Kartell in 2002. The chair is a postmodern take on the classic Louis XVI armchair, a style that emerged under the fraught reign of French King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette. This style represented the birth of neoclassicism in France and was characterized by a relative restraint compared to the Rococo flourishes of previous eras. The second half of the chair’s name refers to its materiality. It wasn’t Starck’s first plastic chair for Kartell, but it was the first time it could use a single polycarbonate plastic mold in the process, creating a structure completely free of joints. Formally, Starck distilled the geometry of his antique reference to its main elements: the oval-shaped backrest, curved armrests and straight legs. On 1stDibs, shop a collection of Philippe Starck Louis Ghost chairs.

Philippe Starck designed the Ghost chair for the furniture maker Kartell to produce and sell in 2002. It draws inspiration from the Louis XVI upholstered armchair. You'll find a collection of Philippe Starck Ghost chairs from some of the world’s top sellers on 1stDibs.