Cercle No5

EDITOR’S LETTER

Dear friends, Let’s talk about the future. Nothing can be compared to the exciting anticipation of something new and wonderful. New ideas, new technology, new everything. We are pleased to welcome you to the world of the future as we discover it in the Issue N5 of Cercle.

What is future? Future is constant never-ending development.

Cercle revisits the fabulously chaotic city of Beijing with insights from our members - the principal and founder of the Sarita Institute, Sara Jane Ho and the star of Beijing club scene Danny Wang. Cercle gets invited to Alan Liu’s exquisite house in the city and financier and writer Alexander ‘Rai’ Hamilton shares his views and knowledge on China’s economic situation in the economic section. Guru of high-end jewellery Marwan Chatila’s ‘vision of life’ is an undeniable source of inspiration for every reader.

Future is remembering and respecting traditions. Cercle takes a closer look at most anticipated events, which bring together countless admirers of sophistication and class every year: legendary Haute Couture shows in Paris, impressive ‘Watches and Wonders’ exhibition in Hong Kong and the elegant Monaco Yacht Show. While saying “goodbye’’ to the summer season, we rediscovered every autumn’s must-have - the timeless design of a trench coat – and followed its transformation through the years.

Future is stopping for a second to admire the beauty of the moment.

Cercle lives by this rule and this month our ‘art focus’ is on Olivia Innocenti. We are keen to make sure all our members are on the same page, thus we did an overview of the upcoming auctions and art events.

Future is loving things you already have and knowing exactly what you want. Law graduate, successful Chinese businesswoman and Cercle member Deborah Hung, who you can see on the cover of this month’s issue, shared her favourite things with us.

Future is endless possibilities. Who could have thought we would be able to do space tourism soon? Well, Virgin Galactic did. In fact, the company is about to make it happen as you will find out in the this issue of Cercle.

Watch Worn: Roger Dubuis Excalibur Skeleton Double Tourbillion Black DLC Titanium.

Ref. No: RDDBEX0471 Case: 45mm, titanium black DLC Dial: Skeleton, Charcoal grey flange Water Resistance: 5 BAR (50 m) Strap: Black strap, genuine alligator Clasp: Titanium black DLC adjustable folding clasp Calibre: Hand-wound calibre, RD01SQ Stamped with the Poinçon de Genève

“Future is a new experience. Let’s make it happen.”

Gabriele Salvadori Founder & Chief Editor

Designed by: George Koutroulos Designer’s Assistant: Inderpal Kitaure

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Designed by: George Koutroulos & Inderpal Kitaure

CONTENTS 6 MY VISION OF LIFE Marwan Chatila ECONOMICS Nothing is Forever. Could China collapse the United States dollar? 10 14 OPINION England’s Objection to the EU. Should we be afraid?

WATCH STORIES Watches and Wonders Preview 22 MY FAVOURITES Deborah Hung 26 34 ESSAY A Modern Scheherazade BEAUTY Caroline Bienert 38 WISHLIST Black & Gray 40 CONNECTING CIRCLES LAN Club Lounge & Restaurant, Beijing 44 INTERIORS Oitoemponto 48 52 CITY LIFESTYLE Beijing, Sara-Jane Ho 58 TREND SPOTTER Thierry Noir ART FOCUS Olivia Innocenti 62 66 ART BASEL Marc Spiegler Walks, Biennale des Antiquaires, 68 ART EVENTS Cultural Cartier Foundation 76 AUCTIONS CALENDAR Exploring the Unconventional 80 YACHT Monaco Yacht Show 84 SPACE/AVIATION Stephen Attenborough 90 PLACES Como Hotels and Resorts 94 SPORTS Veuve Clicquot Gold Cup 96 IN CONVERSATION WITH Jean-Yves Blatt Yes We Cannes, Shimmy, 100 SOCIAL SEASON Goodwood, Carol Asscher & Olivier Bizon, Love & Peace CONTRIBUTORS

Sheetal Mafatal

Francis NG

Eva Tarasova

Rai Hamilton

Sasha Gusov

Andrei Navrozov

Liz Higgins

Gabriele Salvadori Founder&Chief Editor CONTRIBUTORS

Administration Alizé De Buck Graphic Design & Art Direction George Koutroulos Editorial Coordinator Karina Starobina PR & Communication Elissa Brown Printed by Cambrian Printers

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Chatila

MY VISION OF LIFE

Marwan The “Gentleman Jeweller”- the man behind the Chatila Jewellery house with a history dating back 154 years.

By Marwan Chatila

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G

overnments, a wise Italian once said, are strong with the weak and weak with the strong. I was very much taken, I remember, with this dictum of Leonardo Sciascia’s, which at once made me think of the trade my family and I had been plying for well nigh two centuries.

The jewellery business is like the business of government. When you’re buying stones, you squeeze those who have nowhere else to go, and when you’re selling them, you fawn over those who have all the choice in the world.

Fortunately for me and my self-esteem, Chatila has never gone down that road. For a long time now we’ve been thinking that it’s far better to earn modest profits – but earn them century in, century out – than to make the kind of margins your neighbours in the souk may envy, but then go bust, or peter out ingloriously, or be cursed with ineffectual p r o g e n y determined to pursue the cause of world peace. Commercial survival, paradoxically, is a strategic task that owes immeasurably more to the doctrines of the salvation of the soul than to the apocalyptic figure of Gordon Gekko.

Consequently, in my business, I accustom myself to being tough when necessary, and level-headed always, but I need not become a Shakespearian usurer when buying or a Dickensian sycophant when selling. The result is that I sleep exceedingly well, that I’m

there for my family and friends, and that my clients keep coming back to me in London and to my father and brothers in Geneva.

One very simple explanation of my whole lifestyle and outlook is that Chatila has been a family firm for over 150 years. And the great advantage of family business lies precisely in its tenacity, as the merchant whose name is on the company’s door is compelled, by his concern for future generations, to manage his enterprise strategically, to uphold the family name and reputation, and thus to avoid the tactical errors endemic to managers of publicly held concerns.

Easy

love that every good jeweller feels for his inventory, which in turn communicates itself to prospective clients.

Only in recent years has Chatila begun allocating resources to print advertising, which has so far featured Fiona and Olympia Scarry, Camilla Al Fayed, and Rosanne Davison, up to the current magazine campaign – far and away the best, I think, of what we have done in this realm – designed by Stefano Arata and photographed by Karena Peronnet-Miller.

But it is our inventory, as I say, that ultimately does the selling. The 57 carat “Rangoon Splendour” ruby, the twin “Indore Pears” diamonds of 45 carats each, and the legendary “Archduke Joseph” 76 carat cushionshape D Flawless stone, are just a few of the historic gemstones to have passed through our showrooms of late.

At the moment, Chatila has in its vaults one of a mere fistful of the world’s known red diamonds, as well as another historic gem, “The Burmese Excellence,” an oval ruby weighing 61 carats.

This stunning deep red stone has been set into a magnificent bangle design, teamed with diamonds and ruby beads. And, just this past March, in Doha, Chatila unveiled the world’s largest pearshape diamond, at 228 carats truly a wonder of the world.

The miracles of nature that I am privileged to possess, however momentarily, and in some very real sense loath to part from, are, to my mind, as close to the definition of heavenly beauty as we have here on earth. There’s really no analogue, because in the final analysis a Rembrandt,

[ ] “One very simple explanation of my whole lifestyle and outlook is that Chatila has been a family firm for over 150 years”

profit, social success, momentary fame – all that, as though by genetic compulsion, is relegated to second place in his mind, which is dominated by the thoughts of stability, growth, and success in the long term.

Conservative is the word that describes our firm as well as, fortuitously, my own character.

We don’t rely on advertising or public relations to sell our wares, because what ultimately sells them – you may laugh if you like, but this is really the truth – is the

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a Stradivari violin, or even the snap of a Hollywood movie star you fell in love with at eighteen, are human, relative values.

Gemstones are achiropoetic, made

by God’s hand, not man’s, and their claim on beauty is absolute.

Some of the gems that have gone through our showrooms have caused real upheavals in my life – comparable to love at first sight, or the birth of a child, or a religious experience. There are emeralds you can imagine spending the rest of one’s life with, sapphires you would be happy with on a desert island, rubies that hypnotise you like an Indian snake charmer’s flute. There are diamonds I get lost in, a labyrinth of light through which one meanders, spellbound, until interrupted by some nuisance, a luncheon appointment or something of the kind.

Social life, at least in the glossy rendering of it that is as ubiquitous in today’s world as dishwater coffee or bad English, leaves me cold. In general, I don’t like it whenever life is given a surname, be it social life, political life, business life, or love life. Life is just that – life – and I would find myself in a quandary if asked, for instance, whether my relationship with my diamonds is business or love. I’m not a particularly religious person, but I must say that religious faith, of whatever confession, is one of the optical instruments at our disposal that enable us to see life in its totality, rather than as a soulless catalogue of features and applications, a smartphone for a man with no friends. And this brings us round once more to the soi-disant social life, which seems to me a virtual substitute for real friendships.

I like cooking, especially at our house in the country, and in my own kitchen I don’t need to book the table, befriend the wine steward, or pay the bill. For the

Chatila - London

“Social

life, at least in the glossy rendering of it that is as ubiquitous in today’s world as dishwater coffee or bad English, leaves me cold”

most part I cook very simple country fare – stews, roasts and the like – though I go to some lengths to avail myself of the freshest and most wholesome ingredients, usually sourced locally. Again, I’m not sure where gastronomic life ends and all those others – family life, social life, love life – begin; when I’m with my family and friends at table, eating “something I made earlier,” as a TV chef would say, to the accompaniment of a better-than-decent claret, all such distinctions are swiftly transcended and blurred into something like universal harmony.

For recreation I play chess and Scrabble. One is to do with long-term strategy, which, as I have already mentioned, is what a family business like ours is all about: not grabbing greedily at the opponent’s vulnerable pawn, only to lose your precious queen a few moves later. The other is to do with the English language, which, to a modest polyglot like me, is full of mysteries within mysteries: with the result that the more I learn, the more I pine for some illusory, unattainable, platonic ideal of mastery over this amazing language. Naturally, I read as much as I can in English – novels, memoirs, history – as well as translations of the great Russians by such craftsmen of English prose as Constance Garnett.

I also keep a diary, which is consistent with my vocation. It would be odd, I think, if in his spare time a jeweller climbed mountains or went bungee-jumping. So I leave these exciting pastimes to investment fund managers and other such daredevils.

Chatila’s principal showrooms are in Geneva, London, New York, Beirut, Riyadh, Dubai, Doha, Abu Dhabi, Muscat.

Chatila - Geneva

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ECONOMICS

Nothing is Forever Could China collapse the United States dollar?

Is a new and emboldened China planning to hijack the United States dollar as a reserve currency and will their own style of leadership and corruption throughout their management structure derail or just delay the objective they seek? Rai Hamilton says the signs are there for all to see but the outcome may not be what we most expect.

By Rai Hamilton

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PHOTOGRAPHY: http://www.theafricom.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Peoples-Bank-of-China.jpg

T

he United States dollar is backed by its reserve status worldwide which has been protected since 1914 by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, a privately owned bank acting as the Fiscal Agent of the United States. With its twelve associated Federal Reserve Banks working within the Federal Reserve System, the Fed supervises US financial institutions and maintains payment systems of US$ trillions a day to protect the global value and influence of the greenback.

Acting as the world’s policeman, the Fed has last week fined BNP, arguably one of Europe’s most progressive banks, a staggering arbitrary sum of US$9 billion for dealing in territories where US influence is rejected. Sudan, Iran and Cuba might yet be integrated into orderly financial practices but the Fed will have none of it while their politicians stand firm on irreconcilable tribal, religious and territorial differences. However, nothing is forever despite the best efforts of the monopolistic and greed ridden guardians of capitalism and in the last weeks four seemingly unrelated situations have conspired to evidence that retribution is closer than they think. After the Chinese government raised borrowing costs, there was a move towards gold and commodities financing deals that Goldman Sachs Group Inc. estimates has involved as much as $160 billion in loans of which $80 billion may involve gold, $46 billion copper, $13.8 billion iron ore and $10.3 billion soybeans.

Indications that something was amiss were confirmed last week when one of China’s largest state-owned companies, Citic Resources, announced that it couldn’t locate 123,446 metric tons of alumina out of 223,270

People’s Bank of China - Beijing

tons a n d 7, 4 8 6 t o n s o f c o p p e r supposedly being held pre-delivery at China’s Qingdao and Dagang ports. The Citic statement came as Western and Chinese lenders were looking into suspected massive fraud in China involving bullion and metals illegally pledged as collateral to borrow billions of dollars principally from the West.

US banks like Citigroup have so far not announced that the collateral for their loans may have been a shadow or that they were 56th in line or even that the material had gone walkabout as their own people are finding it tricky to check because they are forbidden any access. China’s chief auditor blurted out that the West should not feel singled out for punishment as he had identified yuan loans of 94 billion secured by falsified gold transactions.

It’s big and it’s normal behaviour

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in places like Nigeria where fraud is not investigated because the investigators are the same authorities that enjoy the spoils.

Chinese authorities however admit they are investigating up to the suspected $160 billion of commodity-backed loans but even they can’t know how much of the material is missing when no one is telling the truth. Anyway, the whole chicken is not in the coop and everyone involved in China is having a good laugh that they were able to pledge the same collateral whether it existed or not up to a hundred times over.

The scope of their deception is impressive. It includes blindsiding the largest banks in Switzerland, many worthies like Standard Chartered and ABN Amro and even Standard Bank, the South African lender where their 20 percent shareholder is Industrial African lender where their 20

percent shareholder is Industrial and Commercial Bank of China.

They should have known better as their own commodities trading business is carried out by their London subsidiary which is also 60 percent controlled by the same Industrial and Commercial Bank of China. As we are denied sight of what remains of stockpiles at the ports and what may be depleted or even empty warehouses, we may be forgiven wondering where this crisis will end up.

The City of London last week issued a reference number for a ‘catloss’. That does not mean your pussy has disappeared. It means that a catastrophic loss in the making of not less than US$1 billion has been identified and

With the Federal Reserve as ‘banker’, China became the largest United States creditor.

The exponential growth of their domestic infrastructure and its plant and equipment has been over time predominantly arranged with credit. At the same time China has arranged the plunder of commodities and minerals across, in the main, Africa and South America and secured future supply with delayed payment in dollars. The massive Chinese hoard of dollars demands a strategy and the combination of Chinese plans needs to result in real value for their purchases.

China is positioning their own treasuries to fill the gaps when the time is right. The Chinese have

those who invested in ‘catastrophic loss bonds’ to take care of such eventualities need to alert their reinsurers.

In the mix the Federal Reserve have no intention of confirming whether or not they actually hold any gold. All they will confirm is that there has been a global flow of bullion from west to east that’s helped to make China the world’s largest user which will probably last for as long as two decades as rising incomes spur demand.

At the same time last week, China was dumping US dollars in their day to day trading. No foreign country would ever systematically initiate the process of a dollar dump without a follow-through strategy where they might be complicit in triggering a crisis.

Therefore it is necessary to look at their actions from a distance to gain perspective as to whether they have made ready for dol lar abandonment.

already bought and imported much of the vast value of the gold stockpiles presumed to be in vaults in the West.

Now the Chinese are starting to get help in their objective. Last week, following the BNP fine, French Finance Minister Michel Sapin announced that euro zone finance ministers would discuss ways of boosting the euro to be a preferred denomination in international trade. Simultaneously, Christophe de Margerie, boss at Total, the 13th largest oil business on the planet, announced that there was no longer any reason to pay for oil in dollars. So Christophe must have turned up at his office and noticed that Russian oil sales were strangely recorded in yuan and he decided to go with the flow and confirm that oil prices being quoted in dollars per barrel does not mean that payments must be made in that currency. He also must have known that Russia,

In the mix the Federal Reserve has no intention of confirming whether or not they actually hold any gold

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China and Saudi Arabia have been busy doing energy deals and he needed to pave a way to be friendly with that possible triumvirate.

Russia and Saudi Arabia have different agendas and it needed the initiative of China to crystalise any opening for them to meet formally so China has set in motion this tripartite platform which, if he took any notice, could compel the seemingly paralysed President Obumma to wear brown trousers.

TASS wrote last week that Sergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, would meet with Saud al Faisel, his counterpart in Saudi Arabia to discuss the situation in Syria and Iraq. They would also discuss ‘energy’. We already know that Russia and Saudi Arabia have opposing views on bringing down Bashir al Assad in Syria and they are on different sides in Iraq. ISIS with all its brutality is Sunni with ‘family’ allegiance with Sunni Saudi whereas Russia supports the Iraqi leader Mr. Maliki. So what’s to be the talk about ‘energy’ other than about Saudi Arabia only accepting dollars for their oil. If China can finesse a way to have Saudi Arabia change their stance on this small matter, it’s goodbye reserve currency and cherio to the Federal Reserve Board or bon voyage as BNP might say.

If Saudi Arabia were to announce that they would only accept other currency or gold for their oil exports to China, then they would be showing a Chinese bias in their structure of allegiances and China would avoid the blame for any adverse impact on the United States for undermining the viability of the dollar. Whilst it is true the Chinese need Saudi Arabia for their energy supply, would that co-operation extend to forcing into the open market such a statement from the Saudis that

PHOTOGRAPHY: http://maosuit.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/IMG_1054.jpg

Louis Vuitton’s Lippo Plaza - Shanghai

carried such dire implications for the dollar.

The fourth issue from last week is that the situation in the Middle East around the oilfields and pipelines is both gross and grave and likely to test a number of precarious allegiances.

The relationships between Syrians, Iraqis, Saudi Arabians, Egyptians and Iranians are all subject to change and we are told daily that troops are being positioned this way and that to address the call of jihadist ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi as caliph of his caliphate. This call for an Islamic State in Northern Iraq has prompted military intervention from Russia and inspired Iran against ISIS. Iran cannot see ISIS taking a lead ahead of their own nuclear ambitions if it meant a different Islamic domination from the rear. Almost as an aside, President Obumma has asked for

$500 million from Congress to supply ‘advisers’ to the Iraqis. He failed to mention that it was the US that had funded ISIS as a part of al-Queda as they took on the brutality of Bashir al Assad.

Sergei Lavrov has a message for his two partners in the triumvirate. China requires a stable Middle East for oil prices to be reasonable while Russia and Saudi prefer higher revenues. His message is that Russia is prepared to step back in this regard and in return to present a united front against Sunni jihadists when ISIS turn their attention to recruit their Sunni Saudi Arabia brothers and sisters. Russia will step forward with assurances of military support for Saudi Arabia when it turns nasty and the cash-strapped NATO will be subordinated as the three revisionists create a new balance of geo-political power.

Meanwhile, John Kerry blusters

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around from pillar to post not knowing which side to speak to next so the American war machine remains uncommitted. Unseating the US dollar will both calm the vitriol of ISIS and create a new World Bank and financial order with Russian, Saudi and Chinese cornerstones. After this, American warplanes won’t have the money to fuel up and leave their carriers.

Congress could not afford any approval of military funding as the bond markets would be in freefall and the price of gold in some orbit which in turn would expose who had what in their vaults. That would be the end of the Federal Reserve without a shot being fired like the annexation of the Crimea in a way.

OPINION

England’s Objection to the EU Should we be afraid?

The appointment of Jean-Claude Junkyard as EU Commission President threatens to bring more bureaucracy and aloofness to the EU. In a furtherance of the accumulation of power by the centre-right over all 28 members, his declared route is a continuance of outdated federalistic ideas and, in the case of the UK, his private target is the ÂŁ45 billion a year generated by our City firms. Rai Hamilton, a career financier and more recently a novelist, considers how the original perspective of a united trade presence has avoided coming to terms with managing dispirit national progress. The Lisbon Treaty proves the point as we find that England has no say in the voting mechanism for our new EU President and Borish Johnson made the point by ordering in a water cannon.

By Rai Hamilton

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PHOTOGRAPHY: http://www.upf.edu/orbis/_img/slideshow/img9.jpg

Berlin Wall

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S

o well done David Cameron for coming to terms with the widening divisions about every aspect of control in the Union and in the process flushing out a response from EU leaders who are aligned with more of the same from the European leadership. We don’t necessarily have to leave the Union but new ideas in place of sacred treaty rules are a key to the survival of any UK traditional values. Even if David Cameroon can’t say so openly, he knows the four real issues that are destroying unity are not trade related. They are religious and ethnic differences, the hoarding of wealth, corruption within the core of Christian democracy and drugs related carnage. To see how this predicament came about and what our leaders might do, we only have to go back and witness how it all started in the former Gestapo headquarters building in Berlin irreverently selected as a symbol that Germany is the hub of the new European Union to come.

Chancellor Kohl Hole was easing himself into a comfortable chair ready for a planned conversation with Soviet President Gorby Chov.

His intention was to persuade Gorby to hand over a huge piece of real-estate called East Germany.

His preferred methodology was to make Gorby Chov believe that he would be better off without it.

This wouldn’t be difficult because it wasn’t worth a carrot.

Kohl had used the tried and tested German formula of never giving or taking anything unless the people were programmed to want the end result he sought. As the leader of the Christian Democrats and insistent that core Catholic teaching would be super-imposed over national barriers irrespective of the consequences, he was the one man who could pull off this land grab. He would be responsible for bringing Europe together and this

would be under the spell of German economic and financial power.

“It’s all very well to show the way but what happens if the public decides on a different agenda?” asked the Chancellor’s press secretary, Axel Grease.

“I’ve set the stage for them to see it my way” sang Kohl as he dialled his Russian counterpart. “The objective is to reopen the Reichstag here in Berlin with Germany once again united and at the forefront of a continental government using the pretence that NATO will protect our new immediate Eastern bloc neighbours. Your role, Axel, you slippery wizard, will be to sell the people a common European currency.”

“Before I say anything about dismantling the Wall,” started Kohl, “please will you speak to Ripper Frockov, your head of Russian television.”

Kohl Hole knew that in complying with the EMU conditions, Germany had a big advantage because in his back pocket was the Bundesbank gold reserves held all over the globe and valued on paper at a nominal DM 14 billion. The real market value based on the bullion price was closer to DM 187 billion. This little windfall could offset the DM billions he was planning to spend each year to modernise Eastern Germany. At the same time Kohl Hole planned to use Axel Grease to weaken the starting position for all his so-called partners like the Prime Minister of England.

“Remember Axel” he continued

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as he waited for Gorby to answer.

“To qualify for EMU under the Maastricht criteria, everyone has to reduce their budget deficits and it will be your job to expose all their manipulations. I’ll deal with that bitch across the Channel while you can accuse the French of using pension funds in state-owned companies to cook the books. You can also accuse the Belgians of secret bullion sales and point out that the Italians are greasing the palms of organised crime by moving the decimal place in government contracts. It’s also your job to make sure our own people are prepared to give up their Marks for a suspect nickel-plated EMU coin called the Euro.”

“Javowl” Axel smiled as his right arm twitched in an involuntary jerk.

“All we’re doing is improving our bargaining position” Kohl added.

“If I didn’t have an advantage, I’d have to cash in the government’s 74% stake in Deutsche Telekom or even privatise the Federal stake in the airports at Hamburg, Frankfurt and Cologne to pay for the 4.3 million unemployable scroungers we’re obliged to absorb into the deal.”

“And that’s at the low end of the estimate” mentioned Axel. “If you dismantle the frontiers in nine EU countries including Greece and Italy, you’ll encourage policefree travel for every drug trader, prostitute and asylum seeker. Then, it won’t only be the Albanian mafia we have to worry about. It’ll be every mafia from the Nigerians with their heroin coming in through the green channels at Athens to the Turkish and Kurdish hashish growers arriving unchallenged in convoys of lorries up Swartzestrasse. The incremental cost in drug related crime is unthinkable.”

“Gorby speaking” came the voice of the Russian leader.

“Before I say anything about dismantling the Wall,” started

PHOTOGRAPHY: http://i.i.cbsi.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2012/12/09/5762003476_05875f3a40_o.jpg

Bank Of England Vault

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Kohl, “please will you speak to Ripper Frockov, your head of Russian television.”

“What about?” answered Gorby Chov.

“The Americans have invaded Grenada and Russian television have reported that it’s a town in Spain” Kohl explained. “That could be forgiven except it’s difficult to explain how American warships came to be anchored 300 miles inland.”

“My head of television, Ripper Frockov, is busy with a beauty contest in the Ukraine” answered Gorby. “We have a special relationship with Ukraine because we give them gas and Ukrainian girls make the best housekeepers.”

“You know Ripper Frockov is a serial rapist” questioned Kohl.

“It’s in our culture” answered Gorby. “Anyway, while you’re on the phone, let’s talk about bullion, the gold bullion we both know that is locked away in Switzerland until either of us can find a way to use it without any disclosure.”

Kohl Hole had no desire to see any Russian gold appearing onto the market to spoil the price so he listened politely.

“You Germans always screw us!” Gorby opened slightly too aggressively. “We gave up 90 tons of gold as part of the Brest-Litovsk Treaty to end the fighting between us in March 1918. The sneaky French somehow had the Treaty annulled at Versailles but the gold disappeared and we couldn’t do anything about it because suddenly we were a bit busy with the Russian Revolution.”

“Yes, it must have been a bit timeconsuming to murder more people than died on all sides in both World Wars” admitted the Chancellor.

“Anyway, Gorby, you have to admit that you’re a bit of a sly horse when it comes to gold and treasure.”

“Sly horse?”

“Everyone knows the Red Army

picked up 52 trains loaded with papers and documents in their sweep through Eastern Europe” Kohl goaded him. “They were in sidings in every major city. Then when you reached Berlin, you also picked up the central records of the SS, the Reichssicherheitshauptamt and the Reichsbank. You’ve had plenty of time to read through all the paperwork, you sly goat, so you know precisely how much gold we both have not to mention the priceless art and jewellery.

Right now your favourite party members are creating an array of ‘joint ventures’ in Switzerland to export your own party money out of Moscow into anonymity. Admit it Gorby! Not only have you got more gold than me, you’ve had the best part of $45 billion in loans from the West during the Eighties and most of that vanished into your Swiss accounts. The only good thing is that you definitely can’t sell the gold because the children of six million dead people will go nuts and want compensation. It must kill you not to be able to cash in $40 billion.

“You are right that we need it to buy our ICBMs and take our people into space?” Gorby laughed as he scratched the red splotch on his head. “Anyway, we have a summit coming up in Brussels and I would like your support when I challenge the Prime Minister of England about the gold of Czar Nicholas, all 45 tons of it. It was worth £2.5 billion in 1917 when it was sent to England to pay for munitions for the First World War. The munitions never arrived and with 80 years of interest, Barings Bank who negotiated the deal and the Bank of England who took the bullion now owe us £52 billion.”

“Have you got any documentation to verify this?” asked Kohl a little wryly.

“Every bill of lading!” Gorby shouted down the phone. “900 cases of gold bars were loaded onto

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HMS Drake and HMS Mantois in Archangel. Admittedly it was a miracle they successfully avoided the Artic icebergs not to mention your U-boats. Anyway the gold arrived safely in Liverpool and it was swiped.”

“I don’t think you’re going to get very far” suggested Kohl.

“Then Barings will pay for what they have done to us!” Gorby replied prophetically. “I put a curse on Barings for the theft of our money!’

“Calm down Gorby!” entreated Kohl Hole. “We’ve got other fish to fry.”

“You mean that cold fish at No. 10 Drowning Street.”

“No.” “Then which particular fish have you in mind?”

“Drugs” answered the Chancellor. “Most of the hard drugs that come into Germany started their journey on the Thai-Burmese border. Now they come from what is called the ‘golden crescent’ of Central Asia where there is no rule of law because you’ve lost control to the fundamentalists.”

“So why are you telling me this?”

“Unlike you, the Americans won’t bomb the whole of Afghanistan” replied Kohl. “There is no other way to stop the traffic through impassable valleys and unnavigable mountain streams and over five thousand foot cliffs. The area is useless and can just about support sheep and a few goats. Now there are no other crops besides opium because your campaign destroyed all the irrigation channels. No one sensible invests in a country where the government opposition funds itself by trading a sack of sugar or a gallon of kerosene for a block of raw opium. The drugs are coming here and it’s flooding our European dream with hookers, thieves and thugs and when the Wall comes down, Gorby, that flood is going to turn into a tsunami.”

“And my little Gretchen will

have to wait two years for a hospital bed” muttered Axel Grease.

“Not to worry” countered Gorby.

“Brite Spark, the new head of the US Drugs Enforcement Agency, has initiated an aid package in Afghanistan to stop the opium growers by paying them to grow maize.”

“So the existing maize and barley farmers started to grow poppies until they were paid the same” Kohl Hole pointed out. “Then the Americans refused to cough up and Brite Spark succeeded in quintupling the opium output.”

“We realise we’ve got Islamic fundamentalists right across Central Asia and along our southern border” Gorby reasoned.

“Islam tolerates opium but forbids alcohol while the West tolerates alcohol and forbids opium. For the traffickers, it’s simply a way to make money and our border patrols get murdered because they are seen as another rival gang. These people have no fear. You can’t preach the evils of opium in a business where you can get $250,000 for every kilo and the natural next step with all that money is to take over the world.

It’s fundamental my little Western friend. We tried to stop the drugs but it’s impossible so you legalise it, regulate it, the price comes down, lots of addicts die who will die anyway but you tear the guts out of funding fundamentalism.”

Kohl Hole realised he was on a losing wicket as Gorby changed the subject.

“Your Control Commission supported Croatia and the Muslims against the Serbs” Gorby continued as if he was anticipating problems with the fundamentalists along his southern borders and justifying any slaughter of the peoples in Chechnya. “You had to do it secretly for fear of bringing us in on the Serb side so you organised massive deliveries of arms and ammunition to all the Muslim troops across Serb-

held territory in United Nations food parcels. Section 12D of the German Secret Service, or BND, responsible for Balkan affairs, was designed to ensure that Croatia, with their southern access to the sea, got control of crucial Serb-held areas prior to any ceasefire. Then you sent in war-planes via Hungary in flagrant breach of the United Nations arms embargo. What happened to your own German laws forbidding shipping weaponry to war zones?”

“It worked” grinned Kohl. “Look at the map of Croatia today and see how much of the land along the coast is owned by German industry and who owns all the marinas and port facilities. It’s called capitalism but it’s also called progress and when we agree to dismantle this Wall, you are going to see a revolution that will give everyone an opportunity to become Bill Grates.”

“This European Union will suffer the same fate as Rockefeller” “Maybe we’ll just leave the Wall standing!”

“Grates may have dropped out of Harvard but he’s developing a style that has slotted him into a place in history as the second richest capitalist of all time” Kohl continued.

“You think we Russians don’t know how to make money” Gorby snapped back. “I know this Grates and his style when it comes to getting what he wants. He’s going to be the most powerful man in America since John D Rockefeller and he epitomises the transition of the era of the small man, the free market and the level playing field. Our oligarchs will rise to such heights by crushing everyone around them. I admit it must be traumatic for the

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American dream in a country that holds the ideal of individualism sacrosanct. Kohl my friend, we don’t care about such things. We will have lots of Grates before you can say Tsarevich Robinson.”

“Jack!”

“What?”

“It’s Jack Robinson.”

“And we already have lined up our Party Friends who will be the oligarchs so our people will accept the deal with you Germans even if you killed 12 million of our people” Gorby continued. “We will arrange for our friends to swipe all our most valuable State assets.”

Gorby knew what he was talking about because he was about to create exact clones of Rockefeller, the richest man of all time. Gorby would carbon-copy the breathtaking audacity that led to a control of the railroads and a monopoly of the oil pipelines. Rockefeller did it the hard way by buying up rivals and feigning their independence despite laws forbidding companies to own shareholdings of competitor companies in other States. By the 1880s, his Standard Oil was responsible for 84% of all oil products sold in the United States.

Then in 1911 the Supreme Court ordered that his monumental creation be broken up into its constituent parts.

“This European Union will suffer the same fate as Rockefeller” Gorby predicted. “Over time, the Russian giants in oil production and industry will also end up fragmented.”

“What do you think Rockefeller said when the Supreme Court forced him to bank the largest fortune in history?” Kohl surmised.

“You think he said ‘I don’t want it’ or ‘Jesus, I can’t take this pain?’

Anyway, Gorby, you should remember that wealth spreads and in capitalism it doesn’t matter if the catalyst is an opium trafficker or Bill Grates or anyone else. Remember that Bill Grates gave his original

Reichstag dome

of the ultimate gesture of disregard in not recording where you bury your victims.’

Now roll on to 2013 and Andrea Murky was asking her new financial guru, a certain Axel Grease, to go and check on Germany’s 1,583 tonnes of gold bullion stored behind a 90 tonne steel and chrome cylinder on the fifth subfloor of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. When Axel arrived, he was refused access past reception even though a party of Mexican schoolchildren were going down for a guided tour. Axel retaliated with a formal request direct to President O’Bumma to transfer some of the German stash back home. Axel negotiated that 674 tonnes would be repatriated at a rate of 84 tonnes a year over eight years.

He could be forgiven for thinking that shouldn’t be a problem since the Federal Reserve was storing in that one underground lock-up 20% of all the gold ever mined.

Now roll on to the present day and there is no American explanation or apology that they had only been able to deliver five tonnes.

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So in January 2013 David Cameroon guaranteed the British people a referendum in 2017 but with the integrational eurofanatic Junkyard in charge Cameroon can forget any possibility of renegotiation. It’s a dangerous position for the UK and no one should be surprised that the EU treaty with Ukraine and two other former Soviet territories happened on the same day. At the same time US Secretary of State Terry Towel is gearing up provocative and intolerable sanctions against Russia while blustering and stammering around the planet on behalf of a dithering President O’Bumma in talks to stop the Caliphate of ISIS. Look out for a Russian response Foreign Minister William Vague, look out for Vladimir Putrid and Premier Wat Sup Doc getting cosy and trading oil without reference to the US dollar and most of all look out the City of London for Junkyard and Murky and the inevitable EU regulatory invasion into our invisible receivables. They are so invisible they might disappear.

PHOTOGRAPHY: http://www.artifakt.pl/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/1329426506.jpg

secretary at Microhard options that became worth $50 million. She wasn’t an attractive woman but now, how would you put it, she’s always a popular person to have at your summer party in the Hamptons.”

“I can’t chat for hours, Kohl” Gorby said suddenly. “You’ve got what you wanted. The Wall will come down on Friday and don’t forget to mention my gold problem when you next have a schnapps with Dennis Thatcher. You owe me that much because it was the Czar’s wife, that German bitch Alexandra, who caused all the trouble. Not only did she ignore everyone except a mad monk called Rasputin, just because he was curing her son, but she also retreated to the Winter Palace while Lenin was on the rampage.

Even then she could have saved her family but when the loyal Tsarist troops arrived to protect them she told them to sod off for fear they would damage the Imperial china.”

“It was Dresden china” countered Kohl slamming down the phone.

“Not to mention she was also the grand-daughter of Queen Victoria” added Axel Grease who had stayed standing to attention with his heels together throughout the conversation.

“You know Axel, there’s a lesson here somewhere” mused Kohl Hole.

“Vladimir Ilyich Lenin was the conscientious son of a loving and prosperous family and his favorite book as a child was the antislavery novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe. Countless other children have read it without becoming psychopathic torturers and succumbing to the temptation to overthrow the State and murder forty million people.”

Axel Grease was a smart and ambitious man versed in history and his advice was sound and as relevant today as it has always been.

‘When the survival of ideals is higher than the price of life, then accepting the truth is impossible and you will be part

atelier-zuppinger.ch

Plate Tableware or part of a watch movement?

Discover the world of Fine Watchmaking at www.hautehorlogerie.org

Plate | The plate which bears the various movement parts and in particular the bridges.

The dial is usually affixed to the bottom side of the plate. The plate is pierced with holes for the screws and recesses for the jewels in which the pivots of the movement wheels will run.

The FoundaTion’s ParTners | A. LAnge & Söhne | audemars PigueT | BAume & mercier | BoveT 1822 | cArtier | Chanel | chopArD | ChrisToPhe ClareT corum | de BeThune | girArD-perregAux | greuBel Forsey | hArry WinSton | hermès | iWc | Jaeger-leCoulTre | LouiS Vuitton | monTBlanC | pAnerAi Parmigiani Fleurier | piAget | ralPh lauren WaTCh & JeWelry | richArD miLLe | roger duBuis | tAg heuer | vaCheron ConsTanTin | VAn cLeeF & ArpeLS

WATCH STORIES

WATCHES AND WONDERS PREVIEW After the huge success of ‘Watches & Wonders 2013’, the second edition of this elegant gesture of recognition to the quality, curiosity and sophistication of Asia’s clientele and collectors returns to Hong Kong during the Golden Week.

The one-of-a-kind event provides an opportunity for the world’s most prestigious watchmakers to present their new collections and share the rich culture, knowledge and history that goes into the making of the timepieces.

A new exhibit, ‘Horology, a child of astronomy’, which first debuted at the Salon International de Haute Horlogerie in Geneva last January, will give visitors a chance to see the deep connection between observing the skies and having time.

Featuring 80 rare and ancient timepieces, it chronicles how our measure of time evolved from tracking the patterns of movement of the sun, moon and stars throughout the seasons to creating instruments of beauty that reflect this vast information in the space of a wrist. Among these exceptional pieces, one amazing object is an 18th century Portable Sundial signed Pierre LeMaire on loan to Watches& Wonders from the

Musée International d’Horlogerie in Switzerland.

Returning visitors will notice some minor improvements to the format of the event. The organisers have designed a new space for journalists and have also reserved the opening day for the highest echelon of VIP guests, collectors and press visitors to preview the collections. In addition, the possibility to organise tailor-made, individual or group visits to the event is now available.

These include a number of original, exclusive experiences such as an initiation to watchmaking class, a guided tour of the exhibit with an expert historian, or an exclusive presentation by an exhibiting Maison.

“We think time is a story of connection,” explains Fabienne Lupo, Chairman and Managing Director of ‘Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie’ says. “That’s the underlying message of Watches & Wonders. And that’s the point.

We are in Asia to connect – ideas, people, experiences. Connection is the driving force of growth, no matter the scale – whether we talk about relationships, businesses or economies. And we are really excited because connecting

By Gabriele Salvadori

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always means new horizons, new possibilities.”

Watches & Wonders 2013 brought together 16, 000 guests and 750 journalists, who were very enthusiastic about the event.

“It wasn’t difficult for us to decide that this should be an annual event, something the region can schedule and look forward to every year,” Fabienne Lupo continues. “It was also obvious that Hong Kong is a perfect location for us. In fact, we would like to see the island become the hub of Fine Watchmaking in Asia”.

This year visitors will have the opportunity to discover more than 3,000 timepieces on exhibit, and to admire the very latest trends in high-end watches, including highly feminine, vintage and ultra-thin watches, as well as exceptional items specifically designed for this occasion.

Each of the 13 exhibiting Maisons has provided a sneak preview of one of their signature products in anticipation of the event.

HKCEC – Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre 30 September - 2 October 2014

A. LANGE & SÖHNE

JAEGER-LECOULTRE

PIAGET

Richard Lange Perpetual Calendar “Terraluna” Featuring an orbital moon-phase display, a perpetual calendar with the Lange outsize date, a power-reserve of 14 days, and a constant-force escapement, this extraordinary time-keeping instrument represents the pinnacle of Saxon watchmaking artistry.

Master Grande Tradition Grande Complication This watch is both a masterpiece of watchmaking and a masterpiece of jewellery: the night sky is represented on an aventurine dial and adorned with brilliant-cut diamonds, glittering like stars. Sapphires and midnight blue lacquer add the finishing touches to this exceptional dial. Last but by no means least, a case entirely set with baguette-cut diamonds underlines the unique character of this timepiece.

Piaget Altiplano 38mm 900p To celebrate the brand’s 140th anniversary, the Piaget has released the world’s thinnest mechanical watch. 18K white gold and black alligator strap – it is safe to say that the unique and elegant model is timeless.

CARTIER

AUDEMARS PIGUET

OFFICINE PANERAI

Panthère au Clair de Lune, calibre 9603 MC A glittering diamond-paved panther reclines amid the lush jungle of dial in this limited edition and individually numbered time piece featuring the case in 18K pink gold set with 395 brilliant-cut diamonds, dial in white gold decorated with a miniature painting and a strap in white alligator skin.

Royal Oak Offshore Chronograph 42mm First introduced in 1993, the 42mm Royal Oak Offshore has received a major overhaul.

This exclusive time piece features an 18-carat pink gold case, glare proofed sapphire crystal and black ceramic case back.

Radiomir 1940 Chronograph Oro Bianco – 45mm The Radiomir 1940 Chronograph Oro Bianco – 45mm is a new chronograph of the highest quality, incorporating a fascinating combination of design, technology and history. The case of this exquisite time piece features exclusive white gold and the back is made out of a see-through sapphire crystal.

www.alange-soehne.com

www.piaget.com

www.jaeger-lecoultre.com

www.cartier.com

www.audemarspiguet.com

www.panerai.com

Baume&Mercier

IWC Shaffhausen

VACHERON CONSTANTIN

Clifton Retrograde Date Automatic The Clifton Retrograde Date highlights Baume & Mercier’s desire to offer admirers of fine watches a timepiece that stands out visually while offering a useful and accessible complication. Available in a brown alligator strap and housed in a 43 mm diameter steel case, this model features generous dimensions, exceptional finishing and aesthetically appealing display appearing against a silvercolored sun satin-finished background.

Portofino Hand-Wound Big Date Portofino watches from IWC Schaffhausen are the epitome of aesthetic extravagance, simple elegance and discreet luxury. Featuring two different models, one in red gold and the other in white gold, the Portofino Hand-Wound Big Date has a see-through sapphire-glass back, which provides an unimpeded view of the technically advanced IWC-manufactured 59230 calibre. www.iwc.com

Traditionnelle Worldtime Collection Excellence Platine The self-winding Traditionnelle Worldtime Collection Excellence Platine model indicates the 37 world time zones owing to Vacheron Constantin Calibre 2460 WT, which is protected by three patents. With its case, dial and folding clasp made of 950 platinum, the timepiece, bearing the prestigious Hallmark of Geneva, is issued in a 100-piece limited edition.

RICHARD MILLE

VAN CLEEF & ARPELS

MONTBLANC

RM56-02 The newest expression of transparency makes its appearance in the RM56-02 Sapphire Tourbillon with a new movement that takes its cues from the mechanical architecture of the RM27-01 Rafael Nadal and its cable suspended movement.

Midnight Planétarium Poetic Complication The new Poetic Complication timepiece provides a miniature representation of the movement of six planets around the sun and their position at any given time: Earth and Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn – all visible from Earth with the naked eye.

The Maison had applied its jewellery-making expertise to depicting planets with a selection of hard stones. www.vancleefarpels.com

Montblanc Meisterstück Heritage Perpetual Calendar Each Montblanc Meisterstück Heritage Perpetual Calendar wristwatch is subjected to a comprehensive 500-hour quality test at the manufacture in Le Locle. Developed

by Montblanc, this rigorous examination verifies the accuracy of the watch’s rate, the water tightness of its case, the timepiece’s overall performance and robustness, and the functionality of the individual displays.

www.baume-et-mercier.co.uk

www.richardmille.com

www.vacheron-constantin.com

www.montblanc.com

ROGER DUBUIS Hommage Double Flying Tourbillon Hommage Double Flying Tourbillon with hand-made guilloché is a stunning contemporary interpretation of a time-honoured decorative skill. Equipped with the incredible RD100 calibre, the refinement of the traditional guilloché on the mainplate creates an aesthetic contrast representing an endless source of fascination. The Double Tourbillon movement is composed of 452 individually hand-finished parts, endowed with a 50-hour power reserve and which called for 1,200 hours of manufacturing – of which 360 are devoted to meeting the Poinçon de Genève criteria. www.rogerdubuis.com

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Hung

MY FAVOURITES

Deborah Lawyer-slash-model, the founder of Dreamodels agency in Hong Kong and wife of brilliantly eccentric and successful businessman Stephen Hung, Deborah spends her life in perpetual movement, travelling, experiencing new things, meeting successful people, being a perfect wife and never giving up – Hong Kong socialite princess knows how to make it all work.

By Deborah Hung

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Deborah Pink This is the car that Stephen gave me - a pink Rolls Royce Phantom.

It’s the first time that Rolls Royce have done a car in pink. They even named the colour after me – it’s called “Deborah pink”. Everything is pink, even the interior is pink.

It’s so girly. People either love it or they hate it. Nice people always give nice comments, but there are always negative ones, who have something to say about my car.

Oh, and Steven just got a new customised car from Pagani. Do you know how I found out? I saw a photo he posted on Facebook. He is such a shopaholic. Me, I am very conscious with the things that I buy.

They have to suit my taste. I don’t enjoy it any other way.

I enjoy everything I have. All my pieces are unique and they all represent me. Even if it’s not super expensive, having something that has your taste or signature – that’s what you want.

The Art Of Travelling I did my studies in Madrid. Back then I realised that my favourite type of travelling is not being in a country as a tourist. It was amazing to blend in with the culture and taste all the food, meet the locals and experience all the little things you don’t ever discover when you only stay for a few days.

After I graduated from the university, I travelled around Europe. I thought “I don’t have kids, I’m free, so it’s a perfect time to take a break and explore a little”.

Then I started discovering Asia - I went to Hong Kong, Tokyo and the South of China a few times. That is where I met my husband Stephen, but we were just friends back then.

Right now me and Stephen travel very frequently for business all year long. If we have a meeting in the United States, I go to my homeland Mexico, otherwise it’s very difficult.

However, I try to go back at least

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once a year. Travelling is very exhausting. We have to adjust immediately – we don’t have any time for a jet lag.

Now we are travelling, because of Stephen’s new business. I’m helping him make some decisions on a spa he is building. When I have time I organise meetings for my modelling agency ‘Dreamodels’ in Hong Kong.

We travel a lot, so we learned to multitask. We meet people, we work, we socialise. We are very busy, but we try to enjoy ourselves as well.

Even if it’s just for a few hours a day.

Sometimes we take a boat or go to a show, relax in a SPA. Of course, we always have to remember to make some time for our romantic dates.

I don’t know what my favourite destination is. For Steven it’s Paris, but I always like to discover new places. The more mysterious, the better.

“You cannot plan everything.

Sometimes life gives you better things than you plan yourself” Especially food, I love to explore food. Everywhere I go I like to eat very traditional dishes. I always go for traditional taste, so I do have a couple of favourite restaurants and dishes. It depends on the place. I adore Italian food. Of course I love Mexican food as well.

Actually, I crave for it, because in Hong Kong there are no good Mexican restaurants.

My Eccentric Husband Stephen and I met in Hong Kong.

We had many friends in common and spent a lot of time together.

The more we talked the more we realised that we are very similar.

The more we talked the more we realised that we are very similar.

We both don’t drink, we love meeting different people, travelling, enjoying food, we both love cinema.

After a while we realised that there was something between us.

When I started modelling, I went back to Mexico for a while and then I had another job opportunity in Hong Kong. I saw Stephen again and we realised we couldn’t fight it anymore. I’ve been travelling for so long, so I never had boyfriends.

I don’t party that much and I really believe in destiny. Destiny always throws an opportunity for me. It wasn’t something I was looking for persistently. You never know when you are going to find someone. I would have never expected to meet my husband in Asia. When I was younger, I had all my life planned and I liked to be very organised.

I liked to always be in control, so I thought “Okay, I’ll go back to Mexico, get married, have babies with a Mexican, have a family, have barbecues on Sunday and have my own business.” I had it all worked out, but everything changed after I met Stephen. That was when I learned another lesson in my life – you cannot plan everything.

Sometimes life gives you better things than you plan yourself.

Dreamodels After we got married, I stayed in Hong Kong. The city is exciting and beautiful and I was in love.

However, I didn’t speak the language, I didn’t have family there.

I couldn’t work as a lawyer, because the system is completely different.

So I was devastated and I started thinking about possible solutions.

I come from a family of lawyers, who are very traditional, so I was expected to become a lawyer or do something equally serious.

I learned a lot while doing modelling, so I figured I could start doing scouting myself. I placed my

friends in other agencies and was really good at it. Then I realised I had a lot of great connections - best clients, best brands and I knew a lot of models. This is when Stephen – he is the business mind in the family (laughs) – came up with the idea of creating my own agency instead of doing scouting. I don’t like taking risks and it’s very difficult to put together a business in Hong Kong. But after a while, I got all the contacts I needed and Stephen helped me with everything.

So I opened Dreamodels. It has been a little bit more than two years now and we are very successful, one of the best in Hong Kong. We have more than 500 girls in our database, which is very impressive.

We work with models of any nationality – Brazilian, British, Italians, Russians, Mexicans. Not too many Mexicans though... Right now I have two Mexican boys that are doing very good in Hong Kong, I wish I could bring more. Anyway, it’s too far away.

Exquisite Louis XIII Banquet Dinner The Banquet Dinner I threw last July was a ground breaking moment for Louis XIII. Everything was wonderful. The party itself was classy, but Steven and I have this concept to mix the old and the new for everyone to have a unique experience. The amazing chandeliers we had were with real candles. Some of our friends came in proper Baroque costumes.

The production took a long time as we were trying to reconstruct Versailles. We took four of the largest ballrooms in Macau all combined and 400 people and tried to do a Versailles garden with mirrors. We had all kinds of people coming to the event, some celebrity socialites from everywhere. I didn’t want to do a proper dinner, I hate boring things. We did a lot of entertainment and the setting was

29

beautiful. Macaroons, candies, food, flowers – everything was real, we did some French cabaret for the show. Then we did the Graff Diamonds jewellery show.

Girls from my company were demonstrating the jewellery. They were dressed in Marie Antoinette style, but with a little bit of couture touch and a sexy vibe. The dinner was very elegant, food was delicious, we even had these cupcakes like Marie Antoinette.

“Every piece of jewellery that I have is meaningful” I created the whole idea for the party and Stephen only gave me four months to do it, so these four months were sleepless. I had to coordinate the models, get their hair and make-up done, test the food, create a setting, to check the materials. For me and my guests it was one of the most beautiful and exciting parties. Everything was very elegant. Stephen told me to be careful, while planning the party, because there were so many serious people coming – businessmen, bankers. Ironically, they were the ones, who started dancing and going crazy. The whole organisational process took a lot of time and a lot of head ache. Now I don’t know what to do for the Louis XIII’s opening – how can I beat a party that great..?

A Special Something I have a special bracelet, it is made of some kind of thread. It is very important for me and I always have it with me in a little box. Sometimes I wear it. It is ver y casua l, but it means a lot. One day when Stephen and I were in Thailand, before we got married, a monk gave one for each us and he pronounced some prays. It was the first time that night we sat down and thought about our future.

We both felt how blessed we were to find each other. So I still have this bracelet and I take care of it a lot. Every piece of jewellery that I have is meaningful. Stephen gave me a yellow diamond, it was just before we got engaged. It was one

of the biggest pieces he gave me, so it meant a lot.

Ancient Beauty Secrets Stephen put me in charge of the SPA at Louis XIII. We created this great idea, he made me pick all the therapists and consultants we are testing at the moment. I believe with all my heart that these new people will be exceptionally good.

I want everything there to work perfectly and for every visitor to feel glamourous and spectacular and to get a different experience.

So I would just say that we are using a lot of different materials and very hard-to-get natural things to provide very unique treatment. We

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are importing things from Mexico and other countries. I can guarantee they are going to be very pure and natural. Of course, we are going to use some chemicals as well, but our guests will always have an option to explore ancient beauty secrets.

J E W E L L E R S

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22 OLD BOND STREET LONDON W1S 4PY +44 20 7493 9833

S I N C E

1 8 6 0

RUE DU RHÔNE 29 1204 GENÈVE +41 22 319 7100

c h at i l a . c o m

ESSAY

A Modern Scheherazade

Grande Odalisque by Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres

By Andrei Navrozov

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The Tale of the Envier and the Envied They relate that in a certain city were two men who dwelt in adjoining houses, having a common party wall; and one of them envied the other and looked on him with an evil eye, and did his utmost endeavour to injure him; and, albeit at all times he was jealous of his neighbour, his malice at last grew on him till he could hardly eat or enjoy the sweet pleasures of sleep. But the Envied did nothing save prosper; and the more the other strove to injure him, the more he got and gained and throve.

At last the malice of his neighbour and the man’s constant endeavour to work him harm came to his knowledge; so he said, “By Allah! God’s earth is wide enough for its people”; and, leaving the neighbourhood, he repaired to another city where he bought himself a piece of land in which was a dried up draw well, old and in ruinous condition. Here he built him an oratory and, furnishing it with a few necessaries, took up his abode therein, and devoted himself to prayer and worshipping Allah Almighty; and Fakirs and holy mendicants docked to him from all quarters; and his fame went abroad through the city and the country. Presently the news reached his envious neighbour, of what good fortune had befallen him and how the city notables had become his disciples; so he travelled to the place and presented himself at the holy man’s hermitage, and was met by the Envied with welcome and greeting and all honour.

Then quoth the Envier, “I have a word to say to thee; and this is the cause of my faring hither, and I wish to give thee a piece of good news; so come with me to thy cell.” Thereupon the Envied arose and took the Envier by the hand, and they went in to the inmost part of the hermitage; but the Envier said, “Bid thy Fakirs retire to their cells, for I will not tell thee what I have to say, save in secret where none may hear us.” Accordingly the Envied said to his Fakirs, “Retire to your private cells”; and, when all had done as he bade them, he set out with his visitor and walked a little way until the twain reached the ruinous old well. And as they stood upon the brink the Envier gave the Envied a push which tumbled him headlong into it, unseen of any; whereupon he fared forth, and went

his ways, thinking to have slain him.

Now this well happened to be haunted by the Jann who, seeing the case, bore him up and let him down little by little, till he reached the bottom, when they seated him upon a large stone. Then one of them asked his fellows, “Know ye who be this man?” and they answered, “Nay.” “This man,” continued the speaker, “is the Envied, who, flying from the Envier, came to dwell in our city, and here founded this holy house, and he hath edified us by his litanies and his lections of the Koran; but the Envier set out and journeyed till he rejoined him, and cunningly contrived to deceive him and cast him into the well where we now are. But the fame of this good man hath this very night come to the Sultan of our city who designeth to visit him on the morrow on account of his daughter.” “What aileth his daughter?” asked one, and another answered “She is possessed of a spirit; but, if this pious man knew the remedy, her cure would be as easy as could be.” Hereupon one of them inquired, “And what is the medicine?” and he replied, “The black tom cat which is with him in the oratory hath, on the end of his tail, a white spot, the size of a dirham; let him pluck seven white hairs from the spot, then let him fumigate her therewith and the spirit will flee from her and not return; so she shall be sane for the rest of her life.”

All this took place within earshot of the Envied, who listened readily. When dawn broke and morn arose in sheen and shone, the Fakirs went to seek the Sheikh and found him climbing up the wall of the well; whereby he was magnified in their eyes. Then, knowing that naught save the black tomcat could supply him with the remedy required, he plucked the seven tail hairs from the white spot and laid them by him; and hardly had the sun risen ere the Sultan entered the hermitage, with the great lords of his estate, bidding the rest of his retinue to remain standing outside. The Envied gave him a hearty welcome, and seating him by his side asked him, “Shall I tell thee the cause of thy coming?” The King answered, “Yes.” He continued, “Thou hast come upon pretext of a visitation; but it is in thy heart to question me of thy daughter.”

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Replied the King, “ ‘Tis even so, O thou holy Sheikh;” and the Envied continued, “Send and fetch her, and I trust to heal her forthright; if such be the will of Allah!” The King in great joy sent for his daughter, and they brought her pinioned and fettered. The Envied made her sit down behind a curtain and taking out the hairs fumigated her therewith; whereupon that which was in her head cried out and departed from her. The girl was at once restored to her right mind and veiling her face, said, “What hath happened and who brought me hither?” The Sultan rejoiced with a joy that nothing could exceed, and kissed his daughter’s eyes, and the holy man’s hand; then, turning to his great lords, he asked, “How say ye? What fee deserveth he who hath made my daughter whole?” and all answered, “He deserveth her to wife”; and the King said, “Ye speak sooth!” So he married him to her and the Envied thus became son in law to the King.

And after a little the Vizier died and the King said, “Whom can I make Minister in his stead?” “Thy son in law,” replied the courtiers. So the Envied became a Vizier; and after a while the Sultan also died and the lieges said, “Whom shall we make King?” and all cried, “The Vizier.” So the Vizier was forthright made Sultan, and he became King regnant, a true ruler of men. One day as he had mounted his horse, and, in the eminence of his kinghood, was riding amidst the Grandees of his realm, his eye fell upon his old neighbour, the Envier, who stood afoot on his path; so he turned to one of his Ministers, and said, “Bring hither that man and cause him no affright.” The Minister brought him and the King said, “Give him a thousand miskals of gold from the treasury, and load him ten camels with goods for trade, and send him under escort to his own town.” Then he bade his enemy farewell and sent him away and forbore to punish him for the many and great evils he had done.

Sir Richard Burton The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night (1885)

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ate one night in London, our cigars somehow more beguiling than usual and our brandy somewhat more plentiful, my jeweller friend Marwan Chatila and I began pondering what a seventeenth-century Englishman had described as men’s “liberty to buy, and sell, and otherwise contract with one another” and a nineteenth-century German, who must’ve had Magenschmerzen at the time, had named capitalism.

“We’re all still suffering from Karl Marx’s stomach ache,” my friend murmured, gazing pensively into a half-empty glass.

We had been playing chess, a game of the East, and perhaps it was that, or perhaps it was the pervasive Orientalism of my friend’s smoking room designed by our mutual friend Celeste Dell’Anna with that yearning for the cosmic Alhambra of which only a Milanese libertine is fully capable, but after a while Marwan said: “Why don’t you write a modern Scheherazade?” I knew at once what he meant, and in time the present essay has grown, like Jack’s beanstalk in the holiday season, from that nonchalant and not entirely sober remark.

At my university in America, capitalism – unlike mind-altering drugs, deafening, tuneless music, and clothes as uniform as they were shapeless – was the great evil.

In fact, this value judgment of my contemporaries was my earliest introduction to politics, when I concluded that their radical view of the world – a view held by people, I noted, who boasted of reading long books yet used a knife when eating spaghetti – could never become my own. And yet, after some decades of a life of itinerant aestheticism, I found myself edging closer to the ideological revulsion my university contemporaries had felt for the social system that made their existence possible in the first place.

It’s having suffered disastrous love affairs, I reflected, that makes a man understand the dark side of capitalism. The culture of consumption, in this allegory, is something like an elusive mistress.

The futility of your pursuit of her, together with its inevitability, is written into the equation from the very start of the courtship.

The surer your advance, the more magically does your aim of consummation recede into the mists of half-promise, half-fib, like the tortoise famously chased by Achilles in the aporia, or conundrum, by the Sophist philosopher Zeno of Elea.

This algebraic nonsense (remember the two locomotives chasing each other in your nightmares the night before the exam?) is what comes to most people’s minds at the mention of a mirage.

The mirage is what keeps them running – after the skirt or after the lucre, as the case may be, but more often than not with the selfconfident, sanguine, optimistic mien of a hamster on the little wheel set above crumpled newspapers in his cage. For those among us, however, with a modicum of introspective nous – or so, I repeat, went my reasoning at this stage of life – the overall result of all this frenzied activity is inescapable frustration.

The houses and yachts they come to own, the companies and enterprises they launch to the envy of their peers, and even the languid beauties who, mirabile dictu, deign to marry them, do not represent achieved aims; alas, they are but footprints in the desert sands that ever separate them from the ever vanishing oasis.

But time went on. My wisdom increased. There had come into my life a woman whose presence, albeit as disastrous in the end as the love affairs that preceded it, would have been the right school – or, more precisely, correctional facility – for all those marxisant rebels I had known at university. I

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say “disastrous in the end” because any earthly love, insofar as it only ever ends or ebbs, is by definition an epochal disaster in our lives. Just as we all die in the end, whether we have been frolicking mindlessly under capitalism or cursing our lot in some socialist hellhole.

She was a modern Scheherazade.

Being modern had advantages and disadvantages. Of these last, I should note her almost total lack of book learning, in stark contrast to the Persian original, of whom the legendary nineteenthcentury adventurer and scholar of The Arabian Nights, Sir Richard Burton, had this to say: “She had perused the books, annals and legends of preceding Kings, and the stories, examples and instances of bygone men and things; indeed it was said that she had collected a thousand books of histories relating to antique races and departed rulers. She had perused the works of the poets and knew them by heart; she had studied philosophy and the sciences, arts and accomplishments; and she was pleasant and polite, wise and witty, well read and well bred.”

My Scheherazade was none of those things. But the very name “Scheherazade,” according to Burton, means “one whose dominion is free,” and of this fabulous freedom – which only a scrooge would deny association with the political system under which capitalism flourishes – the woman I am describing took full advantage.

She was free to learn nothing of books, or indeed of the life through millennia which they represented, and yet, as though simply by living free, she taught. Specifically, she taught me the value of unfulfilled desire, precisely what the original Scheherazade taught the king and what capitalism, mostly in vain, has been trying to teach mankind.

What she was, most comprehensively, is a spectacle, an

enthralling, unending, Technicolor mirage, a hallucination that took you by the arm, as Virgil did Dante, and escorted you from hell to paradise and back again.

Being with her I felt like the great entrepreneur – Croesus one day, pauper the next – who speculates on fairground rides as if they were junk bonds, though of course it was love and not money that I was after.

I very much doubt she had ever spoken a word of truth in her life – to me, to anybody else, or to herself – and she excised the size tags of her diaphanous dessous with a razor for fear that a fact of her biography might end up in the possession of another. But in an evening gown, with a string of South Sea pearls illuminating her shoulders and neck, she looked no less the incarnation of truth than the Statue of Liberty.

Soon after I had met her, I recalled a pamphlet by a marxisant Frenchman by the name of Guy Debord, written in the rebellious

Paris of the 1960’s and entitled The Society of the Spectacle. Life under capitalism, that broadside began, “presents itself as an immense accumulation of spectacles, as everything that was once directly lived becomes a representation.”

Debord’s critique was rooted in the ideas of the German philosopher Ludwig Feuerbach, a forerunner of Marx. “In the present age, which prefers representation to reality, and appearance to essence,” wrote Feuerbach in 1843, “illusion is sacred, truth profane. Nay, sacredness is enhanced as truth decreases and illusion increases, so that the highest degree of illusion becomes the highest degree of sacredness.”

And then I thought, “So what?

So what if in embracing capitalism or my beloved I only add fuel to a bonfire of illusions? So what if both of them, in their similar ways, are in reality but holograms of my own passions and hopes, desert mirages,

Turkish Bath by Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres

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fascinating spectacles? Are not the sweetest dreams the ones that leave us wishing they had come true?

Do we not go to church, mosque, or synagogue to commune with mystery, or are we there to grab reality by the lapels of its cashmere overcoat and demand to know what the future holds, particularly in regard to the options on pork bellies?

“So what if these phantoms leave me, or indeed the society in which I live, perpetually frustrated?

For who is to say that a man who has been satisfied is any better, any more interesting, or for that matter any happier, than a man who is hearing the thousandth instalment of a story that never ends?”

It was then that I remembered Scheherazade.

Bienert

BEAUTY

Caroline

Qualified and internationally acclaimed metabolism expert, Caroline is dedicated to health and holistic wellbeing to the benefit of her clients who come from a variety of backgrounds.

By Caroline Bienert

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“Imagine your body is an aquarium where your organs are the fish, and your metabolism is the water. If the water is cloudy, the fish will become sick. Whilst a doctor may be required to give therapy to the fish, my role is to purify the water.”

That’s how Caroline Bienert describes what she is doing.

Caroline is a qualified and internationally acclaimed metabolism expert, dedicated to health and holistic wellbeing to the benefit of her clients who come from a variety of backgrounds including royalty, entrepreneurs and CEOs, as well as celebrities and models based mainly in Dubai, London and Saudi Arabia.

Can you please explain what does the term nutritionist imply?

I analyse my clients’ diets and eating habits as well as their general lifestyle and its impact on their health. I then create individual tailor-made nutrition and detox plans and programs to balance the microbiologic balance.

The term nutritionist itself is rooted in holistic medicine and strongly connected with anti-aging. Just like a fitness trainer I always aim towards a certain goal.

Have you always wanted to become a nutritionist?

When I was a student I wanted to be a fashion designer. They could have taken me to a canteen in handcuffs, but I would never eat those mushy potatoes and the overcooked-run-of-the-mill vegetables. However, as we all know, the exception proves the rule: My first big love studied in Freiburg, and I used to hitchhike from Cologne to the Black Forest in order to see him as often as I could,

especially during semester breaks.

I was so infatuated that I even accompanied him to the canteen.

If you adore a man, you cannot insist on special treatment and I knew that much at least. I started losing weight and became very weak because I could eat hardly anything served in that canteen.

I didn’t want to eat pizza in cheap restaurants either. So I took the initiative and started to cook every day in my boyfriend’s tiny kitchen.

He was first very surprised but then he started to enjoy my cooking.

How do you coach your clients on what they should eat?

I cannot tell my clients for the rest of their lives what they should eat. Therefore, I take them to the markets or healthy-food stores.

That’s where we get to practice: we feel the fruits and vegetables, we look at them, compare and smell them. I understand that many of my clients simply buy food that is familiar to them since their childhood. They never really think of what the ingredients of those groceries are nowadays, that those products might just consist of preservatives and nothing else now. I never forbid anything. I think that life is an inter-play of numerous nuances so there is no black and white thinking. If you are craving for those canned tomatoes then just go for them!

Nevertheless, I will point out that the jarred ones might be better for you, because glass is definitely more neutral. But to be completely honest, I consider it best to simply prepare food freshly.

Who was your very first client?

My first client was… myself.

Everything I suggest that my clients do is time-tested by me.

And do you know what? I’m still my best and most loyal client.

While I studied, my clients were family and friends. Now, my first paying customer was a fashion photographer who wished to lose

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weight: 30 kilos. And he did!

Which marked the beginning of a new life, really.

What is a common nutrition myth that you can dispel?

That breakfast is the most important meal of the day. In fact, the most important meal is lunch.

A breakfast has to be nutritious for the brain but in no way heavy, rich in calories or carbs. Such breakfast favourites like pancakes, sandwiches, muesli or granola are too heavy, too sweet, and mean stress for our digestive system.

Our bodies are keyed to clearance and excretion until noon. Only starting at noon can you provide all important nutrients to your body.

So never skip your lunch!

I understand you also offer online nutritional services?

I like to use modern communications, so I offer consultations via Skype beyond personal and phone consultations; but all consultations are catered to the individual, so there is no online service in the meaning of a put-inthe-cart bundle.

In your opinion what’s the reason for people actually putting on weight? Lack of the exercise or eating too much?

It’s because they snack. People skip meals, and then snack instead when on the go, which leads to unnoticeably eating so much more.

Most people don’t even notice that they are eating – think sweets at cash desks and front desks, chocolate bars and cookies in meeting rooms and so on.

What is your favourite staple healthy week night dinner?

I don’t like eating same meals everyday so I don’t really have one go-to favourite. But in the evening I tend to combine valuable proteins with vegetables, for example grilled fish with vegetables, or bell paprika stuffed with delicious goat cheese.

If I’m pressed for time, I make a green smoothie.

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with vegetables, or bell paprika stuffed with delicious goat cheese.

If I’m pressed for time, I make a green smoothie.

By the way, what’s the dish you enjoy cooking the most when you have time?

I enjoy making my own pasta and tomato sugo or more elaborate Italian recipes, like specific marinades.

What happens if I don’t eat within one hour of waking?

The most important thing in the morning is to drink. At night your body metabolises, and you need to drink to support this. The only thing that happens if you don’t eat is that you don’t have a good, quick start into the day as your brain needs complex carbs to function properly.

And what are your thoughts on weight loss surgery?

I’d like to state that if you haven’t learned to change your diet no surgery would help. Your fat will build up elsewhere which won’t be healthy either, nor will your skin magically turn firm and toned. That’s why detox is so important when losing weight, so that the body tissues and skin can regenerate and regain firmness and tone.

How do you motivate yourself to stay that fit?

I really highly enjoy being fit. That’s the biggest motivation in itself.

Apart from the special diet what other techniques do you use to make your body ideal?

Meditation to reduce stress as stress is very bad for our metabolism.

I do Yin yoga. I love it because it’s a system of “organ yoga” which means that it stimulates our intestines and helps them detox.

To stay in shape I practice cardio training and a mix of classic yoga and Pilates.

Let’s spice up this very serious health talk. Did you have any funny stories at work?

A client wanted to lose weight.

And she had literally tried every trendy diet out there, still nothing worked. So we met, I check her health parameters and asked her how and what she eats. And she replied, “well, I eat alone in the kitchen.” I ask her, why don’t you go to your dining room? And she says, “I don’t have a dining table.” It turns out, she always eats standing up. My advice for her was to buy a dining table, or we don’t need to start working at all. A few days later she calls me on my phone and tells me that yes she has bought a dining table. She actually bought a new house. While this is a funny anecdote, it leads me to this: a lot of people eat on the go, in the street, some are making phone calls as they walk and eat. It’s extremely unhealthy – and should be avoided.

Being one of the top nutritionists in Dubai, how did you actually get there?

A long time ago my clients of the Saudi Arabian royal family invited me to Saudi Arabia and then to Dubai.

Your celebrity clients in Dubai do they follow your instructions carefully?

In the whole world you won’t get any anyone who performs 100 percent. I’m absolutely happy when my clients follow to the instructions at 80 percent.

Everything is a process, and I like to use the analogy – when a toddler learns walking, he keeps falling and standing up, and that’s the exact point. Standing up and improving.

What do you think of the Dubai culinary scene?

It’s such a challenge to get fresh foods in the middle of the desert; but generally the Dubai chefs do a great job providing international cuisines.

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How Arabs are different to any other nationalities in terms of nutrition habits?

The public knowledge of health and food issues is not very good yet.

Way too much sugar is consumed and the recent arrival of junk food hasn’t made things better.

What’s the safest (to keep the line) option to eat in Dubai?

Still water that’s low in sodium.

What are your healthy addresses in Dubai?

For restaurants that would be Zuma and Okku because of the wonderful à la carte cuisine and great quality with the best chefs.

Visit the Talise SPA to experience the best spa in the world, where you get treated like a royal. Jogging in the Safa Park. Organic Foods and Café with their organic farmers market.

Top 5 things to do in Dubai?

1. Get to the highest building of the world!

2. Delight at the beauty of lighted fountains with classic music in the evening.

3. Visit Art Dubai.

4. Visit the World Cup. 5. Try an individual desert tour.

6. Visit Oman when in Dubai.

7. Visit the Jumeirah Mosque.

Caroline’s beauty tips for Dubai - Keep hydrated: drink flat water that’s low in sodium (salt) - Green juice: chlorophyll is really good for you, it provides radiant skin and sun protection from inside - Sun screen: wear sunscreen and don’t forget to cover your eyes with good sunglasses - Keep your biggest organ, your skin, healthy with an organic, clean body lotion or a lightweight oil to fight the effects of the chemically treated shower water - Us e a n or g a n ic , toxin-free deodorant to keep fresh throughout the day

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ALEXANDER MCQUEEN SCARVES

HER

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LOUIS VUITTON HELSINKI SCARF

SANTONI HAND COLOURED SHOES

BURBERRY MEN’S COAT

EXEMPLAIRE MEN’S CASHMERE SWEATER

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CONNECTING CIRCLES

Exclusive Lounge & Restaurant with Global Artistic Taste Founded on October 26, 2006, LAN Lounge & Restaurant is the work of Philippe Starck – world famous contemporary designer. After two years of meticulous hard work to combine the decorative styles of Europe with traditional Chinese culinary culture, Philippe Starck has created a brand-new venue in China that integrates life experiences with global artistic taste.

Located in the Twins Plaza on Beijing’s Chang’an Street, covering an area of 6000m2, LAN club is a high-end venue that blends artistic appreciation and culinary culture. There are 35 VIP rooms as well as a restaurant, cigar bar, oyster bar, and banquet hall that are all up to high international standards, the large area has the capacity to entertain 1,200 guests at the same time. The open user-friendly layout is very functional, allowing guests to enjoy the top elegant service.

By Danny Wang

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Oitoemponto

INTERIORS

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The vague boundaries of taste define the work done by Artur Miranda and Jacques Bec. They craft timeless creations where their freedom allows them to work with the unexpected and find a balance between the anticipated perfection and natural imperfection of things.

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OITOEMPONTO a luxury Portuguese brand based in Porto and devoted to architecture and interior design, was founded in 1993 by Artur Miranda, who was joined by Jacques Bec in 1995. It has combined the talent of two creators with completely different roots. After living in Sweden for seven years, Artur returned to Portugal with the Scandinavian influence coursing through his veins, associated with his previous experience in the fashion world, after graduating from the Escola Árvore school. Jacques is from France and studied at ESAG Met de Penninghen. He is naturally fascinated by the ornamental richness of the 19th century, new ideas in interior design, architecture and even lifestyle. Artur is the man of action while Jacques is the perfectionist.

They worked on their first international project in Paris in 2003 and started out in Angola in 2008. Now around 65% of OITOEMPONTO’s architecture and interior design projects are done abroad, in countries such as France, the United Kingdom, Italy and Brazil. The brand’s target is only high-end consumers and 95% are private clients. Its turnover in 2012 was 8.5 million euros and its goal for 2013, 14 million euros.

During 2013, Éditions de La Martinière launched in Paris at Artcurial the “OITOEMPONTO architecture & intérieurs” book, and in 2014, OITOEMPONTO custom-builted the furniture for the interiors of the new Berluti stores in Paris, 14 rue de Sèvres, as well the ones in via Saint Andrea in Milan and Madison Avenue in New York. In March 2014, they will be present at 1st edition of AD Collection in Paris, together with PAD fair, and in April, they will exhibit in Lisbon’s Antiques Fair at Cordoaria Nacional.

LUXURY Work at OITOEMPONTO is based on the principle of creating a concept. This implies an overall concern for the client’s world and luxury lifestyle covering everything - from the creative idea for the interior to finding harmony between the interior and the exterior of the house.

The studio knows the preferences and style of their clients as they create a relationship of such closeness and trust, that many Oitoemponto projects extend to the maintenance of the home and advice on the art of good living. They believe that the most important feature of any home is the people who live in it.

DESIGN ÁREAS OITOEMPONTO Architecture & Interiors focuses on architectural

and interior design and usually has 30 to 40 projects at the same time.

Most exquisite projects include interiors of Casa Jorge Varela and architecture of Adega da Quinta do Pessegueiro, built in the Douro region.

OITOEMPONTO Furniture line offers furniture and decorative pieces, created specially for clients or available at the exclusive sale at OITOEMPONTO store.

OITOEMPONTO Futilities & Goodies presents utilitarian and recreational luxury items, such as “Beauty Cases” and the recently launched limited collection of silver pieces, “Sterling Silver”.

and Jacques Bec a pleasant fusion between the incompatible and the unexpected. There are no boundaries, except the exigency for extreme comfort and refinement.

Oitoemponto spaces are designed with character. They are ready to live in, featuring everything a home should have, so that the client doesn’t have to worry about a thing.

CLASSICS & MODERN The intimate relationship with art and love for intense aesthetics make the work of Arthur Miranda

OITOEMPONTO Rua de Tânger 1378, 4150-721 Porto, Portugal t. +351 226 151 724 f. +351 226 151 725 oitoemponto@oitoemponto.com www.oitoemponto.com

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Beijing

CITY LIFESTYLE

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Beijing The Northern capital and home to 21 million people, Beijing is always buzzing with life. The city, similar to its people, is practical, pretty straightforward and very opinionated. Beijing is embracing the future and carefully preserving the tradition. China’s grand capital is not for everyone – slow life enthusiasts are not welcome here.

The Beijingers are very down-toearth, someone might even call them ‘cynical’. The one thing that connects every single citizen is the undeniable pride for Beijing. For instance, the week the inspection group of International Olympic Committee came to the city, thousands of volunteers cleaned up the streets. This incredible atmosphere of being a little part of something monumental and full of memories is in the air here.

Beautifully chaotic Smoggy streets, thousands of cyclists, skyscrapers and ancient palaces – the variety of the city is shocking. You see the contradictions everywhere: East meets West, new meets old, traditional meets contemporary. Large groups of older generation performing the loyalty dance in the evenings, men with pet birds smoking pipes while countless skyscrapers and high tech buildings line in the horizon.

Before starting the sight-seeing – there is so much history in Beijing, it might be a little tiring – it is a good idea to hire a bicycle and cruise around the city to get inspired by its impeccable energy. Beijing is also known to be the cycling capital of the world, and it is the best way to get an insight of the busy city life.

Hutongs – twisted narrow alleys – are a must for the authentic experience. In recent years many of the Hutong neighbourhoods were modernized but the few remaining ones are still a reminder of what the city used to be like. Every corner has

something amazing prepared for you. Nanluoguxiang – the Hutong in the Drum and Bell Tower district – has kilometres of cafes, shops and galleries.

A visit to the Donghuamen Food Market might be a bit of a shock for those who are not used to Chinese culture, so it is obviously an unforgettable adventure.

Antique enthusiasts will enjoy strolling through the Liulichang – if you are lucky you can find a real treasure in the area. Making a trip to Panjiayuan, a giant flea market, is a perfect idea for those, who are looking for an unusual souvenir.

To relax and have a cocktail in the evening head to the Legation Quarter, off the southeast corner of Tiananmen Square. The twostory buildings used to serve as the United States embassy from 1903 to 1949 when the Communists took over. The restored building now houses an art gallery and various bars and restaurants.

Your journey to Beijing is never complete without a shopping spree in Sanlitun Village Full Of History Beijing breathes with history. The city has completely reinvented itself and is constantly changing, but the past is always present here.

Located in the centre of Beijing, the Forbidden City has served as the home of emperors and their households for almost 500 years.

Now it houses one of the most terrific museums in the world – the Palace Museum. Built in the 15th century, the imperial palace consists of 980 buildings and has more than 9 000 rooms. It is easy to get completely lost in the enormous complex, but you shouldn’t miss the Hall Of Supreme Harmony, which contains

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the emperor’s Dragon Throne.

Another fascinating adventure is visiting the Underground City.

Fearing the nuclear war in 1969, Mao Zedong ordered a huge underground city to be constructed underneath Beijing. The complex contained factories, shops and restaurants and could house 300, 000 people. Unfortunately, only a small section is open to the public, but the Underground City is definitely worth a visit.

The Great Wall of China – is only a one hour drive from the city. The locals will advise you to ignore the guidebooks and go to the wild wall sections at Gubeikou, Huanghuachang or Jinshanling.

The Art Capital The “Soho-esque” area of Beijing, 798 Art District is located in the Dashanzi area. Formerly a stateowned factory, it is now a home to numerous galleries, art centres, artists’ studios, design companies, restaurants, and bars. The space has evolved into a cultural concept, bringing together contemporary art and architecture. 798 Art District symbolizes the country’s cutting edge art movement and hosts worldclass international and Chinese exhibitions. You can easily spend the whole day wandering around.

For the visitors interested in more conventional art, the National Art Museum of China houses more than 100, 000 artworks representing different periods of Chinese art. It is one of the largest art museums in the country and is definitely a mustsee. More recently the museum has begun to exhibit foreign classical and contemporary art works too.

“The fifty acres of creativity and activity” or the Museum of Contemporary Art Beijing is another destination for art lovers.

It is located in the Art Centre Park and is dedicated to the support and development of Chinese contemporary art.

A Chance to Relax After a busy day of sight-seeing it is always crucial to have a delicious meal and relax. Beijingers’ alltime-favourite is The Temple Bar. Located in a 600-year-old temple, it contains ancient halls of worship, factories constructed after the Communist takeover and slogans left over from the Cultural Revolution. However, the restaurant serves the contemporary European cuisine, so if you are searching for an authentic cuisine experience head to Da Dong for an impressive 160-page-menu and, apparently, the best duck dishes in the city.

For a relaxing and refreshing swim visit the spectacular Grand Hyatt indoor swimming pool with waterfalls, palm trees and grottos.

Shopping Experience Your journey to Beijing is never complete without a shopping spree in Sanlitun Village, which has an outstanding selection of luxury brands. Afterwards, enjoy a couple of cocktails at the world-famous Bar Street, the symbol of Beijing’s nightlife and the city’s first bar community. However, it is not the simplest task to make a choice of the venue – over 80 bars line both sides of the street.

Restlessly Changing When you are leaving Beijing, you can be sure that you will never see it in the same way again – the city never stops rediscovering and recreating itself. New roads, new buildings, new art, new people. It is incredible how Beijing manages to preserve its historical mystery, while looking forward to the future.

Da Dong Restaurant

Sanlitun Village

Grand Hyatt

Museum Of Contemporey Art

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Forbidden City

Harvard Business school graduate and Hong Kong native, Sara Jane Ho, is the founder and principal of Institute Sarita, China’s first high-end finishing school based in Beijing. Sara Jane believes that it is very important to study etiquette, regardless of background, as it brings people together.

A citizen of the world, Ms. Ho speaks five languages and has lived in Asia, Europe and USA. After starting her career as an investment banker in New York, Ms. Ho decided to move closer to home, pursuing charity work in Beijing.

is constantly changing to absorb influences from and to catch up with the rest of the world. That is what makes it so exciting to live here right now.

Beijing is to Shanghai what Washington DC is to New York.

Beijing is the capital, with its huge structural buildings and culture and government. There is an air of power and grace. Shanghai is similar to New York and London because it’s more intimate, with its friendly pedestrian streets and

Beijing is grand.

It is a city with six ring roads around its centre Ms. Ho is youngest on the Forbes 2013 list “Future Women in the Mix in Asia: 12 to Watch” and a Global Shaper for the World Economic Forum. She has a regular etiquette column in the Chinese editions of Wall Street Journal and Vogue.

Sara Jane shared with Cercle her special insight of the city.

“Beijing is grand. It is a city with six ring roads around its centre, in which Tiananmen and the Forbidden City are located. Big, wide streets seem impossible to cross and the hustle and bustle of the city might appear chaotic to first-time visitors. Beijing screams ‘The Capital’ and so do the people, who are direct and no-nonsense.

Culture and history is everywhere.

No other country has gone through so much transformation in such a short period of time. Thirty years ago, China was an incipient basket case. Today it is approaching global power. This is really hard to deal with – not only in terms of government, infrastructure, and pollution, but also for an individual.

Of course, being the capital, Beijing

Fairmont Hotel

Temple Resteraunt

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European vibe that make a soughtafter glamour.

Apart from recent efforts to create an art scene in Shanghai, China’s real art scene is in Beijing. I should mention, in particular, the city’s 798 art district. This is a huge plot of land of former factories that have now been turned into artist studios and galleries. I am a patron of the UCCA (Ullens Contemporary Centre for Arts) in 798, which is the largest independent museum of contemporary art in China.”

Sara Jane Ho Opposite House Exercise is very important to me.

I begin every morning with a 7am swim at the pool inside The Opposite House, a boutique luxury hotel across the street from my apartment. It’s my oasis in Beijing.

Nightlife Migas has Beijing’s best rooftop parties in the summer.

My friends know that I simply love to go dancing, and Migas has the best DJs in town!

Restaurants Temple Restaurant Beijing My favourite restaurant in Beijing is TRB. It is set amidst a 600-yearold temple and serves Beijing’s finest European cuisine. I host a dinner party here every month in their beautiful glass private room.

Hua Jia Yi Yuan Part of Beijing’s charm is its historic hutong alleyways and courtyards.

There are many outdoor courtyard restaurants and Beijing has fine outdoor dining weather. Hua Jia Yi Yuan is one of my casual favourites.

Parks Ritan Park: This intimate park in the embassy district is where I like to go for walks to clear my head.

Massage Oriental Taipan: When my shoulders get tight from work or stress, I come here for a full body massage and the Chinese cupping treatment. As a guilty pleasure, I will come here for a foot massage while savouring the all you can eat noodles, dumplings and pork buns.

Boutiques & Shops Lane Crawford is my go-to boutique and the place where I take my etiquette students for personal styling. They have a wide choice of cool designers.

The Opposite House

By Gabriele Salvadori

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Noir

TREND SPOTTER

Thierry

By Thierry Noir

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R

ebellious artist Thierry Noir came to Berlin in 1982. In fact, back then he wasn’t even an artist – painting the Berlin Wall was his first artwork. Noir’s goal was to transform the “killing machine” as he referred to the Wall, to make it ridiculous and to help destroy it. It took Thierry and his friends nearly six years and about 1, 000 kilograms of paint to cover five kilometres of the Berlin Wall with stunning artworks in bright, vivid colours.

Painting on the wall was completely forbidden as it was built three metres beyond the official border, so the East-German soldiers were able to arrest any person standing near it.

Today, Noir’s distinctive visual language has become world famous. He is recognized as the key forerunner of the modern street art movement. This year he had his first solo exhibition at Howard Griffin Gallery. His work is held in many important public and private collections around the world including Battery Park (New York), the Newsuem (Washington DC), Loyola Marymount University

Best place to spend the summer?

East Dulwich and the Park

h t t p : //w w w. t h e g u a r d i a n . c o m / artanddesign/gallery/2014/apr/09/ modern-day-rembrandts-rubens-streetartists-old-masters

Favourite museum?

Harrod’s.

http://www.harrods.com/

Favourite place to relax?

The Lobby of the Ace Hotel in Shoreditch

“I started painting outside because I wanted to say that it’s good to put art in the streets and not solely in museums and galleries” “At that time I was a young French man, who had been living close to the Berlin Wall for two years, so I felt the need to do something against this boring wall. It was a sort of physical reaction against the pressure of the daily life near it. More than hundred people had already died while trying to go over the wall. The atmosphere was violent, very heavy. Instead of the screams and insults, I went to the head of the painting, every day without respite.”

So Noir had to paint as fast as possible, using the recipe of ‘two ideas, three colours’ as a celebration of ‘eternal youth’. The artist’s work has a strong emphasis on the line and aim to simplify forms in their most basic elements.

Keith Haring, plus musicians like David Bowie, Iggy Pop, Lou Reed, Kraftwerk, Led Zeppelin and Nina Hagen. This painting represented the key to success – heavy work every day. If you wait at home for inspiration, you can wait for a very long time.”

https://www.acehotel.com/london

Favourite artwork?

Sculpture ‘The Boxers’ by Keith Haring in Berlin, Germany (Daimler Art Collection).

About 5 metres high and made of steel, the sculpture was created in Germany in 1987 but was relocated to this place only in 1998. ‘The Boxers’ are exhibited in front of the Grand Hyatt Hotel on Potsdamer Platz.

Favourite place in Germany Berlin of Course

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin

(Los Angeles) and the Jerry Speyer Collection (New York). This year he also contributed to the ‘Outside In’ exhibition – the first major collaboration between ME London Hotel and Street Art London.

“This elephant was one of my first paintings on the Berlin Wall. I started painting outside because I wanted to say that it’s good to put art in the streets and not solely in museums and galleries. At the time my influences were everyone from Pablo Picasso and Joan Miro to Jean-Michel Basquiat and

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Besr museum in Germany The “Neue Nationalgalerie” in Berlin

h t t p : //u p l o a d . w i k i m e d i a . o r g / w i k iped ia/com mons/a/a 8/ Neue _ Nationalgalerie_Berlin.jpg

One of the key figures in New York’s East Village art scene in the 1970s and 1980s, American artist Keith Haring devoted much of his time to public works, which often carried social messages. He produced more than 50 public artworks between 1982 and 1989, in dozens of cities around the world, many of which were created for charities, hospitals, children’s day care centres and orphanages. The now famous Crack is Wack mural of 1986 has become a landmark along New York’s FDR Drive. Other projects include: a mural created for the 100th anniversary of the Statue of Liberty in 1986, on which Haring worked with 900 children; a mural on the exterior of Necker Children’s Hospital in Paris, France in 1987, and a mural painted on the western side of the Berlin Wall three years before its fall. Haring also held drawing workshops for children in schools and museums in New York, Amsterdam, London, Tokyo and Bordeaux, and produced imagery for many literacy programs and other public service campaigns.

“The boxers” by Keith Haring in Berlin/Germany

Innocenti

ART FOCUS

Olivia Innocenti & Massimo Listri

Olivia Sotheby’s graduate and currently an art dealer for interiors photographer Massimo Listri, Olivia Innocenti believes in the power of beauty in art.

Finding spectacular art works and interesting people, organising pop-up events in luxury boutiques and hotels – Olivia enjoys the busy life of artistic London.

She talked to Cercle about contemporary art, her work with Massimo and future plans.

By Olivia Innocenti

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A

fter receiving her bachelor’s degree in international business, Olivia Innocenti realised that finance is definitely not something she wanted to dedicate her life to. Olivia always had a passion for beauty and luxury, so she decided to continue her education and entered the Master’s Programme at Sotheby’s auction house. Studying, working as Brand Ambassador for Business Development at Armani Casa and helping out various contemporary art galleries was Olivia’s key to success.

Through her experience in various fields Olivia Innocenti developed her own identity and found a perfect balance between different areas of art. Her goal was to create a constant interaction between art, property, interior design and luxury brands, paying special attent ion to interna l communication.

Olivia’s current major ‘ pr oje c t ’ i s M a s s i mo Listri, the Italian master of interior photography.

Olivia and the Art World Always passionate for beautiful things in life, Olivia never wished to limit the beauty to art only, but wanted to create a connection between various fields. Olivia has mixed feeling about contemporary art.

“I’m tired of it. For me, art should always focus on beauty and create strong emotions. A pair of used socks in the middle of an empty room certainly doesn’t provoke any strong emotions, you know, apart from the possible smell they might have.”

Olivia’s vision of art strongly reflects her own personality – apart from having a lot of love for abstract expressionism, she admires the artworks by Eve Klein and Jackson Pollock.

“I want from art exactly what

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I expect from life – colours and strong feelings. This is exactly what contemporary art cannot give me.

Of course, it can be interesting and provocative, but it is more about making an intellectual point, rather than being about beauty.

Contemporary art means nothing without the knowledge of what the artist wished to express or criticize.

For me the best artworks are the ones, which speak for themselves.

You don’t need any explanation, you are simply overwhelmed by emotions, just by looking with an innocent eye.”

Olivia and London Having lived in London for 13 years now, Olivia has a good overview of city’s art scene. She believes that London is the current centre of the art world.

“New York used to be the capital

Palazzo Pitti Sala Bianca

of art, but London is happening right now. The city is vibrant, full of upcoming artists, gallery openings, art fairs and countless events.

However, I should say, a lot of art fairs nowadays have become more like parties, where people simply go to mingle and enjoy themselves.”

Olivia and Massimo Listri At the moment Olivia is the main dealer for the interiors photographer Massimo Listri. Massimo discovered his love for photography at the age of 16 through books and magazines his journalist father used to bring back home. Now, Listri has photographed some of the most unique and restricted places in the world, for example, the Vatican museum and Palazzo Pitti.

Massimo’s vision of photography has been strongly influenced by

Pierro della Francesca and Vermeer.

Perspective and equilibrium are essential in his works.

“I had the chance to meet Massimo, when he came down to Saint Tropez to photograph my house. We have developed a great relationship since then. Of course, the fact that we are both Italian helps a lot – same mind and same way of living. I simply love his work and therefore it is a pleasure for me to sell it. I cannot sell something I don’t love.”

Listri’s photography focuses mainly on perspectives, libraries, churches and a great variety of interiors. Each picture only has five e d i t i o n s w i t h t h e possibility to choose from three different sizes.

One of the problems being, that people always want the pieces, which have just sold out.

Massimo’s work has already been

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exposed in some of the most famous museums in the world such as The Morgan Library in New York, The Schuser State Museum of Architecture in Moscow, Palazzo Reale in Milan and Palazzo Pitti in Florence. Olivia though still has a lot of projects in mind, she wants to do more international exhibitions.

“My secret favourite works by Massimo? The most colourful ones, of course!”

For all inquiries regarding Massimo Listri work please contact Olivia Innocenti on +44 (0)7765 148 701 or email: olivia@oliviainnocenti.com

Palazzo Ducale a Mantova

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ART BASEL

10 Things You Should Know About Art Basel Marc Spiegler – Director – oversees the global development of the organisation across three shows in Basel, Miami Beach and Hong Kong.

By Marc Speigler

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1. Three annual Art Basel shows, bring the art world together in some of the world’s most exciting destinations: Miami Beach, Basel and Hong Kong.

2. Art Basel was founded by Basel art gallerists Ernst Beyeler, Trudi Bruckner and Balz Hilt. The show proved to be success from the very start: 90 galleries and 30 publishers from 10 countries exhibit at the inaugural show, attracting 16, 300 visitors.

3. In 1974 Art Basel introduced the Neue Tendenzen – ‘New Trends’ – sector, created specifically to promote young artists.

Later it was replaced by the Perspective platform. The initiative introduced to the art world artists such as John Armleder, Tony Cragg, Peter Fischli and David Weiss, Beat Streuli and Martin Disler, Julian Opie, Jean-Frederic Schnyder, Helmut Federie and General Idea.

4. 1999 was the year Art Basel established the Film sector, devoted to films by and about artists.

5. In 2002 Art Basel debuted in Miami Beach with a show, which reflected the city’s multi-cultural identity and presented a diversity of work from the galleries and artists of the region.

Since then, it was an annual event as visitors enjoyed admiring pieces of art by the beach.

6. In 2004 Art Basel launched Art Basel Conversations – Panel discussions with leading members of the art world, which opened privileged access to insider information on collecting and exhibiting arm.

7. 1, 200 guests attend the Ball of Artists at the Vizcaya Museum and Gardens in 2007, creating a collaboration between this historic spot and the contemporary art work.

8. In 2011 Art Basel in Miami Beach hosted the first visual artsrelated event held at the New World Symphony Building. The Art Video programme was projected onto the building’s 7, 000 square-foot outdoor projection wall.

9. In 2013 Art Basel picked its third destination – Hong Kong.

The inaugural show featured galleries coming from Asia and Asia-Pacific region. Art Basel is willing to build a cultural bridge between the long-established Western art world and the vibrant new scenes of the entire region.

10. Art Basel is looking forward to hosting its annual shows.

Art Basel in Miami Beach, also known as the favourite winter meeting place for the international art world, will take place in December 4-7 2014. Newest Art Basel show in Hong Kong welcomes the admirers of contemporary art in March 15-17 2015. The authentic homeland of the show will bring together amazing artists and showcase their work to the public in June 18-21, 2015.

ART EVENTS

CULTURAL WALKS

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El Greco, New York, Metropolitan Museum Of Art November 4, 2014 – February 1, 2015

Ballet; Sophia Al Maria, Jonathan Berger and Tobias Madison. http://friezelondon.com/

The Metropolitan Museum and the Hispanic Society of America are commemorating the four-hundredth anniversary of the death of El Greco by pooling the collections of the works of this great painter to provide a panorama of his art unrivalled outside the Museo del Prado in Madrid. This is a unique opportunity to see the artist’s work, which exerted such a strong impact on modern painting and especially appealed to New York Collectors.

New Zealand’s largest art event, the World of Wearable Art Awards is a theatrical two-hour show held annually in Wellington. Every year this spectacular event brings together 50, 000 art enthusiasts. World Of Wearable Art aims to take art off the wall and out of static display and exhibit it on the human form. http://worldofwearableart.com/

http://www.metmuseum.org

The Moscow World Fine Art Fair 1-6 December 2014

Frieze Art Fair, London 15 - 18 October 2014 Established in 2003 by the founders of Frieze magazine, Matthew Slotover and Amanda Sharp, Frieze London is one of the world’s leading art fairs and takes place each October in Regent’s Park, London.

Frieze London 2014 will feature ‘Live’, a new section for galleries, as well as the annual Frieze Projects programme curated by Nicola Lees. The artists participating in Frieze Projects at Frieze London 2014 are: Jérôme Bel with Dance Umbrella; Cerith Wyn Evans with ZSL London Zoo; Isabel Lewis with the ICA, London and Liverpool Biennial; Nick Mauss with Northern

The Moscow World Fine Fair celebrates its 10th anniversary this year.

Exclusive showcase of antiques, fine art, sculpture, photography, design and jewellery will take place in Moscow’s historical cultural complex Manege. Last year the event welcomed 60 galleries and 30 000 visitors and this year’s anniversary celebration promises to be even more memorable. http://moscow-faf.com/

Venice Film Festival 27th August – 6 September The oldest international film festival in the world is as exciting and anticipated as ever, especially after its last year’s grand 70th anniversary.

Organised by La Biennale di Venezia and directed by Alberto Barbera, 71st Venice Film Festival will run on Venice Lido. The event intends to provide support to all filmmakers around the world, so workshops like ‘Final Cut in Venice’, aiming to complete films coming from African countries, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine and Syria, are a huge part of the festival. http://www.labiennale.org/

World Of Wearable Art 25 September – 12 October

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Biennale des Antiquaires In Quotes Biennale des Antiquaires – the premier showcase of art and antiques featuring treasures from the world’s greatest dealers since the 1950’s – will take place at the Grand Palais in Paris from September 11 – 21, 2014.

“I like antique dealers and everything the Biennale represents, and I love the Grand Palais, which is my favourite place in Paris. I have so many memories there of Chanel runway shows with their outsized decor...”

Karl Lagerfeld, 2012 “Not always quite the same, not always quite different, every edition of Biennale des Antiquaires brings together big professionals and their exceptional creations. This unique collaboration gives birth to the magic of Biennale, leaving no visitor indifferent. It is the image of Paris - city full of light, full of museums, which seduces everyone with its cult of beauty and elegance and which opens all the horizons to artistic expression.”

Claude Blaizot, Chairman, 2000 “Yes, it’s coming, the improbable,

the impossible is realised. Biennale International des Antiquaires leaves its homeport, le Grand Palais. It sailed from project to project and moored at Carrousel du Louvre. New port? New stop? Nobody knows. But the name “Le Louvre” is paramount. International Biennale des Antiquaires is close to the temple of art, this marvellous museum, without any doubt the most beautiful in the world.”

Jacques-Henri Pinault, Chairman, 1994

characterizes them all is their love for art.

For them the possession of the desired art work is often an obsession…”

Philippe Kraemer, Chairman of SNA Yves Mikaeloff, Deputy Chairman of the Biennale 1990 “If our manifestation can give an aspiration for every visitor to create the framework which contributes to his pleasure of life, our goal is achieved. “ Philippe Brame, 1982

“Civilisations, people and their vanities pass, the creations you see here come from all times, they remain, saved in many ways by our profession. Objects of curiosity for some, objects of desire for others, they are witnesses of life, of its quality, of the culture we owe ourselves to save.”

Phillippe Brame, 1986 “For three weeks you will have a chance to visit the most beautiful art fair in the world. Le Grand Palais becomes the cathedral of art. There you will meet the exhibitors: they are the men and women who have an amazing job: buying and selling art works. The thing that

By Sheetal Mafatal

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Giampiero Bodino Tesori del Mare Necklace

A full review of the Biennale des Antiquaires 2014 will Follow in December Cercle Edition No6

Van Cleef & Arpels’ Château Enchanté Clip

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30 Years Cartier Fondation Pour L’Art Contemporain

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an Diego, California, September 1981. Four thousand counterfeit Cartier watches had been seized in Tijuana by U. S. Customs and brought into the United States. All these watches were crushed in a parking lot using a steamroller. In a way, it was the first happening of the yet unborn Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain. Initially, Alain Dominique Perrin, President of the Fondation, wanted the purpose of the project to be defending the rights of artists.

“Artists tend to be poorly protected, and my idea was to set up a foundation whose aim would be to help them defend themselves – entirely at our own expense and using our own lawyers. But it would have been a complete f lop because artists couldn’t care less.

It’s not something that interests them,” – Mr Perrin says.

Finally, the artist César convinced

the future president of Fondation Cartier that it would be better to create something that would help artists to exhibit their works.

Cesar was also the one who took Mr Perrin to the Domaine du Montcel in Jouy-en-Josas near Versailles and told him that this is a marvellous place for an exhibition space.

It was 1983 and, according to the surveys, people were going back to museums. Encouraged by these facts, Mr. Perrin developed a business plan for a contemporary art foundation and got the support from the president of the Cartier group, Joseph Kanoui, and the CFO Richard Lepeu.

So, the Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain was officially born. Now it was time to make it special.

From the very start one of the special characteristics of the foundation was the multidisciplinary approach.

“I wanted to introduce the

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public once a year – during the period when we have the highest number of visitors, in other words, in summer – to a theme related to contemporary art or contemporary thought which had never been done by a museum before. That was how we got the idea for Ferrari. Marie-Claude’s first reaction was, “What?

Ferrari?” I replied, “Do you know who Ferrari is? He’s the greatest artist of the 20th century!”

Mr Perrin is talking about a beautiful and shocking exhibition ‘Hommage A Ferrari’ A Tribute To Ferrari, which took place in 1987 with Andree Putman creating the scenography. The hot-air balloons were attached to the Ferrari cars and the visitors could see the cars taking off to the sky every day.

‘Hommage A Ferrai’ was one of these exhibitions, which set the high standards of the gallery

being unexpected and brilliant – there is no going back and you have to take risks. The thing we know for sure is Fondation Cartier never disappointed its admirers. For instance, in 2004 Jean Paul Gaultier made a bakery out of Fondation Cartier for his exhibition ‘Pain Couture by Jean Paul Gaultier’, showcasing fashion garments made of bread.

However, Mr. Perrin never gave up on making a point about the protection of the rights of artists. In 1988 for the exhibition Vraiment Faux (Truly Fake) Fondation Cartier dug up an incredible collection of eighty fake Mona Lisa’s from museums around the world along with a lot of counterfeit jewellery and accessories – fake Cartier’s, fake Vuitton’s, and fake Gucci’s.

The other thing that makes Fondation Cartier special is that it is the only institution in France whose collection consists mainly of commissioned works that it is free to sell. It was not that easy to convince The Fondation de France that it was a good idea, but they were finally persuaded by Mr Perrin’s guarantee that all the proceeds from the sales of works would be put back into the budget to buy new works of art.

In 1990 Fondation Cartier hosted the exhibition ‘Andy Warhol system: Pub, Pop, Rock’. At the same time they collaborated with the magazine Les Inrockuptibles to publish a supplement to their current issue. The supplement provided a comparative reading of the works of Warhol and the Velvet Underground, retrospectively highlighting the obvious links between them.

Alan Dominique Perrin tells Cercle about this spectacular event: “It was for the exhibition dedicated to the Velvet Underground and Andy Warhol. We thus invited the members of this iconic music band

for the inauguration and asked Lou Reed about the idea of giving a small concert. Eventually they all gathered in a quite unexpected way and gave this friendly and memorable concert.”

Marie-Claude Beaud, former Director of the Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain, who invited Lou Reed and his wife Sylvia to the exhibition, says: “Lou had told me that he would not perform, so I didn’t insist.

And yet, four days before the opening he had someone call to say that he would perform pieces

Alain Dominique Perrin

form the album ‘Songs for Drella’ with John Cale. We had invited the Exploding Plastic Inevitable.

At the end of the concert, Lou Reed came on stage and called out to Sterling Morrison, who was wandering around the park and couldn’t be found. Maureen Tucker was there too. It was an unforgettable moment!”

In 1994, the Fondation Cartier moved to the Boulevard Raspail in the heart of Paris. The new building and gardens were designed by Jean Nouvel, an architect, known for the unique way in which he ‘dematerializes’ architectural structure.

Fondation Cartier pour l’art

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contemporain always tries to provide a whole new experience for the visitor.

Mr. Perrin says: “It is highly important for the Fondation Cartier to make the visitor a part of it. For instance, the exhibition of Japanese film director Takeshi Kitano. The artist dedicated his show to the children and there were several installations in which they could participate. Another example: the exhibition ‘Native Land’ – its purpose was precisely to engage and awaken curiosity, help visitors discover and bring knowledge to the public. It was, of course, accompanied with a specific programme guide for the visitor.”

All these wonderful memories together with dedication of all the people who work here have created 30 years of discovery, dedication to all forms of art and fascinating open-mindedness to any new idea, which comes their way.

So how do you celebrate all these memories and put them in one place to create a tribute to 30 years of brilliance?

Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain have some ideas.

Vivid Memories Vivid Memories, the first exhibition to celebrate this exceptional year in Fondation Cartier’s history, launched in May, 2014. Until late September Vivid Memories brings together the community of artists, who featured in the collaborations and helped to create 30 years of history. Exhibition showcases the crossing of artistic fields, which is one of the Fondation’s favourite things.

Painting, design, photography, film, folk art, video, sculpture, music, performance, everything.

Herve Chandes, General Director of the Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain, talks about ‘Vivid Memories’: “While it may be a compilation

of artistic works, the Fondation Cartier’s collection is also a collection of exhibits and relations with artists. This is what forms its identity: collecting works, the authors of works, relations between the Fondation and the artists, between the works and the actual place. This is why the collection will be at the heart of the anniversary for the Fondation Cartier in 2014.”

Each work at Vivid Memories tells a chapter from Fondation Cartier’s story.

‘Le Pouce’ by Cesar, which symbolises the birth if the Fondation, Marc Newson’s jet concept, gold sphere of James Lee Byars, Panamarenko’s submarine, sculpture ‘In Bed’ by Ron Mueck are only a few reasons to visit the exhibition. As Fondation was constantly changing throughout 30 years of its existence, from May to September the landscape of ‘Vivid Memories’ undergoes various transformations as well. A sculpture by the American artist Dennis Oppenheim disappears to make way for a photograph display, a work by Cheri Samba is replaced with a series of works

by Jean-Michel Othoniel – so Fondation’s beloved element of surprise is as present as ever.

David Lynch, the old friend of the Fondation, who also exhibited his ‘works on paper’ here, suggested to locate ‘Chinese Red, French Blue and Dreams’ – a large LED screen whose technology allows, for the first time, to show films in the light of day, also playing with the transparency of Jean Nouvel’s building.

Painted in red and blue lacquer by David Lynch, the video wall continuously broadcasts movies, slide shows and videos of artists from the collection along with the archival footage. A nine-hour long programme features ‘The Ballad of Sexual Dependency’

by Nan Goldin, ‘Stereoscope’ by William Kentridge, ‘Cui Cui’ by Rinko Kawauchi, ‘Gremaster 4’ by Matthew Barney, ‘Exit’ by Diller and Scofidio, short films

by Takeshi Kitano and a film

by Pierrich Sorin.

Raymond Depardon captured in his films ‘8e etage’ and ‘Au Bonheur des Maths’ the community of artists, scientists and thinkers who write the history of the Fondation Cartier. During these 9 hours the visitors remember exceptional moments, such as the Velvet Underground concert, the unprecedented conversation between Moebius and astronaut Jean-Pierre Haignere from the Mir Station and the tribute to Virginia Woolf with Patti Smith.

Visitors are welcome to wander around the f loors of the building, discovering something fascinating in every room, before going to the beautiful garden, which is also housing several pieces of art. ‘Le Pouce’ by Cesar, ‘Biforcazione’

by Giuseppe Penone, ‘L’ordre du present est le desordre du future (Saint-Just)’ and finally there is a row of six yew trees. These trees pays tribute to Raymond Hains and the artist’s actions during his solo exhibition in 1986.

Remembering the past, Fondation brings pursues its event programme in performing arts and philosophy – ‘Nomadic Nights’ and ‘Nights of Uncertainty’. The special nights feature some fascinating events, including a tribute by Patti Smith to the filmmaker Artavazd Peleshyan and a performance by Macha Makeïeff.

“This beautiful anniversary celebration brings together people of all paths and reminds them that as long as there is this amazing team, open to discovery and giving chances to rejected artists, there is Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain.”

By Alain Dominique Perrin

“In Bed” by Ron Mueck

AUCTIONS CALENDAR

EXPLORING THE UNCONVENTIONAL

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Sotheby’s Beyond Limits 2014 8th September – 26th October This year Sotheby’s ninth annual “Beyond Limits” exhibition is unveiling the location usually off limits to the public – the Chatsworth Garden in Derbyshire.

The highlights of one of the most prestigious selling exhibitions of modern and contemporary art will feature the work of China’s internationally sought-after artist Xu Bing. The artist’s creation ‘Tao Hua Yuan: A Lost Village Utopia’ will be placed in and around Seahorse fountain, a circular pond on the historic South Lawn in the Garden.

Xu Bing’s multi-media work incorporates both natural and man-made elements in the form of natural rock formations, ceramics, exotic plants and mist effects.

Along with this spectacular piece of art, Beyond Limits 2014 will showcase spectacular monumental sculptures from around the world, including works by established modern masters such as Aristide Maillol, Eduardo Chillida, Baltasar Lobo and Giacomo Manzù in addition to contemporary artists such as Marc Quinn, Christopher Le Brun and Michal Rovner.

The sculptures included in the exhibition are available for purchase by private sale.

Christie’s Out of Ordinary 2014 sales September 3rd 2014 It is the second time Christie’s are celebrating the joy of the unconventional by holding the Out Of Ordinary sale. The sale will feature an eclectic selection of items, comprising 160 lots ranging from £500 to £120,000.

Among the selection of extraordinary items is a rare oak Capture Chair with leg locking devices. This chair, which bears the inscription “Welcome to my Friends,” can trap anyone who sits in it with the metal leg locking bars hidden inside the chair. The captive can then only be released by the mechanism at the rear of the chair being triggered.

Also on offer is a fine Victorian German ‘Maximilian’ armour in the 16th-century style which features a full face on the helmet, an unusually large German two hand sword with running wolf mark, which dates to the 16th century & later and A Napoleon III bayonet chandelier.

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Bonhams, September 17 World’s third largest auctioneer of fine art and antiques, Bonhams, offers for sale a collection of 101 engraved cameo and intaglio rings ranging in date from as early as the 4th Century BC. The Ceres Collection, assembled by an American family over a period of 60 years, is a perfect guide through the history of cameos. The entire collection of cameos is mounted into rings making them both wearable pieces of jewellery and items of historical importance.

The highlight of the collection is a cameo depicting a Roman lady of high rank, possibly the Empress Livia, wife of the Emperor Augustus. The cameo gem, dating from 1st-2nd century AD, survives a fragment, which has been repaired with gold in a later “Roman” setting.

It was probably part of a much larger group portrait that could have decorated the home of a noble ancient Roman.

The Collection as a whole is worth an estimated £100,000 and is to be sold without reserve.

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YACHT

YACHT SHOW MONACO

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his year the world’s largest showcase for Super and Megayachts afloat will be the biggest ever, with 110 spectacular units and an expended exhibition area to host the most renowned and finest actors of the industry.

“The improving global economy and expanding demand in developing economies for exclusive products and services, including Superyachts, was full of meaning for us and for Monaco also” said Gaëlle Tallarida, Managing Director of the MYS. “Jointly with the Monaco Government, the MYS has been able to extend its show footprint for 2014 enabling us to again welcome the elite of the international Superyacht community not only to an expanded MYS but Monaco itself, the world capital of yachting”.

Berths for megayachts over 100m in length!

The new extension perfectly matches the increasing demand for exhibiting bigger yachts in the Port. Last year’s event appeared to herald the beginnings of a recovery

in the yachting market and it seems today that some yachting statistics are close to pre-crisis figures, in terms of volume, with order books and the demand for finance on the increase. During the last two to three years it has also been noticeable that there has been an increasing demand for vessels over 100m, the Monaco Yacht Show will now be able to berth these giants for all to see.

Bigger show custom-made for a ultra-high end clientele.

This annual, one-of-a-kind event attracts industry leaders and billionaires from around the world.

Recent figures stress that there are now more ultra-rich people with a strong propensity to buy, and with a certain interest in yachting, especially within the USA and Eastern Europe, which remain historic markets for yachting.

The MYS will welcome among others, new wealth, notably from emerging markets like Turkey, China or South Asia and these visitors will be walking the docks to catch up on the latest Superyacht trends and maybe be tempted to acquire these Jewels of the Seas

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whilst in the glamorous setting of Monaco.

What makes Monaco so special during the MYS are the events held every day. Over one hundred events are organised on board the yachts, at the stands, or in the Principalities top hotels. Awards, business lunches, gala dinners and cocktail parties are some of the many highlights that enable formal and informal networking and often attract those that can afford and do buy Superyachts.  24th Monaco Yacht Show From Wednesday 24 to Saturday 27 September 2014 Port Hercules, Boulevard Albert 1er – Principality of Monaco Opening hours: from 10 am to 6.30 pm Main entrance: DARSE SUD. Other entrances: Quai Louis II and Parvis Piscine.

Public rates: € 150 / day (ticket to buy at the show).

Professional visitors (luxury and yachting industries) : € 500 / 4-day forfeit.

Off icial sponsor: Ulysse Nardin.

Press contact: Johan Pizzardini, Communications & Media Manager johan@monacoyachtshow.mc – T. +377 93 10 41 70

UNDER THE HIGH PATRONAGE OF HSH PRINCE ALBERT II OF MONACO

House of Fine Yachting 24 - 27 september 2014 port hercules, monaco

OFFICIAL SPONSOR

Attenborough

SPACE/AVIATION

Stephen Virgin Galactic is created and run by extraordinary people. They are people who are not only wondering what the future is going to be like, they are actually making it happen. Stephen Attenborough, the first full-time employee and now the Commercial Director of the least downto-Earth company in the whole world, introduced Cercle to the exciting developments, goals and aspirations of Virgin Galactic.

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First Steps I joined Virgin Galactic in 2004, just after the big launch of SpaceShipOne. SpaceShipOne landed and won the X prize, so Virgin Galactic effectively went live. That was the point where I came in.

Back then, it was a complete startup. However, there was a huge advantage of having a proven prototype. At that stage we obviously had a lot of work to do to commercialise the concept and make it something customers would want to buy.

We also decided at a very early stage we should announce the company publicly. Virgin often tells the story before the development is happening, so we did that. Because no one has ever done this before, there was no research about how many people would want to go to space in this way and what they would be prepared to pay for it. So, before we spent too much money and devoted too much time to commercialising this technology, we felt we needed some early customers.

“The space access technology hasn’t really changed in the last 50 years” We had a video of SpaceShipOne, created a little website and had a press conference. We asked, what was the big deal, really, so that we could see the reaction. We said to the public at large that we were setting off for this journey. We didn’t know how long it would take or whether we would be successful, but we were going to give it our best shot. We didn’t know what the new space ship would look like or what the experience is going to be like. We didn’t know who would be eligible to fly and where we would

fly from, we knew virtually nothing.

But if you wanted to reserve an early seat, you could do that, and you would have to pay up $200, 000. It was a pretty brave request to make.

We knew, that if we were going to make a success out of this business, we had to be able to sell seats at a commercially sensible price.

Though we want and still expect for that price to come down, it was important that the current price was commercially viable. It was never a PR stunt, it was never a brand thing.

It was always a serious business. We did that and we were overwhelmed with the response we had. Manymany responses from all around the world. To be honest, most of the people were more supporting rather than had the money, but there was quite a number of those, who had the money as well.

Private Space The space access technology hasn’t really changed in the last 50 years.

We had the ability for half a century to put people into space and that’s amazing, some great stuff has come from there. But only about 540 people have ever been and that’s really because governments have kept very close control on it.

I mean every other technology, which is important to us, over that 50-year-period has changed out of all recognition. Governments are great at getting these things started, because they are patient investors. They can make mistakes and they are not subject to normal market forces, so can be essential and very effective at starting these transformative basic technologies.

But very often technology needs to be released to a private sector in order to get thought about in a different way. That’s what we are hoping will happen with space.

We have to prove that it is possible for a private company like Virgin to take people to space and back on a regular basis. Then we have

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to prove that we can do that in commercially viable framework.

If we can do that, the things will happen quite rapidly. Hopefully, we would be doing better science in space. We would be able to launch smaller satellites more cheaply and more regularly. We could think how to use space to get from one point on the planet to another. Our spaceship is a winged vehicle and it gives us some early experience of flying that kind of vehicle in and out of space. One of the dreams, one of the possibilities is that we could use space to make transcontinental travel faster, so we could potentially make a trip from London to Sidney in a couple of hours.

Being A Future Astronaut Of Virgin Galactic The greatest joy and privilege of being a part this project is that we have attracted the most incredible community of early adopters on Earth. They come from all walks of life, from 58 countries around the world. I think that almost by definition they are interesting people, they all have a story. The one thing we all share is recognising the importance of a new industry.

Not just in a new company - a new industry. Having people who are willing to step up early, to put money where their mouth is and make it possible, is crucial. We use their money for the programme, it’s reinvested and it’s not being spent.

The money did give us a really valuable and, in fact, essential reassur ance at an early stage.

Without that we probably couldn’t have proceeded. That community of future astronauts is extraordinary and has been absolutely vital to the success of the development programme up to date.

We try to give our members privileged access to the project as it unfolds. We have events, which are linked to projects, like when we first rolled out the WhiteKnight 2

or TheSpaceShip 2 or introduced the SpacePort. All those important events we celebrated with our customers. We try to ensure that they hear things first and they see things first. We usually have a couple of trips down to Necker Island each year, we have been up to the Ice Hotel in Sweden and to South Africa. We are going to Kenya this year, so our destination is the whole world.

We facilitate communication between future astronauts. We have a social platform and there is always a lot of interaction and discussion going on. Again, always trying to do something, which is a little bit special, not necessarily available to other people.

Our future astronauts are very active as a power for good. They have set up an initiative within Virgin foundation, called Galactic Unite. Its goal is to promote S T E M ( S c i e n c e -Te c h n o l o g y Engineering-Maths) education subjects, using the inspiration of space. You know, to ensure that we have lots of kids who are coming through college and school and into the work place. Kids who are excited about science and technology and want to pursue careers in that area.

To be honest, if we get to do all the things we can and need to do in space, we are going to need a lot of bright and technically-minded

“We try to develop technology, premises and everything else at the leading edge of sustainable”

Hotel Encanto de Las Cruces and World Class Gourmet, the hotel accommodation and the caterer for our future astronauts. There is a big hospitality element to what we are going to do in New Mexico.

We wanted to do it in a Virgin way, because our customers become accustomed to being customers of Virgin. We treat them in a way, which is maybe not unique to Virgin, but it is certainly has some definite sort of style and feel to it. I think our customers like that and we need to make sure that it is absolutely replicated in New Mexico.

New Mexico Spaceport America will be our home. The vehicles are being built in California, that’s where people are at the moment, but we are moving everything down to New Mexico.

Spaceport America is a landmark of architecture. It’s the world’s first built commercial human spaceport and it’s a fabulous place and a fitting location for what it is we are doing.

The state of New Mexico funded the spaceport. Obviously, what we committed to do was to bring our business, customers, their friends and family there and to support local businesses. We are obviously going the services for our space line and for our customers. We recently announced our partnerships with

Environment We try to develop technology, premises and everything else at the leading edge of sustainable, responsible and reusable technology.

For example, the spaceport, was obviously built to be an incredibly energy-efficient building and it is. The spaceship is air launched, rather than ground launched and we use carbon composite materials, rather than metals. This vehicle is fully reusable. It is a clean-tech design, because, obviously, we want to have minimal impact on the environment during the trips that we will be making. The other fact is that this spaceship is so small, it has no real significance, if you compare it with an airline or an aircraft.

people. Scholarships are a part of the programme as well. We partner with various organisations and our individual future astronauts dilate scholarships. We facilitate all that and set it up, it’s very exciting.

Better access to space is very important for the future and it’s not just about having cleaner vehicles in the outer space. It is about having more regular, reliable, safer services, which means that we can do some smart stuff in space we just can’t do at the moment. It is the difficulty of getting there, which has been holding back some of the really important work we could be doing to help manage some of the big challenges we have here on the planet in the next few decades.

Whether that is about finding some sort of energy, or bringing huge social and economic benefits to the poorest populations by connecting everybody to the internet, or getting started to look at the planet not as the only source of our resources. We have a growing population, which presents huge challenges and space is not the only answer, but it is part of the answer.

The Overview Effect We know that putting people in space and allowing them to see the Earth from the projective of space changes lives in a very positive way. It’s often called the overview effect. It is that cognitive change to most people. They get this different perception of the Earth that you only get from space. It means different things to different people.

Generally speaking, you see that the

Earth is a very beautiful thing, there is only one that we know of and so there is no Plan B immediately available. That sounds obvious, but I think when you see it from that perspective it becomes the truth.

As a result people often get sense that there is far more that unites us, than that divides us. There are no boundaries or borders when you look down from space on the Earth, so there is peace and reconciliation type of angle to this as well. If you look from the Earth up on the sky on a lovely clear day, it looks as if it goes on forever. It is hard to imagine that the living 7 billion people could possibly damage it.

Having gone to space, you realise what the atmosphere looks like from space. It is just a pencil-thin line around the coverage of the Earth and it is actually the only thing that maintains life, without it we don’t exist. All these things mean that people remember their space trip and they talk about it for the rest of their lives. They come back wanting to do something about it.

Giving that experience to people, who aren’t professional government astronauts - business people, writers, poets, musicians -I think, it could be a very interesting phenomenon.

So… When?

We don’t do dates. What we do is ‘milestone to milestone’. We know

what we have to achieve to get where we want to get. The reason we don’t do dates is because it is an experimental test flight programme and experimental space test flight programme, which is even harder.

Safety has to be our North Star, so we plan meticulously. By the time we start commercial operations we absolutely need to understand the risks with the vehicles and how to manage these risks satisfactorily on a long-term basis. That takes time.

We are not just building the space ship engine here, we are building a space ship manufacturer and a space line, so there is a huge amount of work to do. We will start when we are ready to start.

At the same time everybody wants to know: “okay, is it like ten years or is it like next week”. It’s neither of those, but it’s much closer to next week, than it is to ten years. I think we have a very realistic chance of getting through the remainder of the test flight programme and flying Richard Branson on the inaugural flight around the end of this year, so we are very close now. It may not be the end of this year, depending on what happens during the next flights. The flights are going to be higher and faster each time. We need to review the data and learn from whatever happens during them. If it means we need to spend a

from whatever happens during them. If it means we need to spend a little longer, we will.

We have a huge a responsibility to make it safe from day one. If we don’t do that, it would be the end of Virgin Galactic. Also - and probably more importantly – it would be the end of the incredibly exciting opportunity to transform space access. That is important, so we have to do it right.

A Little Bit of History (not Stephen’s quote, just a little overview of Virgin Galactic – in case we don’t get the timeline from them) In July 1969 the whole world was watching the moon landings on TV. That moment a 19-year-old Richard Branson decided he will too one day experience the wonder of space. And he never gave up on that dream.

26 years later in Marrakesh Branson and Buzz Aldrin were waiting for the right weather conditions to attempt a hot air balloon circumnavigation record. While discussing the challenges involved in building a commercial manned space launch system, they both agreed that to launch a spaceship from the air rather than the ground could overcome some of the safety and cost issues.

In 1996 Dr Peter Diamandis announced the X Prize of $10m for the first non-government organization to launch a reusable manned spacecraft into space twice within two weeks.

On June 21 2004, the world’s first privately built spaceship was flown to space by a private astronaut-pilot for the first time. That remarkable flight and the ones that followed later in the year gave birth to Virgin Galactic and started the journey to create the world’s first commercial space line.

By Frankie John

PLACES

PAROT CAY

BY COMO Located on the wonderful Turks and Caicos Islands in the Northern Caribbean, this private island resort has been a key destination for over a decade. Parrot cay is situated on Rocky Point, an island outcrop with dream beaches. With the world’s third largest coral reef system, and over 370.2km of seashores, The Turks and Caicos are holiday dreams come true! Founded by Christina Ong, COMO Hotels and Resorts has created an exclusive selected of properties, spanning cosmopolitan metropolis, idyllic islands, adventure destinations and wellness estates.

Parrot Cay by COMO consists of a group of private luxury Beach Villas and Houses and more communal buildings. An accommodation wing includes 14 Ocean Facing rooms, a number of COMO suits and 25 rooms with a view of the garden. All accommodation has private terraces and resplendent four poster beds with voile draping. Closer to the beach, private villas and houses celebrate elegant discretion as the last word in luxury. All private buildings, ranging from one bedroom to the three bedroom Beach Villa, have plunge pools. Interiors are designed by Keith Hobbs of United Designers, and combines a modern yet welcoming aesthetic with classic colonial-style details.

Besides deluxe sleeping arrangements, this resorts ffers a rich variety of facilities, including gourmet restaurants and the award winning COMO Shambala Retreat, which offers Yoga, Pilates and treatments. Overlooking mangroves and wetlands, be surprised by 175 species in their natural habitat, containing ruby-throated hummingbirds.

A stay at Parrot Cay is rejuvenating for both body and mind!

HOTEL M A RTINEZ CANNES

JW MARRIOTT CANNES

MAJESTIC BARRIERE CANNES

HOTEL DU CA P-EDEN ROC ANTIBES

GR AND HOTEL DU CA P F E R R AT C AP FERR AT

HOTEL PENINSUL A PA R I S

SAN REGIS PA R I S

HOTEL LE MEURICE PA R I S

HOTEL DE VENDOME PA R I S

MARRIOTT HOTEL C H A M P S - E LY S E E S PA R I S

SHANGRI L A PA R I S

H YATT R EGENCY M A DE L E I N E PA R I S

HOTEL PL AZE AT H E N E E PA R I S

COSTES HOTEL PA R I S

V ILL A BELROSE S T. T RO PE Z

COLONNA PEV ERO PORTO CERVO

HOTEL FA IR MONT MONTE CARLO

V ISTA PA L ACE MONTE CARLO

MONTE CA R LO BAY MONTE CARLO

THE CONNAUGHT LONDON

ST JAMES SOFITEL LONDON

TH E M AY FA IR LONDON

S AVOY H O T E L LONDON

HOTEL IL SA N PIETRO POSITANO

LE SIRENUSE POSITANO

G R A N D H O T E L S AVO I A C O R T I N A D ’A M P E Z Z O

HOTEL CR ISTA L LO C O R T I N A D ’A M P E Z Z O

FOUR SEASONS HOTEL FLORENCE

HO T E L H E LV E T I A & BR ISTOL FLORENCE

H O T E L S AVOY FLORENCE

W ESTIN EXCELSIOR FLORENCE

BULGARI HOTEL MILAN

FOUR SEASONS HOTEL MILAN

ROM A ZZINO HOTEL PORTO CERVO

HOTEL CA L A DI VOL PE PORTO CERVO

PITRIZZA HOTEL PORTO CERVO

CERVO HOTEL PORTO CERVO

ST REGIS SAN CLEMENTE VENICE

T H E GR I T T I PA L ACE VENICE

H I LTON MOL I NO STUCKY VENICE

W E ST I N HOT E L EU ROPA & REGINA VENICE

BAUER HOTEL VENICE

HOTEL MONACO VENICE

HOTEL CIPRIANI VENICE

B E AU R I VAG E G E N E VA

FOUR SEASONS HOTEL D E S B E RG U E S G E N E VA

H O T E L D ’A N G L E T E R R E G E N E VA

M A NDA R IN OR IENTA L G E N E VA

INTERCONTINENTA L G E N E VA

LE RICHEMOND G E N E VA

C A R LTON HOT E L ST MORTIZ

KULM HOTEL S T. MO RT IZ

KEMPINSKI GRAND HOT E L S T. MO RI TZ

LE GRAND BELLEVUE GSTA AD

GSTA A D PA L ACE HOTEL

GR A N D HOT E L PA R K GSTA AD

SPORTS

Veuve Clicquot Gold Cup Adolfo Cambiaso continued his dominance of world polo by leading Rashid Albwardy’s Dubai team to a fourth Veuve Clicquot Gold Cup victory at Cowdray Park on 20th July.

The Dubai team also included Alastair Paterson, 3 goals, at number 2 while the brilliant goal scoring of 7 goal Diego Cavanagh at number 3, proved to be an almost unstoppable force throughout the Championship. But the big surprise of the tournament was to find King Power in the Final at their first entry of the Gold Cup. Throughout the four weeks of matchplay, King Power’s talented patron ‘Top’ Srivaddhanaprabha delighted spectators with his gutsy play and goal scoring. With Pablo Llorente (5 goals) as his number 2 and the experienced Marcos Di Paola (7 goals) at Back, the team won all their matches to take them through to the final.

Dubai were first to score with a neat field goal from Rashid Albwardy. The team was ahead 7-5 by half time and extended their

lead to 9-6 by the end of the fourth chukka.

A thrilling chukka 5 belonged to King Power even though the first goal went to Cavanagh for Dubai.

A penalty saw Gonzalito Pieres loft a superb ball through for 7-10 and he followed up with three field goals despite tremendous pressure from the Dubai players, levelling the scores at 10-10. But a penalty awarded to Dubai saw Cavanagh score and take Dubai ahead once more to close the chukka.

Cambiaso was away from the first throw-in of chukka 6 and a splendid under the neck shot took Dubai on to 12-10. Off he went again but was fouled and a 60 yard penalty awarded. A mighty hit from Cavanagh gave Dubai a lead of 13-10. The next throw-in saw Pablo Llorente seize the ball.

Weaving his way round a 7 and a 10 goal player he kept control of the ball and sent it through for 11-13 to huge applause. King Power carried on fighting, three fantastic attempts

by Gonzalito Pieres simply couldn’t find the goal and the match ended

By Liz Higgins

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with Dubai securing their fourth Veuve Clicquot Gold Cup win on 13-11.

The Gold Cup was presented

by Lady Cowdray, Jean-Marc Lacave, President of Veuve Clicquot presented a Salmanazar of Veuve Clicquot to Rashid Albwardy, and Jo Thornton, MD Moët Hennessy UK, presented prizes to the players.

The Award for Most Valuable Player went to Adolfo Cambiaso, who was presented with an engraved JaegerLeCoultre Reverso Grande Taille watch by Zahra Kassim-Lakha, Director UK Market & Global Strategy, Jaeger-LeCoultre. Elsa Corbineau, Director of Marketing, Champagnes, Moët Hennessy, presented the Veuve Clicquot saddle to the Highest Goal Scorer of the Championship to Gonzalito Pieres who had scored 48 goals during the tournament. The Best Playing Pony award was presented by Gaston Lauhle on behalf of the Argentine Polo Pony Breeders Association to ‘Dolfina Primicia’, owned by Adolfo Cambiaso.

BLATT

IN CONVERSATION WITH

JEAN-YVES Jean-Yves Blatt; the General manager of Grand Hotel Park expresses his reasons on why Gstaad is an amazing place to be

By Jean Yves Blatt

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J

ean-Yves Blatt is the General manager from Grand Hotel Park Gstaad.

He was born in Saanen, just a few kilometers from Gstaad, and grew up in Rougemont, a small village next to Saanen.

His family participated actively in local life, managing the post office as well as one of the many children’s educational institutes in the region. Surrounded by parents intensely attached to hospitality the decision to enter this industry came naturally. At the age of 16 he started his apprenticeship as a cook and then, in order to broaden his horizon, he decided to attend the renowned Ecole Hôtelière in Lausanne.

Since centenaries Gstaad is famous for welcoming the most discerning guests in one of the most breathtaking settings. The luxury hotel business, in which he enjoys working due to its ever changing excitements and challenges, occupies an important place in the life of the region. To find himself in Gstaad, at the first luxury hotel of the region, was a fantastic opportunity.

Furthermore, he believes you should never completely ignore your roots.

As he is a person strongly attached to them the situation which presented itself was perfect.

In his opinion, why Gstaad is so popular among all the amazing resorts in Switzerand is because the personal touch of the destination which guests and visitors enjoy the most. The entire world meets in Gstaad in this tiny little alpine village. Furthermore, if you have ever arrived from Montreux by train you will wish to relive this magic experience over and over again. The wooden chalets, the cowbells, the farms and the barns… all this is a magnificently preserved authenticity.

There are also historical reasons for the success of Gstaad like the

fact that the prestigious Institut Le Rosey settles down here every winter. Once you become a parent you want to show your children the traces of your youth and visit your old schoolmates. Then, the children join the Institut and – like father, like son – continue the tradition.

When you will ask him how he could describe a perfect day out in Gstaad that takes in the best aspects of the resort ; he will aswer that still today, he has the impression that he has not discovered all the possibilities the station has to offer.

Of course he likes skiing, from the highs of the Eggli or the Wispile, the panorama on Gstaad is simply sublime. During the winter season he rarely have the chance to escape from the hotel. However, it gives him great pleasure to accompany a guest should he wish so. He also enjoys the seasonal local traditions such as the cattle drive into the Alps in summer and its return in fall.

This is always an occasion for an informal yet convivial celebration that perfectly represents all about Gstaad.

One of the achievements that Jean-Yves Blatt is quite proud of is the fact that he could convince the organizers of the “Topschau” (award show for the most beautiful cows of the region) to hold their annual ceremony in the hotel garden in 2010. The word “extraordinary” perfectly defines what has happened that day. Residents of Gstaad gathered, along 100 cows, in front of the hotel which became, once again, the center of what makes the region vibrate.

Every day Gstaad shows a new facet… so it’s rather difficult to point an ideal day: He simply recommends to visitors to let go and immerse … the beautiful experiences will be memorable.

People think of Gstaad as a predominantly winter destination – what unique

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experiences does it offer in the summer?

This is certainly true. The winter has become the preferred season – as evidence shows. However, if you have a closer look at the history of the region as well as at tourism in Switzerland in general, summer has been the “star” for our visitors for a long time.

It would be enough visiting Gstaad in summer only once to understand this. During this period there are magnificent nuances of green where ever you look: here freshly cut herbs, there a fir forest, a bit further away an Alp that glows under the sunbeams … a palette that makes an artist jealous without any doubt.

In addition, many activities and numerous international events keep attracting tourists to Gstaad in summer. Events for sport enthusiasts include the ATP tennis tournament, golf, polo or even the beach volleyball world tour.

Music-lovers would not miss the famous Menuhin Festival or the Country Night and gourmets flock to the gastronomic festival Davidoff Saveurs.

As you see, everyone will find an offer to his liking. It’s a promise given by the village.

Where can you find the best views in Gstaad in your opinion?

Nobody ever challenged me when I answered that the best view one could enjoy to the west is the one you have from the rooms or from the terrace of the Grand Hotel Park. Wasserngrat, Wispile and Eggli are the mountains that you can admire in the foreground and in the background the magnificent Diablerets Glacier rises majestically. A walk on the promenade permits to admire some stuning chalets and to meet those who have made and, still today, make the reputation of Gstaad:

the cattle-dealer that meets the salesperson of a luxury boutique or the farmer having a beer on the terrace of his neighbor with next to him the president of one the most eminent multinational companies.

This also is a sight of Gstaad that I appreciate and that describes its particularity so well.

There are hundreds of kilometers of hiking trails in and around Gstaad. Do you have any favourites / recommendations / hidden gems?

The list would be endless as there are so many hiking trails, small lakes and rivers and beautiful panoramas you never grow tired of discover. I think especially of the Arnensee, the charming alpine lake in front of the Diablerets Glacier, of the Col du Sanetsch (and its favorite gourmet restaurant Auberge du Sanetsch), of the Fenils Valley, Ablenschen or SciernesPicats near Rougemont.

There seems to be a lot of events in Gstaad all year round. In your opinion, which are the best sports/ arts/ cultural events you should definitely put in your diary?

The big advantage of Gstaad – and this is also what we have adapted at the Grand Hotel Park – is that whatever you like, there is always a possibility to satisfy your desires.

Sports enthusiasts enjoy the tennis tournament, the beach-volley, the golf or the polo in summer and in winter they join us and benefit from all the snow sports and winter events, such as the 25h Free Ride, for example. The fans of art and culture will not miss the music festivals: in winter the New Year Music Festival at our hotel which leads up to the Sommets Musicaux, and in summer the exceptional Menuhin Festival scheduled ahead of the Country Night Festival which transforms Gstaad into a

small American “Wild Wild West” village.

For my part, again, I do not miss the typical local activities. The election of the most beautiful cow of the region, a competition of the best cheeses, a championship of Swiss wrestling, folklore parades and other events that take part the whole year. The region is proud of its preserved authenticity and does not miss a chance to show it off in public.

Are there any regional specialties (food or drink) that visitors can’t afford to miss?

Switzerland, especially the alpine region, is reputed for its cheese specialties such as Raclette or fondue. In my opinion a visit to Gstaad is incomplete if you have not tried it at least once. However, no one can eat cheese all day...

For this reason the village offers its visitors the privilege of a very varied choice.

At the Grand Hotel Park, we have of course a typical small chalet where you can try local specialties.

Also, in our “Caveau” (wine room) you can sample some handpicked regional (meat) products. Our Grand Restaurant offers a menu with Mediterranean influences, and in our Marco Polo restaurant Asian specialties are served. Our acclaimed sushi bar is especially appreciated for a different kind of “après ski” time. Understanding Gstaad means also to play with its contrasts.

Where is your favorite aprèsski bar?

Along the slopes, the fatigue often mixes with excitation. So you are looking for a comfortable, cozy and animated place. For this reason I am very proud of the success of the Grand Hotel Park Bar. One side of its success lies in the décor: comfortable, big sofas, a dominant fireplace and a warm color scheme

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which inspires a relaxed wellbeing.

On the other hand the live music or a master DJ, its sushi bar and cocktail menu promise an evening and a well animated night…

I have not found anything quite like it in Gstaad yet, hence my choice – although I can never really enjoy the Bar completely during the seasons!

What do you think characterizes Swiss hospitality?

There is certainly a mix of skills that distinguishes the Swiss hospitality known all over the world.

I think you can find a certain openness and sincerity that enchants the admirers of authenticity. In addition, the legendary discretion does not prevent from heartiness, conviviality and personalized service. Not to forget the ability to excel and anticipate for the benefit of each guest. In a historical framework you will always find contemporary establishments that guaranteed a journey with everything you need. The clients’ expectations grew continuously, and so did the Swiss hospitality industry. This is indeed one reason why it preserved its excellent reputation for such a long time. We are also continuously working on it.

What makes the Grand Hotel Park a unique venue for a stay in Gstaad?

On the occasion of its centenary celebration and its complete renovation in 2010 the Grand Hotel Park is without doubt the ideal venue to offer a complete and comprehensive Gstaad experience to its guests. Our reinvented, contemporary chalet décor, the variety of restaurants, the trendsetting activities and events each season, our Spa – a blissful heaven of wellbeing – and more simple the smile of each of our

Just a stone throw away from the Promenade of Gstaad, the beating heart of the celebrated station, the Grand Hotel Park faces directly south to Wispile Mountain and the Glacier of Les Diablerets. To celebrate its 100 years of history, the hotel has offered itself a renovation of the entire property and, today, offers its guests everything they could hope for.

The rooms are decorated in wood, wool and stone, giving them an authentic atmosphere in relation to the wonderful Saanenland valley around. Cosy and welcoming, they are fitted with the most up-to-date equipment: Bang & Olufsen systems, up-to-date connections, free Wifi.

The suites offer up to 400 m2, on two floors, of personal space with private Spa and a butler available. The sensation of owning one’s own chalet in Gstaad, with all the services of a five-star hotel.

Giuseppe Colella presents a marvellously balanced cuisine in the 4 restaurants, with products that above all have authentic taste.

Mediterranean recipes in the Grand Restaurant, oriental and western cuisine merge together in the Marco Polo, light dishes in the Greenhouse and local specialties at the Waldhuus ; the Chef has an answer for every desire. Not forgetting the 2 Bars with DJ and its Sushi or the Caveau for a moment of conviviality with the sommelier.

A vast salt water pool, a fitness room, saunas and Turkish baths and some ten cabins are the secrets of the Grand Hotel Park Spa, designed to provide its clients with a space to unwind, relax and regain strength. The range of massages and treatments use Aromatherapy Associates products.

Staying at the Grand Hotel Park means also to benefit from a series of activities and exclusive services such as an Indoor Golf Simulator with dedicated Golf Pro, the ice rink located in the hotel’s garden, a treasure hunt all over the hotel and not to forget the ephemeral boutiques of most famous brands that are open for you for just a short period of time during the winter season.

greatly in the local life. We would like to act as a liaison between a region we deeply love, and the guests from all over the world who wish to enjoy Gstaad as it remains one of the leading international destinations.

Anything else you would like to share with us to encourage visitors to experience Gstaad?

Every day when I am doing my

hotel round I take a moment to step onto the terrace of the restaurant and benefit from the breathtaking panorama. I certainly know how it looks like by heart but nevertheless I have the feeling to discover it newly and differently every day: A sunray has enlighten a meadow, a small cabin attracts my attention … and I imagine myself already hiking or skiing… I just

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experienced one of these moments of “small happiness” that one is always looking for.

I have chosen my job in order to share these moments with as many persons as possible.

My success is complete when I greet the guests at the moment of their departure and when I read in their eyes that they have understood the unique privilege to be in Gstaad.

SOCIAL SEASON

OFF TO THE RACES The L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate Stake in partnership with Glorious Goodwood

“Timeless elegance” was one way to describe the well-dressed guests in Cape Town at L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate Stake together with Glorious Goodwood event on August 1st. Enthusiasts, socialites and well-dressed dandys gathered to the classy affair at the height of the South-African summer.

To celebrate a new racing partnership between Glorious Goodwood and L’Ormarins, a “Best Dressed” competition was organized, offering the fashionable winner a luxurious prize. Guests were encouraged to dress in white and blue, the signature colours of L’Ormarins. Judge Justine Picardie, the editor of Harper’s Bazaar, had a tough task picking the leading lady who would collect the prize of a trip for two to South Africa with the opportunity to attend next year’s L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate on January, 10th 2015 in Cape Town. The eventual winner was Charlie Elmy-Britton, who enthusiastically posed for photographs.

L’Ormarins, commented on the event: “Glorious Goodwood is one of England’s most famous sporting and social events of the year so we think the association is a great opportunity for L’Ormarins and the Queen’s Plate.”

YES WE CANNES A decadent rooftop dinner hosted by Belvedere at Cannes film festival was followed by an outstanding performance from the British pop star Rita Ora. Enjoying the stunning views of La Croisette guests were having the time of their lives.

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01 Remy Provo & friend 02 Natalie Borneo, Natasha Richard & Anna Novak 03 Alexia & Khaled Nosseir 04 Elyse Blemmings & Nathalie Henry 05 Ajay & Nimrita Hinduja 06 Paola Alcolei & Monique Hollinger 07 Christian Beherman & friend 08 Amir Benesh & Lilly Wittgenstein 09 Yacht 10 Nimrita Hinduja, Anu Mahtani & Alexia Nosseir 11 Nadya Arsekina & Gabriele Salvadori 12 Marija Djuric, Stephan & Deborah Hung, Nadya Arsekina 13 Khaled & Alexia Nosseir, Anu Mahtani, Nimrita & Ajay Hinduja & Sanjay Jumani 14 Evelina Sergieieva & friends 15 Marija Djuric & Nicolas Brochet 16 Nina Stevens & Marco Di Cesaria

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This year Cape Town’s premier dining and lifestyle venue Shimmy Beach Club launched a global pop up tour with its exclusive grand opening at The Cannes Film Festival on May 18.

Voted as one of the Top 10 Beach Bars in the world, Shimmy Beach Club kicked off the international tour with an exclusive partnership with London’s hottest act The Girly Show. Taking over Cannes’ leading luxury nightclub Venue Gotha, on Croisette’s Palm Beach, the night played host to the World Premiere after-party for Expendables 3.

With a mix of stunning theatrics The Girly Show produce unique show stopping performances solely created for Shimmy Beach Club and its exclusive clientele. The International DJ Krystal Roxx and her electrifying set completed the unforgettable Shimmy experience as they entertain Hollywood’s A list stars.

Shimmy continue their travels with pop up collaborations in Ibiza with Blue Marlin and Km5.

They will continue their international venture throughout summer producing fun and fabulous shows in the lead up to the Cape Town Shimmy Beach 2014 summer launch

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01 Nadya Arsekina & Gabriele Salvadori 02 Frank Dieterich & Eva Potel & Jean Jacqu Murray 03 Danilo Lange & Shawn Mace 04 Ashley Van Dobben White & Christian Gut 05 The Shimmy Girls 06 Walter Hennig, Prince Albert II of Monaco & Anna Kirillova 07 Marco Frischknecht, Mia Wellfare & Dannalize Clarke 08 Shawn Mace, Nicky Van Der Walt, Francois 09 Mark Willcox with his friend Yitzhak & Lauren Ekon & Paul Ekon 10 Izzi Codrin & Shelly Heath 11 Walter Hennig & Anna Kirillova 12 Patrick Hughes & Kellan Lutz 13 Jess Imerman & Beatrice Lago 14 Lance Cohen & Magdalena Kruszewska 15 Kellen Lutz & Friends 16 Fawaz Gruosi with the cast of the film The Expendables 3 17 Lee-Ann Liebenberg & Nicky Van Der Walt 18 Eddie Jordan & Magdalena Kruszewska

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Carol Asscher & Olivier Bizon Annual Summer Party!

International pink glamour .Dancing until sunrise! The most sought-after party of Saint-Tropez with the best hostess!

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01 Carol Asscher with Snow & Bianca 02 Sandra Decaux, Kathy Bohbot, Daniele Berland Valerie Ng & Sabiya Amanat 03 Muriel Asscher 04 Mr & Mrs Frederic de Selliers 05 Glen & Arabella Spiro, Carol Asscher, Olivier Bizon 06 Michelle Rella, Denise Rich, Peter Cervinka & Alfonso Telese 07 Olivier Bizon, Ricardo & Silvia Tattoni & Carol Asscher 08 Olivier Bizon, Ester Velo, Carol Asscher & Lucio Velo 09 Mr & Mrs Pierre-Jean Douvier 10 Andrea Preiss & Markus Gull 11 Berangere Ibgui, Kamel & Chloe Alzarka, Valerie Ng 12 Ivana Trump & Marcantonio Rota 13 Mr & Mrs Hormoz Sabet 14 Kumar & Lavender Barani 15 Deborah & Stephen Hung 16 Olivier Bizon, Manuela Di Guevara Fabri, Jose Carlos Marta & Carol Asscher 17 Carlo & Cristina Agusta Dansi 18 Frida & Jonathan Lourie

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19 Carol Asscher, Claude Ott & Elisabeth Hirshmann 20 Olivier Bizon, Carol Asscher, Lina Tabara & Rene Goetz 21 Maria Buccellati, Carol Asscher, Deborah Hung & Anna Novak 22 Deniz Badrutt, Carol Asscher, Minnie Osmena 23 Stephen Hung with Kathy & Georges Bohbot 24 Massimo Mandelli, Laurence Graff, Josephine Daniel & Cristina Mandelli 25 Deborah Hung, Robert Kalff, Alisa Cawley & Friends 26 Stefan D’Angieri & Kasia Al Thani 27 Carol Asscher & Rena Abboud 28 Party time 29 Olivier Bizon, Charlene & Sidney Bouvier, Carol Asscher 30 Deniz Badrutt, Alia El Tanani, Cecilia Rossi Franscesca Nardi, Lisa Guiliani & Monique Hollinger 31 Carol Asscher, Stephen Hung, Deborah Hung & Olivier Bizon 32 Thomas & Monique Hollinger 33 Celia & Alain Madar and their guestS 34 Benjamin Bizon & his friends 35 Sanjay Hinduja, Anu Mahtani & Anil 36 Chayan & Elena Khoi Eric Omore 37 Gabriele Salvadori & Carolina Alabiso 38 Paola D’Assche & Carol Assch 39 Rishi Sethia & Queenie

Love & Peace Party Love and Peace Party has been a tradition in St Tropez for many years. St Tropez guests love theme parties, for example ‘white soirees’ are a very common thing. This year the hosts Thomas and Monique Hollinger decided to bring everyone together at a private party in Chateau Borelli to celebrate love and happiness and asked guests to wear ‘hippy’ style attributes. The happiest and the ‘hippiest’ party of the year left a big sunny smile on the guests’ faces.

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01 Monique Hollinger, Olivier Courtin , Naike Bokan & Dolores Mimran 02 Robert Tchenguiz, Karin Schönbächler, Monique Hollinger & Lisa Tchenguiz 03 Sara Geiger, Diana Meyer, Scarlet Gamsky, & Jacqueline Sanders 04 Robert and Carmen Geiss 05 Party time 06 Vittorio Colombo, Michela Spagnol, Regine Brühweiler, Monique Hollinger & Stefan Bischofsberger 07 Ivana Trump & Marcantonio Rota 08 Monique Hollinger with model 09 Jean Charles & Bene de Heack 10 Gabriele Sal 11 Markus & Andrea Preiss 12 Christian Klein & Juliane Klose 13 Monique Hollinger & Olga Roh 14 Karin Schönbächler, Monique Hollinger, Lisa Tchenquiz & Christina Juffali 15 Davide Kane, Monika Bacardi, Monique Hollinger & Marie Louisa Bacardi

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16 Monique Hollinger & Marco Zarges with friends 17 Laurence Graff, Monique Hollinger & Josephine Daniel 18 Jean Christoph Murray, Monique Hollinger & Jean Jacques Murray 19 Sonja Hog & AurĂŠlie Sulzer 20 Monique Hollinger, Magda and Brett Paloas with friends & family 21 Jessica Stich & friends 22 Shadi Ritchie, Gabriele Salvadori & Monique Hollinger 23 Monique Hollinger, Dasha, Thomas Leclerc & Estelle Hollinger 24 David Manoukian & Monique Hollinger 25 Carol Asscher, Olivier Bizon, isabelle Murray & Christina Juffali 26 Nadya Arsekina 27 Monique & Thomas Hollinger with daughter Estelle 28 DJ Aurora

Big Bang Shiny.

A ladies’ chronograph watch in fully polished 18K red gold with a bezel adorned with 114 diamonds totaling 1.2 carats. Mirror-finish black dial set with 8 diamonds. Strap made of shiny black leather sewn onto rubber.

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© The Official Emblem and Official Mascot of the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™ and the FIFA World Cup Trophy are copyrights and trademarks of FIFA. All rights reserved.

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Official Watch of the 2014 FIFA World Cup™.

Big Bang Unico Bi-Retrograde Chrono.

In-house Hublot UNICO movement, indicating football half-times. Unique red gold alloy case: King Gold. Carbon fiber bezel. Interchangeable strap with a singular patented attachment.

Limited edition of 100 pieces.

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