AUTUMN
2019
VOLUME 3
RUSSIA
TOPS ON TOP Cindy Crawford on New Silestone Eternal Noir
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PRESTIGE
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PUBLISHER FRANCESCO J. CIRINGIONE
TRANSLATOR DR. RONALD GARRY
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MEMBER OF THE BOARD HASAN DURSUN h.dursun@rundschaumedien.ch EDITOR-IN-CHIEF SWENJA WILLMS s.willms@rundschaumedien.ch DEPUTY EDITOR-IN-CHIEF NIKE SCHRÖDER n.schroeder@rundschaumedien.ch MANAGING EDITOR BORIS JAEGGI b.jaeggi@rundschaumedien.ch SALES PATRICK FREY p.frey@rundschaumedien.ch EVA FAVRE e.favre@affinity-primemedia.ch VIRGINIE VINCENT v.vincent@rundschaumedien.ch FRANCO D'ELIA f.delia@rundschaumedien.ch ALBAN MULAJ a.mulaj@rundschaumedien.ch MICHELE ZITO m.zito@rundschaumedien.ch HEAD OF PRODUCTION & ART DIRECTION EMMA R. SCHAUB e.schaub@rundschaumedien.ch GRAPHIC DESIGN DICLE KAYIRAN d.kayiran@rundschaumedien.ch PRODUCT PUBLIC RELATION SWENJA WILLMS s.willms@rundschaumedien.ch EDITORS GISBERT L. BRUNNER ADRIANO CIMAROSTI SANDRA DEPNER CORNELIA DIETHELM CHARLOTTE DIWAN WILMA FASOLA DOMENICA FLÜTSCH WILHELM J. GRUSDAT LONE K. HALVORSEN THOMAS HAUER STEFFI HIDBER NICOLE HOCH SIMONE HOFFMANN BORIS JAEGGI GEORG LUTZ NINA MERLI KATRIN ROTH ANNA KAROLINA STOCK HELENA UGRENOVIC
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PHOTOGRAPHS Bilddatenbanken, Claire Dorn, Martin Argyroglo, Mirco Magliocca, Philippe Servent, Iwan Baan, Charles Duprat, Florent Michel, Kaikai Kiki, Bryan Zimmermann, Richard Barnes, Aislinn Wilde, Peter Mauney, Bildagentur Kräling, Collection Fanna, Jean-François Galeron, Federico Kirbus, Ron McQueeney, Franco Zagari, Werk, Matthieu Cellard, Steffi Hidber, A. Lange & Söhne, Audemars Piguet, Bulgari, Cartier, Chronoswiss, IWC, Jaeger, Junghans, NOMOS, Omega, Patek Philippe, Rolex, Luca Windolph, Verena Bruening, Christoph Bogner, Daniela Buchholz, Alpina, Carl F. Bucherer, Girard Perregaux, Gucci, H. Moser & Cie, Oris, Panerai, Prospex, Robert Mühle, Vacheron Constantin, Breitling, Chopard, Frederique Constant, Hublot, Montblanc, Porsche Design, Roger Dubuis, TAG Heuer, ZENITH, COMO Hotels and Resorts, Andara Resort & Villas ADMIN, COORDINATION & SUBSCRIPTIONS SERPIL DURSUN s.dursun@rundschaumedien.ch PRICE Issue CHF 10.–/€ 9.50 Year CHF 39.–/€ 35.– IT SUPPORT DEJAN DJOKIC deki@rundschaumedien.ch WEB SERVICES websiteria GmbH info@websiteria.ch is a registered trademark. (IGE 596.147) ISSN 1662-1255
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PRESTIGE
ART & CULTURE
22 HAPPY BIRTHDAY! 40 Years Cartoon Museum 30 A WOMAN LIKE THAT Beate Uhse 34 VISITING THE CREATOR OF THE ALIENS MUSEUM HR GIGER 38 ARTICLE Wilhelm J. Grusdat 40 ART METROPOLIS PARIS Focus on contemporary art 48 ART GENÈVE & ART MONTE-CARLO Innovation and art history
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50 A PLACE IN THE SUN Destination Phuket
TR AVEL
60 BEYOND MANHATTAN Art gardens 68 ON THE PULSE OF TIME Matthias Grafe tells the story 70 ALPINE, ASIAN, DIFFERENT ‘The Chedi Andermatt’
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Maximum Wellbeing What is luxury, if you don‘t have the time to enjoy it? Maura Wasescha
Luxury means not having to be concerned with its practical matters, but to be able to enjoy the perfect moment in the company of family or friends. Totally free of worry, knowing that in the background there is a team who will fulfill all your wishes. This is why Maura Wasescha doesn’t just have exclusive properties for sale or rent. Maura Wasescha does more. She offers the perfect luxury service, so that the magic of the moment becomes timeless enjoyment.
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PRESTIGE
WATCHES & 72
72 THE CAR AND THE WATCH Similarities and flagship models 81 SUITABLE FOR CINEMA Film Ready Jewellery 82 STYLISH AMBIENCE Exclusive watch winders and watch cases 84 TICKING CLASSICS Wristwatch icons at a glance 92 SUGAR SWEET GEMSTONES ‘Winston Candy’ 94 JUST GO BLUE ON YOUR WRIST Timepieces in blue
JEWELL ERY 124
92 102 TRIUMPH AND TRAGEDY Le Mans 112 DID YOU KNOW KNOW…?? KNOW… From traffic lights to bestsellers
MO TION
114 AN ESTABLISHED RELATIONSHIP Women in racing
124 LUXURY GOODS AND SERVICES Bentayga Speed
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128 FAS HION
128 FASHION-EDITORIAL The steps to heaven 142 FROM BODICE TO COURAGEOUS Designer Tracht wear 2019
BEAUTY & WELLBEING
148 148 KOREAN BEAUTY A history of tradition 156 ARTICLE Katrin Roth 158 PLEASURE AND HEALTH Three hotspots for your well-being
168 ‘NEUE RÄUME 2019’ A preview 172 NATURE WITH A STRUCTURE LIVINGDREAMS 174 AN ICON The ‘Grasshopper’
LIVING
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176 SWISS BLISS Residences of the top tier 178 COLORFUL LIVING Effective colours in interior design 182 ARCHITECTURE AS A GUARANTEE Interview with Patric Simmen
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200 SUNK INTO THE SEA ‘Under’ The underwater restaurant
216 MASSETO A wine that makes history
200 222 THE NEANDERTHAL IN US Interview with Dr. Axel Müller 227 ARTICLE Cornelia Diethelm 228 THE FREIDORF Living in an exceptional residential settlement
BALLY
FI NAN TRENDS CE ART & CULTURE TRAVEL JEWELLERY MOTION FASHION WOMEN FASHION MEN BEAUTY LIVING CULINARIUM FINANCE
194 SAILED RUM From the Caribbean to the North Sea
208 THE SCENT OF THE CARIBBEAN Spice Island Grenada
CULI NA RIUM
39 71 101 126 140 147 166 181 199 220
186 BOTTLE MILLIONAIRES The Avenue de Champagne
8 IMPRINT 21 EDITORIAL 232 PREVIEW
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EDITORIAL
LIVING IN PEERLESS HARMONY
‘Life is like a bicycle. You have to move forward in order to not lose your balance.’ This quote by Albert Einstein from 1930 underlines the leitmotif of our PRESTIGE Autumn Edition, where the balance between dream and reality has been put into writing. Two elements that shape and guide everyone's life. Those who in their daily life normally keep there feet firmly planted on the ground of reality are allowed to occasionally hold their heads in the clouds. Because dreaming is allowed. This issue provides you with enough inspiration to do this. Be it the fictitious collection of works by the Swiss artist and Oscar winner Hans Rudolf Giger, reminiscent of otherworldly beings, or the truly dreamlike travel destination of Phuket in Thailand, to which we take you. The Japanese artist Mr. and the fashionable songwriter Pharrell Williams realize childhood dreams in their installation, which can be admired in the Musée Guimet in Paris. The tragedy of the Le Mans 24-hour race in 1955–the biggest catastrophe in racing history to date - shows just how narrow the line is between dream and reality. Back on the ground, we turn our attention to acute ecological debates: The cry for climate-friendly lifestyles and sustainability principles is growing louder and louder. As a result, the cosmetics industry, for example, is increasingly relying on natural ingredients. What is only now gaining importance in the Western hemisphere this year has had a long tradition in Korea. And also from a culinary point of view, a turnaround is also underway: this is demonstrated by the genuine sailed rum that finds its way on sailing ships from the Caribbean to the coasts of the North Sea–and thus defies the polluted seas and fights for a balance between man and the environment. In this spirit, I wish you much joy and entertainment with the autumn issue of PRESTIGE.
EDI TO RIAL
Swenja Willms Editor in Chief
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ART
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© Joann Sfar
& CUL TURE
© Wiktorija Lomasko
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HAPPY BIRTHDAY! 40 YEARS CARTOON MUSEUM © Wiktorija Lomasko
Author_Helena Ugrenovic
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Drawings tell stories. Whether as a cartoon, comic, graphic novel, reportage, caricature or animated film. For 40 years the Cartoonmuseum Basel has been collecting, presenting, documenting, communicating, promoting and questioning the art of narrative drawing as the only Swiss museum and competence centre. Founded in 1979 by patron Dieter Burckhardt (1914-1991), who made his private collection of caricatures and cartoons accessible to a broad public.
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Š Wiktorija Lomasko
ART & CULTURE
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© Wiktorija Lomasko
Dieter Burckhardt is a generous, versatile and cosmopolitan person. An original man, as his wife Sophie Burckhardt-Furrer describes him. Although he comes from the Basel ‘Daig’, he falls outside the framework of Basel society and has a great sense of humour and a great affinity for English humour. Together with the headstrong curator Jüsp (Jürg Spahr) and a gallery, they rent a room in an old town house in St. Alban-Vorstadt in Basel. The gallery is supported by the independent Caricatures & Cartoons Foundation, which Dieter Burckhardt capitalizes and donates to the Christoph Merian Foundation (CMS). The aim of the foundation is to limit itself to original works from the 20th century, to dispense with ‘daily political creations’, to build up a relevant library and to create a long-term ‘study centre for this art movement’. The foundation should contribute to making caricatures and cartoons more respected and noticed, and to put a smile on the faces of visitors. A GIFTED SMILE Dieter Burckhardt’s desire is to collect the best and most critical drawings in the world. In his opinion, the Swiss take things way too seriously. It is a stoke of fate that at this time he meets Jüsp, Jürg Spahr, an already well-known Swiss cartoonist, at the flea market on Petersplatz. The two men enter into a conversation, and Dieter Burckhardt tells Jüsp about his idea, which completely inspires the artist. Jüsp becomes curator of the foundation, and the three of them, together with Dieter Burckhardt’s wife Sophie, travel around the globe, looking for and focusing on unique pieces to build their collection. The sworn trio, in which each person embodies his or her role with body and soul, contacts the artists directly or inquires about their addresses directly at the embassies. In Argentina, Brazil, New York, France, Belgium, Poland or Japan, they meet with artists, examine their portfolios, discuss their ideas, visit them in their studios, negotiate prices and tell them about their intention not to sell their works but to present them to a broad public. It will be a top-class and representative collection of original works from around 40 countries. FROM COLLECTION TO MUSEUM The first exhibition venue at the charming St. Alban-Vorstadt 9, the ‘Collection of Caricatures and Cartoons’, as the museum was called in 1979, is an angled old town house, furnished as a classical gallery. Jürg Spahr presents the mostly small-format pictures of contemporary draughtsmen in nostalgic settings lovingly selected by himself. The diversity of the thematically and stylistically assembled collection with the then stars of the scene such as Mordillo, Loriot, Glück, Sokol, Rosado and Sempé is perfectly staged in the picturesque, wood-panelled, small rooms. The humorous contrast to the bourgeois art scene is Dieter Burckhardt’s subversive driving force, which makes parodies of art as well as artists and socio-critical or everyday philosophical works a focal point of his collection. In 1991, the Foundation acquired a late Gothic Old Town property at St. Alban-Vorstadt 28, which was renovated by the renowned Basel architects Herzog & de Meuron and extended by a new building. The exhibition area has now been significantly enlarged, and the library and shop have been expanded. In May 1996, the new Caricature & Cartoon Museum Basel opened, which 13 years later was renamed the Cartoonmuseum Basel. With its new name, a new mission statement and a contemporary graphic design, the Cartoonmuseum Basel is the only museum in Switzerland devoted exclusively to the art of narrative drawing.
A MUSEUM AS A COMPETENCE CENTRE In 1925, the magazine ‘The New Yorker’ appeared for the first time, supplementing its short stories, reviews and essays with cartoons by the best international draughtsmen, and its front page was always adorned with a drawing. It is the prominent leading medium for Dieter Burckhardt’s collection, and during his lifetime he, too, mainly exhibited those artists who published in the ‘New Yorker’. Since Françoise Mouly, co-founder of the comic magazine ‘RAW’ and wife of the ‘Maus’ draughtsman Art Spiegelman, who is the image editor, the magazine has also integrated comics. The Cartoonmuseum Basel is also expanding the magazine. On the one hand, many of the best cartoonists work in comics today, and on the other hand, comics have undergone fundamental changes in the second half of the 20th century, targeting an adult audience both thematically and in terms of content, and have matured into a literary and graphically significant art form. Following its opening in 1996 and under the direction of curator Daniel Bolsiger, the Cartoonmuseum Basel no longer concentrates solely on Dieter Burckhardt’s collection, but covers a much broader spectrum than at the time of its founding with drawings by such diverse artists as Lorenzo Mattotti,
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© Wiktorija Lomasko
© Wiktorija Lomasko
ART & CULTURE
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obert Crumb, Jacques Tardi, Joe Sacco, Ulli Lust, Joann Sfar R and Christoph Niemann. The pictorial narrative in the broader sense has become the focus of the exhibition's activities and in the forty years of its existence it has developed from a gallery based upon its own collection to a curious place for narrative drawing. However, the Cartoon Museum is not only an exhibition venue, but also a centre of excellence which, thanks to its public library, the collection of important bequests and its active networking, is firmly anchored in the drawing scene and helps to shape it, such as the recently co-initiated Réseau BD Suisse, the Swiss Comic Strip Network. WWW.CARTOONMUSEUM.CH
National Symposium on 9th Art The ninth art is a young, lively and popular art form. At the same time and in contradiction to this situation, the promotion, mediation and collection of comics of domestic origin is neither discussed, organized nor institutionalized. The Cartoon Museum Basel in cooperation with the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, the Christoph Merian Foundation and the Réseau BD Suisse, is organizing the first ever national symposium on ninth art, open to all, who draw, write, promote, mediate comics or collect.
© Joann Sfar
WWW.SYMPOSIUM-9TE-KUNST.CH
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PRESTIGE
Sex up your Life!
BEATE UHSE
First, she thunders through the sky as Germany’s first female fighter pilot. Then she breaks the sound barrier of prudery and breasts-in-newspapersonly-covered-with-black-bar hysteria and brings the turbines of lust into Germany’s bedrooms at full speed. Despite the purgatory of the Catholic Church and Article 184 of the judiciary, the so-called ‘Unzuchtsparagraph’ [Fornication Article]. Beate Uhse. One of the most influential women in Germany and founder of the world’s first sex shop. Author_Helena Ugrenovic
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twist of fate. Her and Hans-Jürgen's son Klaus is almost one year old when her husband died in an airplane collision in 1944. Shortly before the end of the war, Berlin is bombed and surrounded by the Red Army, she fleed with the last still airworthy Wehrmacht plane with her two-year-old son to North Frisia. Beate is in her mid-twenties, a widow, mother and with no job or existence. After the end of World War II, the occupying powers banned all aviation activities, and Beate could no longer work as a pilot. She urgently needs a new source of income.
Over a period of 40 years, she has collected 2,000 charges and 400 criminal cases. Germany is prudish, the pill has not yet been invented, condoms are only available under the table and sex is a social taboo. The ‘Unzuchtsparagraph’ [Fornication Article], which was not abolished by the government until 1975, regulates sexual intercourse, which until then could only be carried out in marriage, and ‘dirty talking’ is a case for exorcists. Genitals are called ‘Untenrum’ [down below], and everything that is even remotely related to sexuality, from sex education brochures to contraceptives to erotic products, is regarded as the work of the devil and is made in Sodom and Gomorrha. It is not only an unknown land into which Beate Uhse penetrates, but also one that is to be kept under lock and key as ‘terra non grata’ under the seals of fornication and immorality. But Beate Uhse, who grew up in a very modern parental home, in which people openly talked about enlightenment and sexuality, didn’t give a damn about moralists and bureaucrats and carried out her project, in just as courageous and determined a way as when she decided at the tender age of eight to become a pilot.
PAMPHLET X
Husbands who lost their lives in the war, husbands in captivity, women in ruins who help to free destroyed cities from rubble and ashes, widowed women, lonely women, women with the need for sexuality, women without apartments, money, but with fears for the future. Women who want to avoid another pregnancy, but don't know how. Many fears, even more questions and practically no answers. Beate learns all this from the women in her neighborhood as she struggles through life in the black market. A dilemma that seems almost hopeless. A dilemma that reveals itself to be the perfect market for Beate Uhse, who can sell even more of the knowledge she has acquired through her mother Margarete's enlightening work, as well as her open, natural upbringing and free-spirited attitude to life. It is not only something with which she can make a living, it lays the foundation for her future business. Beate launches her first brochure on the market, in which she introduces the Knaus-Ogino contraceptive method, or calendar method, day counting, and sells ‘Pamphlet X’ 32,000 copies until 1947 at a selling price of 50 pfennigs. It thus generated the seed capital to expand her ‘Betu-Versand’ [Betu mail order company] to larger cities such as Bremen and Hamburg.
BETWEEN THE WARS
Beate Rothermund-Uhse was born in East Prussia on 25 October 1919, one year after the end of the First World War. She is the third child of the farmer Otto Köstlin and the doctor Margarete Köstlin-Räntsch. Margarete was the first woman whose dissertation was admitted to the medical faculty of the University of Würzburg in 1907 and one of the first female doctors in Germany. Beate and her two siblings were brought up on an equal footing, and their daughters were allowed to do whatever their son was allowed to do. The parents talk openly about sexuality and sexual hygiene and likewise educated their children very early on. They sent their children to reform educational schools such as the ‘School by the Sea’ on the North Sea island of Juist, which turned out to be the ideal place for Beate, who is a girl with many interests, to live out her talents. She learned sailing, was a Hessian javelin throwing champion at the age of 15 and went to the United Kingdom as an au pair for one year at the age of 16, where she learned English. Afterwards, she returned to her parents’ estate to complete an apprenticeship in household management at their request. Mother Margarete is of the firm opinion that the girls, regardless of their future occupation or domestic servants, must master household duties in their sleep. Only in this way are they ‘complete’, and prepared for life. Beate is less than 18 years old when she is the only female student to take her first flying lesson. Three weeks later she flies the ‘Brücker Bü 131 Jungmann’ alone and completes her training on her 18th birthday with the A2 pilot’s license. She is the first female pilot in Germany. In the following years, Beate continued her training on various types of aircraft and completed her training in 1938 with the K1 aerobatics examination. One year later she married her aerobatics instructor Hans-Jürgen Uhse, the brother of the German writer Bodo Uhse. During the Second World War, Beate Uhse transferred new or repaired airplanes, was used as a stunt pilot for the film ‘Attention! Feind hört mit!’ and in October 1944 undertook the rank of captain by the Transfer Wing 1 in Staaken. The Second World War raged, and Beate's private life was also shaken by a
IN SPITE OF ALL ADVERSITIES.
In 1951, the new counsellor for sexuality and eroticism founds the ‘Versandhaus Beate Uhse’ with four employees, where she sells condoms and books on the subject of ‘Marriage Hygiene’. The shop was booming and her products sold like hot cakes. In 1954 the company achieved a turnover of 50,000 marks and two years later broke the million barrier with 1.3 million marks. The demand for condoms, information brochures and sexual enhancers is immense, and the fan group of her products– already five million customers–is growing. But while in German bedrooms the covers are falling and an enthusiastic population is showering Beate Uhse with letters of thanks because she ‘saves marriages’, smoke is coming out of ears and the robes of church representatives and lawyers are ranting. They are upset about the articles in her writings, which offends against proper rearing and every convention by serving to whip up and satisfy sexual stimulation. Beate Uhse is a regular guest at the authorities and is summoned almost weekly. But the small, dainty woman with the strong will did not allow herself to be disturbed or even stopped by articles, robes or obstacles. True to the motto that planes take off against the wind and not with it, she opened her ‘Specialist shop for Marriage Hygiene’ in Flensburg in 1962. It is the world’s first sex shop.
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‘ARTIFICIAL PENISES HAVE BEEN AROUND FOR THREE THOUSAND YEARS, BUT IT'S ONLY TODAY THAT THE BEAST MOVES.’ – BEATE UHSE –
RED AS LOVE
with obstacles and boulders that appear greater by far than the little woman, but which she smashes with one bite and even more courage. The success of Europe’s largest erotic trade is mainly due to Beate Uhse, the ‘courageous mother of taboo breaking’, who is regarded as a pioneer of a more open and freer society. Neither feminists, revolts of protesting local residents, nor competitors, courts or the press could put out the love fire that Beate Uhse kindled all over Germany. On the contrary, she skilfully flirted with media representatives, and when the ‘Bild’ newspaper ran the headline ‘acquittal for orgasm’ after a difficult but successful court case, it was the definitive breakthrough for the company, which also brought along a considerable growth in sympathy. On July 16, 2001, Beate Uhse died in a Swiss clinic of pneumonia.
In contrast to her business, which met with greater and greater success, her private fortune was not faithful to her, as her second marriage to the businessman Ernst-Walter Rothermund, in which she tied the knot in 1949, ended in divorce in 1972. After the abolition of the ‘Unzuchtsparagraphen’ article 184 STGB in 1975, the business literally exploded, and Beate Uhse expanded it at a rapid pace. In 1978 she founded a film distribution company, one year later took over the ‘Dr. Müller’s’ chain of stores and in 1983 set up a video distribution company. In 1992, the company began online trading, Beate Uhse inaugurated the Erotic Museum in Berlin and in 1998 opened her first shop in Mallorca, Germany’s favourite island. In 1999, Beate Uhse went public and took over other companies. It’s a picture book career, with paths studded
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BETWEEN REALITY AND FICTION HE IS REGARDED AS THE CREATOR OF THE ALIENS: HANS RUDOLF GIGER. FOR AROUND TWENTY YEARS, ADMIRERS OF THE ARTIST FROM GRAUBÜNDEN AND OSCAR WINNER HAVE MADE A PILGRIMAGE TO THE SMALL TOWN OF GRUYÈRES IN THE CANTON OF FRIBORG TO MARVEL AT HIS MULTI-FACETED WORK.
Author_Swenja Willms Images_MUSEUM HR GIGER
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ON
On 20 June 1998, the HR GIGER MUSEUM opened its doors in the medieval castle of St Germain located in the 400-year-old walled town of Gruyères, Switzerland. As the permanent home of many of Giger's key works, the museum houses the artist’s largest and most impressive collection of paintings and sculptures, furniture and film designs from the early 1960s to the present day. On the upper floor of the museum you can visit the permanent exhibition of Giger’s own private art collection and the museum gallery, where works by other artists are also curated. Adjacent to the museum is the fantastic ‘Museum HR Giger Bar’, which was completed in 2003 and is considered a true work of art in and of itself. The ceiling, walls, floors, fittings, tables and chairs were modelled by the artist in the style of his renowned biomechanical designs. The ‘Giger Bar’ is the ultimate in immersive art. A GIFTED SURREALIST H.R. Giger was born in Chur in 1940. As a child, he developed a strong passion for everything that is surreal and macabre. His need to express himself and share the unique aspects of his powerful imagination drew him to the visual arts. From Giger’s own dreams and from the inspiration of brilliant images of such fantastic geniuses as Gustav Meyrink, Jean Cocteau, Alfred Kubin and H.P. Lovecraft came the amusing images of Giger’s own art. His wonderfully bizarre landscapes and terrifying creatures quickly captured the fascination of millions of fans around the world. In 1980 Giger won the Oscar for the best visual effects for his work on the film ‘Alien’. In 2018, the artist died as a result of a serious fall.
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FROM THE LIFE OF A GALLERY OWNER: IT’S EVERYWHERE Author_Wilhelm J. Grusdat
The American John Pemberton had no idea what significance his healing syrup would have for art when he applied for a patent in 1886. His remedy for headaches and fatigue became the bestknown soft drink of all: Coca-Cola. According to surveys, 94 percent of the world’s population recognize the brand by its characteristic glass bottle and red and white logo. Is it any wonder that almost all the great artists of the post-war era have been involved with the brand? Salvador Dalí was one of the first artists to recognize the unifying and identity-forming potential of Coca-Cola. The characteristically curved bottle floats in the center of his painting ‘Poetry of America’ (1943) between two surreally distorted football players, delivering the manna for the new consumer society. Also the two artists, Andy Warhol and Joseph Beuys, who are so opposed to each other, also recognized the democratizing element of the drink. Warhol summed it up in an interview: ‘All cokes are equal, and all cokes are good. Liz Taylor knows it, the president knows it, the bum knows it, and you know it.’ The exact reason for the 10-year break until 1977, when Warhol didn’t drink Coke, has not been authenticated. Allegedly it was too sweet for him. Maybe he should have switched to Beuys’ version of the drink. Two years earlier, Beuys developed a series of sealed cola bottles in wooden crates and named them ‘Bruno Corà-Tee’ after the Italian art critic. In its colourfulness, the brew was reminiscent of the original soft drink, but in reality it was a blend of herbal teas. The colour mixing of the logo was just as secret as the recipe for Coca-Cola. The characteristic cola red came from the time of Prohibition. The syrup barrels had been painted in this colour in order to distinguish them from other drinks so as to be delivered unhindered to the whole country. Meanwhile, the curved white lettering on a red background became just as much a part of the brand as the cheerful smile of the sun-tanned Coca-Cola girls. Particularly famous were the so-called Gibson Girls, after the illustrator Charles Gibson, who introduced a new type of woman into advertising in the 1890s: self-confident free spirits
‘All cokes are equal, and all cokes are good. Liz Taylor knows it, the president knows it, the bum knows it, and you know it.’
who wanted to discover the world full of joie de vivre and this without a chaperone–an unheard of innovation in American society at the time. Alex Katz, now 92 years old, takes hold of this fact and sees his new series ‘Coca-Cola Girls’ as a tribute to the modern woman. In his pictures, good-humoured ladies in white swimsuits cavort in front of a bright red background and thus represent the tame version of Mel Ramos’ provocative ‘Lola Cola’ series. But as heavenly and immaculately beautiful as Ramos’ women look they do hold a secret. Because Ramos was known for assembling the head and body of his nudes from various sources. So anyone who recognizes Michelle Pfeiffer's face in ‘Lola Cola #4’ can’t be sure that it's her body that looks out from behind the bottle. By the way, Sonnyboy Mel Ramos almost became a pin-up himself: in 1970 the magazine ‘PLAYGIRL’ asked him for a photo series, but he was too shy for that.
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The exhibition ‘Picasso – Gorky–Warhol’ shows a selection of s culptures and graphic works from the Hubert Looser Collection. These include this double-sided oil painting ‘Sylvette’ on a cut-out metal sheet by Pablo Picasso from 1954.
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© Succession Picasso / 2019 ProLitteris, Zurich
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This portrait of Stan Lee, advertising ambassador for ‘Spider-Man’, ‘Hulk’ & Co., who died on 12 November 2018, traces his career from America in the 1940s to the 21st century, with a wealth of previously unpublished photographs and numerous facsimiles of rare comic books.
VITRA
ADI TOCH
As part of the futuristic ‘TWENTYTHIRTYFIVE’ exhibition, three limited spin-offs were developed as Virgil Abloh c/o Vitra Specials–including the bright orange bricks. Next launch of the collection in Autumn 2019.
‘Whispering Vessels’ are two-layer vessels that invite you to interact and play. The enclosed substances, such as sand, tiny gemstones and steel balls create sounds and illusory patterns with every movement.
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ART METRO POLIS PARIS Author_Simone Hoffmann
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41 © Courtesy JR & Perrotin
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© 2019 Mr./Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd. All Rights Reserved. Courtesy Perrotin
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The installation by the Japanese artist Mr. Curated by Pharrell Williams can be admired at the Musée Guimet until 23 September.
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STARS, PRIVATE MUSEUMS, MEGA EXHIBITIONS: WHY THE FRENCH CAPITAL IS (AGAIN) THE MOST EXCITING PLACE FOR CONTEMPORARY ART IN EUROPE.
But over the past 20 years, New York, London and Berlin have outperformed Paris with their offerings. ‘Paris has simply rested on its laurels for too long’, explains Jérôme Sans, curator and co-founder of the Palais de Tokyo. It is very difficult for a city with such a rich history to reinvent itself. The cityscape and architecture of Paris have not changed for a hundred years, apart from the construction of the Centre Pompidou and the changes in the surrounding district. THE CITY BECOMES ACTIVE: TRADITION RE-INTERPRETED At the turn of the century, attempts were made to renew the cultural offerings of Paris. Jérôme Sans was one of the pioneers who participated in this renewal. In 1999, together with Nicolas Bourriaud, he founded the Palais de Tokyo. The art centre sees itself as an ‘anti-museum’, an experimental project, a platform for up-andcoming artists. Art can be experienced here through performances, festivals and immersive exhibitions. The Palais de Tokyo lets a fresh breeze blow through the capital, but it took more to awaken Paris from its slumber. ‘Maybe Paris wasn’t ready for a revolution like the one we're experiencing today’, says Jérôme Sans. Another attempt to refresh the cultural offerings was the reopening of the Grand Palais in 2005, one of the most traditional exhibition venues in the capital, built for the 1900 World’s Fair. The old lady received a complete overhaul and a new programme. Between 2009 and July 2019, Jérôme Neutres was head of strategy of the Grand Palais and the RMN (Association of National Museums). As curator of the exhibitions of Bill Viola, Robert Mapplethorpe and ‘Artistes et Robots’, the first exhibition on artificial intelligence in art, he has contributed to change. ‘The public success of the last 10 years has been spectacular. The whole world comes to Paris to see art. And rightly so: there is no other capital city that has so much to offer. There are several hundred major exhibitions in Paris every year’, says Jérôme Neutres, who now works as an independent curator. TAKING RISKS: THE ROLE OF GALLERIES But the decisive moment for Alain Quemin, art sociologist and specialist on the Paris art scene, was when the Austrian gallery owner Thaddaeus Ropac opened his second gallery in the Paris suburb of Pantin in 2012. ‘This has raised the general standard of Paris to a new level. The sheer size of the gallery alone makes it on a par with a museum. The quality of the exhibitions is so high that afterwards when you go to a museum, you become more demanding as a visitor’, says Quemin. On a surface area of 5,000 square metres, the gallery offers exhibitions of international stars such as Anselm Kiefer, Gilbert & George, Antony Gormley and Not Vital. The gallery in Pantin is an impressive example of how audience-friendly a place can be that was actually intended for the sale of works of art: It pursues a strategy of openness, collaboration with the city government of Pantin and also invites school classes to visit. Thaddaeus Ropac has thus set a new standard and justified his place as one of the most influential gallery owners in the world of art. The opening of Pantin has triggered a veritable boom in the other large Parisian galleries. ‘In contemporary art, it’s like poker: If you want to keep playing, you have to raise the stakes, otherwise you’ll get kicked out’, comments Alain Quemin.
Pharrell Williams, as curator of the manga-pop art of the Japanese artist ‘Mr.’, demands more commitment from politicians to climate protection. What could have taken place in Paris ten years ago only at the Palais de Tokyo is now proudly presented in the Musée Guimet, the traditional Asian museum. A real break – yet, tradition is what has made Paris up to now. From the end of the 19th century until the Second World War, the art world’s heart beat in the French capital. The Impressionists exhibited here – Picasso, Dalí, Giacometti, Miró–and the great artists of the 20th century all settled in Paris. Hemingway–aptly described the special atmosphere of the capital: ‘Paris is a feast’.
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© Fondation Louis Vuitton, Iwan Baan / Martin Argyroglo
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A masterpiece of architectural art created by Frank Gehry.
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© Artefactory Lab; Tadao Ando Architect & Associates; NeM / Niney & Marca Architectes; Agence Pierre-Antoine Gatier. Courtesy Collection Pinault – Paris.
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Tips Gallery Thaddaeus Ropac Pantin Georg Baselitz ‘Time’ 14 September 2019 - 25 January 2020 Gallery Perrotin Paris Gabriel de la Mora ‘What we do not see’ 12 October - 21 December 2019 Musée Guimet Carte Blanche to Mr. and Pharrell Williams ‘A Call to Action’ An image from the project catalogue for the Collection Pinault. The old Paris stock exchange is rebuilt, opening to the public this coming spring.
11 July - 23 September 2019 Fondation Louis Vuitton Charlotte Perriand ‘Une créatrice dans le siècle’ 2 October 2019 - 24 February 2020 Palais de Tokyo ‘Futur, ancien fugitif’ 16 October - 5 January 2020 Grand Palais FIAC-Kunstmesse 17 October - 20 October 2019
© SayWho/Mr./Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd. All Rights Reserved. Courtesy Perrotin
Pharrell Williams and the Japanese artist Mr. before his installation in the Musée Guimet.
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The gallery owner Emmanuel Perrotin, this year ranked 54th among the 100 most influential people in the art world, also expanded his exhibition space in 2014 with a branch of his gallery located in the historic Marais quarter. Great artists will also be shown at Perrotin: such as Murakami and JR. Some of them are now also working with luxury brands. For example, Daniel Arsham, who in June 2019, created the décor for the Dior 2020 men’s collection. ‘Competition has led to an increase in quality. Private and public institutions have been mutually supportive. Today, galleries and private patrons often help public institutions design exhi bitions’, explains Jérôme Sans. Mr. Guimet’s exhibition at the Musée Guimet is a striking example of this: it could not have taken place without the help of the Perrotin Gallery. The poker game continues: Just in time for the FIAC, the art fair in October, the mega gallery David Zwirner opens its first branch in Paris. A new commitment that increases the quality of what’s on offer and also gives Paris more weight as an art market in Europe.
HIGHER, FURTHER, FASTER: THE BOOM OF PRIVATE MUSEUMS The example of Thaddaeus Ropac has also set a precedent for private museums: while previously it was frowned upon for Parisians and art lovers to go beyond the city’s borders, Pantin has proven that the suburbs are socially acceptable. Bernard Arnault opened the private museum ball in 2014 with the Louis Vuitton Foundation. Frank Gehry’s impressive architecture is now an integral part of the cityscape. With exhibitions such as Basquiat and Schiele, the Louis Vuitton Foundation regularly beats visitor records and has thus become one of the capital's most important cultural institutions. Other private patrons followed suit: in 2018, the Lafayette Anticipations Foundation opened its doors in Paris’ historic centre. A more experimental offer, providing young talents an exhibition space and artists production assistance. In spring 2020, François Pinault will be opening his Collection Pinault in the former Paris Stock Exchange, not far from the Louvre. On a surface area of 3,000 square metres, visitors will be able to discover parts of his private collection. In 2024, the Olympic year, the Foundation Henri Cartier will open with an impressive 14,000 square metres in the former Louvre des Antiquaires. The gold medal of cultural metropolises already belongs to Paris.
© Gallery Thaddaeus Ropac, Charles Duprat / Philippe Servent
The exhibition programme in Pantin is constantly being expanded with concerts, readings and performances.
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CUSTOM KITCHEN DESIGN ONE OF A KIND FULLY PERSONALIZED
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artgenève & artmonte-carlo
Author_Charlotte Diwan
The two art fairs, one opening the European calendar of art fairs in Geneva and the other the summer season in Monaco, stand for innovation and art history. A review of three original initiatives and their development in 2020. ARTGENÈVE/MUSIQUE: CONTEMPORARY ART AS A CONCERT artgenève / musique, a platform dedicated to sound, performance and music, has set itself the goal of offering artistic interventions in mythical concert halls. The performances have included presentations by Tino Sehgal and Pierre Huyghe. The last soirée took place in May 2019 in a Venetian theatre during the opening of the Venice Biennale. On the occasion of artgenève 2020, artgenève / musique is organising an evening in Geneva for the first time at a historical scene in the city. ARTMONTE-CARLO: CONTEMPORARY ART ON PRIVATE BOATS Every year during the fair, artmonte-carlo presents an exhibition of contemporary art on private boats in the port of Monaco. For the next edition, the fair will once again highlight a yacht with an exhibition organised by the Caribbean Art Initiative, a programme dedicated to cultural exchange between the Caribbean and the rest of the world. DESIGN INTEGRATION Since their foundation, artgenève and artmonte-carlo have found several innovative ways to integrate design into their artistic offer, with curated exhibitions in collaboration with specialized galleries. In 2018 and for a period of two years, artgenève initiated a collaboration with PAD, a renowned design fair already established in Paris and London. The experiment was also carried out in 2019 at the Grimaldi Forum Monaco, so that artmonte-carlo was able to expand its artistic proposal. In 2020, the design will be expressed through architecture, including a historical installation by Jean Prouvé. SAVE THE DATES artgenève / 30.01-02.02.2020 / Palexpo Genf artmonte-carlo / 01.05-03.05.2020 / Grimaldi Forum Monaco ARTGENEVE.CH
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DESTINATION PHUKET A PLACE IN THE SUN
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Author_Nina Merli
For years Thailand has been the most popular wintering destination of the Swiss. However, for many Phuket is a no-go destination. A big mistake, because the island offers beautiful, kilometre-long sandy beaches, untouched national parks, first-class luxury hotels and is still attainable only by direct flight.
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Spacious pool suite with sea view
Overcrowded beaches, sex tourism and drunk tourists. Phuket does not have a good reputation. Unfortunately. Because the prejudices apply only to the package tourist stronghold Patong. It is unfair to generalise about the entire island from this, it’s like equating Mallorca with Ballermann. The rest of Phuket is breathtakingly beautiful and therefore also for tourists with high demands, an absolute dream destination, especially those who yearn for warmer temperatures in winter or prefer to celebrate New Year’s Eve on the beach are in the right place here. LUXURY ACCOMODATIONS OF THE TOP CLASS After the turn of the millennium when cheap tourism was booming on Phuket a more exclusive clientele was being considered. The government had been keen to present Thailand and especially Phuket in a more elegant way on the global travel mar-
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ket. So it is not surprising that many firstclass 5-star accomodations have since opened in the past ten years. For example, the ‘COMO Point Yamu’ in the northeast of the island: 79 rooms and 27 private villas with pool–all with views of the picturesque Phang Nga Bay. Behind the COMO Hotel Group is businesswoman Christina Ong, one of the richest women in Asia. During a visit to friends in Italy, the businesswoman took particular notice of the villa’s interior. Because she liked the style of the interior designer Paola Navone so much, Ong engaged her for the entire interior concept of COMO Point Yamu. Clear lines and shapes, calm colours and a minimalist design that does not distract from the beauty of nature, a hotel that appeals to design lovers all along the line. If, on the other hand, you are looking for beach bungalow chic, you are in the wrong place. The COMO Point Yamu does not only offer something for the eye, but also the palate does not receive short shift here. This is not least due to the influence of Oscar Falgui Perez, one of the hotel managers.
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No trip to Thailand without a massage
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Falgui Perez was a star chef for over 20 years and worked under the direction of the French cooking guru Paul Bocuse. His passion for excellent and above all healthy food is very close to his heart. About a year ago, the Australian star chef (and former professional surfer) Steven Black was brought on board. Black, a fan of organic cuisine, is very much committed to sustainability and had his own herb garden cultivated in the hotel. His creations are not only, but above all, certainly one of the highlights of the hotel for health-conscious connoisseurs. Due to the strong tide in the bay swimming is not possible here. An apparent bit of bad news which is. however, quickly forgotten after one is brought by private shuttle to a nearby island, which is the home of the COMO Beach Club. Here at the latest, with the beach in full view and a fresh coconut in your hand, you feel like you are in paradise and understand why Phuket is also called the ‘Pearl of the Andaman Sea’. UNTOUCHED BEACHES, PLANT DIVERSITY Before tourism slowly began to take off in the early 1980s, the island consisted almost entirely of unspoilt beaches and small fishing villages. But even today, the island, 70 percent of which is covered by lush, green rainforests, has hidden bays with white sandy beaches and crystal-clear water. The easiest way to discover these jewels is to visit the Sirinat National Park. The area in the
HOW TO FIND US Edelweiss Air offers direct f lights from Zurich to Phuket several times a week from November to April. www.f lyedelweiss.com
BEST TR AV EL TIME Due to the constant high temperatures, Phuket is suitable as a holiday destination all year round, but the period from November to April is ideal.
ACCOMMODATION COMO Point Yamu: In the northeast of the island at the tip of Cape Yamu, where
extreme northwest of the island covers a total area of 90 square kilometres, of which about two thirds are maritime and one third consists of land. Here you can get an idea of what Phuket looked like before the tourist flows: untouched beach areas where sea turtles lay their eggs, coral reefs with over 200 different corals and densely overgrown mangrove forests where numerous species of songbirds are at home. Therefore, however beautiful the luxury hotels may be, it is worth planning at least a few excursions outside the 5-star bubble. Be it to get to know the lush fauna and flora of Phuket or to immerse yourself in everyday Thai life. For example with a trip to ‘Phuket Old Town’ which consists of a colorful architectural mix of Portuguesecolonial architecture with Chinese elements. The Thalang Road is one of the most popular streets–with many shops and cafés. Every Sunday, in the late afternoon, Thalang Road turns into a huge street food market, where you can eat very well for very little money. Also impressive is a visit to ‘Wat Chalong’, the largest Buddhist temple in Phuket. Here tourists can experience curious luck customs of the locals and even ask for the favour of the gods themselves with incense sticks and special shaking cups. The main thing is to dress discreetly and take off your shoes before entering the temple. POPULAR AMONG SWISS For years Thailand has been the most popular wintering destination of the Swiss, and Phuket in particular seems to have been a favourite with Swiss sun worshippers. But not only tourists are attracted to Phuket,
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Phuket is still pristine, lies this modern design hotel with breathtaking views over Phang Nga Bay. www.comohotels.com/en/pointyamu
A NDA R A RESORT A ND V ILL AS One of the most exclusive luxury hotels in Phuket, overlooks Kamala Bay and offers suites and private villas with butler service. www.andaraphuket.com
SIGHTS A N D SIGHTS Buddhist temple complex: www.wat-chalong-phuket.com The only ethical elephant park where animals live in dignity and tourists can observe them with respect: www.phuketelephantsanctuary.org The Big Buddha - the most beautiful vantage point on the island: www.phuket-big-buddha.com Natural beauties of the national parks: Khao Phra Thaeo or Sirinat National Park
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Plenty of space and privacy in the luxury hotel Andara
more and more Swiss settle on the Thai island for a long time. This is not least due to the island’s ever improving infrastructure. The International School of Phuket, a subsidiary of the renowned Cambridge International School, was opened in 2008, for example, which prompted many expats to move to Phuket with their families. The Swiss Daniel Meury, General Manager of the luxurious resort and villa complex ‘Andara Resort & Villa’, has been living on Phuket for about ten years and has also noticed the increased interest in Phuket as a destination. The ‘Andara’ operates 37 luxury suites–many of them with a private pool–as well as the management of more than 30 luxury villas, of which only a part can be rented as the rest is privately owned. Several villas are Swiss owned. His guests especially appreciate the absolute privacy which the huge resort offers, the first-class service and also good accessibility is a big
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plus point. Visually, the ‘Andara’ is completely different from the ‘COMO Point Yamu’. Warm tones dominate here, heavy, dark wooden furniture underlines the luxurious Asia-feeling that runs through the entire complex. The incredibly generous available space is impressive–especially for travellers from Europe: Even the smallest suite has an area of 153 square metres. A luxury one can only dream of in our latitudes. Apart from that, Phuket really offers everything you would expect from a dream holiday. And last but not least, the overwhelming friendliness of the locals, who are longingly missed when you return home.
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Art Gardens Beyond Manhattan
LONDON, PARIS, NEW YORK–THESE ARE THE ‘USUAL SUSPECTS’ OF THE INTERNATIONAL ART TRAVEL CIRCUS. BUT THE CIRCUS IS ALSO BREAKING NEW GROUND: ‘OUT TO THE COUNTRY’ IS THE NAME OF THE TREND. IN UPSTATE NEW YORK, NATURE AND WEATHER ARE THE BACKDROP FOR MODERN ART.
Author_Anna Karolina Stock
Tate Gallery, MoMa, Louvre–as top-class as they are, who wants to torture themselves through overcrowded museums and hypothermic gallery spaces when modern art can also take place in the middle of nature? Especially in times when peace and attentiveness are becoming increasingly important, but can no longer be found in the big cities of the world. Metropolises like Paris and New York are exhausting, expensive and touristy. They are in contradiction to the desire for an authentic life that leads to slow food, yoga and urban gardening. A life far away from stucco decorated old buildings and former industrial halls, which we have somehow seen enough of in the meantime. Even artists, collectors and gallery owners suddenly go hiking in the mountains, book Ayurveda retreats and prefer family holidays in picturesque summer houses than to jet around the world under stress. So there is much to suggest that the art business is also slowing down more and more and adding relaxing activities into its program. An exemplary example is the originally rather cosmopolitan gallery Hauser & Wirth (Zurich, London, New York, Los Angeles), which renovated a farm in Somerset, southwest England in 2014 and created a rural, carefree refuge there with exhibitions, a sculpture garden, music evenings, painting courses and a restaurant. The trend towards an urban exodus in art is as old as modern life itself: Romantics such as Caspar David Friedrich and William Turner painted dilapidated churches and the roaring waves of the ocean. Impressionists like Claude Monet finally brought their studio to the garden, and the members of ‘Blue Rider’ even went to the mountains to celebrate life in nature. From the 1950s, numerous US artists searched for new horizons in the desert: Georgia O'Keeffe and Larry Bell went to New Mexico, Donald Judd to Marfa, Texas, and Bruce Nauman to Indiana. Ellsworth Kelly and Jasper Johns, on the other hand, moved to Upstate New York in the Hudson River Valley, to be exact.
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built by grandson Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller on the ground floor of the villa also exhibit more than 100 works of art, including pieces by Alexander Calder, Andy Warhol, David Smith, and an entire collection of Picasso tapestries. STORM KING ART CENTER If you get tired during a visit to the Storm King Art Center–just one hour north of New York City–you can simply lie down on the grass. For example, in the shadow of Menashe Kadishman’s steel sculpture ‘Suspended’ or under Alexander Calder’s curvaceous masterpiece ‘The Arch’. The impressive works stand freely on fields and meadows, surrounded by a natural panorama of trees, gentle hills, and lakes. The sculpture park was founded by the New York entrepreneurs Ralph E. Ogden and his son-in-law H. Peter Stern. When the park opened in 1960, it was supposed to be a stage for local artists from the Hudson Valley. But then Ogden was so fascinated by the abstract, geometric structures of the American expressionist David Smith that in 1966 he bought thirteen works from Smith’s estate and thus started a collection of modern post-war sculptures from Europe and the USA. In the meantime, over 100 sculptures by international artists–including Alexander Liberman, Alice Aycock, Mark di Suvero and Zhang Huan - have been amassed on the extensive grounds. Temporary special exhibitions round off the offer. ‘We want you to discover art and nature at the same time and enjoy their relationship’, says John P. Stern, president of the museum and son of the founder. But even if it seems as if the park is a piece of untouched nature, it is a work of art in itself. For decades, new platforms for works of art have been built, paths laid out and landscapes changed. And so every visit is different–depending on the time of day, the
KYKUIT, THE ROCKEFELLER ESTATE Sleepy Hollow Country, the ‘sleepy hollow’ that inspired writer Washington Irving to write his famous novel ‘The Legend of Sleepy Hollow’, is only 40 kilometers north of enterprising Manhattan. Blossoming orchards and spectacular views of the Hudson River make the dreamy landscape on both banks one of the most beautiful on the east coast of North America. High above the river valley is the estate of the Rockefeller family: ‘Kykuit’–named after the Dutch word for ‘lookout’. Four generations of Rockefellers, whose power and wealth John D. Rockefeller created with ‘black gold’, as the owner of Standard Oil, have spent their summers and weekends in this neoclassical building. The six-storey manor house with its spacious terraces and gardens still houses a remarkable collection of 20th century sculptures–including sculptures by Henry Moore, Pablo Picasso and Isamu Noguchi. The galleries
Oil billionaire and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller donated more than $540 million to charitable causes, including the preservation of historic sites.
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Storm King Art Center: The ‘Three-legged Buddha’ (2007) by Chinese artist Zhang Huan is a twelve-ton sculpture made of copper and steel.
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A ramp leads directly to Rob Fischer’s ‘Omi Pond House’ (2016), which is located above a pond of the Art Omi Museum.
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located about 40 kilometers east of New York City on the former Frick ‘Clayton’ Estate in the heart of the legendary Gold Coast of Long Island. The main building is a three-storey Georgian-style manor house that illustrates the architecture of the Gold Coast of the late 19th century. The adjacent sculpture garden is home to around 40 works by contemporary artists such as Mark di Suvero, Tom Otterness and Richard Serra. Marko Remec, a former investment banker who worked on Wall Street for a long time before turning to art, will be one of them in the future. His peculiar totem poles have made him internationally famous. In the series, which also includes ‘Would That I Wish For’, Remec transforms power poles into contemporary totems by mowing them down with mops, brooms, safety mirrors, or rear-view mirrors, thereby addressing current political and social issues. The object ‘NYET’, for example, is a stylized eye that criticizes surveillance and persecution by governmental apparatuses.
weather and the viewer’s point of view–Alexander Calder’s red sculptures shine in the evening sun, or a low cloud cover dips the sky over Mark di Suvero's rusty steel structures ‘Mon Père, Mon Père’ into a soft pink. No wonder Storm King has become the preferred destination for New York art day trippers. OMI INTERNATIONAL ARTS CENTER In some flat-sharing communities it is already difficult enough to maintain harmony and balance, but in the so-called ‘ReActor’ of the artist duo Alex Schweder and Ward Shelley it becomes almost impossible. Since 2016, the fully habitable glasshouse has been located on the grounds of the Omi International Arts Center (Art Omi for short) in Ghent near the New York capital Albany. Standing on a concrete column, it can rotate 360 degrees–depending on external environmental influences such as wind and weather and the movements inside. In order to make the close relationship between architecture and people visible to the public, the two architects even initially housed themselves in their artwork. Founded by real estate mogul Francis J. Greenburger, the non-profit art center with its extensive sculpture and architecture park, indoor gallery, and residence programs for international artists has already housed more than 2000 artists from over 100 countries and is in no way inferior to the traditional Storm King Art Center. However, the ‘Art Omi’ concept is more multidisciplinary than that of its competitor: Dance, music and writing are just as important as visual art and architecture. So it is not surprising that, in addition to exhibitions by renowned painters, sculptors and architects such as Mel Kendrick, Alice Aycock and Christopher Wool, the programme also includes projects with rather unknown writers, musicians and dancers.
DONALD M. KENDALL SCULPTURE GARDENS In the tranquil town of Purchase, in Upstate New York, is not only the headquarters of the beverage and food company PepsiCo, Inc., but also an artistic surprise that one would not expect in this context: the Donald M. Kendall Sculpture Gardens. Their collection focuses on major 20th century works of art and includes 45 sculptures by famous artists and sculptors including Auguste Rodin, Henry Moore, Alexander Calder, Henri Laurens and Alberto Giacometti. The Sculpture Garden was commissioned under the direction of Donald M. Kendall, former Chairman and CEO of PepsiCo (until 1986), when the company moved from Manhattan to Purchase in 1970. Kendall wanted to create an atmosphere of stability, creativity and experimentation to underline his company’s vision. He imagined a museum without walls in which both employees and the public could enjoy art, according to an article in the New York Times. He firmly believed that the economy could be positively and creatively influenced by art. He commissioned the internationally renowned garden designer Russell Page to transform the company premises into an arboretum and carefully selected the sculptures so that they would harmonize with the meticulously maintained landscape. When the gardens were officially inaugurated in 1970, Kendall said he wanted to create ‘one of the largest modern sculpture exhibitions in the world’, featuring all the major modern sculptors.
NASSAU COUNTY MUSEUM OF ART ‘It’s a process of reflection–in the truest sense of the word’, explains New York conceptual artist Marko Remec, who attaches convex mirrors to an almost eight-meter-high telephone pole after spending several hours walking up and down, turning the pole, measuring distances, and noting down irregularities in the wood. So that his work can harmonize perfectly at the end with the other sculptures, the direction of movement of the visitors, the landscape and the play of light of the sun’s rays. The ‘Great Totem’ entitled ‘Would That I Wish For’ is one of three major works on display at the Nassau County Museum of Art in Roslyn Harbor. The Museum of Art is one of the most important in the United States and is
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K Y K U IT, THE ROCK EFELLER ESTATE 381 North Broadway, Sleepy Hollow, NY 10591 Tel. +1 914-366-6900 www.hudsonvalley.org /historic-sites / kykuit-the-rockefeller-estate /
STORM K ING A RT CENTER Old Pleasant Hill Road, Mountainville, NY 10953 Tel. +1 845-534-3115 www.stormking.org
OMI INTERNATIONA L A RTS CENTER 1405 County Route 22, Ghent, NY 12075 Tel. +1 518-392-4747 www.artomi.org
NASSAU COU NT Y M USEU M OF A RT 1 Museum Drive, Roslyn, NY 11576 Tel. +1 516-484-9338 www.nassaumuseum.org
DONA LD M. K ENDA LL SCU LPTU RE GA RDENS 700 Anderson Hill Road, Purchase, NY 10577 Tel. +1 914-253-3150 www.pepsico.com /sculpture-gardens
Nari Ward's ‘Scapegoat’ (2017) is also located in the Art Omi sculpture garden.
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Bach Immobilien AG, Le Chalet, Promenade 54, CH-3780 Gstaad Tel. +41 (0)33 748 44 88, Fax +41 (0)33 748 44 89, info@bachimmobilien.ch www.bachimmobilien.ch 67
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WHO DARES, WINS
HOW DO YOU KEEP UP WITH THE TIMES? MATTHIAS GRAF’S ANSWER: PIONEERING SPIRIT AND THE COURAGE TO DIVERSIFY. THIS IS THE ONLY WAY HE HAS BEEN ABLE TO BUILD A FACTORY FOR MODIFIED PLASTICS, TWO POPULAR GOLF COURSES AND A CLASSY WELLNESS HOTEL IN THE LAST 28 YEARS. HIS LATEST PROJECT: A RIDING SCHOOL.
Author_Anna Karolina Stock
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‘I have so many ideas and projects in my head that I never get bored”, says Matthias Grafe, Managing Director of the Masterbatch and compound specialist GRAFE from Blankenhain in Thuringia. As the head of a globally active company, the Saarlander has enough to do even without his own pet projects and he does not want to lose any of them. His motivation: diversification. ‘Only those who are versatile will remain competitive and successful in the long term’, explains Grafe. The fascination for colours and plastics was instilled in him and his three brothers virtually in the cradle. They first came into contact with the material in their father’s chemical company in Sauerland, Germany. While his brothers were dedicated to plastics technology, Matthias Grafe discovered the world of numbers and became a business graduate. A wise decision, because even today the company’s success is based on the different core expertise of the four Grafe sons. ‘It is precisely because we value our different skills, trust each other and even come together again after unpleasant arguments that we are one step ahead of our competitors’, explains the 53-year-old. It’s not for nothing that renowned automobile, household appliance and high-tech product manufacturers are among their customers. With a wealth of ideas, commitment and commercial skills, the brothers from the GRAFE Group have turned it into an ultra- modern color masterbatch producer with over 350 employees and around 2,000 customers worldwide. In the beginning, the company was confronted with many prejudices, however, now Matthias Grafe is one of the region's most renowned economic figures. Not only because he has created many secure jobs over the last 28 years, but also because of his tireless enthusiasm. After economically successful years as an industrial entrepreneur, he plunged into his next adventure in 2006: the construction of the Spa & Golf Resort Weimarer Land which includes a 36-hole golf course. The 4-Star-Superior-Hotel captivates not only with its location as one of the few genuine On-Course-Hotels in Germany but also with its historical architecture on the premises of a listed Slavic manor house built in the year 1133. The new buildings are also supposed to give the impression that they are also hundreds of years old, so that every visitor would hear the clop of past horses’ hooves in their ears as soon as they arrive. But what do you mean by just ‘in their ears’? It shouldn’t remain like that because if the building application that was submitted in January goes through, the horse clop would become a reality as of 2021. Graf's latest project is the construction of a riding hotel in the immediate vicinity of the golf resort. He is also planning another golf course with nine short holes in addition to the existing 36-hole course, which is based on the motto ‘hard par, easy bogey’. The passionate golfer wants to make it possible for locals from the region to try out his favourite sport. ‘In the future, the focus will no longer be solely on the golf product, but rather on the general quality of life’, says Grafe. That’s why he’s trying to make the hotel and leisure facilities as varied as possible keyword: diversity. ‘We see our hotel as a meeting place where friends and families can get together, eat well, indulge in the spa, explore the Weimar countryside and benefit from the cultural programme offered by city of Goethe. Many guests appreciate this and come to visit us with their multi-generational family.’
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AT HOME IN THE WEIMAR REGION However, the success story of the Grafe family is not only based on good ideas and commercial expertise. ‘Employee loyalty is a central component of our corporate philosophy. We want people to be happy when they come to work in the morning’, explains Grafe, doing everything in his power to keep the workforce happy– for example with sporting activities. ‘Our GRAFE teams take part in the Rennsteiglauf, play football or go to the shooting range. Social commitment is very important to the father of three. Not for nothing is he the initiator of the International School in Weimar, founder of the Thuringian Polymer Network PolymerMat e.V., founder of the GRAFE Creative Prize of the Bauhaus University Weimar and sponsor of the Weimar School of Painting and Drawing, one of the oldest art schools in Germany. ‘On the one hand, this improves the company’s image’, he admits, ‘on the other hand, I want to use it to break down prejudices against the new German states and show what they have to offer.’ Although his home is always the Sauerland, he is now at home in Blankenhain. And that is what he is committed to.
‘HARD PAR EASY BOGEY’
PRESTIGE
THE STEPS TO HEAVEN
Author_Lone K. Halvorsen Image_The Chedi Andermatt
ALPINE, ASIAN, DIFFERENT. ‘THE CHEDI ANDERMATT’ SEDUCES AND TOUCHES WITH ITS OTHERNESS AND SKILFUL COMBINATION OF ALPINE CHIC AND ASIAN EXPRESSION. In the midst of Europe’s Alpine massif, surrounded by breathtaking mountains and valleys, Andermatt lies in a unique mountain idyll. Hardly any other place in Switzerland combines the traditional values of the region with the vision of a luxurious holiday destination at the cutting edge. With an inspiring Alpine landscape, the town provides unique experiences–both in summer and in winter–although it is not only the natural spectacle that impresses. Not far from the historic village centre, the 5-star deluxe hotel ‘The Chedi Andermatt’ blends harmoniously into the historic village. With its façade, the hotel possesses the characteristics of fashionable chalets and grand hotels of bygone times. Not a hint of being too pompous, instead a well understood architectural expression of alpine luxury. A BREATH OF ASIA IN THE SWISS MOUNTAINS With his interior design, star architect Jean-Michel Gathy embodies warmth and openness, a familiarity that is created by repetitive design elements. These include symmetrical lines, the number 35 and, of course, the countless fireplaces that undoubtedly give ‘The Chedi Andermatt’ its uniqueness. At the reception, guests are greeted by 143 pure glass lamps and an impressive 35 metre long counter. In addition, dark wood, soft leather armchairs and sofas as well as panorama windows skilfully integrate the Andermatt mountain landscape into the stylish rooms and at the same time characterise the remarkable interior architecture of the house. Each of the elegant rooms has its own fireplace, cleverly positioned so that it can be enjoyed in the Deluxe and Grand Deluxe rooms both on the terrace and in the room. BE SEDUCED (BY A MEAL) The cuisine at ‘The Chedi Andermatt’ is a gastronomic statement. The heart of the offer is ‘The Restaurant’, where Asian and European dishes are prepared in four studio kitchens directly in front of the guests. Unique in the Swiss Alps is certainly ‘The Japanese Restaurant’, which offers gourmets authentic Japanese delicacies at the sushi and sashimi bar as well as at the tempura counter. There are also special accents such as the five-metre-high glazed ‘The Wine and Cheese Cellar’, which not only attracts the attention of cheese lovers. The hotel thus offers an insight into another world in every respect and views of an unforgettable piece of Switzerland. WWW.THECHEDIANDERMATT.COM
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TREN DS by
DOLCE & GABBANA
Airpods printed calfskin cover. The craftsmanship and refined details make this accessory unique.
DR. BARBARA STURM
The ‘Flight Essentials Kit’ is the perfect companion to hydrate the skin throughout the journey and preserve its natural glow. With six luxury sized products, the kit covers all skincare needs.
OLIVIA VON HALLE
T R A V E L
Silk eye mask ‘Gloss’: ideal for the bedroom as well as for a long distance flight.
TUMI
The new ‘Alpha-3 Collection’ celebrates design innovation, technology, functionality and performance –made from the patented, ultra-durable FXT ® Ballistic Nylon.
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WAT CHES & JEW ELLERY PRESTIGE
WATCHES & JEWELLERY
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AS IN THE LARGE, SO IN THE SMALL: Author_Gisbert L. Brunner
CAR AND WATCH 73
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IT IS TRUE, THAT ACTUALLY, YOU CAN HARDLY COMPARE A CAR TO A WRISTWATCH. HAVING SAID THAT, UPON DETAILED EXAMINATION OF THE TOPIC, ASTONISHING SIMILARITIES ARE BROUGHT TO LIGHT.
THE BLOWER IS ALIVE
The differences between a car and a wristwatch are enormous, simply because of their size. As a result, the mobile vehicle is not used during visits in theatres, restaurants or bars. At the most, the key announces the possession of a luxury vehicle. In such places, as well as in an airplane or train, the ticking companion can score big points by its permanent presence on a wrist. A car needs a few hundred horsepower for its agile movement. In contrast, the movement of a mechanical wristwatch is satisfied with a billionth of horsepower. Because only physical movement generates the necessary driving force, operating costs and environmental pollution are minimal. However, the similarities begin with tradition. Watches are among the oldest machines known to humanity. For about 700 years they have been proclaiming the incessant progress of precious time. Cars have delighted humanity since the late 19th century. In both cases strong emotions are at play, engineers, technicians and craftsmen feel the ongoing challenge. The automobile engine ‘lives’ based upon a sophisticated functional interaction of different components. It is the same thing with the watch and its mechanical movement. The latter receives its time-keeping impulses from an intelligent timer, the duo of balance and hairspring. Classic car engines have a rotating ignition distributor. Here, as there, a precisely calculated transmission chain causes the transformation of the indispensable forces. So it’s no wonder that lovers of dynamic car bodies usually also look to high-quality wristwatches. The watch industry knows how to make clever use of this fact, as numerous cooperations impressively demonstrate.
In 2002, Breitling and Bentley crossed paths for the first time. Coincidence or not: Both brands are united by a winged B. The partnership started the following year. Since 2017, Georges Kern has been managing the fortunes of the watch manufactory, which was founded in 1884. He did not shake up the proven cooperation, the longest of all in this field. But the new CEO stopped the independent ‘Breitling for Bentley’ watch line. Almost in the same breath, the watches were integrated into the general collection. The result of this philosophy is the new ‘Premier Bentley Centenary Limited Edition’, a contemporary homage to 100 years in the service of outstanding luxury vehicles. The eye-catching dial is reminiscent of both the brown burl elm wood inlay in the dashboard of the new ‘Continental Number 9 Edition’ and also Sir Tim Birkin, one of the legendary Bentley Boys. As a ‘Blower’ his ‘4½ Litre Supercharged’ number 9 made history. Behind the dial, the balance of the chronometer-certified manufacture calibre B01 with double-sided rotor winding, 70 hours of autonomy, chronograph, shift wheel control, vertical clutch and 30-minute totalizer performs 28,800 vibrations every hour. The transparent back case withstands the pressure of the wet element up to ten bar. All in all, there are a thousand stainless steel pieces.
ON THE WAY ALONG THE MOST BEAUTIFUL ROUTES
After a total of thirty eventful years, the legendary ‘Mille Miglia’ came to an end in 1957. Too many accidents led to the end of the race across the picturesque Italian landscape. In 1988 a revival took place. Since then, fascinating classic cars have been competing for around 1,600 kilometres along the ‘la corsa più bella del mondo’, the ‘most beautiful route in the world’. After starting in the venerable city of Brescia, the road leads to Rome and back again. In principle, only those vehicle types that were already present there in the past are allowed to participate. A strict jury decides on who participates. Instead of speed, here precision and reliability count. The latter values also distinguish Chopard wristwatches. The family-owned company has been a sponsor for 31 years. In this context, each driver receives a specially created watch. Passengers and other watch enthusiasts, on the other hand, can purchase the ‘Mille Miglia 2019 Race Edition’ with chronometer-certified automatic caliber Valjoux/Eta 7750. Thousands of copies are available with a 44-millimetre steel case and date magnifier in the cambered front sapphire crystal. The bezel has a blackened aluminium inlay with tachymeter scale. The rubber lining on the inside of the leather strap, inspired by an old Dunlop tyre, prevents sweat-induced aquaplaning on the wrist.
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COMMITMENT TO HEALEY
When Frédérique Constant, the 31-year-old watch manufacturer, began his partnership with Healey, 2004 was the year that marked the launch of the Vintage Rally watch collection. The collection stands for nostalgic timepieces that are ideal for a trip in an English vintage car. 2019 sees the launch of another 42 millimetre stainless steel chronograph. In front, a scratch-resistant sapphire crystal arches over the navy blue dial with white fields for the permanent second, a 30-minute totalizer and all in all there are five hands. The transparent back allows curious glances at the FC-397 automatic caliber with 46 hours of autonomy. It is based on a Sellita SW-500. Up to a pressure of five bar, water has no chance of damaging the ticking interior. There is an additional textile strap in the case. The navy blue leather strap, perforated in the style of driver’s gloves, can be exchanged for it in just a few simple steps. The edition of this timepiece is limited to 99 pieces.
HOMAGE TO A FAVORITE COLOR
Lapo Elkann has an insatiable soft spot for blue. The creative grandson of Gianni Agnelli, always dressed in the best clothes, describes the meaning and purpose of Garage Italia, which he founded in Milan: ‘We want to move the boundaries in terms of innovation, but also by linking innovation with tradition and transferring ideas from one industry to another’. The expression of this thinking is ‘ICON-e’, a cute car with an electric drive, realized together with the tire manufacturer Michelin. Hublot has also been a partner since 2015. The manufactury’s first ‘garage wristwatch’, called ‘Classic Fusion Chronograph Garage Italia’, pays tribute to this blue. ‘Azzurro Volare’, the colour for the ceramic bezel, dial indexing and hands, magically attracts curious glances. It matches three precisely coordinated tones for the polished ceramic case centre, the shaded dial and the rubber strap. The 45 mm large and 13.5 mm thick case withstands the pressure of the wet element up to five bar. The HUB1143 automatic calibre’s chronograph is controlled by pushbuttons made of highly polished titanium. Strictly speaking, the mechanical movement, made up of 280 components, is a refined Eta 2894-A2 with a stop module mounted on the front. The ball bearing flywheel mass and the gear control are visible through a transparent back. The edition is limited to 100 copies.
TEMPO, TEMPO
Already for the third time Montblanc appeared in Goodwood as sponsor of the legendary ‘Festival of Speed’. Twenty years earlier, in 1999, former Formula 1 driver Nick Heidfeld had covered the 1.16-mile distance in 41.6 seconds. Since then, nobody has been able to beat this record time. Of course, there is also a special wristwatch for the Tempo-event. Montblanc has limited the edition of the sporty ‘TimeWalker Manufacture Chronograph’ to 1,500 pieces. Its ‘stress-relieved’ stainless steel case measures 43 millimetres. It has been tested at water pressure of up to ten bar. The scratch-resistant ceramic bezel features a tachymeter scale to match the event. With its help and the integrated stopper, average speeds over a mile or a kilometer can be easily determined. The exclusive MB 25.10 automatic calibre is at work behind a smokecoloured transparent back. Its features include 46 hours of auto-
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matic gear autonomy, ratchet wheel control for the three functions, start, stop and zero positions and classic horizontal coupling. The four Hertz balance frequency allows timing to the eighth of a second, exactly. The watchmakers assemble the time-writing microcosm of 232 components. Before this timepiece reaches a customer’s wrist, it must pass a 500-hour reliability and accuracy test without any problems.
MECHANICS WITH A CLEAR VIEW
The RD 630 caliber, developed by the company’s own technicians and also produced by Roger Dubuis himself, unfolds its capabilities in the ‘Excalibur Huracán Performante’. The model name makes connoisseurs and lovers of the Italian car brand sit up and take notice. IT refers to the ‘Lamborghini Squadra Corse’, who partnered with the Geneva watch manufacturer specialising in skeletonisation and sportiness. Therefore, the wristwatch that has focused on the sports cars ‘Huracán’ logically also has some automotive design elements. At ‘12’, the balance of the automatic movement, composed of 233 components, is shown. Rather for optical reasons, the gear regulator performs its 28,800 half oscillations per hour at an inclination angle of twelve degrees. All constructive and technical features of the break through design microcosm justify the hallmark with the prestigious Geneva seal. Protection is provided by a transparent case made of titanium and rubber. The generous diameter of 45 millimetres primarily predestines this timepiece for masculine wrists. Diving into the depths of the oceans is possible up to 50 meters. A rubber wristband with decorative Alcantara elements provides a secure and comfortable grip. Inside, the tread of the sporty Pirelli ‘P Zero Trofeo R’ indicates a cooperation with the Italian tyre specialist.
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FROM 356 TO 911
James Dean owned and piloted one. Steve McQueen too. This must mean the Porsche ‘356 Speedster’. In 1954, six years after its founding, the German sports car manufacturer introduced this four-wheeled legend. In 2019, fans can look forward to the ‘911 Speedster’, which continues the tradition. Porsche Design presents a chronograph of the same name to match the vehicle. Once again, the development was carried out in cooperation between the watchmakers working in Solothurn and technicians from the automobile industry and motor sport. True to Porsche’s design philosophy, the shell is made of durable titanium. It has a 42 millimetre diameter and an overall thickness of 15.3 millimetres. A pressure test of up to five bar is required before delivery. Another expression of watchmaking exclusivity is the 01.200 calibre automatic movement designed in collaboration with the Swiss specialist Concepto. Its mainspring barrel stores power for 48 hours of autonomy. Without stopping, the stopper can be reset while running and restarted immediately. Connoisseurs speak of a flyback function. The vertically arranged totalizers last up to 30 minutes and 12 hours. However, if you want to own a car, you have to buy it first. The same applies to the ‘Chronograph 911 Speedster in Heritage Design’.
AUTOMOBILE COMMITMENT WRITTEN IN CAPS
Limited editions and special series of wristwatches are just as foreign to Rolex as modern case materials or exotic complications. Even being a worldwide partner and official timekeeper of Formula 1 since 2013 does not change this philosophy. It is in this spirit that the Geneva manufactury is also represented at the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC). As is well known, their season ends with the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans. Since 1997, Rolex has also sponsored the annual Monterey Classic Car Week on the peninsula of the same name in California. The highlight is the classic car parade ‘Pebble Beach Tour d’Elegance Presented by Rolex’. At the ‘Goodwood Revival’, probably the most famous event for historic racing cars, the brand with the crown is just as involved as it is in Daytona Beach. The latter race track served as the name sponsor for Chronograph Reference 6239, which was introduced in 1963, as the relevant advertising stated: ‘This is the new Rolex Chronograph. Named Daytona after the international race track where Rolex is the official timekeeper.’ The water-resistant case of the ‘Oyster Perpetual Chronograph Daytona’, reference 116588 TBR with a diameter of 40 millimetres and 36 diamonds of approx. 4.58 carats, shines in yellow-gold splendour. Its ‘Oysterflex’ strap consists of metal spring blades coated with elastomer. Responsible for the time is the in-house chronograph caliber 4130 with a four Hertz balance frequency. After full winding by the double-sided rotor, 72 hours of autonomy are available. As usual with Rolex, the daily deviations are in the narrow delta range between plus or minus two seconds.
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LIMITED TO THE 50TH BIRTHDAY
It is thanks to Jack W. Heuer that Steve McQueen wore a Heuer ‘Monaco’ on his wrist during the shooting of the cult film ‘Le Mans’, back in 1971. The head of the family business had sent the filmmaker several copies of the angular-progressive and therefore at that time, a less successful chronograph wristwatch. The water-resistant square case contained an automatic caliber 11 with microrotor self-winding mechanism and rear stop module, launched in 1969. After the shooting was completed, this wristwatch was given back to Don Nunley. In July 2012, it raised an incredible $650,000 at an auction. ‘I believe’, says Jack W. Heuer, ‘that a Heuer watch will never fetch that much again’. 2019 is the 50th birthday. On this occasion, TAG Heuer is offering a total of five strictly limited models. The grainy rhodium-plated dial of number three reflects the straightforward street style of the 1990s. The case back contains the engravings ‘1989-1999 Special Edition’ and ‘One of 169’. As in the past, the ‘Calibre 11’ inside the 39 mm stainless steel case is a mechanical sandwich. In contrast to 1969, the stopping layer of Dubois-Dépraz is hidden directly under the dial. It is driven by a Eta 2892-A2 with a central rotor, around 40 hours of autonomy and a contemporary four-hertz balance frequency. Those who missed out on the previously offered anniversary ‘Monacos’ can console themselves, until the end of 2019, with one of 50 sets. Each set contains all five watches.
WATCHES IN THE SPIRIT OF EVOLUTION
It was the year 1972 when John Blashford-Snell, with his Range Rover, crossed a swampy rainforest area on the borderland between Colombia and Panama. If the researcher wanted to know the exact time, he would look at the dial of his Zenith ‘El Primero’. Of course, the 1969 launched wristwatch survived the hardships in overcoming the incomplete road link between North and South America, as well as the vehicle. In 2016, a ‘Range Rover Special Edition’ of the world's first automatic chronograph with a five-hertz balance frequency announced the beginning of the partnership between the two traditional brands. Zenith again created a special model for the launch of the new Range Rover ‘Evoque’. As the car wants to appeal to people living in cities and in the country, the 41 mm ‘Zenith Classic Range Rover’ features modern and traditional elements. Design and engineering teams from both brands worked together in close harmony to create this model. The automobile seats inspire the turquoise blue of the second hand and the oscillating weight–of the 3.88 mm flat Elite 670 SK manufactory calibre, with approximately 48 hours of autonomy and four Hertz balance frequency. Watchmakers assemble it from 187 parts. Anchor and escapement wheel are made of amagnetic silicon. The rim design of the luxurious SUV is stylized in the skeleton dial. And the design of the rubber strap is inspired by the quilted-patterned upholstery. Zenith uses lightweight, robust and anti-allergic titanium for the water-resistant case of the 200-unit limited-edition wristwatch, which is waterresistant to ten bar.
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SUITABLE FOR CINEMA A PREMIERE
Lalique presents the first men’s jewellery collection. Under the name ‘L’Homme Alpha’, this collection focuses on the stripe motif. The satin and polished finish of the crystal–the hallmark of the house–stands out perfectly from the graphic lines and the matt effect. This collection includes three sterling silver jewels (pen (pendant, ring and bracelet) and two palladium-plated metal accessories (tie clip and cufflinks). A new male chapter is being ushered in.
L’HOMME ALPHA
LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION!
This necklace from the ‘Cinemagia’ collection is a tribute to the birth of the celluloid roll film in 1885 and celebrates the foundation of film art. It all began with a groundbreaking idea: ‘rolling’ images instead of static ones. Bvlgari creates a parallel between the complex art of filmmaking and the equally diverse skills of jewellery making. Zirconium was used as the material, a completely unexpected material in the world of jewellery. This is difficult to shape, but has a unique resistance and a striking black-silver sheen. In combination with the most precious diamonds it becomes a real unique specimen.
RIDERS OF THE KNIGHTS
FOR TRUE HEROINES
CINEMAGIA
With the new and brilliant ‘Riders of the Knights’ collection, Louis Vuitton pays tribute to the powerful vision that promp prompted so many medieval heroines to transcend their confines and forge their own destiny. These women have left a lasting mark on their fate and the world of men in which they lived. They embody determination and independence. As a tribute to these heroines, the house conjured an armour of light, a glowing flame that expresexpres ses the inner radiance of those who wear it.
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STYLISH AMBIENCE AROUND Author_MODALO
EXCLUSIVE WATCH WINDER AND WATCH CASES FROM MODALO
THE CLOCK For over 13 years, the MODALO brand, worldwide, has stood for the highest quality workmanship and outstanding design when it comes to exclusive watch storage. MODALO products are manufactured in-house in accordance with strict quality standards and are characterised by a wide selection of diverse design variants and exquisite material compositions. The MODALO watch winder is specially designed for the storage and function maintenance of all wristwatches with automatic movement. State-of-the-art, durable motors and a gentle, quiet winding, guarantee maximum value retention of automatic watches. New intelligent functions such as maintaining the 12 o’clock position during rest periods, a discreetly integrated safety lock, elegant interior lighting or operation via rotary knob or touchscreen, also ensure optimum user-friendliness and offer an elegant ambience ‘around the clock’.
The new MV4 watch winder collections combine innovative cutting-edge technologies and outstanding design with exquisite colour combinations, maximum ease of use, and meet both the requirements of exclusive watch manufacturers and the high demands of ambitious watch collectors. The use of exquisite materials such as mother-of-pearl, carbon, Makassar and three different case surfaces, whether in satin matt aluminium, modern leather design or high-gloss New Zealand solid wood design, with a first-class piano lacquer finish, makes a MODALO watch winder an eye-catcher in any environment and the hearts of watch lovers beat faster. Whether for beginners, for passionate watch collectors or as a special gift for watch lovers–as one of the leading manufacturers of high-quality watch winders, exclusive watch boxes and fine watch cases, MODALO offers upscale contemporary enjoyment for the refined taste.
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MODALO ESTATE MV4 FOR ONE WATCH The ‘ESTATE MV4’ collection is MODALO’s new gem in terms of design and engineering. The latest materials and technologies have been combined to create a composition of the highest elegance. The elaborately crafted case made of satin matt aluminium, decorated with Makassar, mother-of-pearl, carbon or black glass, and the finely integrated, lockable door offer a distinctive design and even more safety. Aesthetic watch storage, with the premium range comfort, is guaranteed with this generation of watch winder. MODALO AMBIENTE MV4 FOR TWO WATCHES The classic design in combination with the elaborately crafted details and the choice of five exquisite design variants make the new AMBIENTE a highly decorative watch winder, which puts the watches in the limelight of every room. The solidly built case is made of New Zealand wood, which together with the large glass door not only offers protection, but also thanks to discreet interior lighting and maintaining the 12 o'clock position a distinguished handling in everyday life. The surface has been refined with high-gloss piano lacquer and reflects in the overall composition the many years of experience and high craftsmanship in this collection. The second generation AMBIENTE MV4 is a high-class watch winder, that uses sophisticated technology to guarantee long-term storage and the best possible value retention of automatic watches. SATURN STYLE MV4 FOR ONE WATCH The new SATURN Style MV4 is presented in a modern leather design and impresses with precise handwork, coordinated details, such as a decorative material composition with a white seam and numerous innovative features. Through the use of a high-quality micro leather, a high resistance to friction and colour fastness is achieved, giving this first-class watch winder a modern appearance and a pleasant feel. The new collection is available in four stylish designs. WATCHROLL DYON FOR THREE WATCHES MODALO watch cases are manufactured in our own factory through many individual steps by experienced hands to create exceptional unique pieces. The coordinated material composition and the timeless, functional design arouse the enthusiasm of demanding watch owners. For the outer leather a high-quality grained micro leather was chosen, which is characterised by high form stability. The interior is made of the finest suede and provides haptic pleasure when changing watches. The unmistakable MODALO character of these new collections is complemented by the discreet logo embossing.
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Author_Gisbert L. Brunner
TICKING CLASSICS WITH FUTURE POTENTIAL THOSE WHO THINK INTO THE FUTURE ADORN THEIR WRISTS WITH CLASSICS. PRESTIGE PRESENTS TWELVE REMARKABLE WRISTWATCH ICONS.
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SANTOS
REVERSO
reacted, freed the wristwatch from the round pocket watch design with his square creation and in this way created a lasting myth that is still valid today. The current ‘Santos de Cartier’ in stainless steel, measuring just under 40 millimetres, has easily interchangeable straps. When fully wound, the exclusive automatic caliber 1847MC runs for around 40 hours at a time.
As early as the middle of the 19th century, Søren Kierkegaard postulated that anyone who is wedded to the Zeitgeist would quickly become a widower. Although wristwatches were not an actual topic at that time, the Danish philosopher’s insight also applies to them. Provided they still tick. Analogous to real estate, where its all about location, location, location, the brand plays a decisive role in the future-oriented purchase of watches. And so does the model. Genuine classics that persistently resist zeitgeist trends provide the stuff for a lasting marriage characterized by deep friendship. In contrast to the human face, 20 or more years leave no lasting traces of age-related change. True joy comes to those who have made the right watch decision a long time ago. In addition to the pleasure and pride felt when looking at your wrist, there is also a considerable increase in value. Since the 1990s, prices have risen three or even fourfold. Moreover, the joy should continue in the future, because ticking classics don’t really get old.
‘REVERSO’ BY JAEGER-LECOULTRE It was British colonialists in India who complained to César de Trey about the fact that the crystal glass of their watches kept breaking while playing polo. The Swiss watch dealer Jacques-David LeCoultre, together with Edmond Jaeger and the French engineer René-Alfred Chauvet, tackled the problem. The ingenious reversible case made its debut in 1931 and as soon as things got rough, the resistant metal side of the case moved upwards with a simple twist. Since its rebirth in 1983, Jaeger-LeCoultre has produced the ‘Reverso’ in almost countless variations. The classic still has a closed and a glazed side, just with hands and the mechanical inner workings. Nowadays, men and women both have the opportunity to possess the ‘Reverso Classic Medium Small Seconds’. In the steel timepiece, measuring 25.5 x 42.9 millimetres, the balance of the manufacture hand-wound movement 822 / 2 vibrates 21,600 vibrations per hour.
‘SANTOS’ BY CARTIER No other wristwatch can look back on 115 years of history. That’s how long the legendary ‘Santos’ has been on the market. From 1908, Cartier has offered the Parisian upper crust a mini edition. Series production of this watchmaking myth began in 1911. Of course, there were certain modifications over the decades, but the eye-catching appearance has always been retained. The genesis of this classic is once linked to Alberto Santos Dumont. The welcome member of the Paris High Society was responsible for the development of 22 aircraft. During a dinner together, the pilot let his friend Louis Cartier know that he did not have much control over precious time when in the air with his pocket watch. The gifted designer
ROLEX ‘DATEJUST’ In 1945 Hans Wilsdorf celebrated the 40th anniversary of his entrepreneurial activity in Geneva. He had devised the name Rolex in 1908. His anniversary model embodied a synthesis of previous achievements: the ‘Oyster’ housing, self-winding mechanism with unlimited rotor rotation and the chronometer certification, which
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had been maintained since 1914. ‘Just in time’, in other words, exactly at midnight, the window date which was added as a crowning moment, switches to the next day. Consequently, the sentence accompanying its debut hit the bull’s eye: ‘One can, without exaggerating, describe this creation as a synthesis of the entire modern watchmaking science of Switzerland’. Thanks to its continuous evolution, the ‘Datejust’ has become an indispensable part of the Rolex collection. 1952 saw the launch of the patented date magnifier. The ‘Oyster Perpetual Datejust 36’ is one of the current representatives of the watch line, which will soon be 75 years old. Its 36 millimetre case made of steel and 18-carat white gold protects the made inhouse, naturally chronometer-certified automatic calibre 3235 up to ten bar water pressure. Its features include 70 hours of autonomy. THE IWC PILOT WATCH In 1948, the pilot’s wristwatch par excellence rose into the air for the first time. Not only military pilots trusted IWC’s legendary ‘Mark 11’ with their precious time, but also captains of civilian airlines. The Schaffhausen manufactory IWC had incorporated its relevant experience into the construction of the movement and case. This included, magnetic field protection for caliber 89 and a 44-day test program before delivery for ‘Navigator Wrist Watches’. No wonder that the icon, which was discontinued in 1984, became an expensive cult watch. In 1996 its successor made its debut with the automatic caliber 889 of her sister Jaeger-LeCoultre. Because 36 millimetres is not everyone's cup of tea nowadays, the legendary pilot’s watch has grown over the years. At the beginning of 2016, the ‘Mark XVIII’, which had grown to 40 millimetres, was launched with a stainless steel shell, non-magnetic soft iron inner case and reliable automatic calibre Eta 2892-A2. Pilot’s Watch ‘Automatic Spitfire’ in stainless steel and 39 millimetre in size, is currently available for pilot’s watch enthusiasts. A soft iron inner case protects the in-house automatic caliber 32110 with 72 hours of autonomy from magnetic fields.
THE ‘SPEEDMASTER PROFESSIONAL’ CHRONOGRAPH FROM OMEGA Specifically, after extensive tests, it was a perfectly normal ‘Speedmaster’ chronograph which the US space agency NASA chose as the official wristwatch for its space missions. The timepiece produced by Omega completed its first excursion into distant space on 3 October 1962, when Walter Schirra circumnavigated the Earth six times in the Sigma 7 capsule. In March 1965, this watch was also on-board Gemini 3. The trial in orbit led to the nickname ‘Professional’. On 21 July 1969 this wristwatch traveled with the first humans to the moon. Success and rising demand led to a move away from the complex 27 CHRO–321 calibre ratchet wheel. From 1968, Omega installed the simpler 861 variant with a gear shift system. As a hand-wound caliber in 1861, it still inspires the so-called ‘Moonwatch’ to this day. Over the decades, the diameter of the steel case, which is watertight to five bar, has grown to 42 millimetres. THE ‘MAX BILL’ FROM JUNGHANS The philosophy of the architect, sculptor and product designer Max Bill to create ‘the useful, the beautifully modest’ was expressed at the beginning of the 1960s in a series of four wristwatch dials. The order came from Junghans in Schramberg. The publicist and university lecturer also influenced the design of the case. These clearly and objectively designed timepieces demonstrated what Max Bill called the ‘product form’. In 1962 they were sold in specialist shops for around 75 marks. The comeback made by these design icons around 25 years ago proved to be a real stroke of luck. The steel hand-wound model with a diameter of 34 millimetres and Eta calibre 2801-2 was an immediate success. Since then, ‘Max Bill by Junghans’ has become an integral part of the collection. Lovers of timeless classic performance on their wrist will continue to be offered by Junghans this unaltered wristwatch with cambered Plexiglas, typical hour digit 4 and manual winding.
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DATEJUST
IWC
SPEEDMASTER PROFESSIONAL
MAX BILL
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ROYAL OAK
NAUTILUS
BULGARI BULGARI
RÉGULATEUR
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‘BULGARI BULGARI’ BY BULGARI The Italian luxury jeweler took its greatest step into the horological future in 1975, triggered by the quartz revolution. For the ‘Bulgari Roma’, clever product designers packaged an LCD quartz movement in a classic round case. The design of the gold housing was reminiscent of a disc cut out of a Corinthian column. Similar to Roman emperors, who demonstrated power by their signature on coins, Bulgari engraved its name and provenance on the wide rim of the glass. Two years later, the family business landed the big hit with its ‘Bulgari Bulgari’. Since its debut, this widely-imitated but never-matched wristwatch has enjoyed the best of health. After all, it is a compelling witness to the fact that classic design does not survive in these fast-moving times. With a diameter of 41 millimetres, the current ‘Bulgari Bulgari Solotempo’ finds its way to the wrist. Its BVL 191 automatic manufacture displays hours, minutes, seconds and the date. A DLC coating gives the stainless steel case a black appearance with a transparent back and bronze crown. THE ‘RÉGULATEUR’ BY CHRONOSWISS Nothing is more powerful than an idea whose time has come. The inspiration for Chronoswiss’ first independent wristwatch came from the precise regulators that were standard equipment in observatories and watch factories. As it was primarily the second that mattered here, they had a so-called three-circle dial. Here the eccentrically positioned hour hand could not cover the second hand, which was also off-centre. The limited first edition of 1988, which was therefore sought after by collectors, had a manually wound movement that was no longer in production. The exclusive C.122, based on an old Enicar calibre, ticked in the "Régulateur Automatique" with a 38 millimetre steel case launched in 1990. Since 2016, this stainless steel timepiece with a diameter of 41 millimetres has been called the ‘Regulator Classic’. The C.291 automatic caliber is a modified Eta 2895-A2.
THE ‘ROYAL OAK’ OF AUDEMARS PIGUET In 1972 the smirks of the competitors could neither be ignored nor overlooked. During the Basel watch show, Audemars Piguet came up with a sporty, elegant steel porthole wristwatch that cost more than the brand's solid gold leather strap models. The gifted product designer Gérald Genta was responsible for the design. Soon the competitors were no longer laughing. The ‘Royal Oak’, equipped with the automatic caliber 2121 with window date, not only became a trendsetter for luxury sports watches, but also the world-famous leader of the family manufactory from the Vallée de Joux. Nothing has changed in this respect up to the present day. The ‘Royal Oak’ is rightly considered a synonym for Audemars Piguet. After thorough reworking, the 3.05 millimetre thick interior, still ticking at 2.75 hertz, is created in-house. It can now be seen through the transparent back of the 8.1 millimetre thick case. The ‘Jumbo’, which has grown to 39 millimetres in the meantime, naturally fits the purists’ wrists, in stainless steel. THE ‘NAUTILUS’ BY PATEK PHILIPPE The calendars were shown in 1974, when Gérald Genta, to whom Audemars Piguet owed the unexpectedly successful Royal Oak, auditioned at Patek Philippe. The exceptional designer had sketched another wristwatch with a porthole look. Once again, it was to elevate carefully shaped and processed steel to the rank of noble gold. The idea was appealing. Through joint efforts, it led to the ‘Nautilus’ introduced in 1976. Even the price at that time corresponded to that of a normal car. Twenty years went by until the ‘Nautilus’ scored well with the more conservative Patek Philippe customers. In 1998, demand for the 37.5 millimeter reference 3800 / 1A with the automatic caliber 330 SC exceeded supply for the first time. The 30th anniversary of the ‘Nautilus’ in 2006 provided a transparent back. Since 2008, the reference 5711 / 1A with a case diameter of 40 millimetres and the automatic calibre 324 SC has been so successful in attracting buyers that impatient people in the parallel market are happy to pay more than the current public price.
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TANGENTE
NOMOS "TANGENT" In 1989, after the fall of the Berlin wall, the postulate ‘art and technology, a new unity’ by Bauhaus founder Walter Gropius inspired a new wristwatch. Susanne Günther supplied the design for the simple ‘tangent’ of the Glashütte brand Nomos. The designer was inspired by a timepiece from the 1930s. Numerous awards prove that those responsible were absolutely right in their return to design. The manufactory work and high vertical range of manufacture that Nomos cultivates today were not mentioned 27 years ago. A modified version of the Swiss hand-wound calibre Eta 7001 ticked in the 36 millimetre stainless steel ‘tangent’. This was followed by the systematic further development of the self-manufactured ‘α’ (Alpha), which was still surrounded by a minimalist steel case. With a diameter of 35 millimetres, the Reference 139 is primarily aimed at the fairer sex.
LANGE 1
THE ‘LANGE 1’ BY A. LANGE & SÖHNE After a 50-year enforced break, A. Lange & Söhne continued its history that had begun in 1845 in the Saxon glassworks. In 1994, the first modern wristwatch collection caused a sensation. The awardwinning ‘Lange 1’ was a bridge between tradition and innovation. The former represent three-quarter plates, hand-engraved balance cocks and jewels set in gold chatons. The hallmarks of innovation were a double mainspring barrel, 72 hours of autonomy and an unmistakable indication of power reserve. Add to this the patented large date display, which gives the asymmetrically designed dial a special charm. Anyone who bought a ‘Lange 1’ right from the start can be delighted. This icon, which until 2014 was equipped with the L901.0 manufactory manual winding movement, has not changed visually. Because change is the essence of time, the newly developed caliber L121.1 now preserves time behind a transparent back. A. Lange & Söhne has remained true to its 25 year-old, highly successful dial architecture and 38.5 millimetre case diameter.
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WATCH WINDERS MADE OUT OF PASSION
MODALO MV4 THE NEW GENERATION Premium quality handcrafted Watch Winders for your precious Timepieces
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SUGAR SWEET
GEMSTONES Author_Swenja Willms Images_Harry Winston
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In the course of his exploration of the colourful world of gemstones, the House of Harry Winston presents an extraordinary, lovely and charming series of unique cocktail rings, which confirms the company's longstanding commitment to the rarest and most remarkable jewels in the world.
The collection, called ‘Winston Candy’, features gemstones in bold, vibrant colours as central stones, in combination with an arrangement of diamonds and luminous gemstones in complementary shades. The natural beauty of these premium stones makes them some of the most precious in their family, and they are a testament to the outstanding quality for which Harry Winston is renowned. Harry Winston is believed to have owned more than a third of the world's most famous and coveted diamonds during his career. These incredible stones, often bought as rough diamonds, turned into legendary gems in Harry Winston's hands, earning him the nickname ‘King of Diamonds’. Beyond his business success, Winston had a lifelong desire to share his passion for diamonds with the world. His enormous collection of rare jewels enabled Winston to interest the public and share his passion. From the most beautiful mandarin garnets to rare tourmalines and pastel sapphires to spinels in vibrant colours, the unique ‘Winston Candy’ series presents highly fascinating components and is all about sparkling jewels that are second to none in colour, quality and size. The inspiration for this collection comes from some sketches from the 1950s and 1960s archives, which were based on gemstones in strong, unexpected shades. The jewellery of the time was characterised by majestic splendour and size - this allowed Harry Winston to work with his most important technique: the cluster combination, in which round brilliant-cut diamonds were combined with unusual cuts. When the Winston designers realized the potential of these incredible representations, they embarked on a fantastic journey to create modern interpretations reminiscent of the vibrant colors of sweets. With a variety of combinations of daring colours, sizes and proportions, as well as different cutting techniques, each design magically transforms nature's most enchanting elements into jewelry confections that attract attention. Harry Winston assembled a masterful team of experts who worked hand in hand for over a year to create a delicious collection of gemstones that would satisfy the refined tastes of the most discerning gourmets of jewellery connoisseurs. The Candy collection will be complemented with new designs in the future.
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JUST GO BLUE
Author_Gisbert L. Brunner
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FOR A CHANGE
WHAT IS NOT POSSIBLE IN EVERYDAY PROFESSIONAL LIFE IS POSSIBLE WITHOUT ANY PROBLEMS ON THE WRIST. 94
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SEASTRONG DIVER 300 AUTOMATIC
MANERO PERIPHERAL
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STRONG DIVER The calendars showed the year 1883, when the ‘Association of Swiss Watchmakers’ founded by Gottlieb Hauser was launched. The cooperative worked together with renowned Swiss manufacturers to produce high-quality timepieces, including Alpina-signed timepieces. As a true pioneer in the Swiss watchmaking industry, Alpina not only presented innovative calibres over the years, but in addition, numerous patents also related to sports watches. Furthermore, the brand with the red triangle has continued to focus on moderate prices to the present day. However, the company is now part of the Japanese Citizen Group. As the name suggests, the ‘Seastrong Diver 300 Automatic’ allows you to dive up to 300 metres into the depths of the ocean. Its 44 millimetre steel casing with titanium coating has a navy blue, only one-sided adjustable diving time glass edge. The robust automatic caliber Sellita SW 200 ensures reliable movement of the generously dimensioned luminous hands and the window date.
‘Blue is the only colour that makes me feel comfortable’, Franz Marc reported at the beginning of the 20th century. ‘Blue is the male principle, harsh and spiritual.’ Of course, this confession is confirmed by an authoritative source. After all, the important painter was one of the co-founders of an artistic community called ‘Der Blaue Reiter’ (The Blue Rider). Wristwatches can also impressively demonstrate the significance of the heavenly color. Aesthetically minded manufacturers have had their steel hands or screw heads painted blue since time immemorial. Some balance-spirals, the souls of mechanical timepieces, also present themselves in striking blue. Blue dials, however, are much more striking. For quite some time now, they have been moving the watch scene according to the motto: blue is the new black. Meanwhile, blue is by no means blue. In terms of colour, product designers have been able to draw on a wealth of experience. The palette ranges from azure blue to blue gold, French blue, grey blue, sky blue, cobalt blue, Prussian blue, pigeon blue and ink blue. And then there is Berlin blue. The synthetic pigment beyond nature made an important contribution to the creation of top-class works of art such as ‘36 Views of Mount Fuji’ by Katsushika Hokusai or Vincent van Gogh’s ‘Starry Night’. Pablo Picasso used it for his ‘Blue Period’. Consequently, there is no reason not to go blue when choosing a new wristwatch.
OUTDOOR RUNNERS The fact that the ‘Manero Peripheral’ is one of Carl F. Bucherer’s undisputed success models is virtually unassailable. For this classically round wristwatch, the manufactory uses the CFB A2050 self-
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G-TIMELESS
LAUREATO
WATCHES & JEWELLERY
called ‘Laureato Absolute’. The combination of a black-coated titanium case and blue dial imparts a striking appearance on a wrist. The latter captivates with its continuous colour gradient from outside to inside. Behind it, the GP03300-1058 automatic caliber performs both time-measuring and time-writing services. The flat GP3300 from its own manufacture drives a stop module mounted on the front with totalizers up to 30 minutes and 12 hours. The ensemble is only 6.5 millimetres thick, consists of 419 components, and the 44 mm case of the ‘Laureato Absolute Chronograph’ resists the pressure of the wet element up to three bar.
designed and manufactured automatic caliber. The second part of the model name refers to the oscillating weight rotating peripherally around the actual movement. The energy potential is built up independently of the direction of rotation. When the tension spring is full to the max, power is available for 55 hours of autonomy. In addition to the hours, minutes and seconds, the time mechanism is 5.28 millimetre thick also displays the date. In the service of certified precision, it has to prove itself for 15 days at the Official Swiss Chronometer Control (COSC) before being placed. Apropos case: that of the specially designed boutique version of this wristwatch which measures exactly 40.6 millimetres. The stainless steel case, glazed on both sides, withstands water pressure up to three bar. If you want to purchase one of the 188 copies, you have to go, for example, to Lucerne. On their way to the brand’s own shop, potential customers experience the blue of the picturesque Lake Lucerne, which is expressed by the dial and rotor.
TIME MARKED BY THE BEE The name Gucci is associated primarily with trendy clothing and luxurious accessory items by fashion-conscious contemporaries. Since the early 1970s, this member of the French Kering Group has also been designing, developing and producing timepieces. Most of them are wristwatches. With eight new automatic versions of the ‘G-Timeless’ collection, Gucci is marching in a previously unknown direction. One of the special features of this ticking newcomer is the stone dial. The bee serves as a decorative element. It has long been a well-known motif of the traditional Italian brand. The transparent case back shows the proven SW
LAUREATE OF THE ABSOLUTE DIMENSION One of Girard-Perregaux’s design icons, the ‘Laureato’, has been asserting itself in the luxury watch scene since 1975. Following various stages of evolution, another progression of the wristwatch will be introduced in 2019, with a sporty touch. The newcomer is
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GREAT BARRIER REEF LIMITED EDITION III
200 calibre from Sellita. Finally, the adjustable leather watchband buckle bears the interlocking G logo. With a diameter of 38 millimetres, both sexes should feel equally at home. Stainless steel and solid gold are brought to the wrist by this model with link bracelet and blue lapis lazuli dial. Under a scratch-resistant sapphire crystal, the hands turn continuously for hours, minutes and seconds.
PIONEER TOURBILLON
BETTER IN DOUBLES In the case of the steel ‘Pioneer Tourbillon’, H. Moser & Cie. answered the question of whether a balance oscillator needs two spirals with a clear yes. The oscillating double hairspring can be seen when looking closely at the turning gear. The same can be observed in a circular section of the indexed dial. Hour and minute hands rotate in front of the dial. The filigree minute tourbillon of the manufacture calibre HMC 804 is a ‘flying’ construction. This makes the front bearing bridge superfluous. A further special feature is that the mechanism was designed as a module to compensate for negative gravitational influences on its accuracy. In this way, it can be quickly removed and maintained and regulated separately from the actual movement. Together with the two spirals, the Glucydur rate control performs 21,600 vibrations per hour. The open flywheel mass and an automatic transmission with ratchet changer ensure regular energy supply in both directions of rotation. Only 50 copies of the midnight blue Fumé dial edition will be available.
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SAVE THE GREAT BARRIER REEF Snorkellers and divers appreciate the Great Barrier Reef in Australia as a fascinating Eldorado. But this equally illustrious and colourful underwater world is highly endangered. For this reason Oris is cooperating with the Reef Restoration Foundation. A certain amount of the proceeds from each individual copy of the 2,000 ‘Great Barrier Reef Limited Edition III’ goes to the charitable foundation. The 43.5 millimetre diving watch, which is resistant to water pressure of up to 30 bar, has a blue gradient dial. In a steel case with a specially designed relief base, the Swiss family-owned company uses a 743 calibre automatic movement based on Sellita’s SW 220. After full winding by the rotor, the autonomy is about 38 hours. The edge of the glass, which can of course only be rotated on one side for safety reasons, has a turquoise blue inlay. Through the use of ceramic, everything that wants to scratch does not have the slightest chance. ANNIVERSARY MOON Nautische Instrumente Mühle, based in Glashütte, is celebrating its double anniversary–150 years since its founding and 25 years after its new beginning under the management of Hans-Jürgen Mühle–with something adequate for measuring precious time.
WATCHES & JEWELLERY
LUMINOR SUBMERSIBLE BMG-TECH
The 42 millimetre large Top-model with platinum case and manufactory calibre RMK 04 is reminiscent of the company’s founder Robert Mühle. In addition to the hours, minutes, seconds, date and power reserve, the moon's phases can also be read on the dial. For this reason, there is a dial cutout in the field of the small second. Its unusual form results from the fact that in this case the artistically designed moon does not move in a circle. Instead, the family business uses two circular moon shadow discs, which represent the starry sky. The specially developed module with an accuracy of one day deviation in 122 years consists of 22 components. All in all, the watchmakers assemble the 8.35 millimeter thick manual winding movement with three Hertz balances and 56 hours of autonomy from 202 components. In addition, the ‘Robert Mühle Mondphase’, limited to 25 pieces, offers a balance stop as well as quick correction pushers for date and moon phases.
ROBERT MÜHLE MONDPHASE
SCRATCH-RESISTANT HIGH TECHNOLOGY At first glance, the case of the new ‘Luminor Submersible BMGTech’ seems to be made of titanium. In reality, Panerai has the housing, which can withstand water pressure of up to 30 bar, manufactured from a highly innovative material. The abbreviation BMG stands for Bulk Metallic Glass. Its advantages result from the applied technology. A mixture of zirconium, copper, aluminium, titanium and nickel is formed using a high-pressure injection process
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at high temperatures. Because the subsequent cooling process only takes a few seconds, the atoms have no time to arrange themselves in a regular structure. This intended ‘confusion’ leads to corrosion resistance, hardness, scratch resistance, resistance to shocks and magnetic fields, among other things, in the 47 millimeter housing body including crown bridge made of the same material. The glass edge, on the other hand, is made of lightweight carbon and can only be rotated on one side. Titanium is used to manufacture the bottom of the housing. Customers receive the P.9010 Manufacture Calibre with three days’ autonomy, a window date and an hour hand that can be adjusted independently forwards or backwards. The balance stops oscillating at four Hertz when the crown is pulled for precise seconds. SUBMERGED TO PROTECT THE OCEANS In 1965, Seiko’s watchmakers wanted to demonstrate their expertise to their European colleagues. And they did so with a wristwatch that could accompany divers down to 150 metres below sea level. Currently, the Japanese support Fabien Cousteau. Together with the grandson of Jacques-Yves Cousteau, a renowned conservationist, they are committed to the conservation of the fauna and flora of the world’s oceans. In this context, striking underwater timepieces are created. Part of the turnover generated
PROSPEX – SAVE THE OCEAN SPECIAL EDITION
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‘6’. It is designed as an integral part of the automatic calibre 2160, which was developed and produced in accordance with strict Geneva seal criteria. All in all, 188 components are required for a copy of the ultra-flat microcosm with a remarkable 80 hours of gear autonomy. In this way, the precious piece ticks with the greatest precision even after a quiet weekend in the safe. According to the specifications of the quality seal, this timepiece will only be off for around a minute after seven days. A peripheral rotating oscillating weight made of 22-carat solid gold on a moving wrist ensures a continuous supply of energy. To attach the 42.5 millimetre exposed transparent back, steel case to the forearm, the Geneva-based traditional manufactory, founded in 1755, supplies three easily interchangeable straps in a luxury case: stainless steel link strap, rubber and alligator. A soft iron inner casing provides additional protection against magnetic fields.
OVERSEAS WHIRLWIND Vacheron Constantin has christened its luxury watch line ‘Overseas’. The dial of the new Tourbillon is a radiant blue. This complication is the first in this sporty wristwatch collection. Its gear- stabilizing rotations can be followed in a round window above the
OVERSEAS
with ‘Prospex–Save the Ocean Special Edition’ goes to the Ocean Learning Center for a good cause. In the SRPC21K1 reference, which is pressure-tight up to 20 bar, the naturally self-manufactured 4R36 automatic caliber ticks for 41 hours without energy supply. This includes 24 functional jewels and the Day Date movement consists of 169 components. A link bracelet with safety clasp ensures that the 45 millimetre stainless steel casing is held securely and comfortably. It can be easily extended for wearing over a diving suit.
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JEWEL LERY VAN CLEEF & ARPELS
A tribute to the lovers in William Shakespeare’s play: the Duo Romeo & Juliet. The brooch is one of the most figurative pieces in the collection, in white, pink and yellow gold, decorated with rubies, sapphires and diamonds.
HARRY WINSTON
The earrings ‘Sparkling Cluster’ recall the tradition of the house with creations of exquisite, unsurpassed jewelry. With sapphires, aquamarines and diamonds set in platinum with a total weight of almost five carats, the wearer sparkles with unparalleled brilliance.
BEYER
From the in-house jewellery studio of Beyer Uhren und Juwelen: Diamond baguette Alliance ring, 750 white gold, 27 diamond baguettes (total 6.54 carats).
With ‘Eyes of Burma’ Gübelin Jewellery presents its latest Haute-Joaillerie creation. In the centre of the jewellery a ruby from Burma sparkles, surrounded by greenish-blue sapphires. The glamorous creation can be worn as a ring or a necklace.
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by
GÜBELIN
TRENDS
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MOTI ON
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© Aston Martin – Max Earey
TRIUMPH AND TRAGEDY Author_Thomas Hauer
OF THE 24 HOURS OF LE MANS MYTH 103
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© Paramount
© Paramount
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LE MANS, SATURDAY, JUNE 11, 1955, 6.26PM. LAP 35 OF THE 24-HOUR RACE WHICH HAD STARTED ALMOST TWO HOURS EARLIER, A DRAMATIC CHASE, ON THE CIRCUIT DE LA SARTHE WITH A LENGTH OF 13 KILOMETRES.
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© 20th Century Fox
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Matt Damon and Christian Bale are the main actors in the new Hollywood film LeMans 1966, which deals with the old rivalry between Ford and Ferrari in the racing classic
JUST
Just before reaching the grandstands, the leading Brit Mike Hawthorn with start number 6 on his Jaguar has just overtaken the slower Austin-Healey of his compatriot Lance Macklin, but then abruptly brakes and turns sharply to get into the pit lane. Macklin, surprised by this manoeuvre, desperately tries to turn left, but doesn’t see his two pursuers Pierre Levegh and Juan Manuel Fangio in the Mercedes Silver Arrows. While Fangio can barely pass, the Frenchman touches the rear end of the preceding Austin-Healey, which, due to its aerodynamic shape, acts like a ramp on the silver arrow. The 300 SLR takes off and crashes into an earthen wall near the grandstand. The Mercedes is literally shredded and bursts into flames. The wreckage flies everywhere killing 83 spectators in the stands, and Levegh himself also succumbs to his injuries at the scene of the accident. Macklin, on the other hand, survives. The biggest catastrophe in racing history to this day. Despite this tragedy, the race continues. The official reason: A discontinuation would have made the rescue work even the more difficult because the departing spectators would have blocked the roads around the sleepy hollow. In fact, a large portion of the racetrack still consisted of sections of a country road. The leading Mercedes team withdraws the remaining two silver arrows from the race after the extent of the tragedy has become clear. The winner is Mike Hawthorn, the driver whose braking manoeuvre is regarded as the actual cause of the accident.
His racing team rejects any blame for the catastrophe, and even Hawthorn himself never takes a public stand. Although out of respect for the dead a victory celebration is avoided, however, the pictures of the smiling Hawthorn in winning position, taken at the finish, still seems disturbing. Despite improved safety precautions, spectacular accidents at Le Mans are still part of practically every race's drama today– even though, fortunately, deaths are now rare. At least on the spectator side. And yet it was not only the tragedy of 1955 that turned the 24 Hours of Le Mans into a myth. Films like Steve McQueen’s genre classic ‘Le Mans’ (1971), which stages the fictitious duel of two drivers with the psychological intensity of ‘High Noon’–only that the duel here is not carried out with Colts, but with powerful cars; and the movie ‘Le Mans 66’, which will be shown in cinemas at the end of November and in which Matt Damon and Christian Bale revive the legendary duel between Ford and Ferrari in the 1966 24-hour race, provide the appropriate images for this testosterone infused heroic epic. Legendary above all is the almost five kilometre long Mulsanne Straight - an almost dead straight section of the circuit, on which the vehicles reach speeds beyond the 400 km/h mark thanks to ever more powerful engines, until the area was finally disarmed in 1990 with two chicanes for safety reasons, which is why today the drivers "only" reach a speed of about 340 km/h fast at their peak.
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© 20th Century Fox
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© Aston Martin – Nick Dungan / Drew Gibson Photography
© Aston Martin – Nick Dungan / Drew Gibson Photography
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In the 24 Hours of Le Mans every second counts when it comes to pit stops
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private motorisation does not exceed the 64 hp of an 18 year old VW Polo. Everyone is the equal here. But back to the track. Since 1971, the race has no longer been started according to the Le Mans method introduced in 1925, in which the drivers had to sprint across the track to their vehicles lined up in front of the pit lane after they had been cleared for take-off, but there is a flying start following an introductory lap. One of the reasons for this was the introduction of safety belts in 1969–wearing them in the narrow cockpits simply took too long and distorted the starting sequence. At Le Mans there are currently four vehicle classes that all drive at the same time, which is quite confusing for inexperienced spectators at the beginning, especially as the field continues to lengthen over the course of the race thanks to countless overtaking manoeuvres and only the countless monitors reveal the current rankings. In addition to two prototype classes, there are GT sports cars close to series production. One with professional drivers on board, the other driven by amateurs. Whereby the term amateur must not be taken too literally here. The distances covered within the 24 hours are enormous. The record is held by the Audi team, 5,410 kilometres in 2010, which corresponds to an average speed of more than 225 km / h. All pit stops and driver changes included. For many onlookers, the racing action–apart from the start in which the French stage a martial military show ending with Alpha Jets of the Patrouille de France painting the tricolour in the sky while flying over the main stand; and the finish–is anyway
© Aston Martin – Max Earey
And indeed, the long-distance race, held for the first time in 1923, is one of the toughest in the world - for people and materials alike. The goal: not only to complete as many laps as possible in 24 hours, but also to cross the finish line in the end. In the past, repairs could only be carried out by the drivers themselves with the help of on-board tools, but today, as in Formula 1, the racing teams have at their disposal pits with affiliated workshops on the track, where whole hosts of mechanics can solve almost any problem that occurs during the race. The cars are monitored by countless sensors–better than any patient in an intensive care unit–in order to detect these problems in advance. After a visit to the pit lane, however, the question arises as to how much of the ‘original car’ actually crosses the finish line at the end, as everything can basically be exchanged. Theoretically, even the entire engine. Only when a driver becomes stranded on the race track away from the pit lane is the race over for him and his team. For the somewhat dreary, economically dependent city of Le Mans with its 142,000 inhabitants, the race that transforms the rural region at the confluence of the Sarthe and Huisne rivers into a kind of madhouse year after year around the second weekend of June, is of almost fateful importance. Not only in view of their tarnished self-confidence, but also economically, because many people earn an extra income from the various racing stables and sponsors–lucrative jobs have always been in short supply here, far away from Paris and the industrial centres of the north. The race itself–which traditionally starts on Saturday afternoon at 3 pm–starts in a traffic jam for most visitors, as Le Mans still captivates around 200,000 racing enthusiasts every year who clog the poorly constructed access roads to the race track in the south of the capital of the Sarthe département. It doesn’t matter whether they’re driving a lovingly maintained 2CV or a super sports car equivalent to a single-family home. In this respect, Le Mans is egalitarian–after all, everyone is in an avalanche of cars. The equality, however, it is over at the latest, on the grounds of the racetrack. If you're not one of those Happy Few who are invited by a racing team or one of the sponsors to stay in one of the luxuriously equipped VIP areas, you have no choice but to flatten your nose on the safety fences–either under the blazing sun or in the pouring rain. On the other hand, inside the luxuriously equipped, often multi-storey tent constructions, the champagne flows in streams with selected delicacies. Speaking of tents, camping is by far the most common form of accommodation in Le Mans, as there is a glaring lack of adequate hotel accommodation–after all, you are in the depths of the countryside here. That’s why many racing teams and sponsors like to rent chic châteaus in the surrounding area, where top customers and VIPs who, according to their status, don’t expect to stay in a campsite or an Ibis hotel. Helicopter transfer to the race track is, of course, included. Some manufacturers make a virtue out of necessity. The British sports car manufacturer Aston Martin has been inviting customers and journalists to ‘glamping’ for several years now. With this glamorous variant of camping, guests stay in spacious tipi tents that could easily compete with a luxury lodge in the Serengeti National Park in terms of comfort. A real star chef will take care of the physical well-being of the guests. Around the clock, of course. Pleasant side effect–within a very short time all the inhabitants of the tent village are on a first name basis. No matter if you are a multi-millionaire car enthusiast or a normal mortal motor sports fan whose
© Aston Martin – Nick Dungan / Drew Gibson Photography
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only a minor matter. Center-stage is the light-hearted folk festival feeling. Accompanied by the razor-sharp sound of the engines, which drive the adrenaline level up even among racing novices. The innumerable stalls, snack bars, carnies and rides around the track also offer additional diversion. Sleep is out of the question during the race anyway. Even on the ‘glamping’ grounds about two kilometres away from the race track as the crow flies, one has the impression that at regular intervals a hysterical lawn mower turns its rounds around the tent. So get up again–fortunately there is the 24-hour bar service. So it’s no wonder that some of the ‘glamorous campers’ on Sunday mornings don’t seem as fresh as they used to be. Back at the VIP hospitality area on the race track, it is also noticeable that some people no longer even bother to follow the race live from the balcony, but are content to follow the action on an oversized video screen. Only when the hands of the clock–finally– approach 3 pm does the balustrade fill up again, and the riders who made it to the finish are cheered on their lap of honour. The award ceremony then seems almost a minor matter. If you don’t break down your tents in time, you’ll be stuck in traffic jams again. Hardly two hours after the end of the race the dismantling begins, and in only one or two days the terrain will fall asleep again, and all of Le Mans will already be dreaming of the next big race. The myth is alive.
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DID YOU KNOW…?
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THE FIRST TRAFFIC LIGHT IN THE WORLD
On December 10, 1868, the first traffic light in the world was used in London. Erected on Parliament Square back then, the rotatable gas lantern made of cast iron with red and green light filters which would ensure a regulated traffic and order. However, just three weeks after being commisioned a broken gas pipe exploded and the police officer who operated the traffic light was seriously injured. The traffic light was then immediately switched off again. Today, in front of the London Parliament, a green sticker points to the inventor of the traffic light: John Peake Knight.
STYLISH ON THE WAY
Uber offers its brandnew premium service ‘UberBLACK’ for the top-class taxi ride in the Swiss cities of Geneva, Zurich and now also in Basel and Lausanne. This is to drive to the elegant Date-Night or the next business appointment and is associated with relaxation and luxury. With the Uber-Black option, users of the Uber App can easily order, within a matter of minutes, a ride in a luxury sedan (Mercedes, Audi or Tesla) and with a professional, licensed driver with top rating.
BIGGER AND BETTER
1928 was a milestone for Chevrolet. The Chevrolet Series AB National (or Chevrolet National) was manufactured as a replacement for the 1927 Series AA Capitol. With larger fenders, a higher bonnet and larger headlights, the car became a bestseller. About three-quarters of a million Series AB were produced in various body styles. This was the last year that Chevrolet offered a four-cylinder engine. Late in 1928, fourcylinder cars were dropped to make room for six.
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A SERIOUS RELATIONSHIP
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Author_Adriano Cimarosti
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Driving a car against the clock is not exactly a typical female occupation, but it is also not just a phenomenon of the modern age: In the long history of motorsport, there have always been female drivers. And some of them were really good.
Women and racing cars–there are many facets to this combination. One has almost disappeared: skimpily dressed girls who appear as decorative elements before the start or at the award ceremony. In Europe, however, this stereotype is almost only of secondary importance; the 1990s and 2000s Formula 1 pit booths are now largely history. What has remained of course are the traditional grid girls with their starting number boards–or umbrellas–and– especially in America or Asia–a few packs of lightly dressed ladies from such sponsors who focus on low-budget advertising with maximum attention factor and apparently have no other reasons to be there. But it is not only about decorative eye candy for the kings of the road. Women and car racing, that is also the story of the drivers’ girlfriends and women with stopwatches. The most famous representative is Nina Rindt, who accompanied her husband until his fatal accident in Monza in September 1970, she also recorded his lap times. Always dressed in style, she was and is a shining example for all her successors. Fortunately, racing has become much safer; only 20 years ago, women racing drivers were worried about the health or even the life of their partner. In the meantime, women have conquered the management level: Bernie Ecclestone likes to surround himself with female executives, to whom he has given influential positions in his racing empire. Two other prominent examples are the Indian-born Monisha Kaltenborn, who runs Sauber, or Claire Williams, who has been deputy boss of her father Frank’s racing team since March 2013 and has since successfully turned the team upside down. Which brings us to the most daring representatives of the racing guild–the women who themselves have taken up the challenge. This happened above all in the rally sport, the protagonists of which we will discuss later. On the circuits of the upper classes, on the other hand, women were a rarity. In the American Indycar
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Baronessa Avanzo in a 4.3 L Alfa Romeo, which she drives here in 1921 in Montichiari southeast of Brescia.
that women were not strong enough for a 500-mile race, Guthrie abruptly replied that he was a chauvinistic pig. For some racers, being overtaken by a woman is obviously particularly bad. And there are female drivers who have occasionally complained of being obstructed by means of nasty blocking manoeuvres. Also to be mentioned are those women who regularly qualify in the USA in dragster races (!) and in the top fuel or funny car class with up to 10,000 hp which can be accelerated to 500 plus in less than four seconds: Among the current players are Leah Pritchett, who has been with the team for over 20 years now. Or the sisters Ashley, Brittany and Courtney Force, whose surname can certainly be understood as a full programme in itself. With over 100 victories to date, the dragster scene is by far the most successful for female drivers. As already mentioned, women in the most powerful racing classes have not been able to distinguish themselves very well so far. Bobby Unser was certainly not completely wrong with his remark, because the centrifugal forces that occur actually require pronounced physical abilities, in which even well-trained women are naturally disadvantaged compared to men. Despite power steering, it is physically anything but easy to drive a Formula 1 car over a Grand Prix distance of more than 300 kilometres. In an emergency braking manoeuvre like the one at the end of Monza’s home straight, 100 kilos of pressure must be applied to the pedal to decelerate from 300 to 90 km / h in 2.5 seconds, with up to 5.5 g to cope with.
series it hasn’t been half a dozen since 1977, while only two women have taken part in Formula 1 races for the World Championship so far: In 1958, this was the Italian Maria Teresa de Filippis in a Maserati 250 F on the occasion of the GP of Belgium in Spa, which she finished in 10th place after drawing attention to herself in sports cars. Later, in 1977 and 78, her compatriot Lella Lombardi qualified for twelve Grand Prix races at March-Cosworth. In the 1975 Spanish Grand Prix, Lombardi even took sixth place and scored a WRC point. But no woman has won an F1 GP, yet. VICTORY IN THE INDYCAR The only race victory for a woman to date was in the USA: In 2008, Danica Patrick, who is only 1.60 metres tall and weighs 50 kilos, triumphed in the ‘Indy Japan 300’ on the Motegi high-speed circuit at the wheel of a Dallara Honda. That didn’t come unexpectedly; already in 2005 she had sensationally finished fourth at the 500 miles of Indianapolis. In seven Indycar seasons Patrick finished in the top ten six times–and switched to NASCAR in 2012. This was a promising change, as she already put her car in pole position at the 2013 Daytona season opener. Simona de Silvestro from Italo, Switzerland, has also achieved good results in three Indycar years so far, finishing fourth in St. Petersburg in 2011. The multilingual pilot, who had already distinguished herself in the junior formula in the USA, also experienced serious accidents such as the one during training in Indianapolis, where she suffered second-degree burns on her hands–only to start a few days later anyway, because de Silvestro can't be kept down by such setbacks.
FAST IN PRINCIPLE Racing women are by no means a phenomenon of modern times. Even when the car was in its infancy, there were individual women wearing long pump pants who competed in races. The French woman Madame Camille du Gast, who came from an affluent background, was well known at the time. In 1901, she competed
FIRST WOMAN AT THE 500 MILES When Janet Guthrie became the very first woman to qualify in Indianapolis in 1977, some male colleagues were tempted to comment about her. When multiple Indy winner Bobby Unser remarked
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The Canadian motor racing driver and journalist Kay Petre.
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Type 35C. Nice enjoyed life to the fullest and was more famous than ever. In 1936 she also drove in Brazil and was second in São Paulo with her Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 behind the local hero Manuel de Teffé, but then she had a serious accident because of a straw bale lying on the track and was hospitalized for two months. Back in Europe, Nice returned to the starting line, but when Jean Bugatti, the founder’s son, died in 1939, her relationship with the brand also came to an end. After the war, Nice continued her career with rallies and mountain races. But in 1949 she was brutally exposed by Monegasse Louis Chiron in Monte Carlo in front of people from the sporting circles, screaming loudly that Nice had collaborated with the Gestapo during the war. They immediately distanced themselves from her, although Chiron's claims were never proven. In addition, a lover blew all her money and Nice died totally impoverished in 1984. Between 1926-1953, Anne-Cécile Itier was one of the best-known French female racers and was involved in mountain races, rallies and circuit races. First she drove with Cyclecars, then she changed to Bugatti, also to Fiat. At Le Mans she competed five times from 1934-1939. Together with Huschke von Hanstein, with whom a liaison had resulted, she competed in the 1937 24-hour race in an Adler streamlined car. Von Hanstein, who later became Porsche’s race director, had saved her life in 1937 when she had an accident at the Morocco Rally. During the war she helped Jewish children to escape from France.
in the Paris-Berlin race and took a respectable 30th place among 154 participants–at a time when it was considered almost immoral for women to drive a car. She also competed in motorboat races and later became a parachutist. In 1906 she took part in the Paris-Madrid car race, which had to be cancelled due to serious accidents. Later, the strong-willed lady vehemently campaigned for animal welfare. In the following decades there were many other racing women. In Italy, for example, there was Baronessa Maria Antonietta Avanzo who, from the 1920s onwards, competed with various brands to win a Targa Florio and Mille Miglia. Czechoslovak Eliška Junková, who married banker and amateur racer Vincenc Junek in 1922, competed in a Bugatti for the first time in 1924, as Elisabeth Junek. She soon became one of the most popular personalities in her home country. At a mountain race in 1926 she set a new track record and also left her husband behind. In 1927 she competed with him in the Targa Florio, whereby the duo was temporarily in the lead. In the same year Elisabeth Junek took fourth place in the GP from Germany to Bugatti. But after her husband had a fatal accident at the Nürburgring in 1928, she retired from the sport. Before the Second World War, the Swiss Emi Munz also stood out, especially in the Klausen race. The trained car mechanic was at that time the workshop manager of the Mühlebach garage in Zurich, who was also the Bugatti representative. Gwenda Mary Stewart caused quite a stir in England and France when she set a new 24-hour record in Montlhéry with a Terrot-JAP motorcycle. Otherwise, she drove the four-wheeled Derby-Miller and competed twice at Le Mans. With her DerbyMaserati (a converted Miller with front-wheel drive) she contested the Berne Prize at the Bremgarten circuit in 1935. Gwenda had initially been married to Colonel Sam Janson, Spyker’s director, since 1920. Her second husband from 1923 was Neil Stewart and assisted her with the 24-hour record. In her third marriage, from 1937, she finally had a relationship with Douglas Hawkes, the director of Derby Automobilwerke. This explains why she was registered under so many different surnames. Between the World Wars, Kathleen Coad ‘Kay’ Petre, who came from a rich family in Toronto and was petite and beautiful, was also a much acclaimed driver. After her English husband had first bought her an Invicta and then a Wolseley, Petre switched to Bugatti in 1933. In 1934 she set several class records and delivered a headline-grabbing top speed in competition with Gwenda Stewart, although a short time later it was won by Stewart. Nevertheless, Petre was the first woman to have hit a speed of over 130 miles per hour (209 km / h). In the same year she competed at Le Mans in a Singer and in 1935 in a Riley. The Canadian even became an Austin company driver, but in 1937 she had a serious accident at the 500-mile race in Brooklands. Later she only competed in a few rallies.
PANAMERICANA AMAZON A woman of a completely different caliber was Jacqueline Evans, an English actress living in Mexico: from 1950-1954 the blonde took part several times in the famous road race Carrera Panamericana, which at that time was still held over seven stages. She took this direction after separating from her fourth husband, a Mexican bullfighter. During the Carrera, Evans mostly drove a Porsche 356 with the portrait of the Argentine president’s wife Eva Peron painted on the bonnet. But Evans never finished the hardcore race, but at least she was one of the attractions of the event. Belgium’s prominent 1950s racer was Gilberte Thirion, whose father was an industrialist (and also an amateur racer) while her mother had once worked as a model. Thirion was active from 1950-1957 and won numerous national mountain races and rallies. She also competed in endurance races and in 1956 won the Mille Miglia in a Renault Dauphine Spéciale. Her greatest success, however, remained the total victory at the first edition of the Corsica Tour in the same year. IN THE SLIPSTREAM OF HER BROTHER It may have been due to the ever more powerful cars or other interests. In any case, women appeared less frequently at circuit races after 1945 than before the war. In Italy there was still the dark-haired Anna Maria Peduzzi, called ‘La Marocchina’. In general, rallies now created a ‘Coupe des Dames’ rating class, which led many women to grab a steering wheel. Pat Moss, who had initially concentrated on equestrian sport and had been a member of the English national team, made it quite far. But already in 1953 the then 18-year-old sister of the famous English pilot Stirling Moss contested her first club rally. In the course of the following years Pat Moss even rose to the top class: she drove an Austin-Healey, Ford, BMC Mini Cooper, Saab, Lancia and an Alpine; between 1958-1965 she became European Rally Champion
FROM CABARET TO COCKPIT One of the best-known female racers of the 1930s was the attractive southern Frenchwoman Hellé Nice, who had previously made a name for herself as a dancer in a renowned Parisian cabaret and had thus also made a bit of money. A knee injury in a skiing accident put an end to her stage career, whereupon she found her way to racing through her lover Philippe de Rothschild. De Rothschild introduced her to Bugatti, and in 1931 she was already racing a
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1982 with the then superior Audi Quattro.
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Dream Team: Michèle Mouton (left) and Fabrizia Pons.
Lella Lombardi with her March 751 Ford at the GP Monaco 1975.
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five times. In 1960 she won the overall victory at the Rally LüttichRome-Lüttich in an Austin-Healey and finished second overall at the Coupe des Alpes. In 1962 her third place an a Saab 96 in the extreme East African Safari was remarkable. Shortly afterwards she won the Tulip Rally–and married the prominent Swedish Saab driver Erik Carlsson in 1963. Around 1950, Rita Rampinelli from Schaffhausen was a well-known figure in Switzerland. As the daughter of a garage owner, who himself had raced in an Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 before the war, she first drove a small Monoposto Cisitalia D 46 / 1100 before switching to a Porsche 356. The future car importer mainly competed in national mountain races and slaloms. TRIUMPH IN ARGENTINA Another remarkable talent should not go unmentioned: The Swedish veterinary assistant Ewy Rosqvist entered rally racing in 1954 through her husband–initially as a co-driver. The fact that she had been accustomed to driving longer distances every day in her car from 1956 onwards was to her advantage: she finally competed in her first competition and won the women’s prize four times in the following years on the occasion of the 1,000 Lakes Rally. In 1959 she already became the woman’s European Rally Champion in a Volvo, which she repeated in 1960 and 1961 as the Volvo company driver. The following year she was a member of the Mercedes Benz team, her co-driver now being the German Ursula Wirth. They achieved several top results together in a 220 SE, but their greatest victory was celebrated by the duo on the occasion of the Road Grand Prix of Argentina, where they set the best time on more than 4,600 kilometres and in all six stages. In the years to come, it was followed by other top positions, including third place in the murderous Rally Lüttich-Sofia-Lüttich. Later, Rosqvist married the Mercedes-Benz Museum Director Baron Alexander von Korff. TWO AND A HALF MONTHS KIDNAPPED In the 1980s and 90s, among others, was the pretty Roman Giovanna Amati who was active in various categories. The daughter of an owner of numerous cinemas, she had already entered racing at the age of 22, and had made headlines in 1978, at age 19, when she was kidnapped by three gangsters on behalf of the Frenchman Daniel Nieto and held captive for 75 days in a wooden shack not far from her parents’ villa. What spiced up this story was the fact that a love affair developed between her and her kidnapper. Still, she was not released until her family had paid a ransom of 800 million lire (930,000 dollars). Nieto later spent 18 years in prison, but escaped from prison and was then locked up again in 2010. Amati’s racing career began in 1981 in Formula Abarth and led from Formula 3 to Formula 3000, but without any top results. In 1992 the Italian was hired by the Brabham F1 team, which at the time was rather weak, but was unable to qualify in South Africa, Mexico or Brazil, whereupon she was replaced by Damon Hill. So far Giovanna Amati remains the last woman with a Formula 1 driver contract in her pocket. Later she competed in the Porsche Super Cup, the Ferrari Challenge and endurance races. At the end of the 1990s she contested various endurance races, including the twelve hours of Sebring in a BMW M3.
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ALMOST RALLY WORLD CHAMPION The woman who has made the most progress in rally history so far comes from southern France: In 1982 Michèle Mouton, who was born in Grasse, was runner-up with Audi Quattro after overall victories in the WRC rallies in Portugal, the Acropolis and Brazil behind the Opel Ascona 400 driver Walter Röhrl. Mouton's co-driver was the Italian Fabrizia Pons. In her remarkably consistent career from 1974-1986, Mouton was the French champion six times and European champion five times. She also won the German rally championship title with Peugeot in 1986 after winning the spectacular Pikes Peak mountain race in Colorado with a new record time with Audi Quattro the year before. The cars of her career came from Renault-Alpine, Fiat, Audi and Peugeot. Mouton contested the Le Mans 24 Hours in 1975 in a Moynet LM 75, which she drove to victory in the two-litre class together with the two Frenchwomen Marianne Hoepfner and Christine Dacremont. Also in the desert one can meet fast women, as the following example shows. Jutta Kleinschmidt is one of the big names in adventure racing. After a promising motorcycle career, she completed her first endurance races at the Nürburgring and Spa in 1992 before leaving again for asphalt. Sand was more comfortable for the German born in 1962 and she confirmed this at the latest in 2001 despite inferior material, with the first and so far only Paris-Dakar-overall victory by a woman; in the same year she was second in the Marathon World Cup. In 2002 Kleinschmidt
PHOTOS INSTEAD OF RALLY Born in 1941, Marie-Claude Charmasson, from Gap, grew up as a child in the post-war rally scene, because her father’s Citroën garage–Marion Charmasson was a rally driver herself–was visited by the participants every year during the Monte. At 23 she was the first co-driver of Claudine Vanson, the then French rally champion, and started under the pseudonym Marie-Claude Beaumont. In 1965 she joined Henri Greder, also a French rally champion, at whose side she initially acted as navigator. Later, as a driver of various Opel models, she contested important rallies and also competed in the Tour de France. With Greder, she took part in the Chevrolet Corvette 24 Hours of Le Mans, the Paris 1,000 km race at Montlhéry and other endurance races. In the course of 13 years, dozens of starts with Opel, Chevrolet, NSU, Lancia and Alpine have come together, including several Monte Carlo rallies and the East African Safari. She often won the Coupe des Dames. After retiring as a driver, Beaumont became a press officer for Renault Sport and later a racing photographer. In the 1990s, Ticino-based Lilian Bryner also attracted attention. This holder of a flight certificate competed in numerous long-distance races as Enzo Calderari's partner (mainly in Ferrari and Porsche), and the two also competed in Le Mans (in 2003 Bryner took third place in the FIA GT Championship) and together even won the 24 Hours of Spa. After her retirement from active racing at the end of 2005, she became a full-time helicopter pilot which she has continued with up to this day.
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started go-carting at the age of 14 and drove in Formula 3 from 1988 alongside Michael Schumacher and Heinz-Harald Frentzen. Second place at the F3 European Championship or the 24 Hours at the Nürburgring brought Lohr to the DTM, where she was the only woman to win a race with Mercedes in 1992. Her DTM track record remains unbeaten to this day; in 1996 she retired from the championship, but is still very fast with rally cars, racing trucks, historic touring cars or in brand-sponsored cups.
finished second in the Dakar and then moved from Mitsubishi to Volkswagen, where she was joined by Fabrizia Pons, Michèle Mouton’s former co-driver. However, she was unable to build on her previous successes; the best result was third place at the 2005 Dakar. With BMW and her old co-driver Tina Thörner, she still managed to only finish 15th in 2007. SWISS YOUNG TALENT Today there are more female racers than ever before; recently there have been Swiss women among them over and over again. For example, Natacha Gachnang from Vaud, born in 1987, cousin of former Formula 1 driver and long-distance world champion Sébastien Buemi (already his grandfather, Georges Gachnang, was a well-known racing driver), started go-carting and remained true to this category for eight seasons. She became Swiss Champion in 1996, then climbed into a Formula BMW singleseater and competed in parallel long distance races. The already discussed Simona de Silvestro has made it to the 500 miles of Indianapolis and has generally proven herself in the Indycar series. She returned to Europe in 2014 to gain access to Formula 1 via a Sauber driver contract–a hope that was not fulfilled. And then there is Rahel Frey from Niederbipp / SO, who entered go-carting at the age of twelve in 1998 and proved herself internationally. She spent the following years in Formula Renault 2000 and Formula 3, in between she also competed in Le Mans. At the end of 2010 Rahel was called into the German Touring Car Championship (DTM) by Audi, which she conytested for two years. Although she didn't achieve top results, she managed to have some good laps in this tough series. In general, the DTM can be described as a ‘race pool’ for women in a hurry. Whether Lella Lombardi (1984 with Alfa Romeo), Traudl Klink (1986 with Ford), Annette Meuvissen (1988-91 with BMW) or Mercedes Stermitz (1988 also with BMW)–many started here. Two other well-known examples were Beate Nodes, who was active between 1985-1988 and once made the podium before she died unexpectedly in 2008, and her rival Ellen Lohr. The latter
PROMOTION TO THE ROYAL LEAGUE Claudia Hürtgen, born in 1971 in Germany, should not be missing from the list of successful long-distance drivers, even though she never competed in the DTM but in other championships, where she was on the podium several times. The DTM drivers of modern times also include the daughter of Jacky Ickx, Vanina Ickx (2006-2007 with Audi) or Katherine Anne Legge (2008-2010, also with Audi). Between 2006-2012 the Brit Susie Stoddart also drove in the DTM; since the end of 2011 her name has been Susie Wolff (her husband is Mercedes Motorsport Director Toto Wolff ) and in 2012 she joined the Williams F1 racing team as a performance driver. In 2014 she competed twice in the first free practice, making her the first woman after Giovanna Amati to compete at an F1 weekend: In the 2015 season, Wolff was officially the test driver and was again used in opening practice sessions. Her colleague Maria de Vilotta had no luck in 2012 as an F1 test driver with the Marussia team. The Spaniard had an accident during her first official assignment and died in 2013 of the longterm effects. Nevertheless, it can be assumed that Wolff and Co. will be followed by more women. The media euphoria dedicated to the current female drivers, however, is only due to the increase in circulation, as there have always been women racing, as this article documents. And who knows: Perhaps the constantly evolving technology will allow feminine champions to be celebrated in the near future. In view of the large number of male drivers, this would really be a sensation.
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BENTAYGA SPEED An unsurpassed combination of luxury and performance
Author_Bentley Zürich Images_Bentley Motors Ltd.
Designed, engineered and handcrafted in the Great Britain, the Bentayga Speed is the fastest series-produced luxury SUV in Bentayga's history, the most powerful and strongest ever. The most technically advanced twelve-cylinder engine generates 635 hp; with a top speed of 306 km / h, the time from 0-100 km / h is just 3.9 seconds, exceeding the expectations of an ordinary SUV. This is the new Bentayga Speed. In keeping with the higher performance level, the Bentayga Speed presents an impressive exterior look. Dark-tinted headlights, side skirt strips in vehicle colours and an eye-catching rear spoiler indicate the SUV’s performance capability. Radiator and bumper grill inserts come in dark tones, and the exclusive 22-inch wheel rims, which are available in three different finishes, underline–in addition to the typical speed emblems–the sporty design.
PERFORMANCE, COMFORT AND HANDLING OF THE TOP CLASS As with all Bentayga models, the all-wheel-drive Speed is equipped with an electronic differential lock and up to eight driving dynamic modes. Custom-made revisions to the Sport mode offer a more dynamic driving experience. The Bentayga also remains unrivalled in its class in terms of vehicle stability and driving comfort. Bentley Dynamic Ride is the world’s first active electric roll stabiliser with a unique 48-volt system. This system directly counteracts side tilt forces when cornering. This ensures maximum tyre contact with the road and provides unique and exceptional handling. The driving experience is additionally enhanced by a more impressive engine sound when starting and downshifting as well as a tighter chassis setting. The permanent all-wheel drive gives the Bentayga Speed off-road capability and top-class handling.
A TRULY LUXURIOUS AND EXCLUSIVE INTERIOR The interior of the Bentayga, handcrafted in Crewe, England, is the epitome of modern British design. For the first time, a new colour combination is being used, whose special design emphasises its unique styling lines. The main element here is the use of an Alcantara cladding–available for the first time in a Bentayga. It also includes elegantly crafted, bold design elements on the door and handle, on the edge of the seats and backrests and on the lower console. New contrasting thread colours for diamond stitching, discreet speed symbols and an illuminated ‘Speed’ logo on the door sill complete the package. As with any Bentley, the Bentayga Speed can be customized with exclusive options.
THE ORIGINAL LUXURY SUV True off-road capability and impressive luxury are the basic values of the Bentley Bentayga. Equally powerful, individual and exquisite: The Bentayga is intended for all those who expect and appreciate uncompromising luxury. The award-winning Bentayga sets the standard in the luxury SUV market and offers the ultimate Grand Touring experience without any constraints in difficult terrain. The Bentayga stands for elegance and timelessness and maintains the perfect balance between sportiness and supreme ease. With the Bentayga Speed you experience all this with even more power.
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BURBERRY
Cashmere scarf with monogram pattern in stripe design and tassels. The comfortable length makes it versatile to wear and protects against wind in the cabriolet or on the motorcycle.
by
MO TION
T R E N D S
MASERATI
To round off the ‘GranCabrio’ luggage range, Maserati offers a single suitcase in the same design. The size of the case is designed so that it can be stowed in the rear seat of the vehicle and secured with a supplied luggage strap.
LAMBORGHINI
An open version of the coupe, the Aventador SVJ Roadster retains the SVJ's outstanding performance, handling and aerodynamic superiority and features a unique roadster design to ensure an exclusive open-air experience for both driver and passenger.
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Röm el Primero ® the Swiss Alternative for Rum
www.roemelprimero.ch
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FASH ION Tanktop: Zimmerli by Zigerli Trousers: TalbotRunhof by Maison Gassmann Bag: Burberry by Globus Shoes: Alexander McQueen www.luxury_shops.com
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Dress: www.shen-lin.com
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PHOTOGRAPHY:
BRIGITTE AESCHBACH
ART DIRECTION:
BRIGITTE AESCHBACH & JOACHIM SCHWEIER
MODEL:
SABRINA ARNOLD Shoes: Dior by www.luxury-shops.com
PHOTOASSISTANT:
ALESSANDRO FISCHER
STYLING ASSISTENT: STEPHANIE KAMBER
HAIR AND MAKE-UP: JAQUELINE PENZA
LOCATION:
CHEDI ANDERMATT
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Dress & Coat: Galvan by Maison Gassmann Bangle: Hermès by www.luxury-shops.com
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Blouse: Vilshenko by Maison Gassmann Trousers: QL2 by Eclectic Pure Pearl Ring: by www.jewelsforyou.com Ring Onyx: by www.jewelsforyou.com
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FASHION Dress: Talbot Run-off by Maison Gassmann Shoes: Chanel by www.luxury-shops.com
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Blouse: by www.amorphose.net Drop Bracelet: by www.jewelsforyou.com
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Dress: Maria Cornejo by Eclectic Belt: Alexander McQueen by www.luxury-shops.com Shoes: Charlotte Olympia by Maison Gassmann Bag: Gucci by www.reawake.ch
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Blouse: by www.amorphose.net Pure Diamand Ring: by www.jewelsforyou.com
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MANOLO BLAHNIK
Light pink satin slipper with golden and light pink satin fringe brooch with sun motif and spiked heel.
GEDEBE
Halfmoon printed leather mini clutch with detachable round handle, front f lap with gold plated metal magnetic clasp and crystal details.
MIU MIU
Sunglasses ‘Cloud’ in steel grey metal frame with rimless lenses provides optimal protection against UV rays.
TRENDS WOMEN by
TORY BURCH
Graphic colour blocking defines the Ponte Dress. A cut inspired by the 60s and the elastic belt with buckle ensure a flattering fit.
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Street Style Photography Photographer:Zoran Bozanic Model: Olga Vรถgeli Outfit:Gardenia Boutique Hair & Makeup: Scena Valentino
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From bodice to courageous: DIE DESIGNERTRACHT WEAR 2019 Monotony is so yesterday: The Tracht wear of 2019 is urban, colourful, courageous–but also traditional. Who has the choice, has the agony. This is true today more than ever. We looked at the hottest designers.
Author_Sandra Depner
IT
It is the biggest folk festival in the world– and the greatest exhibition of Tracht wear: the Oktoberfest. Trendy designers–especially from the Munich area–play with cut and fabric. Anyone with an exclusive taste will opt for the luxury model 2019 by designer Kinga Mathe, the standard version of which costs 20,000 euros. The bodice in cassis-coloured lamb suede comes with buttons in 18-carat rose gold. The whole thing is combined with an emerald green apron and a cassis velvet ribbon, as well as a Jacquard skirt made of dupion silk.
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VELVET AND TIMELESS In her autumn / winter collection, designer Kinga Mathe presents an electrifying mixture of sensuality and imaginative models. This year, velvet bodices are once again hip in autumnal colours: from rich red and berry tones to ice blue and navy to moss green, petrol and black. Silk skirts in a paisley pattern combined with a velvet bodice radiate timeless chic flair with a light boho touch. Jacquard in an ornamental velvet look makes for an opulent presentation. The suede bodices in the new
FASHION
Look Moncler Photography Susy Holtgrave Styling Davor Jelušić Model Linde Dericks @Paparazzi Model Management Hair & Make-up Melanie Hoppe Production @Call List Agency Zurich
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© Gottseidank
© Kinga Mathe
Tracht-à-porter with Kinga Mathe. The bodice is made of elegant black velvet. The silk apron comes with a boho apron ribbon, the dirndl's eye-catcher.
A colour trend in the coming autumn / winter season is strong pastel colours and berry tones.
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Š Gottseidank
FASHION
Designer JĂśrg Hittenkofer from the label Gottseidank designs a traditional costume for urban society.
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shades of cassis and olive are particularly elegant. The dirndl looks are rounded off by a matching crochet lace top.
© Noh Nee Rock
Colours, patterns, contrasts: Noh Nee combines Bavarian traditional costume tradition and African influences. Also in the Dirndl ‘Anna’ with an original African wax print.
CONTRAST IS KING The Munich traditional Tracht wear label Gottseidank dares to strike a balance between tradition and modernity. The credo is to create traditional Tracht wear that meets both historical demands and the needs of today’s urban society. The new collection shows how this can look: it is a play on contrasts and bold, clear colour statements. This ranges from combining discreet colours with strong tones to colour blocking. The same applies to fabrics and patterns: natural plain materials meet strong pattern trends. The contrast runs through all the way to the cuts: Designer Jörg Hittenkofer is increasingly playing with casual widths and oversize. COLOUR, COLOUR, COLOUR A dirndl is something typically Bavarian. Really. Noh Nee breaks with this and brings Africa to the Free State of Bavaria: bright colours, artistic patterns, African wax prints and embroideries combined with traditional Bavarian Dirndl cuts. The two sisters Marie Darouiche and Rahmée Wetterich from Noh Nee bring together different cultures and customs in their Munich studio and take a new look at the image of traditional Tracht wear: ‘We design dresses for women who already own many dirndls or who never really wanted to wear one’, they say. If you want to attract attention at the Oktoberfest Wiesn, you can rely on the Noh-Nee-Dirndl ‘Anna’–a combination of a classic cut and a floral wax print on a graphic striped background. Orange, reddish brown and white form the extraordinary pattern of this African dirndl with a heart-shaped neckline and stand-up collar. The bodice closes with decorative silver buttons. The matching cummerbund, which can be tied to a bow at the waist, sculpts a particularly feminine figure.
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TRENDS by
GUCCI
Metal sunglasses with rectangular frame. Supplied in a velvet hard shell case with matching satin flannel bag.
M E N
ROBERTO CAVALLI
The 2019 / 2020 Autumn / Winter Collection lets the classic suits of the Italian fashion designer shine in fresh colours.
MAISON MARGIELA
New edition of Maison Margielas Retro Fit Sneakers: here in a lacquered version with high-gloss coating for a breathtaking, futuristic finish.
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© Dahee ZOE
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© Dahee ZOE
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Author_ Swenja Willms
KO RE AN BE AU TY HARDLY ANY OTHER CULTURE ATTACHES AS MUCH IMPORTANCE TO EXTERNAL BEAUTY AS THE KOREAN CULTURE. KOREAN BEAUTY CARE PRODUCTS, COLLOQUIALLY CALLED K-BEAUTY, ARE ALSO REVOLUTIONIZING THE EUROPEAN BEAUTY MARKET. IT IS NOT SURPRISING THAT KOREA, THE COUNTRY THAT IS CONSIDERED A PIONEER IN THE BEAUTY INDUSTRY, IS HIGHLY REGARDED. ALWAYS INVOLVED IN NEW TRENDS AND INNOVATIONS IN SKIN CARE AND COSMETICS, THIS MARKET RELIES ON NATURAL INGREDIENTS AND HIGH QUALITY. WHAT APPEARS AS A NEW TREND HAS A MILLENNIA-OLD HISTORY.
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© Dahee ZOE
It is well known that beauty lies in the eye of the beholder. What some people see as an expression of pure aesthetics, others don’t know what to do with it. Nevertheless, in times of social media, utopian ideals of beauty dominate, which literally overflow into the cosmetics market. Innovative new products and cosmetic tools, limited special editions and unbridled experimentation and curiosity on the part of customers are the order of the day. It seems as if the beauty frenzy has taken the Western world into custody. In more distant cultures, the obsession with the flawless external appearance has historically already left its mark. Korea is such an example. The ideal of beauty in Korea goes back to a long history. Already in the Joseon period (1392 A.D. to 1910 A.D.) the Gisaeng, who were mostly young entertainers, regarded as embodiments of female beauty, were described as having shiny black hair, cherry-red lips, peach cheeks, shapely curved eyebrows and a pale complexion. Even in ancient Korea, women used powder to bleach their skin, as well as rouge and lipstick. Contoured eyebrows, which were already a beauty feature in the Silla period (57 B.C. to 935 A.D.), are still an absolute must for Korean women today. In principle, all these historical ideals are still anchored in the minds of today’s 21st century. It is therefore not surprising that Korea has the highest rate of cosmetic surgery in the world. 50 percent of all Korean women between the ages of 20 and 30 are said to have undergone cosmetic surgery. The industry thus generates an annual turnover of around 4.5 billion euros. Popular procedures are eyelid or nose corrections, liposuction or injections such as Botox. In this part of the world, there is a tendency for individual cases to be brought under the knife, which is common practice in Korea. Anything that contradicts the generally accepted aesthetics is a thorn in the side of the Korean population. People live in the belief that good looks are conducive for a successful career and in the search for a partner. OF JARS AND CONTAINERS In order to meet their personal ideal of beauty, Koreans take their time (because even men in Korea increasingly resort to high-quality cosmetics). They often treat their skin with up to ten different skin care products. Starting with a cleanser and toner, the moisturizers, serums and masks follow, and finally sun protection and BB Cream are applied. For this complete skin care, the Korean market offers enough cosmetics manufacturers to satisfy the demanding needs of customers. Demanding because Korea in particular attaches great importance to effective formulas, innovative products and natural ingredients. 80 percent of all cosmetic products in Korea consist of natural ingredients. This can be traced back to the tradition of Korean skin care, which is based on natural ingredients from plants and herbs such as fermented soybeans, green tea, bamboo, honey, algae or ginseng. Other popular ingredients include cucumber, due to its vitamins A, B and C, aloe vera, which is used when moisture is lost, or rose water, which cleans the skin deep into the pores thanks to its mild formulation. Many well-known products have their origin in Korea. These include BB and CC Cream. Almost every cosmetic brand now has such a cream within its range. BB Cream, or ‘Blemish Balm’, supplies the skin with moisture and makes it appear more even. If you want to cover redness or pigment disorders, use CC
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MUST-HAVES
ETERNAL YOUTH
A STIMULANT
INTENSIVE NUTRIENTS
The ‘LosecSumma Elixir Emulsion’ from su:m37 has a rich, smooth texture, moisturizes and firms the skin.
The firming lifting essence ‘Intensive Nutritive Essence’ by The History of Whoo helps against sagging and tired skin.
Combat restless, acne-prone and aging skin with Mizonʼs ‘Snail Repair Ex Ampoule Serum’.
Not only cosmetic products are flooding Europe from Asia. Cosmetic studios are also expanding their range of services with treatments from Korea. These include the ‘BB Glow Treatment’. This type of microneedling refines the appearance of the skin, smoothes the complexion and lightens problem areas. A flawless skin is the signature of Korean women. But not all beauty treatments in Korea are exterior treatments. Korean massage, for example, not only aims at pure relaxation but also at activating and harmonising the ki life force energy. Mental blocks are released and the natural self-healing power comes to the fore. Korea has not forgotten its inner values and traditions despite a constant supply of optical beauticians.
Cream, i.e. ‘Color Correction’. This cream compensates color changes of the skin. Cushion Make-up is a mix of BB Cream, foundation and sun protection. The compact make-up is applied to the skin using an integrated sponge. Caring masks are a favourite product of Asians. Sheet Masks are wafer-thin disposable face masks soaked in high doses of active ingredients. There is a suitable mask for every skin need: Hydration, wrinkles, cell renewal or impurities. In contrast to sheet masks, sleeping masks are worn overnight on the skin and washed off in the morning. The skin appears more relaxed and provides energy and moisture for the day. The texture of these masks is in many cases much richer.
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PHOTOGRAPHED Dahée Zoé, whose works adorn this article, knows how to perfectly capture the beauty of Korean culture. Born into a traditional aristocratic family in Korea, the young photographer specializes in the unique blend of Korean culture and a touch of Parisian chic. Her photographic career began at the age of 18 when she moved to Paris where she discovered her great passion at EFET, a private school for audiovisual photography. The up-and-coming artist now works for fashion magazines such as ‘Vogue’ and ‘Elle’ and regularly presents her work in various exhibitions in Paris and Seoul.
WWW.DAHEEZOE.COM dahee_zoe_de_hanyan
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©Andrea Monica Hug
IT’S NOT EASY,
BEING GREEN
Katrin Roth works as a freelance journalist, copywriter and Author_Katrin Roth
presenter. She has been running her own blog since 2017 and tests herself through the tubes, pots and treatments of the cosmetics industry.
‘Dr. Hauschka.’ The pronunciation of the name brought the actress Julia Roberts to her linguistic limits – but did not stop her from praising at every opportunity the rose cream of the traditional German house, which she had come across through her stylist on the set of ‘Erin Brockovich’. ‘The Birkenstock of beauty products’ is what the Oscar winner once called her new care favourites in an interview–and catapulted natural cosmetics from the stale eco- corner into the Hollywood spotlight. Almost 20 years later, there is no end to the green beauty wave in sight, on the contrary: organic toiletries are trendy, cosmetics without toxins are in demand, and the supply of natural beauty products is increasing in line with rising demand–much to my delight, as should perhaps be mentioned at this point. As a long-time beauty journalist, the discussion about questionable ingredients has of course not escaped my notice. At the same time, I love a touch of luxury in the bathroom and also have–due to my profession, but also due to my date of birth (born 1972, I leave the
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arithmetic to you)–have very high demands on cosmetics. With regard to the active ingredients (as efficient as possible), the texture (velvety-fine), the scent (discreet) and of course the packaging, as my beauty products should not only make me look pretty, but should have a visually appealing design for my feed on Instagram. And yes, that is very 2019–as is the steadily growing range of natural cosmetics products, which in many respects can easily compete with their conventional competitors. And yes, that is very 2019–as is the steadily growing range of natural cosmetics products, which in many respects can easily compete with their conventional competitors. As a result, I can hardly make up my mind when it comes to beauty shopping for natural cosmetics between all the great products and in cases of excessive demands and often think with a smile of Kermit from the Muppet Show, who once sang: ‘It’s not easy being green’. WWW.SONRISA.CH
katrincroth
LUXU RY N AT U R A L S P E R F U M E RY
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WHEN PLEASURE MEETS
HEALTH Author_Steffi Hidber
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BORDEAUX
LES SOURCES DE CAUDALIE The combination couldn’t be more promising: Wellness with the award-winning skin care products of the French brand Caudalie–and wine from the (also award-winning) vineyard Smith Haut-Lafitte. Just 20 minutes from Bordeaux airport is the Cathiards family home, a French entrepreneurial family with three power couples who are creating a worldwide sensation in both pleasure and beauty. The parents Florence and Daniel Cathiard take care of the wine, daughter Alice and her husband Jérôme Tourbier are responsible for the spa ‘Les Sources de Caudalie’ and the associated hotel, while their older sister Mathilde Thomas runs the beauty brand together with her husband from Paris. As soon as one arrives at the property, a wonderful feeling of tranquility spreads. With 40 perfectly decorated rooms and three junior suites, the hotel is relatively well laid out, and by distributing them among six different ‘maisons’, everything becomes and looks–very private. Delicious specialities from the region (Bordeaux is close enough to the sea that you can enjoy oysters even in midsummer) go perfectly with the selected wine list, where you can bet on the different ‘house wines’ without hesitation like nowhere else. Chef Nicolas Masse leads a formal ecosystem of pleasure and joie de vivre in the two-Michelin-starred restaurant La Grand’Vigne, which attracts guests from all over Burgundy. THE VINE THAT INSPIRES EVERYTHING Nature plays a central role here in all matters. The surrounding area with its green vineyards and dense oak forests can easily be explored with the hotel's own bikes, which are available to all hotel guests–and a guided tour of the Smith Haut-Lafitte winery is almost obligatory. All the better when you meet the boss Florence
Cathiard herself, who, wearing a sun hat, is assisting her winegrowers with the (biological) spraying of the vines. ‘It’s a passion, not a profession’, she explains laughing as she receives the latest drone image updates from her team in the back corners of the vineyards. As beautiful as the surroundings are, now is the time to uncover the beauty secrets for which Caudalie is valued around the world. For beauty lovers, it’s all about the Vinothérapie Spa, opened in 1999, celebrating its 20th anniversary this year and considered to be one of the most beautiful thermal springs and spas in France. In the separate, wonderfully quiet wellness area, a whole series of exclusive treatments are offered, which make use of the mineral-rich thermal waters supplied here from a natural spring 540 metres deep. The treatments we experienced convinced us with their extraordinary sensitivity: both the full body massage with Caudalie body oil rich in active ingredients and the ‘Rituel Premier Cru’, a specialized anti-aging facial treatment, are highly recommended. Although some day guests also arrive at the spa, it is mainly hotel guests who take a break here. ‘Madame’ treats herself to a facial treatment or a rejuvenating body wrap with fresh grapes, while ‘Monsieur’ pretends to read ‘Forbes’–but always puts the magazine aside and looks at the pool and the surrounding vineyards from the lounger in a relaxed manner. And we also like to be lulled in by the extraordinary atmosphere. The frogs croak in the pond, the ducks quack quietly. And one wonders how quickly one can find an excuse to return here as soon as possible.
WWW.SOURCES-CAUDALIE.COM
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© Matthieu Cellard
NATURE PLAYS A CENTRAL ROLE HERE IN ALL MATTERS
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zeitgeist of the modern eco-tourist is the freshly introduced Organic Beauty treatments from Tata Harper. The luxurious face and body care is handmade in small batches on their farm located on the US east coast and contains only organic ingredients of the highest quality. Perfectly trained spa personnel use these new, exceptional products in such a way that the skin shines for days after the brand's signature facial: a beauty experience that shakes even the most experienced journalist awake–natural cosmetics can actually be so effective. However, ‘Anassa’ not only stands for beauty and wellness, but also offers the sporty, adventurous guest a sheer endless selection of activities. In the eight restaurants and bars of ‘Anassa’ the Mediterranean ‘joie de vivre’ is lived in the most delicious way. Both the Wagyu Beef in the Asian-coloured Basiliko restaurant and the simple Club Sandwich in the beach bar are a delight with their careful presentation, made out of the freshest ingredients and a love of detail that stands out. It’s a pity we missed the weekly Cypriot market festival, which takes place on the square in front of the hotel’s own church … but luckily you can also enjoy the homemade Halloumi at breakfast with a view of the sea. ‘Anassa’ manages the balancing act between a family-friendly resort hotel and an adult friendly getaway in an extremely pleasant way and can therefore be recommended both ‘en famille’ and for a solo break. I return–at least rested and with radiant skin back to work–and have become not only a Tata Harper fan, but also a sea turtle godmother.
ZYPERN
Barren hills dotted with rugged boulders and bleating goats: this is how you imagine Cyprus outside the all-inclusive holiday resorts. So did I when I started my four-day beauty break at the 5-star Hotel Anassa on the western tip of Cyprus. Only 48 hours later, during the adventurous jeep safari with tour guide Debbie Pagdadis, it became clear to me how stunningly diverse the flora and fauna of the Mediterranean island are. But I’m getting ahead of myself: The ostensible mission is to test the award-winning thalassotherapy spa of the ‘Anassa’ and to balance body and soul in relaxation and beauty. The luxury resort, which in 2019 will again boast a top ranking in the ‘Condé Nast Traveler Awards’–with the Gold List award for ‘Best Hotels and Resorts in the World’–is for those seeking beauty, already geographically perfect. Here, on Cyprus’s picturesque west coast, legend has it that the Greek goddess Aphrodite escaped the waves and fell madly in love with Adonis. If you look at the coast for the first time from the ‘Anassa’, you immediately feel the romantic attraction–and are happy to be in the hands of the host team, who know their guests’ every wish.
WWW.ANASSA.COM
BEAUTIFUL WITH THE POWER OF THE SEA Sometimes luxury lies in omitting details. Here, in the thalasso spa of ‘Anassa’, the mix of lavish details, clear forms and relaxing retreats is perfect. The crystal-clear salt water is pumped directly from the bay of Chrysochou into the 18 treatment rooms, where its vitalising effect is used perfectly with exceptional treatments. The ‘Anassa Thalasso Experience’ can be individually assembled from the thalassotherapy jet shower, which gets your metabolism going, to the invigorating full-body peeling with organic algae and sea salt, and is an absolute must for all those who want to start their journey home much more relaxed and with skin that is softer to the touch. An innovation that perfectly captures the
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VICTORIA-JUNGFRAU GRAND HOTEL The panorama would have been breathtaking if the changeable weather hadn’t put a spoke in our wheel. But why should we be any different than the hundreds of tourists from all over the world who made the pilgrimage to Interlaken to admire probably the most impressive mountain scenery of Switzerland? The most beautiful view of the Jungfrau–and the most luxurious relaxation experience–is offered by the venerable Victoria-Jungfrau Grand Hotel & Spa, which has stood for tradition and hospitality for over 150 years. As impressive as the historic interior and the award-winning restaurants are, so ‘cutting edge’ is the spa of the five-star hotel. No wonder, because the Victoria-Jungfrau-Collection also includes the Swiss anti-aging care brand Nescens, which not only offers a truly unique, holistic wellness offer with the ‘Spa Nescens’ located on 5500 square metres, but also offers a medical better-aging programme at the highest level with special ‘Better Aging’ packages. The personal care that makes this experience so unique begins even before you arrive. Spa Director Hans-Peter Veit is keen to get to know each and every one of his guests before they arrive, in order to put together a tailor-made health programme to harmonise body, mind and spirit. Prevention is one of the great key words that have shaped tourism in recent years–and will continue to do so in the future. And the ‘Victoria-Jungfrau’ benefits from this at a very high level. Our personal ‘Better Aging Break’ was condensed from a recommended five to just under three days and should be regarded as a ‘light version’ of the offer with which the ‘Victoria Jungfrau’ clearly stands out from other comparable medical offers. Although the focus here is on the here and now during the stay, the entire care and wellness offer is intensively geared towards ensuring that certain changes can also be brought into everyday life. HOLISTIC CONCEPTS TO LIVE WELL LONGER Our wellness break starts with a body analysis, a medical consultation with a specialist and a detailed nutritional consultation with a renewed focus on ‘practicality’. The health programme starts with Pilates personal training, a ‘Signature De-Stressing Massage’ in the spa and leaves us–after a delicious dinner in the restaurant - La Terrasse by Stefan Beer–to sink happily and exhausted into bed in our ‘Bel Air’ Junior Suite, specially designed for guests of the Nescens Spa with direct access to the wellness area.
THE MOST BEAUTIFUL VIEW OF JUNGFRAU
We’ll take advantage of it the next morning: The ‘Regenerating Anti-Aging Premium Facial Treatment’ is part of the programme early on and is a clear highlight of the spa, because the high-tech skin care brand Nescens not only offers its products here, but also facial treatments as part of the tailor-made Better-Aging programme. With a radiant complexion, we head out for a light lunch in the Spa Bistro and enjoy the extensive sauna and pool landscape before we joyfully plunge into the rest of the Spa programme again. After almost three days, the guest realises why the house won the ‘Medical & Health Concepts’ award at the ‘Gruner + Jahr Spa Awards’ in 2019: The personal, extremely courteous service provided by Mr. Veit and the great culinary offer of the VictoriaJungfrau Grand Hotel make this ‘health-promoting’ break an extraordinary experience that resonates. At home, we are happy about the booklet which is delivered later, which not only summarises all laboratory values and findings, but also individual training plans of the in-house sports and movement experts, so that the pleasant body feeling lasts as long as possible. WWW.VICTORIA-JUNGFRAU.CH
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CHRISTIAN LOUBOUTIN
‘Loubilaque Lip Gloss’ is a combination of iridescent, holographic and metallic glitter that creates a magical color-change effect on the lips.
TRENDS B E A U T Y by
CLÉ DE PEAU
A clinically proven anti-wrinkle serum that delivers highly effective and visible results. Significantly reduces the appearance of wrinkles while preventing the formation of new lines.
GIVENCHY
The new ‘Live Irrésistible Eau de Toilette’ challenges you to an irresistible life. A flowery and fruity cocktail, lively and juicy.
VALMONT
‘Poudre de teint précieuse’: This dreamlike powder foundation melts with the skin and gives it a velvety glow.
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‘NEUE RÄUME 19’ Author_Lone K. Halvorsen
THE INTERNATIONAL INTERIOR DESIGN FAIR CELEBRATES ITS ANNIVERSARY
FOR THE TENTH TIME, "NEUE RÄUME" TRANSFORMS ZURICH INTO A MECCA OF DESIGN. IN THE ABB HALL, THE ESTABLISHED SHOW ONCE AGAIN OFFERS VISITORS FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD A VARIETY OF NEW PRODUCTS AND AN EXCITING SUPPORTING PROGRAMME.
From 14 to 17 November, the design exhibition, which has meanwhile become a permanent institution, will once again open its doors. Beyond its borders, the show which takes place every odd year, is regarded as a unique focal point for the specialist audience of the design scene and its lovers. In addition to new products from 100 national and international manufacturers, current and future home trends are traditionally presented in various curated special shows on 8,000 square metres of presentation space. For the tenth edition, the audience will be thrilled by inviting home environments, current themes and an inspiring supporting programme. Already at the entrance there are two attractive installations to welcome the visitor. One of them is by String and Gin Gents and the other is by a cooperation of Bodenschatz, Laufen and Aesop. It’s not just the design pieces that are the source of excitement when entering the den of design. New framework programs also take design beyond the usual horizon. Whether through culinary creations and inspirations, which are served on the Friday evening of the fair, or the progressive production ‘Hands On’, which deals controversially with the aesthetic and functional design of prostheses and social design ideals. In addition, the special show ‘Glamour’ celebrates the tenth edition of the ‘neue räume’ with its unusual staging and takes visitors on a journey through time through the world of design. The ‘neue räume 19’ promises to bring a multifaceted programme on the subject of design to Zurich once again this time. WWW.NEUERAEUME.CH
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Author_Nicole Hoch Images_LIVINGDREAMS
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‘No one caresses a veneered table or even a plastic one. Such a table may look ‘perfect’ at first glance, but it has no soul, no history, no life.’ Nicole Hoch attaches great importance to furniture and furnishings that do not come off the assembly line, but are custommade for each of her numerous customers. Every piece of furniture, whether table, chair or lounge, has not only a function, it should also arouse emotions in us. In 2003, Nicole Hoch founded her first shop in Meilen, near Zurich, with furniture and furnishings, many of them to her own design and made-to-measure, to suit the size of her clients’ premises or garden. The concept soon included a personal consultation on site, supported by visualisations from the studio, which could show the customer the furniture in his garden. The main shop in Meilen covers the entire range located on an area of 580 square metres, the show garden is always open. Nicole Hoch constantly improves her own products and develops new ideas that meet the needs of her customers. She was one of the first in Switzerland to recognize a great demand for weatherproof cushions for garden furniture, and together with manufacturers of ski suits she developed fabrics for mattresses and cushions made of weather-resistant high-tech material that can withstand any weather. The endless carrying in and out of the lounge cushions is no longer necessary, they remain outside all year round. The great demand for her furniture and this concept led her to open another shop in Mallorca in 2015 in a historic city palace. In Santa Maria del Cami she runs her large exhibition in the house and also in the enchanted palm garden located on an area of over 750 square meters. Embedded in this oasis is a top- class restaurant, also run by Nicole Hoch, the ‘Restaurante19 by LIVINGDREAMS’. Here you can dine in a romantic ambience at monumental tables or simply ‘chill’. The garden is bathed in soft light from garden lamps from her own collection. The kitchen team conjures up a fusion of local products with an Asian touch, but there are also specialities from Mallorca and South America on the menu. Nicole Hoch and her numerous employees carry out their work with passion and heart and soul. The customer always t akes centre stage; with this concept LIVINGDREAMS has found an exquisite niche in an often very superficial and standardised f urniture world.
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FINN JUHL
AN ICON COMES TO LIFE ‘A chair is not just a product of decorative art in a space, it is a form and a space in itself.’ – Finn Juhl –
July 1938: Finn Juhl is 27 years old and experiments on this warm summer evening in his small apartment north of Copenhagen on a grasshopper-like armchair which he would like to present to master carpenter Niels Vodder. Finn Juhl is aiming to have the chair built and exhibited next autumn at the Kabinettschmiede exhibition. The chair, later nicknamed ‘The Grasshopper’, became a reality. Two pieces were produced and presented at Niels Vodder’s stand in the 1938 guild exhibition. With its stretched hind legs, the chair offers plenty of space in a room, while the lavish leather upholstery lures with high comfort, inviting the seated person to rest in elegance. The ‘Grasshopper’ has achieved icon status through numerous illustrations in design literature. The only two chairs available are considered to be some of the most valuable collectibles of Danish furniture design. In November 2018, one of the
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two ‘Grasshoppers’ was auctioned at Artcurial in Paris for 319,000 euros. THE LEGEND RETURNS 81 years after the original design by Finn Juhl, the chair is now experiencing a major relaunch. Hans Henrik Sørensen, co-founder of Finn Juhl, says: "When we were granted the exclusive right to produce Finn Juhls furniture in 2001, it seemed obvious that this very chair would come back to life at some point. Despite the original sketches by Finn Juhl, it took almost 20 years before we succeeded in producing the ‘Grasshopper’ exactly as intended. This chair was the most difficult design Finn Juhl developed. This would not have been possible without the old version of the chair and our experienced Japanese craftsmen and partners. The legendary ‘Grasshopper’ has been available since summer 2019.
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SWISS BLISS The Chedi Residences Andermatt Author_ The Chedi Residences
In Andermatt, which was once the location for the James Bond film ‘Goldfinger’, there is a luxury hotel which is new for Europe and which would have amazed Bond himself. With good reason, ‘The Chedi A ndermatt’ was voted the best holiday hotel in Switzerland by the ‘SonntagsZeitung’ hotel rating and received top marks in the renowned ‘Forbes Travel Guide’. The design of the resort bears the signature of Jean-Michel Gathy, star architect at Denniston International Architects & Planners Ltd, who with a keen awareness has succeeded in combining tradition and nature using materials from the region. This incredible fusion of Asian and Swiss themes includes an award-winning spa and excellent restaurants. ‘We are a year-round destination’, says Melanie Thiel, who is responsible for selling the luxurious apartments in the hotel. ‘It’s the perfect luxury pit stop if you want to discover one of Europe’s most varied regions’. In summer, guests and owners enjoy activities such as golf, hiking and cycling, while winter pleasures include skiing, cross-country skiing and sledging. The spa offers a luxurious touch with saunas, steam baths and a state-of-theart fitness room. The 35 metre long swimming pool is under a glass roof and the outdoor pool is heated. There are four re-
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staurants to choose from for dinner, with the Japanese restaurant being awarded its first Michelin star in autumn 2017. The main restaurant impresses with its walk-in cheese tower, which has local hard and soft cheeses in stock, and of course matching wines. A ski-butler helps guests and owners with the managing of meals on the piste - in summer - sports-butlers are available to give advice from golf to fishing. In the inner courtyard there is a quiet pond; the hotel rooms and residences are generously and luxuriously equipped and invite you to relax. If this should sound very tempting, ‘The Chedi Andermatt’ offers the possibility to purchase a residence for unlimited use. Buyers can then decide whether to occupy the residence exclusively for themselves or make it available to the hotel during absences. There are no restrictions on the acquisition of property by non-Swiss residents, nor is there any restriction on the use of the residence purely as a holiday home. ‘The Chedi Andermatt’ comprises 50 hotel rooms and 119 residences integrated into the hotel for sale, of which 13 are penthouses. The luxurious residences with 95 to 240 square meters of living space are fully equipped and tastefully furnished and decorated in the design of Jean-Michel Gathy. Penthouses are between 189 and 616 square metres in size and are sold as shell buildings, giving buyers the opportunity to realise their dream property. The purchase prices of The Chedi Residences start at CHF 1.69 million for a one-bedroom residence, CHF 3.29 million for a two-bedroom residence and CHF 4.12 million for a penthouse residence. More than 70 percent of The Chedi Residences have already been sold–half of them to Swiss buyers who have rediscovered Andermatt as their destination, and the other half to foreign investors from overseas, neighbouring countries in Europe, Asia and the Middle East. A very illustrious ‘family’ of owners is in the making, and the satisfied owners and enthusiastic hotel guests are the best ambassadors for the unique real estate
offer. ‘The Chedi Andermatt’ is the first landmark of the new destination development in Andermatt, which will be built on 1.4 million square meters. The overall project includes six 4- and 5-star hotels, 42 luxurious apartment buildings, 25 exclusive villas, a shopping promenade with restaurants, an 18-hole golf course, a sports centre with wellness facilities, a concert hall and an underground car park. The Andermatt ski resort has been modernised and linked to the neighbouring ski resorts of Sedrun and Disentis. This modern ski arena has 180 kilometres of varied pistes and makes skiers happy at any level.
WWW.THECHEDI-ANDERMATT.COM
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An interior world full of colours Author_Lone K. Halvorsen
THAT COLOURS HAVE AN EFFECT IS UNDISPUTED. SOME DISPLAY CREATIVITY, WHILE OTHERS ARE CALMING AND CERTAIN COLOURS, ON THE OTHER HAND, HAVE A POWERFUL EFFECT. BUT BEFORE THE WALLS ARE PAINTED, IT IS WORTH TAKING A LOOK AT THE EFFECT OF COLOURS AND EVEN AT THE COLOUR TREND INDICATORS.
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The world is colorful and colors are in, no matter where you look. The perfect choice of colour is not only important in fashion, but also within your own four walls. It has always been known that every colour has a certain effect on our psyche and our mood. Consequently, it is also plain to see that colour philosophy has become indispensable in the world of interior design.
THE PERSONAL MESSAGE OF A COLOUR
From soft green to bright red tones or noble blue tones: how do colours affect our walls, and what needs to be considered before the walls are painted? Living with colour should positively influence our mood and also accentuate our personal style and character. If you want a stylish apartment with a personal flair, you should definitely consider integrating a little colour. But which colour is the right one? Should one rely on one’s own personal preferences or consider the scientifically proven effect of colours? The following principles should be observed in any case: Stay true to your colour type; don’t experiment with colours that are currently in; and absolutely don’t conform to your character; consider the use of the room and what will be done in the room.
THIS IS HOW WE SEE THE COLORS
It is said that physical colours are colourless, but colours are transported by light and thus arise in our perception. The eight basic colours are red, green, blue, cyan, magenta, yellow, white and black, and each colour designation naturally includes many colour nuances. The design recommendations for the colour selection of a room are of course not carved in stone, although certain ‘problem zones’ in the apartment can be covered up with colours. Above all, this includes the fact that colours can influence the perception of room size. But beware, too much colour can also bring unrest into your house. Therefore, it is advisable to take a look at a colour table before using brushes and colours. It shows the different colour tones and is certainly helpful in making a decision. Which colour is most suitable for which room is often–
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somewhat controversially recommended–but one can say: Light, bluish tones appear airy, roomy and cool. A suitable place for such a colour could be, for example, the hallway. The secret weapon for small rooms is a dark colour, which makes the room contours disappear. In the bedroom there should be peace and harmony, and the colour blue or a shade of grey goes well there. After years of light tones in the kitchen, the colour black has suitably been given a right to exist here. In combination with a concrete wall or metal tones, this darkest of all dark colours does not look gloomy, but completely elegant.
LIVING WITH COLOUR SHOULD HAVE A POSITIVE INFLUENCE ON THE MOOD
COLOUR OF THE YEAR
Every year at the Munich Fabric Start trade fair, the renowned colour institute Pantone specifies what fashion, beauty and interior technology will be in for the coming year. The year 2020 will be dominated by the sea and all the colour nuances that the sea can create through wind and weather. For the experts, one thing is certain: a diverse palette of grey and blue tones blended with khaki and green and washed-out pastel shades. In addition, the very dark blue tones and washed out shades in green, which remind of the depths of the oceans and are partly metallic shiny. As different as the trend colours of 2020 may look, one thing is certain: there will be no need to do without colour next year either.
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GUCCI
Ein Porzellantablett hergestellt aus weissem Richard-GinoriPorzellan, bedruckt mit einem skurrilen «Toile de Jouy»-Design aus Kirschzweigen, Blättern und Blumen.
by
VISTA ALEGRE
Ein wahres Kunstwerk ist die neue Caballus-DekotellerKollektion der «Manufatura Vista Alegre», die der hohen Reitkunst Tribut zollt.
PIETER ADAM
«Laika» ist Teil der neusten Kollektion von Pieter Adam. Die geräumigen Designkugeln bestehen aus böhmischem Kristall und sind eine Konstruktion aus gegossenem Messing.
LIV ING
GALIMBERTI NINO
Tissi Lounge Chair: Sessel mit mehrschichtiger Holzstruktur und einer Polsterung aus Polyurethanschaum und einem senfgelbbemusterten Überzug.
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ARCHITECTURE IS NO COINCIDENCE, BUT A GUARANTEE Author_Swenja Willms Images_SimmenGroup
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ANYONE WHO IS INVOLVED IN BUILDING THEIR DREAM HOME HAS HUNDREDS OF QUESTIONS THAT NEEDS TO BE ANSWERED: HOW BIG ARE THE BEDROOMS? DOES THE CHOSEN WALLPAPER MATCH THE COLOUR OF THE COUCH? WHICH LIGHTING CREATES A COSY ATMOSPHERE? THE SIMMENGROUP PURSUES THE GOAL OF DEVELOPING AND REALISING EXACTLY THE ITEM FOR EACH CUSTOMER THAT OPTIMALLY MEETS THEIR INDIVIDUAL IDEAS, REQUIREMENTS AND NEEDS. AS AN EXPERT IN NEW BUILDINGS AND CONVERSIONS IN SWITZERLAND, THE COMPANY UNITES ALL SKILLS UNDER ONE ROOF AND ACCOMPANIES ITS CUSTOMERS FROM THE FIRST FLOOR PLAN TO HANDING OVER THE KEYS.
PRESTIGE: Mr. Simmen, the SimmenGroup offers a so-called ‘one-stop shop’ concept that is unique in Switzerland. How did you recognize there was a demand for such a concept? PATRIC SIMMEN: For the customer it is a welcome solution if he can get all the expertise from one source. Cooperation with architects, landscape designers or site managers is made much easier, communication channels are more direct, and the potential for conflict is practically resolved. This also creates a golden thread running through our projects, because our employees in our open office discuss customer wishes and strive to achieve a consistent overall result. Customer needs have always been our motivation. One of your services is the so-called ‘DoubleCheck’, i.e. a non-binding second opinion of projects of other providers. Which steps does such an analysis go through? When implementing ongoing or planned construction projects, clients benefit from the competent advice and comprehensive client representation of the SimmenGroup. The customer supplies us with the plans, ideally before the building permit has been submitted, and the first discrepancies are identified in an initial discussion. In most cases, I notice discrepancies and errors at first glance. According to an agreed lump sum, the customer receives his revised plans back, if necessary with graphic visualizations. After the DoubleCheck, the customer is free to complete his project with us or the original provider or to use only individual services from us.
Patric Simmen: His whole passion belongs to creative and tailor-made real estate concepts.
The DoubleCheck is, so to speak, a guarantee of success? The living experience is clearly improved. We guarantee a functioning floor plan, a finished building plan, to which no creative site manager has to be called in. We offer optimisation for every price segment. A functioning floor plan has to work just as well in an expensive house as in an inexpensive one. And it is simply thought through, every point before the start of construction is planned: Space for the woman’s handbags, enough privacy in the bathroom, the size of the kitchen. The we and the customers are concerned with all these questions, because once all these points have been clarified, the well-being of the residents is also increased. What expertise does such an analysis require? Spatial imagination is essential. But it is also an exhausting task to think oneself into a space and to assess the consequences of a change. In addition, the focus must be on interior design and the question of how a room can be optimally furnished. Ultimately, also the legal background plays a role, because not everything that is desired is also approved by the building permit. All in all, the experience of those involved is required. I have been working in the industry for 26 years and recognize the need for optimisation in every building plan that is presented to me. ... which is therefore a criticism of the work of the third providers. Unfortunately this cannot be avoided. But if these providers had done their job correctly, I could have told the customer that he was in good hands and that there was no potential for improvement. Unfortunately, the work is often careless and lacking in motivation. Friends are certainly not made in this way in the industry, but I do my work on behalf of my customers. Satisfying them is my top priority.
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© Moët Hennessy
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THE BOTTLE MILLIONAIRES OF AVENUE DE CHAMPAGNE Author_Thomas Hauer
IT IS CONSIDERED TO BE THE MOST VALUABLE SPOT ON FRENCH SOIL, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE CHAMPS-ELYSÉES IN PARIS, AND THE INHABITANTS OF ÉPERNAY PROUDLY CALL IT THE MOST VALUABLE STREET IN THE WORLD–THE LEGENDARY AVENUE DE CHAMPAGNE.
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© CIVC – Alain Cornu
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The plots on this stretch of land, just one kilometre long and straight as a die, owe their astronomical real estate value to the former royal road from Strasbourg to Paris, which since 2015 has even been allowed to adorn itself with the coveted UNESCO World Heritage label, and to some extent to the stately estates that line their cobblestones. The treasure of the Avenue de Champagne is hidden, invisible to passersby, in endless underground galleries, which have been driven up to 20 metres deep into the soft circular rocks here since the beginning of the 18th century and which run through the entrails of the city on several levels and over 100 kilometres in length. Today, more than 200 million bottles of the finest of all sparkling wines, a sales value which adds up to many billions of euros, slumber in these catacombs, which are often only sparsely illuminated by bare light bulbs. Finally, Épernay in the west of the Marne département with its population of around 23,000 is considered the official champagne capital and at the same time a contemplative counterpart to the lively economic and cultural metropolis of Reims with its famous cathedral, where the kings of France were once anointed. Right at the beginning of the luxury mile, industry lea-
More than 200 million bottles are stored in cellars along the legendary Avenue de Champagne, which extend over a length of more than 100 kilometres.
der Moët & Chandon resides with an estimated annual production of around 70 million bottles, followed by smaller houses such as Pol Roger, Perrier-Jouët, De Castellane or De Venoge to Haus Mercier at the very end of the street, whose wines are often somewhat disrespectfully called Champagne Bourgeois and which the French themselves enjoy drinking. Some headquarters, which used to be the family home, bottle warehouse and business address all at the same time, are built in the style of bourgeois villas of the Belle Époque, while others are as pompous as a princely palace–because champagne was already a booming business 100 or 150 years ago that made many a family rich. Albeit, today’s champagne market is dominated above all by global players like LVMH, whose brand universe includes Moët, Veuve Clicquot, Krug, Dom Pérignon and Ruinart among others. One of the most ‘modest’ buildings along the attractive Avenue de Champagne bears house number 25. Here, in a stylishly renovated, more than 200-year-old estate of a former wine merchant, is the champagne house Leclerc Briant. More specifically, the ground floor houses an elegant showroom, while the rear part offers five highly luxurious guest rooms. The production and cellar itself are on the outskirts of Épernay. Compared to the champagne giant Moët, Leclerc Briant is indeed a dwarf. The annual output here is just 100,000 bottles–that’s how much is bottled at Moët in just a few hours.
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Nevertheless, the house, founded in 1872, enjoys today (again) an excellent reputation among connoisseurs, but above all Leclerc Briant is one of the very few producers who works according to biodynamic principles in both vineyard and cellar. In contrast to Burgundy or Alsace, where Demeter or Biodyvin certification is now almost a good thing, less than one percent of the more than 30,000 hectares of vineyards currently cultivated in Champagne are biodynamically managed. Not least because of the difficult climatic conditions. Nevertheless– or perhaps for this very reason–Hervé Jestin, cellarmaster at Leclerc Briant, is one of the stars of the biodynamic wine scene, who is in demand far beyond the borders of Champagne as a consultant for biodynamic viticulture and who runs the house together with Frédéric Zeimett. Leclerc Briant's specialities include, in addition to the excellent Brut Réserve, the house’s calling card, above all single vineyard wines, which are often only produced in homeopathic quantities. For example, La Croisette, which comes from a plot of land measuring just 0.6 hectares. A pure Blanc de Blancs from ancient vines that have never come into contact with chemical pesticides in more than 60 years. The wine is aged in used wooden barrels of a renowned Château from Bordeaux and bottled without any additions. It has an opulent bouquet of tropical fruits, including mango and pineapple, paired with
© Moët Hennessy
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For some years now, champagne base wines have again been increasingly aged in wooden barrels.
© Champagne Leclerc-Briant - Serge Chapuis
THE PRECISELY POLISHED WINE SURROUNDS THE PALATE WITH POWERFUL ACIDITY AND SEDUCES WITH A DISCREET SALT NOTE UP TO THE ALMOST ENDLESS FINALE
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© Champagne Leclerc-Briant - Michaël Boudot
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beguiling honey sweetness, aromas of brioche, almonds and hazelnuts. At the same time, this precisely polished wine surriunds the palate with powerful acidity and seduces with a subtle salt note until the almost endless finale–for Hervé Jestin the essence of the terroir. A sensational champagne for very special moments! In addition to Jestin and Zeimett, it was above all the American financial investor Mark Nunnelly and his wife Denise Dupré, who saved Leclerc Briant from destruction after the death of Pascal Leclerc-Briant in 2010 and helped to raise the quality of the wines to a completely new level by financing the purchase of around 14 hectares of new vineyards throughout Cham pagne. Their real baby, however, nestles up like the semicircle of a post- modern amphitheatre on the steep slopes of the Montagne de Reims, visible from a great distance: the ‘Royal Champagne Hotel & Spa’ opened in July last year–a 5-star hotel of superlatives in the middle of the vineyards. Lovingly furnished by France’s interior design icon Sybille de Margerie– who on her mother’s side herself comes from well-established champagne dynasty, the Taittinger family: an ideal starting point for an exploration of this centuries-old cultural landscape. From each of the 49 spacious rooms, equipped with every conceivable comfort, guests enjoy a spectacular view of Épernay, down into the Marne Valley and over to
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Hautvillers. There, more than 300 years ago, a certain Dom Pérignon held the office of Cellerar of the local abbey. The rest is champagne history. Today’s ‘Royal Champagne’ goes back to a former postal station where, according to legend, candidates for the French throne once stopped on their way to Reims and where Napoleon Bonaparte was also several times a guest. Thanks to the appointment of Jean-Denis-Rieubland as chef, who had cooked at the Hotel Negresco in Nice, already with two stars, the gastronomic level of the hotel is also at the highest level, and here, too, first-class organic products are the stars. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why the inspectors of the Guide Rouge already made the first star rise above the restaurant Le Royal in the year of its opening–and Rieubland is convinced that this is just the beginning. Champagne is represented on the wine list of the various F&B outlets with more than 250 different labels. In addition to the big names, connoisseurs will find numerous bottles from small, up-and-coming producers, some of whose wines are only 500 bottles or less. Therefore, even champagne experts again and again come across surprises here. In the elegant Salon du fine Bulle, sommelier Alberto Segade offers his guests tailor-made champagne tastings, and of course guests can also choose a suitable champagne accompaniment to their tasting menu in the gastronomic restaurant. Santé!
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GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT CHAMPAGNE www.champagne-ardenne-tourismus.de CHAMPAGNE LECLERC BRIANT Guest House & Boutique 25, Avenue de Champagne, 51200 Épernay, (www.le25bis.com) Cellar 67, Chemin de la Chaude Ruelle, 51200 Épernay (www. leclercbriant.fr) HOTEL 5*-Royal Champagne Hotel & Spa 9, rue de la République, 51160 Champillon (www.royalchampagne.com) FURTHER CULINARY OPTIONS AND HOTEL –TOP ADDRESSES IN THE NEIGHBORING REIMS 5*-Hotel Château Les Crayères 64, Boulevard Henry Vasnier, 51100 Reims with 2*-restaurant Le Parc (www.chateaucrayeres.com) 5*-Hotel LʼAssiette Champenoise 40, Avenue Paul Vaillant-Couturier, 51430 Tinqueux mit 3*-restaurant by Arnaud Lallement. (www.assiettechampenoise.com) © Foodphotos S. 195 und 200 Hotel Royal Champagne & SPA
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Author_Georg Lutz
SAILED RUM SAILING AND RUM WERE ONCE AN IMPORTANT COUPLE IN THE HISTORY OF SHIPPING. NOW, IN THE CONTEXT OF THE CLIMATE DEBATE AND THE POLLUTION OF THE SEA AND AIR, THIS OLD RELATIONSHIP IS EXPERIENCING A RENAISSANCE. THERE IS AGAIN REAL SAILED RUM, WHICH FINDS ITS WAY ON SAILING SHIPS FROM THE CARIBBEAN TO THE COASTS OF THE NORTH SEA AND LATER INTO THE LONG DRINKS OF SWITZERLAND.
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During the crossing the rum gets its special note
IN THE CONTEXT OF THE CLIMATE DEBATE, THERE IS MOVEMENT IN AN OLD STORY UNDER NEW CONDITIONS. 196
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RUM
Rum has always played a central role in the history of sailing. There’s probably no pirate film or novel that doesn’t sing about pirate strongholds like La Tortuga in the Caribbean and the rum that goes with it. We can hardly imagine pirates like Anne Bonny or Jack Rackham without rum. After every successful conquest there was always a cup full for the crew. For many emigrants, the barrels of rum were used as comforters against homesickness during the passage of ships across the Atlantic. However, such stories contain a lot of sailor’s yarn, or vice versa, just another creative fantasy of landlubbers, as there is actually a much more banal reason for rum on-board. Rum was more durable than water in barrels. In any case: Tempi passati. Today, the sober modernity of global container shipping prevails on the world’s oceans. Of course, we still associate rum with the exoticism of the Caribbean, but then we are only thinking of Ernest Hemingway and his favourite bar in Havana.
The rum comes from the Caribbean and Madeira. There are several stopovers on the Atlantic and in the Caribbean. The goods are distributed by the company Timbercoast. Their motto is: Mission Zero.
QUALITY HAS THE RIGHT OF WAY
Rum is currently a trendy drink. However, rum, which is also quite expensive, is almost always an industrially produced product. The really noble and high-quality rum does not originate from molasses and syrup, but from the juice of sugar cane. It is called ‘Rhum agricole’ among experts. It is made from freshly pressed sugar cane juice. Molasses, which remains after boiling out the sugar cane and skimming off the sugar, can be sold in large quantities for rum production. The use of fresh juice from sugar cane, however, requires a more demanding treatment and must be harvested directly. Regionality and craftsmanship in agriculture have the right of way here. The rum which sailed with the freighter ‘Avontuur’ convinces by its quality, since no colouring or other additives were added to it. Quality dictates the entire supply chain. Cornelius Bockermann inspects every empty oak barrel before it is filled with the noble material. Powered by wind power alone, the rum rocks between 12,000 and 15,000 nautical miles - depending on its origin–through various climatic zones. The contents are refined in a very special way. The different temperatures to which the ‘AVONTUUR sailed Rum’ is exposed during the sailing trip favour the ripening process and thus the quality of the rum. Without a doubt, this requires a lot of professional tact. But the gourmets taste and feel the difference. At this point, the question arises as to whether this is not an adventurous project involving a lot of unpaid work and the burning of investor money. No, Bockermann and his comradesin-arms first want to set an example. It is a signal against classic container shipping with its ecological insanity. The majority of today’s ships sail the oceans with inferior heavy oil and diesel, polluting the air and damaging the climate. So far, fuels have been allowed to contain 3.5 percent sulphur. Who doesn’t know the situation when in a port the large ferries, container ships and cruise ships open up steam and a black, greasy film is spewed on-board. Now, in January 2020, things will tighten up. Then, the fuels will only be allowed to contain 0.5 percent sulphur. On 23 July 2019, the ‘Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung’ headlined: ‘Shipowners and forwarders are trembling with new exhaust regulations’. That seems exaggerated to me. The increased prices are likely to be passed on. And there are huge gaps in control. The new drone monitoring of limit values with sniffer sensors only work near the coast. We can only guess what will happen on the high seas.
OLD SAILOR IN A NEW GUISE
In the context of the climate debate, there is movement in an old story under new conditions. Nowadays, there is again real sailed rum that rocks thousands of nautical miles across the Atlantic. The ‘Avontuur’ is a hundred-year-old gaff schooner with two masts, which led a shady existence until 2014, serving as a tourist barge. Then Cornelius Bockermann, today’s captain, discovered the ‘Avontuur’. With many helpers, who mostly worked according to the classic motto ‘hand against berth’, the rebirth succeeded. In 2016, the dark half-wreck became a white swan again. Today, the ‘Avontuur’ has a sporty rig and with a good wind can hit eleven knots. On average seven. Another cargo sailing ship is now ploughing through the Atlantic swell. That looks impressive, however, another question is what will this accomplish and whether it will be worth it from an entrepreneurial point of view.
FINE PRODUCTS AT SEA
When the ‘Avontuur’ docks in Hamburg, valuable products such as cocoa, gin, coffee, cardamom and rum can be found in its belly. Old longshoremen have to shed a tear when they see the sacks, crates and barrels being lifted out of the ship’s cargo hold by cranes. Since the times of the massive cargo carriers in the sixties of the last century, this has not been the case in Hamburg. On shore, loads of e-bikes are then ready for a further journey and processing. Ecology is not only noticed at this point, it has always played an important role. Also, the cocoa from Nicaragua, from which sailed chocolate is made, is taken over in part by the fine manufacturer Zotter from Austria, the gin comes from the Azores.
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BACKERS WANTED
There is no question that the project is not only about noble goals but also about business. Does the sailed rum also pay off economically? For those responsible, the project means ‘tough business, and earning money with it is even more difficult’, emphasizes Cornelius Bockermann. But in the meantime he has not only found many volunteer start-up helpers, but also solvent partners and investors. The ‘Avontuur’ can currently hold and transport up to 114 tons of cargo. But Cornelius Bockermann thinks beyond the railing of the ‘Avontuur’. He wants to build new cargo sailers that can sail up to 5,000 tons of cargo. This is the only way to make transport at sea cleaner. In Elsfleth, the home port of the ‘Avontuur’, one can, if one is lucky, admire two sailing ships which at first sight could hardly be more different. Here the old freighter which has been newly refurbished adjacent to a modern high-tech product. The ‘Pink Gin’ is the largest carbon sailing yacht in the world. It is 54 metres long and the carbon mast is 67 metres high. Inside you will find endless luxury. The owner Hans Georg Näder has made a lot of money with medical technology and now also supports the ‘Avontuur’ with its ecological philosophy. He sees Cornelius Bockermann as the innovative entrepreneur of the future. Below deck, the two mull over ship concepts that they want to develop further. A sailing ship is particularly fascinating here. It is about the technique of the ‘Black Pearl’. Her hybrid propulsion system (2 x 1080 kW MTU diesel / 2 x 400 kW electric motors) with regeneration mode (the system is equipped with a travel energy recovery system which uses the propellers to generate electrical energy during sailing) can perhaps also be used for cargo sailing ships. The goal, however, always remains to sail across the Atlantic without additional energy expenditure using fossil fuels. The sails of the ‘Black Pearl’ feature the Dyna-Rigg, an automated framed sail system for cargo sailing ships. The square sails on rotating masts form a closed sail area compared to historical square sails. The sail surfaces are extended like blinds from the mast to the cams of the streamlined curved yards or rolled back into the mast in stronger winds. But for the ‘Avontuur’ and its future sister ships this is still a dream of the future. But it is important to be prepared. In sailing jargon good luck means fair winds and following seas for the ‘Avontuur’!
Cornelius Bockermann knows classic container shipping and has chosen a different route.
TECHNICAL DATA OF THE AVONTUUR Type: Gaff schooner Nation: Germany Year of construction: 1920 Length: 44 meters Width: 5.87 meters Draught: 2.60 meters Sail area: 612 square meters Speed: 12 knots (under sail), 8 knots (under engine) Engine: 220 kW (299 PS) John Deere 6081 AFM Home port: Elsf leth
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CULIN ARIUM
DOM PÉRIGNON
The ‘Dom Pérignon vintage 2002 Plénitude 2’ is the result of comprehensive, advanced maturity. The extremely strong, aromatic and engaging character of the wine today does not develop a triumphal power, but a manifest and real power.
PRUNIER
Developed in 1932 for the inauguration of the Prunier Restaurant on St James Street in London. ‘St James’ caviar from Prunier, prepared with borax and low in salt, matures perfectly two months after fishing.
AZADO
The Swiss grills from azado are inspired by the centuries-old Argentine grill tradition. The unique combination of charcoal and gas enables easy and quick handling and always tasty grilled meat.
H. UPMANN
The ‘H. Upmann 175th Anniversary Limited Edition’ is produced by A.J. Fernandez in his factory in Nicaragua and contains only Nicaraguan tobacco grown on his own farms.
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UNDER water
A restaurant was sunk into the sea off the coast of Norway–the wish of the two owners is that marine biology, architecture and gastronomy merge into a natural unity.
Author_Wilma Fasola
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Whether in the end it will really be possible to train the sea creatures off the south coast of Norway remains to be seen. The guests in the restaurant ‘UNDER’ would definitely have to be treated to it. Even if it’s a bit macabre that the lobster is doing tricks outside in front of the window, while inside his colleague is being eaten. FREE VIEW OF THE SEABED It was just a few months ago the ‘UNDER’ opened its doors or even better hatches and yet the whole world is already talking about the unique restaurant in the Norwegian small town of Lindesnes. The reason: Most of the building is under water. A huge pane of glass gives a view of the underwater world of the Skagerrak. In order to be able to offer guests an animal spectacle every day, marine biologists are using a sophisticated mix of light, sounds and smells to attract plankton and cod. They serve as food for the native aquatic animals. Plentiful, they guarantee the daily view of seals, sharks, fish and shellfish and for the biologists ideal conditions to explore the animals. A DREAM COME TRUE This work of art dedicated to culinary art and research was built by the Snøhetta architectural office, which was also in charge
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The deeper you descend down the stairs, the darker and more mysterious the atmosphere becomes
of the Oslo Opera House and the library in Alexandria, Egypt. It was commissioned by the two brothers Gaute and Stig Ubostad, who run a 4-star hotel not far from the small tranquil fishing village of Båly. In order to make their personal dream come true, which has grown over the years, they have reached deep into their own pockets to pay for it. The architectural masterpiece is said to have cost 70 million crowns, or the equivalent of eight million Swiss francs. The construction itself was also a completely new experience for architect Kjetil Trædal Thorsen. ‘UNDER is the natural further development of our experiments in terms of limits’, he explains. ‘The restaurant proposes an unexpected combination of pronouns and prepositions because it questions the physical position of a person in their environment. In UNDER you are underwater and above the seabed at the same time. And parallel you are between land and sea. This offers people new perspectives and points of view on the world, both beyond and below the waterline.’
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A PROJECT IN PERFECT HARMONY WITH NATURE Kjetil Trædal Thorsen also experienced new perspectives during the construction. While the foundation of a ‘normal’ building should ensure permanent load-bearing capacity, the ‘UNDER’ had to be firmly anchored in the ground. The water carries the hollow vessel weighing 1,600 tons. Manufactured not far from its present berth, the monolith of reinforced concrete was subsequently towed to its present position. Afterwards, it was filled with sea water and then sank into the depths. Naturally, at a precisely calculated location. Only the entrance area stretches at an angle of 20 degrees out of the often roaring waves, which are part of everyday life in this stretch of coast. By the way, the architect himself is certain that his work himself would withstand a wave of the century. That would be good, because it is not for nothing that one of Norway’s oldest lighthouses, the Lindesnes Fyr, stands not far from the ‘UNDER’. Today it has been replaced
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by a modern lighthouse, but it is still a landmark and proof of how adverse the conditions are for passing ships. Here on the southernmost coast of Norway, the sea storms of the north meet those of the south, so that the masses of water which daily wash around the ‘UNDER’ are enormous. From the sea, the restaurant looks like a huge washed up wooden beam. Dark from the water, powerfully washed ashore. There is light wood–only in the entrance area–otherwise Norway’s new highlight has the feeling of a diving bell. A REAL MIRACLE FOR EVERYONE INVOLVED Entering the ‘UNDER’ is a bit like visiting a cinema. Down the stairs there is an eleven by 3.5 meter big screen. In front of it there are chairs and tables, which of course were not ordered from an appropriate furniture store, but made to measure. The Hamran company has been enriching Norway's living spaces since 1930. Everything in the ‘UNDER’ is unique. ‘Collection’ would therefore be the wrong word. Unique–just like every marine life that lands on the
plates. The ‘UNDER’ offers living space to 40 guests, who are looked after by a crew of 16 kitchen experts. A 17-course menu is served for the proud price of 2,250 crowns, the equivalent of 260 francs. Without drinks, of course. ‘UNDER’, by the way, does not stand for ‘under’, as might be assumed. In Norwegian it is the term for ‘miracle’. And that's not just for the Ubostad brothers. For the Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomic Research (NIBIO), too, it is a completely new and thus wonderful opportunity to deepen their own experiments with the local marine animals. Marine biologist Trond Rafoss says: ‘We have been observing and documenting the diversity of marine species in the region for over four years now, but with UNDER the observation possibilities are changing dramatically. The ability to be physically present at the seafloor offers a new way to observe marine life with precision and patience. The comfortable environment of the restaurant allows us to study marine life for time intervals not possible with other means’.
The 34 meter long monolith gracefully stretches its entrance out of the water
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Author_Thomas Hauer © Grenada Tourism Authority
THE SWEET SCENT OF THE CARIBBEAN
ON THE WAY TO THE SPICE ISLAND OF GRENADA 208
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Turquoise blue water, endless dream beaches, luxurious beach resorts and always good-humored people–there is hardly a relevant Caribbean cliché that Grenada does not fulfil. But the true treasure of the largely untamed volcanic island hides in the depths of its tropical rainforests.
After about a ten hour flight, when our Boeing 767-300 finally comes to a stop on the airfield of the Maurice Bishop International Airport, a deep darkness has already settled over the island. Even the sparkling sea of lights of Grenada's nearby island capital, St. George’s, has little chance against the impenetrable blackness. But perhaps it is precisely this lack of visual stimuli, that upon descending the gangway under the superficial smell of wet asphalt, burnt rubber and kerosene, that we perceive another, much more subtle and yet lucious, slightly sweet aroma. Strangely familiar yet foreign at the same time, the delicate fragrance recalls the warm base of a long-gone perfume on the inside of a pulsating wrist. A sensual promise–the magic of Grenada. It is no coincidence that tourism strategists have given the island the self-confident label ‘The Spice of the Carribean’. In fact, no other patch of the planet sprouts more spice plants per square meter than this tiny Antilles island, and they exude their flavors so naturally, so wastefully, as if the island were the gateway to an olfactory garden of Eden. No wonder that Grenada’s cuisine is also marked by the warm sweetness of cinnamon, the deafening depth of cloves, the fruity sharpness of ginger, the ethereal note of Caribbean laurel, the invigorating freshness of lemongrass or allspice which unites all the spicy notes and stands out clearly from the culinary traditions of neighboring islands. In addition to tourism, spice cultivation is also one of Grenada’s most important sources of income. Together with its two neighbouring islands, Carriacou and Petite Martinique, Grenada forms an independent three-island state, which today belongs to the Commonwealth of Nations after the former British
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crown colony was given independence in 1974. Today the islands have a total population of around 110,000–around 90 percent of whom live in Grenada. However, significantly more islanders are now at home in the USA, Canada and Great Britain–in some cases already in the second or third generation. In addition to the fertile volcanic soil, it is above all the cool north-eastern trade wind that creates ideal vegetation conditions for spice cultivation on the island with abundant rainfall. But it is also a blessing for the locals and tourists because it makes the hot and humid climate of the island at least a little more bearable, which is only 16º above the equator in the very south of the long arch of the island, which stretches from the British Virgin Islands in the north to Trinidad and Tobago off the coast of Venezuela. NUTMEG–QUEEN OF SPICES The undisputed queen of the island’s spice plants, however, is ‘Myristica fragrans’–nutmeg, that even adorns the national flag of the island and whose distinctive aroma is also indispensable for the island’s cuisine. Whether as a delicious nutmeg ice cream or as an important seasoning ingredient in Grenada's national dish ‘Oil down’–a powerful stew of cured meat, breadfruit, various vegetables and plenty of coconut milk. Not to forget, of course, the icing on the cake, a spiced rum punch. Introduced to the island by the British in 1847 under adventurous circumstances, nutmeg became an export hit in the 1880s and made Grenada at times the world’s largest producer of nutmeg, which currently only has to admit defeat to Indonesia. Today, almost 7000 nutmeg farmers, most of whom have only a few
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trees, supply three large cooperatives that handle the export business. In addition to the hard seed kernel, the nutmeg fruit also provides highly aromatic macis–often erroneously referred to as mace–which enclose the seed capsule like a net. The locals cook jelly and jam from the nutmeg fruits themselves, whose taste is reminiscent of quinces. The empty seed shells, on the other hand, provide an excellent fertilizer. HURRICANE DISASTER However, a natural catastrophe of biblical proportions almost swept this earthly paradise off the map shortly after the turn of the millennium, for although it was located outside the infamous hurricane belt, Grenada was hit in 2004 by Hurricane Ivan, the seventh worst tropical storm since weather records began. Around 85 percent of all buildings on the island were destroyed, more than 90 percent of the spice gardens were destroyed and dozens of people killed. As soon as people had regained some hope, Hurricane Emily struck in 2005 and destroyed many of the clean-up operations that had just begun. But the deep-rooted optimism of the inhabitants and extensive reconstruction aid from the USA, the European Union and China made the island paradise blossom again in record time. Today, 15 years later, the wounds left by Ivan and Emily have largely healed, so there is now a modern cruise port and two sports stadiums in St. George’s. Also, the picturesque colonial-style buildings, sometimes bright pastel and candy-colored, sometimes clad in a simple, typically British brick wall, shine in new splendor. And, of course, the nutmeg trees were also replanted. Thus Grenada again presents itself to its guests again in all its attractiveness, and is again considered one of the most dazzling pearls of the Caribbean.
CHOCOLATE MADE IN GRENADA In addition to all sorts of spices, Grenada has also been increasingly producing high-quality cocoa for some years now. But the islanders don’t just sell the brown gold as raw material to processing companies anywhere in the world, they also refine the tasty beans locally to produce a wide variety of chocolate specialities. One example is the Belmont Estate, which was founded by French settlers at the end of the 17th century. As with most farms on the island, cocoa, nutmeg, cinnamon, bananas, mangos, papaya, ginger and so forth grow in a colourful mix. The product portfolio on offer is correspondingly diverse. At the same time these estates are popular tourist attractions, which offer the opportunity to get to know the traditional island cuisine. During our flying visit, the chef spoilt us in the breezy, open-air restaurant with a view of the impenetrable thicket of the directly adjoining rainforest with juicy spice chicken and tuna from the grill accompanied by homemade BBQ sauce refined with chocolate, fresh goat cheese from their own dairy and, of course, samples from the adjoining Chocolate-Factory. In the House of Chocolate in St. George’s, chocoholics can get to know the whole range of insular chocolate culture. The quality of the products on offer, which are often refined with spices, is just as breathtaking as the prices–6 US dollars and more for a small bar is completely normal. SAVOR THE SPICE Those who want to dive deeper into the multifaceted island cuisine can book various culinary island tours through the small local agency Savor the Spice. Our guide Nezra comes from the remote mountain village of Birchgrove in St. Andrew's Parish, traditionally known as the bread basket–or perhaps better fruit basket–true to Grenada. Together with Nezra we spend the whole day eating our way across the island. The programme also includes addresses to which ‘normal’ tourists would normally get lost. Among them
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Š Grenada Tourism Authority
CULINARIUM Even the capuchin monkeys of Grenada appreciate nutmeg as a delicious snack
In addition to a variety of spices, Grenada also produces excellent cocoa
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© Grenada Tourism Authority
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Tips Further information General Grenada Info www.puregrenada.com Flight Once a week from November until May direct flight with Condor from Frankfurt or all year round with British Airways via London. Belmont Estate www.belmontestate.net Savor the Spice Tours www.grenadaculinarytour.com River Antoine Destillerie Part of numerous tour offers on site or individually with a rental car. Open daily except Sunday from 9 am to 5 pm. Spice Island Resort www.spiceislandbeachresort.com Blue Horizon Resort
© Grenada Tourism Authority
www.grenadabluehorizons.com/en-us/
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Cooking and eating is one of Grenada’s greatest passions
© Grenada Tourism Authority
© Grenada Tourism Authority
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Cocoa beans are almost always dried under an open sky
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is a snack stand in the middle of nowhere, where sinfully delicious fried patties are sold, filled with spicy chickpea cream and cucumbers. Or the local popular restaurant ‘Patrick’s’, where the tour begins in the morning with a traditional breakfast of picked salted cod, accompanied by plenty of tomatoes, onions and a bouquet of exotic spices. The inhabitants of Grenada owe it to the English that they drink tea with it, but the French influence on the island is still noticeable today–not least in the countless names of towns and streets. After all, over the centuries the island changed back and forth between the former colonial superpowers like a ping-pong ball. THE OLDEST RUM DISTILLERY IN THE CARIBBEAN But of course a real rum distillery also belongs to the island highlights. To be more precise, the ‘River Antoine’ distillery on the northeast coast of the island–the oldest distillery of the entire Caribbean that is continuously in operation. Founded by the French as early as 1785, it produces exclusively white rum from fresh sugar cane juice and is exactly the same today as it was in the 18th and 19th centuries. Actually, our visit is scheduled for a Friday afternoon, but our driver Roger thinks that might not be such a good idea. After all, Rivers Rum with 75 percent alcohol volume is not exactly light fare, and the staff also likes to have a glass or two as the weekend was just around the corner. When we finally reached the distillery amid extensive cane fields just before noon, after about 70 minutes of breakneck driving across the island, our host Withflied Lions (40) is in the best of moods. However, this is his typical Grenadian nature he explains laughing when asked whether he’d already made himself at home at the bottle battery, where visitors are allowed to help themselves at the end of the tour. For some of the other 80 employees of Rivers, we are not so sure, or maybe it’s simply because we Europeans simply have not learned to swing to the much more leisurely and deeply relaxed Caribbean rhythm. Our tour starts just behind a mighty watermill, where several men pump cane onto a conveyor belt at a snail’s pace. At the end there is a nearly 150-year-old sugar cane press, powered by water over monumental gears which stoically does its job. From here, the freshly squeezed juice flows through an open pipeline directly into huge fermentation tanks, where it is fermented for about a week, reaching a maximum alcohol content of 14 percent. The sugarcane wine is then placed in two copper stills, each holding around 300 gallons, which are heated with wood. After two and a half hours, around 30 gallons of high-percentage white rum remain. ‘With two rounds, we get just over 450 liters a day’, explains Lions. If the rum has too little alcohol after the first pass–i.e. less than 75 percent–it is fed back into the still.
However, the brew which is strong even by Caribbean standards, also has its pitfalls–not only for the physical and emotional wellbeing of its consumers. Because of the high alcohol content, you are not allowed to take it on the plane, so as a souvenir it is therefore very limited. ‘A few years ago, we therefore released a 69 percent version’, Lions explains to us, ‘but it simply doesn't taste like the original’. And Lions is right–while the higher percentage rum, which could also serve as a door lock de-icer or window cleaner, runs almost frighteningly soft down the throat and its aroma is reminiscent of the fresh sugar cane juice, its little brother seems relatively unbalanced and scratchy. Lions only acknowledges this verdict with a confirming nod of the head. In addition, although each of us had just a thimble of the intoxicating elixir, in the almost unbearable midday heat debilitating fatigue rapidly spread throughout our limbs, which is why Roger suggested returning to St. George’s by the quickest route possible. On the more than 3-kilometer Grande Anse Beach, which regularly appears in relevant top-10 lists of the most beautiful beaches on the planet, lies our hotel: the legendary Spice Island Resort, which has been in perfect condition since 1961, with spectacular panoramic views of the Island’s capital and the towering volcanic peaks which attracts a wealthy Old World clientele. The most beautiful: the exclusive beach suites. Those who can afford to stay here at an all-inclusive price of around $1,000 per night suite, are truly one of the happy few. But there are also much cheaper accommodations on the island–for example, the three-star resort ‘Blue Horizon’, which is also ‘Green Globe’ certified and therefore particularly sustainable. By the way: Those who travel to Grenada in summer have a good chance of experiencing the colourful island carnival - and of course it's also under the appropriate motto: Spicemas!
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MASSETO
CREATING SPACES FOR AN ICON MASSETO: A WINE THAT WRITES HISTORY, EXCLUSIVE, EXQUISITE AND SOUGHT AFTER ALL OVER THE WORLD. A WINE LEGEND, AN EXCEPTIONAL WINE, ONE OF THE MOST FAMOUS SUPERTOSCANS. MASSETO IS GATHERING POINTS, SUPERLATIVES AND WINE ENTHUSIASTS AROUND IT. NOW IT HAS ITS OWN HOME. A SPATIAL ALLEGORY AND EXPRESSION OF ITS QUINTESSENCE. Author_Domenica Flütsch Images_Marius Hansen / Masseto
EVER
Ever since Masseto was christened in 1986, its name has been on everyone’s lips. Unfortunately, the wine has not. Or better said: luckily not. The noble pure Merlot belongs to the very rare, sought-after ones, and only a few can boast of really knowing and having enjoyed it. Robert Parker’s ‘The Wine Advocate’ recently awarded it a legendary 100 points for the second time in a row, a knighthood par excellence. The hill location Masseto near Bolgheri on the Tuscan coast does not belong to the old, traditional vineyards. This unused slope was only planted in the 80’s, against all warnings, advice and local traditions. And it was planted with an international grape variety, Merlot. A fateful decision, because the extraordinary wine would soon send the whole wine world into ecstasy. For over 30 years the wine was vinified at Ornellaia, so it was high time to build a venerable home for the icon. A home that could embody everything that makes this wine, a manifestation of the spirit of wine and the heart of this extraordinary place. The requirements for this project were not simple: to symbiotically merge with the environment, in order to preserve the charm and magic of this wild and pristine place. At the same time, it needs to meet all the requi-
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rements of modern wine production. What was needed was an architectural masterpiece, characterised by timeless serenity and noblesse. Simple at first glance, but with a complex depth effect and without compromising on function and quality. In 2012, the project was advertised throughout Europe in accordance with these specifications. The contract was awarded to the two architects Hikaru Mori and Maurizio Zito from Studio ZitoMori in Milan. Meticulously, in constant and close collaboration with Masseto, they developed a winery complex that offers perfect winemaking and cellar conditions with minimal environmental impact. Construction began in 2016, and in the autumn of 2018 the first wine took its new home and the first vintage was vinified. But those who think that there is a magnificent complex with a breathtaking driveway and high colonnades know little about Masseto's sense of style. The highest commandment of the house is also implemented spatially: Less is more. The old Masseto house is still standing on the hill, it was dismantled and rebuilt stone by stone. Only the grape delivery area bears witness to what has changed because the heart of the plant beats deep inside the hill. From
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its monolithic mass, a number of rooms have been extracted from a quarry, to a certain extent from the dominating blue clay, just as the grape extracts its essence from the terroir and just as estate director Axel Heinz extracts the exceptional wine from the grapes. In an area of 2,500 square meters all wishes and requirements of the cellar team were fulfilled in its depths. The basic architectural structure is formed by concrete cast on site, with dominating clear lines of glass and steel. The tunnel-like, sloping entrance is followed on the first level by a fermenting room with twelve faceted, deep grey concrete tanks, which are carefully filled with grapes by hand. The path continues downwards and leads directly to the heart of the complex: here there are two barrique cellars,
one each for the two years of storage of the Masseto. And hidden behind a stone wall lies the Masseto Caveau, wine library and veritable treasure cellar of the estate. Here, under perfect storage conditions, bottles from every vintage since 1986 are stored, neatly hung in a stainless steel mesh. One of Masseto’s secrets is revealed in the new cellar: the blue clay. It gave the estate its name, a tribute to the rock-hard blue lumps of clay called ‘massi’, which form on the earth’s surface after summer ploughing and then melt like snow in the winter rain. The grapes owe their their mineral structure and absorbency to the cooling and long hydrogenation in dry summers and an earth full of minerals and traces of marine life. Vertical glass surfaces now make the blue clay visible in the rooms. Less is truly more, the effect of the rooms echo and reverberate. ‘Nothing is missing, and there is nothing more than necessary’, says estate director Axel Heinz. ‘Our wine production is all about reducing the intervention, the process. The vineyard is amazing, very complex and demanding. But the wine is made with great simplicity. We have fermentation tanks. We have barrels. We have gravity. And we have people who take wine seriously. That’s all. That’s our philosophy.’ But how much of this masterpiece is marketing, how much is functionality? ‘It’s balanced. First and foremost, the cellar is a working space, the place where we make our wine. It should support our work and make it easier. Everything in the Masseto cellar is tailored to the process of making the wine. Orientation towards process optimisation was the top priority and out of discussion. In the design we also wanted to visualize our philosophy. The cellar should be a reflection of the soul of the wine in its charisma and appearance. The building should make it possible to convey an image that corresponds to that of this great wine. It has no purpose of its own, except to speak for and serve wine.’ A great wine has received its equal home. Just like itself: on the outside reserved and discreet, on the inside complex, profound and multi-layered. Visits are only possible by appointment or invitation.
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FINANCE
TR EN DS
HUBLOT
‘Classic Fusion Chronograph Bol dʼOr Mirabaud 2019’ Mirabaud 2019’ in honour of the 81st edition of the world's most important inland lake regatta.
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KINGSMAN
Traditional British tailoring is at the heart of Kingsman. Together with the traditional brand Drakeʼs, the company has Drakeʼs, has created a range of accessories such as this tie.
BENTLEY
To mark the 100th anniversary of the Bentley brand, Graf von Faber-Castell launches a writing instrument series limited to this anniversary year.
VALEXTRA
A grained leather key holder with six hooks, first launched in the 1950s. A classic must-have.
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THE NEANDERTHAL IN US ARCHAIC SUGGESTIONS FOR A BETTER WORKING LIFE
Author_Georg Lutz
A LOOK AT THE EVOLUTIONARY HISTORY OF HOMO SAPIENS AND THE NEANDERTHAL CAN HELP US TO COPE BETTER WITH THE CHALLENGES OF MODERN WORKING LIFE. DR. AXEL MÃœLLER IS A PHARMACIST AND PHARMACOLOGIST BY NATURE AND HAS COMPLETELY DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES ON HOW WE CAN BETTER DEAL WITH STRESS AND CREATE A CORPORATE CULTURE THAT FOCUSES ON HEALTH.
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FINANCE
Africa and intermixed again and again. What the self-proclaimed saviors of the Christian west will not like to hear: It is well known that Jesus was an eastener and Saint Augustine an African. However: Despite all the optimizations of evolution, man is still a very incomplete and fragile being. At which central points can this be established? As humans we are not the optimum of development … …although sometimes we behave like that. We always had to make compromises, even to survive. We have some quirks and faults. If you could press the reset button you wouldn’t come up with the idea of building a human being exactly the same way again. You’ll have to explain that now. We raised ourselves from four limbs in the African savannah and got an overview. That was important for us. We previously saw the lion but now our hands were freed up grab it and also to make tools. Women could more easily carry their children and pick fruits. This released brain growth and we became more creative. The disadvantage was that our entire body weight was supported by two legs. The pressure on the intervertebral discs increased. Our back is simply not made to stand on two legs. Therefore, it is still important today to strengthen our back.
PRESTIGE: When it comes to Neanderthals, we have clear images in our heads. He is a wild fellow and comes in his shaggy fur coat but very brachial. However, recent research has shown that he had many similarities with Homo sapiens and that we still carry some genes from the Neanderthal within us today. What does that mean to you? DR. AXEL MÜLLER: The Neanderthal was actually not the stupid fellow he was portrayed to be. He painted pictures, buried his dead and showed remarkable social behaviour. So he took care of old family members because he knew that they were important for raising children in order to pass on their knowledge.
Now we are back to the present. Yes, we sit much too much. What are our other weaknesses? We swallow our food too quickly. As you know, a former US president almost suffocated while eating a pretzel. When we inhale, the oesophagus must be closed, and when we eat, the trachea must be briefly closed. This disadvantage, which animals do not have, was important for us in terms of civilisation because it enabled us to communicate when we eat. This is how ‘humans’ as a social being developed.
The paths of the Neanderthal and the Homo sapiens have also crossed in many ways. So they had sex with each other. For this reason, four percent of our genes are directly attributable to the Neanderthal. This also makes evolutionary sense. When Homo sapiens arrived here in Europe from Africa about 40,000 years ago … Homo sapiens lived in very precarious conditions. So their population was at times much too small to survive. Right. Our gene pool was significantly reduced by events such as natural disasters. Homo sapiens were also confronted with bacteria, viruses and fungi they didn’t even know from Africa. That was a very dangerous situation. By mixing with the Neanderthal we had access to their immune system. So Homo sapiens were able to better survive.
Yes, we all sat around the fire, grilled a mammoth steak and told each other stories. The prehistoric man had to walk far to get food. The food was not prepared as it is today.
Later on, there are historical situations similar to this again and again. When the Spaniards and Portuguese conquered Latin America at the beginning of the 15th century, the Native Americans died less from direct violence than from diseases they did not know. In other words, genetic, is cultural and social diversity more likely to strengthen us? Evolutionarily in any case. We can simply adapt better to our environment and are also more robust against dangers. Genetic diversity is clearly a survival advantage. Politically, this is not uncontroversial at a time when multiculturalism has once again become a dirty word in parts of the political spectrum. This we can first note that: We came from
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There was not yet any convenience food. It was not yet possible to even think of that. We had to chew on plants for hours to get nutrients. We needed a big jaw for that. Today we only eat soft boiled food. We used to need wisdom teeth to grind plants and meat. Today they are superfluous, annoy us and have to be pulled because our jaws have become smaller over thousands of years. Let’s jump back to today’s world and stay with our eating habits. Today, in every means of communication there are buying and cooking tips on how to eat healthily. Diets are still a bestseller. Nevertheless, we are getting fatter and fatter and diseases caused by civilization are on the rise. There is a gap between what we know and what we do. As a pharmacologist, do you have an explanation for this? Our basic instinct plays a trick on us. The Neanderthal or Homo sapiens had to walk an average of eight kilometres to dig up a tuber that was edible. When, in rare cases, there was high-quality fresh meat, the aim was to eat as quickly and as much as possible. This allowed reserves to be built up, since one did not know whether there would be anything to chew on again in the next two or three days. These behaviour patterns are still within us. We love salty and fatty foods–and we love sugar most of all. Today we still live with our Stone Age genes, but hardly move. I’d like to dig down a little deeper on that, because it’s a sticking point for me. It is often said that we live in a knowledge society. That’s seems to be wrong based on our current discussion. We live in a society where knowledge is taught and ignorance is practiced. Climate policy is a good illustration of this. In evolutionary terms, this can be justified simply and clearly. We have a so-called reward centre in the brain. If we eat salty, sweet or fatty foods, messenger substances are released. Dopamine and serotonin and oxytocin are the names of these powerful messengers of happiness. Although we know that this behaviour damages us in the long run, we indulge in this short-term happiness. It is not much different in relation to climate policy.
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We want to drive big SUVs and fly to the Maldives as often as possible. Does this mean that we need alternative reward systems that are designed for the short term? So instead of ‘if you sacrifice meat, then you help the climate’, more of ‘tasty Indian cuisine, which contains much less meat’? From an evolutionary point of view, I can agree with you here. We need short-term reward signals. And the art now is to link them to long-term goals. Let’s move on to today’s work environment. Obviously we are not only sitting too much, stress is also increasing. In terms of evolutionary biology, we actually know that too. Today, however, we do not have sabre-toothed tigers in front of us, but feel overwhelmed by the flood of data or sinking sales which cause us sleepless nights. What does this do to us from a medical point of view? The quick recognition of the dangerous situation was essential for survival. Today it helps us to think proactively. There used to be two solutions. Fight or flight. What happens in the body? In both situations people are very active. Their senses must be sharpened, their blood pressure rises, their muscles need sugar. Everything else becomes secondary for the body. Adrenalin and cortisol are the stress hormones for this. They help us to fight or to flee.
But I can neither flee to escape the boss, nor can I put a club over his head. This is usually no longer a solution today. I sit there with a beet red face and cannot break down the stress hormones. If such situations regularly occur, this will lead to side effects that cause permanent stress. At the end there is burnout.
And what does this exactly mean translated into today’s work environment? In the Stone Age, a long run after a fight allowed us to reduce the stress hormones again. The sabre-toothed tiger is represented today by the boss, who wants a presentation for the board in ten minutes. Also, here we have to deal with a threat and fear situation. I’m afraid of failure and know that I can’t do it in ten minutes and that nobody will help me. I feel at the mercy of the boss. Physically, the same thing happens as in the Stone Age: your blood pressure increases and the body gets extremely tense.
Now we must come to the solutions. Although I often do not deal with specific individuals today–the traditional company boss is also a dying species. Rather, I have to struggle with anonymous constraints. Yes, these are huge problems and enormous challenges. More than ever, each of us is personally challenged to survive in this environment. For me, the central keyword is ‘resilience’. Specifically, how do I personally deal with the pressure exerted on me? Resilience can be inherited. If this is not the case or not enough, I must first know what happens to my body. In the short term, little happens, and in adolescence we can put up with a lot. The older we get in life and thus also in our work life, we talk about the ‘blind spot of evolution’. We have to listen much more to our body. Evolution was not designed for us to get so old and to stay healthy. From a purely evolutionary point of view, we should only reproduce ourselves. This would fulfil our ‘mission’ as humans. But today we are getting older and older and should tune in to ourselves more and more. When I do that, I’ve already made it half way. The concrete solutions might sound rather banal, but are very effective. Do I really have to be available 24 hours a day? Do I do enough sports? Do I maintain my social contacts and relationships? It takes time and space for me to switch off. Permanent stress leads to the fact that I constantly see the sabre-toothed tiger in front of me. How does the Neanderthal help me cope with the constant work stress? He helps us to sharpen our consciousness. We should sensitize ourselves to questions such as ‘What is going on in my body right now’, ‘How can I strengthen my resilience through an adapted lifestyle and diet’.
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In the end, however, we still have to address the current upheavals in our economic life. Artificial intelligence (AI) is just a buzzword. How is the relationship between man and machine developing? We don’t know that yet and have only the past to go by. The rigid production assembly line in the context of the second industrial revolution, together with the Tayloristic decomposition of the production process, has completely turned the work environment of the former manufactory upside down. Then, since the eighties of the last century, flexible automation has come with the first production robots. What comes next and how does that effect us? Company managers who deal with topics such as industry 4.0 or AI should know that they are hiring employees who still have Stone Age genes in them. Industrial revolutions are always faster than genetic changes. The art lies in bringing employees along without fear and introducing a positive reward system. Otherwise the fears described above and existential fears will increase–with all their consequences. In addition, health should already be taught as a subject at school. Companies that integrate the health status of their employees as a KPI into their company goals are also financially more successful and score points in the competition for the best talents in the market. CEOs should no longer martially brag that they can manage with four hours of sleep and work the remaining 20 hours. Rather, they should set an example by having a healthy diet and doing enough exercise.
Evolution is slower than the fourth industrial revolution. But it still won’t stop? These upheavals are changing us humans as biological beings. A good hundred years ago, the majority of us were still working in crafts or agriculture. That was physically very exhausting, we moved and were very tired in the evening. The assembly line work was very one-sided and there were changed disease patterns. So back problems have massively increased. Now, with digitalization, we are moving even less and less, and we are also becoming increasingly short-sighted. 90 percent of the Asian population is short-sighted, in Europe it is 50 percent. Our eyes are increasingly focused only on the close range, i.e. on the many screens. As a result, the eye grows in length. As a result, the focal point is imaged through the lens in front of the retina. The result is short-sightedness. This short-sightedness is also passed on.
To ask again: What does that mean? Evolution continues. Homo sapiens will make up for genetic disadvantages through machines, interventions in the genome and artificial intelligence. Technically speaking, however, the old genetic set-up, the Neanderthal in us, should always be synchronized or made conscious, since we still live with our Stone Age genes in a rapidly changing world and natural evolution cannot keep up with this pace.
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MY VOICE MY SECRET?
FINANCE
CORNELIA DIETHELM, FOUNDER OF THE CENTRE FOR DIGITAL RESPONSIBILITY (CDR), A THINK TANK FOR DIGITAL ETHICS
Author_Cornelia Diethelm
Companies such as Postfinance and Swisscom use voice to identify their customers. This eliminates annoying security issues and saves valuable time. Are we aware of this? Our voice consists of over 200,000 individual characteristics. It is as unique as our fingerprint or our facial features. The sound of our voice is only a part of the voiceprint. The individual way in which a person speaks is also analysed. Are there any first signs of dementia? Is someone suffering from depression? Or is there even a danger that a person might want to take their own life? Such highly sensitive information can also be read from your voice. Thanks to artificial intelligence, it only takes a few seconds. There is a great danger that we have already given our consent for a voiceprint without being aware of this. The opt-out strategy is popular with Swiss companies: we are informed that a voiceprint is being made. And if we do not explicitly oppose it, our consent will be assumed. For companies, this has the advantage that only a few people are against it. For us customers, however, there is a danger that we are not sufficiently aware of what is at stake. When we call Customer Service for the first time, the announcement states that the call will be recorded for training and recognition purposes, and that a voiceprint will be created from it. Training purposes? Sounds nice, doesn’t it? And because we have become accustomed to such announcements while waiting
on the phone, we do not ask ourselves what is meant by ‘recognition purpose’ and ‘voiceprint’ in concrete terms. I wasn’t aware of it until recently, were you? Already today, we are informed during the announcement that we can inform the agent on the phone if we do not want a voiceprint. But only those who have understood what is at stake will use this option. The same applies to the possibility of deactivating the voiceprint online at any time. What I don’t know, I can’t correct either. In addition, the voiceprint is a biometric feature. For this reason, the Federal Data Protection Commissioner (FDPIC) considers a voiceprint to be permissible only under two conditions: The person concerned must be informed transparently and comprehensively. And they must explicitly consent to the use of their voiceprint, as is already mandatory in the EU (opt-in strategy). This is not necessary in Switzerland, which could soon change. Precisely because we have to process an enormous amount of information every day, I am convinced that an opt-in strategy is part and parcel of a company’s customer orientation and thus of its ethical actions. At the same time, explicit consent strengthens the digital competence of the individual by making us aware of the benefits and consequences of digital innovations. This can no longer be delegated to others.
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FREIDORF – THE COOPERATIVE
Author Foreword_Boris Jaeggi
Freidorf , one of the most important architectural monuments in Switzerland, is the birthplace of my parents, both of whom grew up in the cooperative residential settlement, and also next door to each other. Due to the strict cooperative guidelines, they were unfortunately never allowed to live in Freidorf after their marriage–even though my father, Dr. iur. Joseph Jaeggi, was the grandson of his famous ancestor. Neither my mother nor my father were active in the consumer association or in the later Coop group, so they were not entitled to live in one of the wonderful detached houses in Freidorf. However, my parents did move into an apartment nearby where I grew up, together with my two siblings. As a primary school student I knew the small Freidorf shop in the main building, and I also went to school in Freidorf for a few years. In the sloped attic was the gym, where many a student bumped his head. The pupils of the Freidorf school were a sworn troop and fought many a fight against the non-resident pupils who had to join ‘us’ in the gymnasium. Today I still have wonderful memories of Freidorf with its many hidden paths and numerous gardens with fragrant flowers, various apple, pear, quince, cherry and nut trees, the white and blue grapes as well as the many vegetable varieties. Freidorf is a jewel and remains a paradise for its inhabitants. And if you see a ‘strange guy’ wandering through the narrow gravel paths in Freidorf every now and then, then it must be me who indulges in a sentimental mood and is lost in thought in memories and absorbs this spirit of Freidorf once again. The bright sound of the cheerful and very special chime from Freidorf will hopefully accompany me for a long time to come.
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EXCERPTS FROM THE BOOK:
Source and copyright from the book: «DAS FREIDORF – DIE GENOSSENSCHAFT LEBEN IN EINER AUSSERGEWÖHNLICHEN SIEDLUNG» Published by Christoph Merian Verlag, September 2019, 204 pages ISBN 978-3-85616-898-8
THE FOUNDER Bernhard Jaeggi was born on 17 August 1869 in Mümliswil (SO) as the youngest of six children. Jaeggi would have liked to become a lawyer, but he lacked the money for his studies, so he began a bank apprenticeship in Balsthal in April 1885, where he continued to work after his apprenticeship. His interest in law was satisfied with the study of many legal documents, which led him to be elected to a number of commissions and, at the age of twenty, to become a town clerk in Mümliswil. In 1894, he took the initiative to transform the Mümliswil consumer association, a public limited company that distributed large profits, into a cooperative consumer association. Two years later, the cooperative became a member of the Association of Swiss Consumer Associations (VSK), and at the age of 27, Jaeggi became Chairman of the Board of Directors and the Operating Committee of the Mümliswil Consumer Association. Jaeggi moved to Basel as an auditor of the Swiss Association of Consumerists, where he also married his life companion Pauline Büttiker. She was infected by his enthusiasm for the association and the cooperative system, actively supporting him in his plans. Soon he was entrusted with the management of the VSK. Under his leadership, the association's turnover grew from 4 to 168 million francs. He set up his own production and service companies and thus broke up cartels in various sectors such as grain mills, the shoe and chocolate industry and the meat trade. In 1902 he was elected to the Grand Council of the Canton of Basel-Stadt and in 1911 to the National Council. Six years later, however, he unexpectedly resigned from all political offices on the grounds that he could be more useful to the people if he concentrated on factual issues rather than internal party ones. With the founding of the Freidorf cooperative village in 1919, he was able to realise a long-cherished vision. In 1923 he was able to set up a foundation, the ‘Genossenschaftliche Seminar’ (Cooperative Seminar), out of the attendance fees he had put aside for years, which in the following decades was the educational centre of the association which further developed and spread
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the cooperative idea. In 1929, the University of Basel awarded him an honorary doctorate for his great service. In 1929, the University of Basel awarded him an honorary doctorate for his great services. At the age of 65, he resigned from the management of the association. He devoted his time mainly to Freidorf and the ‘cooperative seminar’, as far as his position on numerous administrative boards and other committees gave him time. Bernhard Jaeggi died of a heart attack on 13 April 1944 at the age of 75 during a busy day in the cooperative house in Freidorf. ‘LIVE WITH US, WORK WITH US’ When Bernhard Jaeggi publicly presented his idea of founding a residential settlement foundation for the first time on 11 May 1919, he not only generated excitement but there was also great skepticism as to whether the high goals associated with the Freidorf would not ‘fail because of the incompatibility of people’ if ‘cooperative employees who work together during the day, who do not always get along well with each other, should now also live together after work’. The reply to this was: ‘If we move to Freidorf, we must educate ourselves to become new men and women. Freidorf should be a lesson in how the world should be built’, a means ‘to educate people into community living and to lead them into freedom’. Nevertheless, they wanted to reserve the right to expel ‘people who are incompatible’. AN IDEA TAKES SHAPE In the spring of 1919, Bernhard Jaeggi was able to draw on a wealth of experience from the international cooperative movement. As a reaction to the economic and social upheavals in the course of industrialisation, a broad spectrum of cooperative approaches had developed in Europe since the middle of the 19th century. For Freidorf, the consumer movement and the building cooperatives were to become particularly important. In Switzerland, local consumer associations such as the General Association of Basel-Stadt and Baselland (ACV), founded in 1865, also emerged. In 1890 they merged to form the Association of Swiss Consumer Associations (VSK), the predecessor of the Swiss Coop Group. This new organisation rapidly expanded its activities. The joint purchase of goods was followed by the publishing of publications, warehousing, banking and insurance business and also the operation of its own production facilities. In 1914 the VSK had over 600 employees and almost 400 associations. The expansion of activities to include cooperative housing construction was therefore an obvious next step. Since the 1880s, it had also been given a new stimulus when so-called savings and building associations began not only to build houses with the savings power of their members, but to keep them as a joint, democratically managed cooperative property. This meant that the social reconstruction work could be permanently withdrawn from the speculative real estate market. In practice, it soon became apparent how well these housing cooperatives could be supplemented by other communal facilities. The blocks of houses of the savings and building associations not only had meeting rooms, but also housed facilities close to households such as consumer associations, laundries, libraries and others.
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become the collective property of the cooperative. However, the communalisation of perennials and flowerbeds went too far for a majority of the general assembly, who wanted their garden improvements to be remunerated when they moved out. There was no giving in until Bernhard Jaeggi put his foot down and remarked angrily: ‘Theory and practice do not coincide in many people. The more their views lean to the left, the more petty bourgeois they often appear in practice. One speaks of an expropriation of the owner, but refuses to sacrifice even the slightest thing. Millions of people would consider themselves lucky to be able to live under so many of our contested regulations. But no one is forced to stay in Freistadt, and those who think they can live better, freer and cheaper elsewhere are not obliged to stay with us. We have never made a secret of the associate’s duties.’
When Bernhard Jaeggi, in his function as president of the VSK, took up the idea of a closed cooperative settlement in 1919, he consistently pursued a combination of the reform concepts known at the time: a savings and building association with intensive community life and a consumer cooperative for the supply of consumer goods, realized in the structural form of a garden city settlement. ‘COOPERATIVENESS’ IN THE CONCEPTION OF THE FREIDORF The idea of a full cooperative became central to the Freidorf. It pursued the goal of combining work, supply and leisure in holistic settlements on a cooperative basis. The full cooperative was to ‘strive for the increase of human happiness by sharing in the profits of the productive cooperatives as well as supporting the worker as a member of the consumer cooperatives’. At the time of the foundation of Freidorf, such far-reaching involvement of the members was no longer an issue. Also in the cooperative movement, specialized branches of industry had developed and the achieved degree of division of labour was so advanced that a holistic and local organization was no longer pursued. The full ‘cooperativeness’ was instead seen in the fact that the wage work of the members was carried out within the cooperative movement, in the VSK and its member organisations. ‘The associate feels himself to be part of a whole to which he joins and subordinates himself as a serving member, in order to achieve a higher purpose with a combined force unachievable in isolation, in order to feel a greater enjoyment of life in a community which strives and works together, and to set a higher goal for its existence.’ This higher goal was also pursued in the expansion of the cooperative idea beyond its own settlement. Part of the rental income flowed into a foundation, which was to set up further settlement cooperatives in the future. A COLONY OF MODEL MEN AND WOMEN? The first interested parties who attended the preparatory meetings in May 1919, all workers and employees of the VSK, were confronted with a situation that was unusual for the circumstances at the time: they were asked how the houses were to be designed and equipped. The draft, based on the results of a survey, was then put up for discussion. After several revisions, the distribution of the houses finally began. The cooperative was also confronted with people who were more interested in the individual home than in the cooperative village community. Thus, the cooperative also saw itself as a teacher and educator not only of children, but also of adults, who were to be supported and encouraged in their character development. Nevertheless there were conflicts in Freidorf and they were passionately carried out in the first years. The conditions of use of the cooperative house for groups and associations outside the cooperative organisation, the assortment of goods in the shop or the operation of the restaurant were issues that were intensively disputed. A particularly fierce dispute arose when, in 1923, a garden code was to be established, which already applied to the houses, i.e. that improvements made by the associates themselves would
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CHINA
FROM THE PAST TO THE FUTURE
An 8,000-kilometer roundtrip through a fascinating country in transition and on the move. The development of this 1.4-billion-powerful country over the past ten years is likely to be unique. From the over 400 km / h fast maglev train in Shanghai to the archaic water buffalos in the rice fields of Yuanyang– we highlight tourist epicentres, culinary delights and centuries-old traditions. A report that will hold many surprises for each and every one of them and put a lot of prejudices in a different light.
COURCHEVEL À LA CARTE
On the way in the heart of the French Alps. Together with Méribel and Val Thorens, Courchevel forms the center of the legendary Trois Vallées in the Savoie department–the world's largest connected ski area with more than 600 km of
TO VISIT «MAISON BELLE ÉPOQUE»
slopes and over 180 lifts. But even for gourmets, the sophisticated ‘Saint-Tropez of the Alps’ with seven star restaurants alone is a worthwhile destination. We were on the way at the numerous gourmet addresses.
A world in which the past is honored, the present is celebrated and the future is welcomed. A world where nature inspires art and art transforms nature. Welcome to the world of Maison Perrier-Jouët. We are visiting the ‘Maison Belle Époque’ in Épernay, home of the Perrier-Jouët champagne house. For the past 200 years, the secret of the company’s unparalleled style has been guarded by only seven winemakers. Hervé Deschamps was appointed the 7th winemaker of Perrier-Jouët in 1993. Now, the first female winemaker Séverine Frerson succeeds. In the exclusive interview, the two keepers of the cellar santify us in the special skill in creating the champagne.
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