AIR Empire Aviation Apr'14

Produced in International Media Production Zone

IS SU E THIRT Y FI V E

CONTENTS / FEATURES

Managing Director Victoria Thatcher Editorial Director John Thatcher Business Development Director David Wade GDYLG#KRWPHGLDSXEOLVKLQJ FRP Editor Tracey Scott WUDFH\#KRWPHGLDSXEOLVKLQJ FRP Deputy Editor Richard Jenkins ULFKDUG#KRWPHGLDSXEOLVKLQJ FRP Features Editor Lara Brunt ODUD#KRWPHGLDSXEOLVKLQJ FRP Senior Designer Adam Sneade Designer Andy Knappett

Fifty Two

Illustrator Vanessa Arnaud

The 90s icon on why her comeback isn’t a comeback.

Production Manager Chalitha Fernando

Fifty Eight

Advertisement Manager Rawan Chehab UDZDQ#KRWPHGLDSXEOLVKLQJ FRP

2QH RI %ULWDLQ¶V ¿QHVW DFWLQJ exports opens up.

Winona Ryder

Sir Ben Kingsley

Advertisement Manager Sukaina Hussein VXNDLQD#KRWPHGLDSXEOLVKLQJ FRP -5-

CONTENTS / REGUL ARS Sixteen

Forty Eight

Radar

Art & Design

Henri Matisse’s later works, and a whole lot of scents.

London pop-artist Ben Turnbull talks about The 'HDWK RI $PHULFD

Twenty Eight

Sixty Eight

Timepieces

Motoring

H. Moser & Cie breaks cover on the all black Perpetual Calendar.

The most delectable cars displayed at this year’s Geneva Motor Show.

Thirty Seven

Seventy Two

Interiors

Gastronomy

$,5 WDNHV D VHDW FRXUWHV\ RI +DQV - :HJQHU

Superchef Heinz Beck tells $,5 DERXW KLV QHZ YHQWXUH on Dubai’s Palm Jumeirah.

Forty Two

Jewellery

Seventy Six

Travel The most coveted pieces from Sotheby’s New York’s IRUWKFRPLQJ 0DJQL¿FHQW Jewels sale.

/X[XU\ ORGJHV LQ 1HZ Zealand.

Tel: 00971 4 364 2876 Fax: 00971 4 369 7494 Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission from HOT Media 3XEOLVKLQJ LV VWULFWO\ SURKLELWHG $OO SULFHV mentioned are correct at time of press EXW PD\ FKDQJH +27 0HGLD 3XEOLVKLQJ does not accept liability for omissions or HUURUV LQ $,5

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m a k i n g h i s t o r y, o n e g u e s t a t a t i m e )RU ÀYH GHFDGHV ,QWHU&RQWLQHQWDO *HQqYH KDV ZHOFRPHG VFLRQV RI UR\DOW\ FDSWDLQV RI LQGXVWU\ DQG LQWHUQDWLRQDOO\ UHQRZQHG LFRQV RIIHULQJ WKHP GLVFUHHW DQG OX[XULRXV VSDFHV WR EUHDWKH OLIH LQWR WKHLU EHOLHIV 7KH 5HVLGHQFHV GHVLJQHG E\ WKH JOREDOO\ DFFODLPHG 7RQ\ &KL DUH D VHOHFWLRQ RI WKUHH VWDWHO\ DFFRPPRGDWLRQV LQVSLUHG E\ WKH RSXOHQW SDODFHV RI WKH SDVW DQG GHGLFDWHG WR WKH OHDGHUV RI WRPRUURZ l i v e t h e e s s e n c e o f l u x u r y at g e n e va’ s m o s t p r e s t i g i o u s a d d r e s s and discover a place where history meets its future.

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EMPIRE AVIATION GROUP

Issue Thirty Five

WELCOME ONBOARD

In private aviation, every economic and business cycle presents an opportunity and as the global market continues to recover we see attractive opportunities for prospective new aircraft owners to acquire business jets.

We are delighted to share with you our latest H[FLWLQJ QHZV :H KDYH MXVW RSHQHG RXU ¿UVW GHGLFDWHG DLUFUDIW VDOHV ṘFH LQ WKH 86 ± WKH ZRUOG¶V ELJJHVW PDUNHW IRU SULYDWH DYLDWLRQ ± where we plan to help buyers acquire preowned business jets as the market for new aircraft picks up and corporations start to UHSODFH WKHLU ÀHHWV Buying an aircraft is just the beginning and there is a lot more to consider before you do make the purchase. That’s where EAG’s aircraft management services and aircraft operations come in. We select highly reputable partners to work with, ensuring that all our aircraft service requirements are fully supported worldwide. One of these is Jet Aviation, with whom we have a very successful, long-term partnership which fully utilizes their global ground support and maintenance services.

Enjoy the issue.

Steve Hartley Executive Director

Contact details: info@empire.aero empire.aero - 09 -

Paras Dhamecha Executive Director

EMPIRE AVIATION GROUP NEWS

1HZ 86 VDOHV ṘFH opens door to the world’s largest private aviation market

- 10 -

Empire Aviation Group’s latest expansion takes the company into the world’s biggest global marketplace for private aviation; LW KDV RSHQHG D QHZ VDOHV ṘFH LQ WKH 86 WR DFFHVV WKH ZRUOGœV ODUJHVW market for private aviation and EXVLQHVV DLUFUDIW 7KH 86 DORQH accounts for 60-70 per cent of the world’s business jets.

7KH QHZ ($ ṘFH ¹ DW 6FRWWVGDOH 0XQLFLSDO $LUSRUW LQ $UL]RQD ¹ opened on April 1 and the new operation will focus on acquiring and re-selling pre-owned business jets for buyers all over the world. $V WKH 86 PDUNHW IRU QHZ DLUFUDIW recovers, this creates opportunities in the pre-owned sector as corporations and individuals take delivery of their new aircraft. The price of a late model pre-owned business jet compared to new aircraft prices (which continue to ULVH R̆HUV D VXEVWDQWLDO GLVFRXQW WR EX\HUV 6DYLQJV RQ SUH RZQHG YHUVXV new aircraft prices can run into the millions of dollars, which can be enough to cover operating costs for WKH QHZ RZQHU IRU XS WR ¿YH \HDUV Pre-owned aircraft are also more readily available, with manufacturers currently running backlogs; for example, a new G650 (the world’s most expensive business jet) is not available until 2017 at the earliest but current owners will be replacing their existing aircraft and this represents a very attractive acquisition opportunity and great value for buyers.

As well as the sheer size of the PDUNHW WKH 86 LV D VDIH DQG KLJKO\ regulated aviation market and this helps to provide buyers with a strong degree of reassurance about their aircraft, through the due diligence process, pre-sale.

7KH VDOHV ṘFH LV MXVW WKH ¿UVW VWHS IRU ($* LQ WKH 86 DQG WKH FRPSDQ\ aims to sell around 30 business jets LQ WKH ¿UVW PRQWKV RI RSHUDWLQJ there. The full service portfolio of aircraft management and charter will follow the sales operation in another exciting development for Empire Aviation Group.

Empire Aviation Group is a one-stop shop for integrated private aviation services, offering aircraft sales, aircraft management and Private Jet charters.

T: + 971 4 299 8444 | www.empire.aero

EMPIRE AVIATION GROUP NEWS

Empire Aviation Group and Jet Aviation – supporting business aviation Together, EAG and Jet Aviation have forged a successful partnership to VXSSRUW SULYDWH DYLDWLRQ ¹ RZQHUV and aircraft - around the world. Jet Aviation is a globally recognised leader in the business aviation industry supporting private aircraft operators for almost 50 years. Aircraft-support services include maintenance, completions DQG UHIXUELVKPHQW DQG ¿[HG EDVH operator. The team of nearly 4,500 aviation professionals is spread across more than 20 facilities throughout Europe, the Middle East, $VLD DQG 1RUWK DQG 6RXWK $PHULFD Jet Aviation has been providing MRO (maintenance, repair and RYHUKDXO DQG )%2 ¿[HG EDVH operator) services to EAG since the company started in 2007, through

its dedicated facilities in Dubai and %DVHO 6ZLW]HUODQG DV ZHOO DV RWKHU Jet Aviation facilities around the world. In addition to handling and maintenance services, Jet Aviation provides logistics support, training, ODQGVLGH ṘFHV DQG DLUVLGH ERQGHG storage space. ,WœV D YHU\ H̆HFWLYH FROODERUDWLYH working arrangement with mutual EHQH¿WV )RU H[DPSOH VRPH RI ($*œV OLFHQVHG HQJLQHHUV DUH DOVR TXDOL¿HG as Jet Aviation Dubai certifying VWD̆ KHOSLQJ WR FUHDWH D VKDUHG SRRO of certifying specialists.

As a truly global business aviation service provider, Jet Aviation’s size and scale of operations really is unique in the industry, and across the network they provide a consistently high level of service, including meeting the service needs of aircraft of all the major PDQXIDFWXUHUV ¹ D UHDO EHQH¿W IRU ÀLJKW GHSDUWPHQWV DQG FKDUWHU companies of all sizes.

EAG’s private aircraft owners recognisH WKH EHQH¿W RI D ¾RQH VWRS shop’ and appreciate the fast access to their aircraft; time is of the essence to business jet operators, - 12 -

aircraft owners and charter clients and there is no doubt that a strong working relationship with a global FBO/MRO service provider ensures KLJKHU ÀLJKW GLVSDWFK UHOLDELOLW\ timely operations and consistency in service delivery around the world.

In addition to a very high level of consistency and continuity of VHUYLFH -HW $YLDWLRQ DOVR R̆HUV EAG customers all the comfort and SULYDF\ RI DQ )%2 )RU ($* ÀLJKWV they might handle the delivery of ÀRZHUV DQG SURYLVLRQ RI FDWHULQJ DQG KRVW WKH SUH DQG SRVW ÀLJKW FUHZ EULH¿QJV IURP WKHLU )%2 IDFLOLWLHV which helps create fast and direct access to the aircraft. EAG also KDV DQ RQ VLWH ṘFH DW WKH 'XEDL IDFLOLW\ ZLWK DLUFUDIW VXSSRUW VWD̆ DQG VLPSOH SUDFWLFDO EHQH¿WV LQFOXGH a very useful airside storage area, to stock galley supplies, toiletries and catering/galley equipment to meet operational needs.

7ZR ¾RQH VWRS VKRSVœ FROODERUDWLQJ together means seamless, fast and simple service support for aircraft and their owners, and a comfortable DQG FRQYHQLHQW À\LQJ H[SHULHQFH IRU passengers, all around the world.

• Saudi Arabia: Alissa Automotive, Tel: 92002 7744, Alhamrani United Co., Tel: +966 2 6696690 • Dubai & Northern Emirates: Arabian Automobiles, Tel: +971 4 2952222 • Abu Dhabi & Al Ain: Al Masaood Automobiles, Tel: +971 2 6811118 • Kuwait: Abdulmohsen Abdulaziz Al Babtain Co., Tel: +965 1804888 • Oman: Suhail Bahwan Automobiles, Tel: +968 24560111 • Qatar: Saleh Al Hamad Al Mana Co., Tel: +974 4 4283333 • Bahrain: Y.K. Almoayyed & Sons BSC(C), Tel: +973 1 7732732 • Lebanon: Rasamny – Younis Motor Co. S.A.L. – RYMCO, Beirut, Tel:+9611 273333 • Jordan: Bustami & Saheb Trading Co.L.T.D., Amman, Tel: +962 6 5532456

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RADAR

Painting

with scissors - 16 -

Henri Matisse (1869 -1964), Large Composition with Masks 1953. National Gallery of Art, Washington; Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund 1973.17.1.

Digital Image: © National Gallery of Art, Washington. Artwork: © Succession Henri Matisse/DACS 2014.

The final chapter in Henri Matisse’s career takes centre stage at Tate Modern this month for the Henri Matisse: The Cut-Outs exhibition. The six-month-long showcase represents a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see the modern master’s exploration of ‘carving into colour’ – a period in the late sixties which saw the French painter, due to ill health, swap painting for cutting into painted paper with scissors. The final result is a dazzling array of 120 eye-popping colour cutouts, which at the time were revolutionary in the art world. Henri Matisse: The Cut-Outs takes place April 17 to September 7. tate.org.uk

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RADAR

1.

MAKING SCENTS The world’s leading perfumers will gather in Abu Dhabi this month for the Masters of Fragrances exhibition, a showcase of one-of-a-kind, worldexclusive perfumes. AIR spritzes its favourite five fragrances‌

P

eople with a penchant for perfume are in for a scented – downright exclusive – treat this month when the inaugural Masters of Fragrances exhibition opens at Manarat Al Saadiyat Gallery in Abu Dhabi.

Dramatically displayed in a contemporary gallery setting, each

of the 26 coveted perfumes – of which only one bottle is available to purchase in most cases – is representative of the painstaking work that goes into creating such D VFHQW 3RS R̆ WKH OLG DQG \RXœOO quickly discover how perfumers use their materials in much the same way as painters use their colours or musicians use their notes: to serious, VZHHW VPHOOLQJ D̆HFW So fantastical are the scents – and - 18 -

their packaging; think handblown Baccarat glass bottles, bezel set diamond embellishment and rock crystal stands – many will leave you feeling heady.

And while the opening night on $SULO LV DQ LQYLWDWLRQ RQO\ D̆DLU it will be transported from Saadiyat Island to Abu Dhabi International Airport Terminal 1 the following day where it will reside until June 12. ,WœV WLPH WR JHW \RXU VFHQW RQG1.

1. Guerlain: Le Secret De La Reine With over 180 years experience, IUDJUDQFH FUHDWLRQV DQG ¿YH generations of perfume creators WR LWV QDPH LWœV OLWWOH VXUSULVH WKDW this limited edition fragrance will leave you feeling light headed. The bee-inspired bottle – encrusted with over 14 carats of diamonds mounted on platinum – can be removed and worn as a brooch or pendant.

2. Bulgari: Bulgari - Opera Prima This unique fragrance hints at the IDVKLRQ ODEHOœV KHULWDJH 3RS R̆ WKH lid and let a swirl of cedrat, lemon and orange blossom transport you to the Mediterranean and back again.

Like the scent, the amphore-inspired bottle is beautiful – created by Italian Murano glassmaker Venini and cloaked in 250 carats of citrine, 30 carats of diamonds and 4 carats of amethyst.

2.

3.

3. Armani PrivÊ: Pure Gold Edition ,WœV EHHQ \HDUV VLQFH *LRUJLR Armani launched its haute couture fragrance line and this latest creation – limited to one piece – captures the essence of the label perfectly. The case, meanwhile, is carved out of solid 18-carat gold.

4. Penhaligon’s of London: As Sawira For its latest creation, the English perfumer has taken inspiration from commodity trading in the 19th FHQWXU\ 7KLQN VD̆URQ EHUJDPRW and rare davana for the head notes; and oud, vanilla, myrrh and musk for the base. The scent is contained in a hand-cut crystal bottle.

5.

5. Thierry Mugler: Alien Prestigious Collector Adorned with an 18-carat gold and amethyst necklace, this exclusive SHUIXPH WKHUHœV RQO\ RQH DYDLODEOH to buy) comes supersized – 1,000ml.

A quick spritz from its faceted bottle unleashes an explosion of seductive notes on the skin.

- 19 -

4.

RADAR

‘ V A N D A L’ SCANDAL Sale by stealth or safeguarding important works of street art? A controversial auction of Banksy pieces takes place this month, writes Lara Brunt

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CRITIQUE

Film Labor Day Dir: Jason Reitman $ GHSUHVVHG VLQJOH PRWKHU DQG KHU young son pick up a hitchhiker, who becomes a strange part of the family â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and a man wanted by the police.

AT BEST: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Labor Day has craft, care and sensitive performances from Kate Winslet and Josh Brolin.â&#x20AC;? The Telegraph AT WORST: â&#x20AC;&#x153;My goodwill drowned while trying to swallow this treacly cocktail of romantic swill.â&#x20AC;? Rolling Stone

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Yves Saint Laurent

Dir: Darren Aronofsky 7KH %LEOLFDO 1RDK VXĚ&#x2020;HUV YLVLRQV of an apocalyptic deluge and takes measures to protect his family from WKH FRPLQJ Ă&#x20AC;RRG $ FODVVLF VWRU\ retold with Russell Crowe in the lead role. &DQ $URQRIVN\ SXOO RĚ&#x2020; D blockbuster based on the bible?

AT BEST: â&#x20AC;&#x153;$ continually ambitious undertaking that swings for the fences and then some.â&#x20AC;? IGN AT WORST: â&#x20AC;&#x153;It does make for intense DQG GLĚ&#x2021;FXOW YLHZLQJ.â&#x20AC;? Empire

Dir: Jalil Lespert $ IDLWKIXO ELRJUDSK\ RI WKH )UHQFK designer from the start of his career in 1958 when he met the man who would change his life â&#x20AC;&#x201C; lover and business partner Pierre Berge.

AT BEST: Âł&RQÂżUPLQJ WKH DSSDUHQWO\ boundless talent of Pierre Niney, who doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t play Saint Laurent so much as embody him.â&#x20AC;? Hollywood Reporter AT WORST: Âł$ GLVDSSRLQWLQJO\ E\ the-numbers treatment.â&#x20AC;? Variety

Fading Gigolo Dir: John Turturro Fioravante decides to become a professional Don Juan as a way of making money to help his cashstrapped friend, Murray. With Murray acting as his â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;managerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, the

SDLU TXLFNO\ ÂżQG WKHPVHOYHV FDXJKW up in the crosscurrents of love and money.

AT BEST: â&#x20AC;&#x153;John Turturro brings sensitivity and intelligence to a subject that could have gone terribly awry in this wryly observant - 22 -

dramedy.â&#x20AC;? Variety â&#x20AC;&#x153;Fading Gigolo is mostly DQ LQRĚ&#x2020;HQVLYH WULĂ&#x20AC;H VOLJKWO\ XQGRQH by its lack of focus and mishmash of genres that donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t quite come together.â&#x20AC;? The Playlist AT WORST:

CRITIQUE

Art In this year 2014, the 100th anniversary of the start of WWI, we are allowed to take an introspective stance on how the catastrophic loss RI OLIH FDPH WR EH DQG ZKDW HĚ&#x2020;HFW LW had on the nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s psyche ever after.

Londonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s National Portrait Galleryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s The Great War in Portraits gives us a view rarely seen from the front line â&#x20AC;&#x201C; that of the art world. With portraits RI OHDGLQJ ÂżJXUHV LQ ::, KLVWRU\ such as Baron von Richthofen, Mata Hari and Billie Nevill â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the man ZKR ÂżUVW ERRWHG D IRRWEDOO DFURVV 1R 0DQÂśV /DQG WR NLFN RĚ&#x2020; WKDW IDPRXV Christmas-time kickabout. The Telegraphâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Alastair Smart says: â&#x20AC;&#x153;As a medium, portraiture brings

them back to life in a way little else can, helping make this show as vivid and vital a commemoration RI WKH FRQĂ&#x20AC;LFW DV DQ\ ZHÂśOO VHH WKLV year.â&#x20AC;? The Guardianâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Jonathan Jones describes the works as â&#x20AC;&#x153;very poignantâ&#x20AC;?, adding: â&#x20AC;&#x153;It redeems the dead from the miasma of horror that has engulfed this war in modern memory. They were people, not statistics, and each has a story to tell.â&#x20AC;? Henry Tonksâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; unnamed pastel portraits may not name the soldiers, but their stories are etched indelibly across their faces.

In picturesque Essen, Germany, an exhibition of unique historical interest is running. Karl Lagerfeld: Parallel Contrasts, Photography â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Books â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Fashion puts the Chanel

and Fendi designer at the centre of his own world, labelled â&#x20AC;&#x153;more of a snapshot than a retrospectiveâ&#x20AC;?.

Melissa Drier of Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Wear Daily comments: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s clear Lagerfeld borrows motifs and themes from painting for his fashion photography.

There are multiple series for Fendi, including a 1988 homage to Ludwig Feuerback as well as an expressionistic homage to Lyonel Feininger done for British Vogue.â&#x20AC;?

Back in London, Charles Saatchi has a track record of supporting up-and-coming artists who go on to great things â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Damien Hirst and Sarah Lucas spring readily to mind.

For the latest exhibition at Londonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Saatchi gallery, the collector has turned his sights to Africa and - 24 -

Latin America. Featuring works from Rafael GĂłmezbarros, Antonio Malta Campos and other notable artists, Pangaea: New Art from Africa and Latin America displays â&#x20AC;&#x153;stunningly colourful paintingsâ&#x20AC;Ś and creepy-crawly sculpturesâ&#x20AC;?, according to Time Out. Running from April 2 until the end of August, this exhibition will broaden anyoneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s horizons.

This year is the year that Italian culture gains even wider recognition. New Yorkâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation gets in on the act with Italian Futurism, 1909-1944: Reconstructing the Universe. Roberta Smith of the New York Times asks: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Was any avowedly modern art movement as obnoxious and noisily contradictory as Italian Futurism?â&#x20AC;? Italian )XWXULVP Âą ZKLOH EXUQLQJ ÂżHUFHO\ DQG EULHĂ&#x20AC;\ Âą FRPSULVHG DOO DVSHFWV of expression; from painting to sculpture to theatre, ceramics and architecture. Smith says: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Futurism cannot be denied. It had a liberating HĚ&#x2020;HFW RQ PDQ\ PHGLXPV OD\LQJ the groundwork for much what we view as advanced poetry, music, performance art and graphic design, while also spreading into popular culture.â&#x20AC;? The works will be in display until September 1.

Books

The Madness of July is BBC Radio SUHVHQWHU -DPHV 1DXJKWLHÂśV ÂżUVW novel. It portrays a political crisis involving an American spy, Will Flemyng. The selling points of the ERRN DUH WZRIROG ÂżUVWO\ 1DXJKWLH LV uniquely placed to deliver a knowing, in-depth analysis of many of these scenes. In fact, the complicated plot was even suggested to him by one of his journalistic contacts, a former British spy. Secondly, the actual politics of the book take something of a back seat to the machinations of the plot. Flemyngâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s own political leanings are never even revealed.

David Robinson of The Scotsman has a personal relationship with the author, and says: â&#x20AC;&#x153;If a lot of the conversations in the novel are heavily elliptical, careful not to UHYHDO WRR PXFK WKDW UHĂ&#x20AC;HFWV WKH world he found himself in. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Tuning into how politicians talk, WR WKH ZD\ WKH\ ÂżVK IRU LQIRUPDWLRQ to their loaded questions, seeing how they feel each other out, is

important. Because the most interesting politicians all have a good ear, they can pick up on things, like a boxer noticing an opening or a chess player seeing something happening on the board. And that kind of conversation is one of the things that interests me about politics.â&#x20AC;?

Emma Donoghueâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 2010 novel Room took her to mainstream success, and since then sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s been working in a new and totally GLĚ&#x2020;HUHQW GLUHFWLRQ )URJ 0XVLF LV VHW in a world as far away from Room as possible â&#x20AC;&#x201C; San Francisco, 1876.

A record-breaking heatwave and smallpox epidemic is ravaging the city when a woman named Jenny Bonnet is shot dead through a railroad saloon window. A literary crime whodunit with a piercing eye for historic detail, Kirkus Reviews was impressed by Donoghueâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s attention, saying: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Donoghueâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s vivid rendering of Gilded Age San Francisco is notable for her - 25 -

atmospheric use of popular songs and slang in Blancheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s native French, but the bookâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s emotional punch comes from its portrait of a woman growing into self-respect as she takes responsibility for the infant life sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s created.â&#x20AC;?

Jack Kerouacâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s legacy is so unimpeachable that nothing could be unearthed to tarnish it. Lewis Jones of The Spectator, however, argues that a recently discovered work, The Haunted Life: The Lost Novella, might do just that. Lost in 1944 when Kerouac was just 22, the manuscript was sold by Sothebyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s in 2002 and published this year. Billed as a novella, but acting PRUH DNLQ WR WKH ÂżUVW SDUW RI D SURMHFWHG novel, The Haunted Life is a coming-ofage story. Jones says that â&#x20AC;&#x153;gaucheness and inexperience mark this early ZRUN´ DGGLQJ Âł6SHFLDOLVWV ZLOO ÂżQG WKLV volume invaluable, displaying as it does what Professor Tietchen calls Kerouacâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;literary concerns in their embryonic vestigesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, but the general reader is advised to give it a miss.â&#x20AC;?

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CRITIQUE

Theatre WR XVH HYHU\ WULFN LQ WKH ERRN WR JHW UHVXOWV ´ VD\V Marilyn Stasio of Variety.

Staged at the Neil Simon Theater on Broadway New <RUN WKH JHQHURXV UXQQLQJ WLPH RI WZR KRXUV DQG PLQXWHV VHHPV KDUG SUHVVHG WR KROG VXFK D ORW RI PDWHULDO 86$ 7RGD\¶V Elyssa Gardner says: “After ZDWFKLQJ %U\DQ &UDQVWRQ¶V President Johnson fret DQG FDMROH DQG SOHDG DQG IXPH IRU PRUH WKDQ WZR DQG D KDOI KRXUV \RX ZLOO DVN \RXUVHOI DJDLQ ZKR ZRXOG ZDQW WKLV MRE" ,Q DQ HDUO\ VFHQH RI WKH SOD\ KH MXJJOHV SKRQH FDOOV IURP among others, J. Edgar +RRYHU DQG RQH RI WKH )%, GLUHFWRU¶V IDYRULWH WDUJHWV 0DUWLQ /XWKHU .LQJ Jr. After Johnson and .LQJ KDYH SOHGJHG WKHLU PXWXDO VXSSRUW DQG D̆HFWLRQ WKH Bryan Cranston has the world at ODWWHU DQQRXQFHV WR KLV his feet. In late 2013, the actor ¿QLVKHG SURGXFWLRQ RQ WKH FULWLFDOO\ FROOHDJXHV WKDW WKH OHDGHU RI WKH IUHH ZRUOG LV MXVW acclaimed Breaking Bad, widely µEORZLQJ VPRNH¶ D WHUP WKH UHFRJQLVHG DV RQH RI WKH ¿QHVW UHYHUHQG HPEHOOLVKHV ZLWK ZRUNV RI WHOHYLVLRQ HYHU SURGXFHG DQ HDUWK\ ÀRXULVK 7KH VDYY\ DFWRU WKHQ ZRXOG NQRZ ³&UDQVWRQ¶V LPPHQVH WKDW WKH QH[W VWHS LVQ¶W WRZDUGV D SRSXODULW\ ZLOO HQVXUH D UHSHDW SHUIRUPDQFH RU HYHQ ELJ ORQJ UXQ IRU $OO 7KH :D\ EXGJHW +ROO\ZRRG DOWKRXJK WKH ± EXW KRZ ORQJ FDQ WKH *RG]LOOD UHERRW LV RQ WKH ZD\ EXW WKHDWUH NHHS KLP"´ the theatre. Cranston takes the /LYHUSRRO¶V WLPH DV meaty role of President Lyndon B. WKH (XURSHDQ &DSLWDO RI -RKQVRQ GHVSHUDWH WR JHW WKH &XOWXUH PD\ IHHO OLNH D &LYLO 5LJKWV DFW SDVVHG LQ 5REHUW 6FKHQNNDQ¶V VHDULQJ SROLWLFDO GUDPD ORQJ WLPH DJR EXW WKH FLW\ KDV NHSW XS LWV SURPLVH All The Way. ZLWK ULFK SHUIRUPDQFHV ³-RKQVRQ ZDV IDPRXVO\ FUXGH and a new Everyman UXGH DQG UXWKOHVV 6FKHQNNDQ theatre. Artistic Director D 3XOLW]HU 3UL]H ZLQQHU IRU µ7KH Gemma Bodinetz claims .HQWXFN\ &\FOH ¶ SDFNV DOO WKDW that they “want to create LQWR KLV ULFK FKDUDFWHU VWXG\ DQG WKH UHQHJDWH VSLULW RI &UDQVWRQ HPEUDFHV LW DOO ZLWK KLV QR KROGV EDUUHG SHUIRUPDQFH +H¶V D WKH RULJLQDO ´ DQG VXFK ELJ PDQ SXWWLQJ RQ D ELJ VKRZ DV WKH SURFODPDWLRQV DUH QRW WRR ERUQ SROLWLFLDQ ZKR GRHVQ¶W KHVLWDWH wide of the mark, at least - 27 -

in terms of this zesty, yet familiar, SURGXFWLRQ RI 7ZHOIWK 1LJKW 7KH *XDUGLDQ¶V 0LFKDHO %LOOLQJWRQ VD\V RI 6KDNHVSHDUH¶V FODVVLF ³+HU SURGXFWLRQ LV DOVR FKDUPLQJ LQWHOOLJHQW DQG IXOO RI JRRG WKLQJV ,WV RQH GUDZEDFN LV WKDW LW UXQV FORVH WR WKUHH DQG D KDOI KRXUV ZKLFK LV WRR ORQJ IRU 6KDNHVSHDUH¶V ,OO\ULDQ IDQWDV\ ´ ,Q D G\VWRSLDQ IXWXUH WKHUH DUH QR SULYDWH WRLOHWV 7KLV LV WKH VXUUHDO FRQFHSW RI 8ULQHWRZQ ZKRVH VWUHHWV DUH EOLJKWHG E\ FKURQLF water shortages. The only way to JR VR WR VSHDN LV WR SD\ D IRUWXQH WR XVH D SXEOLF ³DPHQLW\ ´ RZQHG E\ FRUSRUDWLRQV ZKR FDQ FKDUJH ZKDW WKH\ OLNH ,DQ 6KXWWOHZRUWK RI WKH )LQDQFLDO 7LPHV IRXQG WKH SURGXFWLRQ DV NQRZLQJ DV LW LV LPDJLQDWLYH ³-DPLH /OR\G KDV EHHQ GUDZQ HVSHFLDOO\ WR VHOI DZDUH SLHFHV RI WKLV NLQG ´ VD\V 6KXWWOHZRUWK ³+H KDV DVVHPEOHG D ¿QH FDVW )RU WKLV UHOLHI PXFK WKDQNV ´

TIMEPIECES

FREDERIC WATRELOT

Christie’s watch specialist reflects on the recent auction in Dubai

I often get asked what the most exciting aspect of my job is as Christie’s watch specialist in the region and it is undoubtedly meeting others who share a passion for watches and with whom I can talk for hours about the merits of one model over another that, to the untrained eye, are strikingly similar. Well, if that’s the best thing then I spent time last month indulging myself while showing off my sale, our second since we re-launched the watch auctions here in Dubai. In addition to meeting many new collectors from the region who came to see our sale for the first time, the auction was also a huge success, realizing more than US$3 million for the 123 lots, exceeding my expectations.

Bidding was fast and furious for the top lot of the sale - one of only ten known examples of Patek Philippe’s iconic reference 5971, the bezel decorated with 42 baguettecut emeralds weighing approximately 3.33 carats. I was on the phone in the saleroom on behalf of the successful client who bought it for US$341,000. Almost every lot was sold with the successful buyers predominantly from the Middle East and mostly private collectors.

The top lots always catch the headlines but the majority of - 28 -

the estimates were much more affordable and we had a good selection of ladies watches this time around â&#x20AC;&#x201C; whilst the leading one from this group was an emerald and diamond set 18-carat gold Piaget watch which sold for US$149,000, there was also a very simple 18-carat gold automatic wristwatch by Blancpain which sold for US$2,750 and the following lot, also 18-carat gold and also by Blancpain, which made US$2,500.

Patek Philippe watches accounted for four of the top ten selling lots and collectors who came to the pre-sale viewing were amazed to see the unused condition of lot 35, a white gold, automatic, worldtime wristwatch with a cloisonnĂŠ enamel dial. The ref. 5131G was still in its original packaging from the factory and had been estimated to sell for over US$120,000. It sold for US$161,000 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; a tribute to the enduring appeal of the brand and its mint condition.

The watch worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s attention now switches to Geneva for the sale there this month. As Switzerland is the cradle of watchmaking it is always a great trip for me and I shall report back from there next month.

Also at auctionâ&#x20AC;Ś ,Q LWV UROH DV WKH RĚ&#x2021;FLDO IHVWLYDO WLPH SDUWQHU RI WKH 7ULEHFD )LOP )HVWLYDO LQ 1HZ <RUN ,:& ZLOO WKLV PRQWK DXFWLRQ D RQH RI RQH UHLPDJLQHG YHUVLRQ RI DQ LFRQLF PRGHO 7KH 3LORWV :DWFK 6SLWÂżUH &KURQRJUDSK (GLWLRQ 7ULEHFD )LOP )HVWLYDO 5HI ,: IHDWXUHV D VHOI ZLQGLQJ PHFKDQLFDO PRYHPHQW ZDWHU UHVLVWDQW WR EDU DQG ERDVWLQJ D KRXU SRZHU UHVHUYH 0HDQZKLOH LWV GLDO LV GHVLJQHG WR UHĂ&#x20AC;HFW LWV OLQN WR WKH IHVWLYDO WKH %RUGHDX[ VXEGLDOV WKHUH WR UHSUHVHQW WKH UHG FDUSHW DQG WKH VWHHO FRORXU XVHG WR HYRNH WKH LGHD RI 1HZ <RUN &LW\ 7KH WLPHSLHFH ZLOO EH DXFWLRQHG RQ $SULO DW $QWLTXRUXP LQ 1HZ <RUN ZLWK WKH ZLQQLQJ ELGGHU DOVR UHFHLYLQJ H[FOXVLYH 9,3 DFFHVV WR WKH 7ULEHFD )LOP )HVWLYDO DQ LQYLWDWLRQ WR WKH )RU WKH /RYH RI &LQHPD SULYDWH GLQQHU KRVWHG E\ ,:& 6FKDĚ&#x2020;KDXVHQ DV ZHOO DV OX[XU\ KRWHO DFFRPPRGDWLRQ LQ 1HZ <RUN &LW\ ,QWHUHVWHG EX\HUV PD\ ELG DW WKH OLYH DXFWLRQ DW WKHLU 0DGLVRQ $YHQXH VKRZURRP RQOLQH DW ZZZ DQWLTXRUXP FRP RU YLD WHOHSKRQH

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TIMEPIECES

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TICK-TOCK The horology rumour mill can take a short break as H. Moser & Cie finally releases details of its long awaited all-black edition of the Perpetual Calendar…

QHZ FRPSOLFDWLRQ LV D JUHDW H[DPSOH RI WKH 6ZLVV ZDWFKPDNHU¶V QR KROGV EDUUHG DSSURDFK WR WHOOLQJ WKH WLPH 0DGH XS RI SDUWV ± ZLWK D PD[LPXP RI FRPSOLFDWLRQV WR EH PDGH WKLV \HDU ± VWDQGRXW IHDWXUHV DUH DSOHQW\ WKH ZDWFK QRW RQO\ PDUNV WLPH E\ DGMXVWLQJ IRU OHDS \HDUV DQG WKH GL̆HUHQW QXPEHU RI GD\V LQ FHUWDLQ PRQWKV WKH ÀDVK FDOHQGDU KDUQHVVHV WKH HQHUJ\ WR VZLWFK WKH GDWH DFFXUDWHO\ LQ D IUDFWLRQ RI D VHFRQG 6XFK IXQFWLRQDOLW\ XVXDOO\ FRPHV ZLWK D FOXWWHUHG GHVLJQ ± D IDU ÀXQJ FRQFHUQ IRU + 0RVHU RQ VS\LQJ WKH HOHJDQW DHVWKHWLFV RI WKLV QHZ PRGHO 7KHUH¶V PRUH 7KH PRQWK LQGLFDWLRQ XVHV WKH KRXU LQGLFHV WR PDUN WKH PRQWKV ZLWK D VPDOO WKLUG KDQG RQ WKH D[LV ZKLOH WKH SHUSHWXDO FDOHQGDU LV RQH RI D IHZ WKDW PD\ EH DGMXVWHG IRUZDUG DQG EDFN DW DQ\ WLPH RI GD\ ZLWKRXW ULVNLQJ GDPDJH WR WKH PRYHPHQW /LNH WKH IXQFWLRQV ± KDQG ZRXQG ZLWK D XVHIXO VHYHQ GD\ SRZHU UHVHUYH ± WKH PDWHULDOV XVHG IRU WKH DOO EODFN HGLWLRQ DUH HTXDOO\ LPSUHVVLYH PRVW QRWDEO\ WLWDQLXP &KRVHQ IRU LWV H[FHSWLRQDO PHFKDQLFDO SURSHUWLHV ± LW¶V VWXUG\ HDV\ WR ZHDU K\SRDOOHUJHQLF DQG H[WUHPHO\ OLJKW ± WLWDQLXP LV XVHG IRU WKH FDVH DQG SLQ EXFNOH - 31 -

clasp, with a DLC treatment. The VSHFLDO FDUERQ ¿QLVK RQ WKH KDQG VWLWFKHG DOOLJDWRU EDQG VHH WKURXJK VDSSKLUH FU\VWDO FDVH EDFN DQG PLOOLPHWUH GLDO SXQFWXDWHG E\ URVH JROG LQGLFHV DGG WR WKH ZDWFK¶V DSSHDO IXUWKHU The timepiece, available from 0D\ LV WKH WKLUG ZDWFK LQ + 0RVHU¶V SHUSHWXDO FDOHQGDU FROOHFWLRQ ± ZLWK JROG DQG SODWLQXP PDNLQJ XS WKH other two.

7KH XQYHLOLQJ FRLQFLGHV ZLWK (GRXDUG 0H\ODQ¶V RQH year anniversary as CEO at the ZDWFKPDNHU $QG PXFK OLNH + 0RVHU &LH FROOHFWRUV KH¶V HTXDOO\ H[FLWHG DERXW WKH WLPHSLHFH¶V UHOHDVH 6SHDNLQJ WR $,5 KH VD\V ³7KH 3HUSHWXDO &DOHQGDU %ODFN (GLWLRQ ZLOO DSSHDO WR D QHZ ZDWFK FRQQRLVVHXU WKH PRUH GDULQJ JHQWOHPHQ DV LW EULQJV D XQLTXH XUEDQ \HW WLPHOHVV EODFN ¿QLVK WR D FODVVLFDO ZDWFK ´ DGGLQJ ³:H KRSH WKHVH SURGXFWV ZLOO H[FLWH RXU FXUUHQW FXVWRPHUV DV ZHOO DV FDWFK WKH DWWHQWLRQ RI RWKHUV ZKR DUH MXVW GLVFRYHULQJ + 0RVHU &LH ´ /RRNLQJ DKHDG 0H\ODQ VD\V WKLV ³:H FDQ GLYXOJH WKDW ZLOO EH ZRUWK WKH ZDLW DV ZH ZLOO LQWURGXFH a new family of very rare watches ZKLFK ZLOO EH SUHVHQWHG LQ D QHZ collection.”

TIMEPIECES

A TIMELY TOURBILLON Arnold & Son celebrates 250 years of watchmaking history with an inventive new timepiece

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TIMEPIECES

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W

hen one considers horological history, it is usually Swiss watchmaking that springs to mind. However, in the late 18th century it was the English that reigned supreme. Leading the way was John Arnold, born in Cornwall in 1736 and widely considered to be one of the most inventive watchmakers of his day. This year, the company Arnold founded 250 years ago celebrates his legacy by unveiling the Royal TEC1 timepiece.

The TEC1 integrates three complications never before FRPELQHG E\ WKH EUDQG LQ VXFK D UHÂżQHG UHQGLWLRQ a tourbillon, a column wheel chronograph, and an automatic winding system. Combining these in such a way that was both stylish and technically advanced proved quite a challenge for the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s research and development team, says executive vice president Philippe Boven. â&#x20AC;&#x153;As such, the traditional layout of a movement with these functions has been totally discarded and allnew engineering was required,â&#x20AC;? he explains. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The movement has been conceived in a way that the tourbillon escapement majestically occupies the entire top portion of the dial from 10 oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;clock to two oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;clock with DQ RYHUVL]HG DSHUWXUH WKDW RĚ&#x2020;HUV DQ LQFUHGLEOH WKUHH GLPHQVLRQDO HĚ&#x2020;HFW DV WKH WRXUELOORQ FDJH URWDWHV ´ The lower portion of the dial features the chronograph function, with the 60 minutes counter strategically located at six oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;clock for harmonious balance. The VHFRQGV FRXQWHU LV RĚ&#x2020;HUHG YLD D FHQWUDO VHFRQGV KDQG The large column wheel chronograph is visible via the transparent sapphire case back. â&#x20AC;&#x153;All this results in a very elegant and equilibrated dial,â&#x20AC;? says Boven.

Elegant is a word Boven uses often, and the TEC1 UHDOO\ GRHV UHĂ&#x20AC;HFW WKH EUDQGÂśV LQLPLWDEOH (QJOLVK VW\OH Âł8VXDOO\ WRXUELOORQ FKURQRJUDSK ZDWFKHV XVH PRGLÂżHG chronograph movements where a tourbillon is added afterwards to an existing chronograph movement,â&#x20AC;? he says. â&#x20AC;&#x153;These movements and watches do, therefore, not look balanced and often have very clumsy dial layouts.

We really developed a new movement from scratch with a very clean and harmonious dial layout in mind. From the very beginning the aesthetic was a main focus.â&#x20AC;?

The TEC1, the brandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s third tourbillon, is part of its Royal Collection. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This collection is a reference to the masterpieces created in the early part of John Arnoldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s life for King George III and members of the Royal court,â&#x20AC;? explains Boven. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The timepieces of this collection are characterised by their technical ingenuity DQG XQLTXH (QJOLVK VW\OH UHJDO DQG VXPSWXRXV ERDVWLQJ D GLVFUHHW RSXOHQFH RĚ&#x2020;VHW E\ WKH HOHJDQFH RI D GRXEOH VWHS EH]HO DQG OXJV JHQWO\ Ă&#x20AC;RZLQJ FRQWRXUV DQG VRIW curves.â&#x20AC;?

-RKQ $UQROG ÂżUVW IRXQG IDPH LQ DIWHU KH presented King George III with the smallest repeating watch ever made. Not content with creating timepieces

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;We really developed a new movement from scratch with a very clean and harmonious dial layout in mindâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; for the Royal court and his well-heeled clientele, Arnold answered a call from the British government to help solve the problem of determining longitude at sea. The Royal Navy and some of the greatest explorers of the time used his chronometers, lauded for their precision, as they charted new territory.

While the aesthetic is very British, Arnold & Sonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s development and production facilities are located in La Chaux-de-Fonds, at the heart of the Swiss watchmaking industry, for it is here that John Arnoldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s heritage of high-quality precision can be best realised. Unlike other watch manufacturers, who often use the same FDOLEUH IRU GLĚ&#x2020;HUHQW PRGHOV $UQROG 6RQ GHYHORSV D new movement for every single model. Comprised of 255 components with 30 jewels, the A&S8305 calibre LV EHDXWLIXOO\ KDQG ÂżQLVKHG ZLWK ÂżQH FLUFXODU JUDLQLQJ hand-chamfered bridges and a 22-carat skeletonised rotor. â&#x20AC;&#x153;TEC1 is automatic, which is quite rare for a tourbillon chronograph and makes this watch a perfect daily wearer,â&#x20AC;? says Boven.

The company will produce three versions of the 7(& D OLPLWHG HGLWLRQ LQ FDUDW UHG JROG ZLWK D blue lacquered dial; a version with a palladium case and silver-white dial; and an 18-carat red gold with anthracite dial version. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The limited edition comprises only 28 timepieces. The response from our collectors and our customers in general has been tremendous so far,â&#x20AC;? says Boven.

It is not the only timepiece the company has created to mark its historic anniversary. Also launched this year are the DTE (Double Tourbillon Escapement) and DSTB (Dial Side True Beat), both part of the Instrument Collection. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We will further launch two additional watches with totally new movements. This means that LQ WRWDO ZH ZLOO KDYH ODXQFKHG QRW OHVV WKDQ ÂżYH QHZ calibers this year,â&#x20AC;? Boven says. John Arnold would be proud.

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WITH ADVISORS FROM OVER 56 DIFFERENT COUNTRIES, WE BRING THE WORLD TO YOU. Britain’s most prestigious private bank.

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Coutts & Co. (Registered in England No. 36695), DIFC Branch, is regulated by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA). Coutts & Co. (Registered in England No. 36695), 5*' &VERGL MW VIKYPEXIH F] XLI 5EXEV *MRERGMEP 'IRXVI 6IKYPEXSV] %YXLSVMX] 5*'6% 'SYXXW 'S (YFEM VITVIWIRXEXMZI SJ½GI ERH 'SYXXW 'S %FY (LEFM VITVIWIRXEXMZI SJ½GI EVI VIKYPEXIH F] XLI 'IRXVEP &ERO SJ XLI 9RMXIH %VEF )QMVEXIW

INTERIORS

MASTER CHAIRMAKER “A chair is not complete until someone sits in it,” the late Danish furniture designer Hans J. Wegner once said. He should know, for he designed some of the world’s most sought after chairs, as AIR discovers…

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INTERIORS

T

he world has been fascinated by the chair for centuries: Vincent Van Gogh in 1888 used it as the subject for his Vincentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Chair painting; Bonhamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s auctioned Sam Spadeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s burgundy leather chair from The 0DOWHVH )DOFRQ ÂżOP ODVW \HDU DQG &KULVWLHÂśV set a world auction record for an American armchair back in 1999 when it sold a 1700s walnut chair for over US$1.9 million.

Furniture designers past and present, too, continue to churn out alternative interpretations of the classic chair. One such designer is the late Hans J. Wegner. Described by those who knew him as introverted and unfriendly, Wegner is the pioneer of midcentury Scandinavian design. But talkative or QRW WKH PDQ NQHZ KLV VWXĚ&#x2020; ZKHQ LW FDPH WR furniture of the four-legged kind.

One hundred years since his birth â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and a little over seven years since his death â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Wegner, born in Denmark, was a master FDUSHQWHU ÂżUVW DQG D GHVLJQHU VHFRQG 7KH WZR skills combined led to the creation of some of the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most sought after chairs: the Flag Halyard, Teddy Bear, Valet and the Y-chair (aka the Wishbone chair).

With a penchant for wood â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and a preference for minimalism â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Wegnerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s chairs

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are among some of the most complex in the market – veneer back brace, steam-bent oak arms and woven cane seats. And while he had a deep respect for wood – most notably oak – he dabbled in other materials where necessary. A case in point: the stainless steel Flag Halyard chair, a futuristic-looking piece that is as ergonomically pleasing as it is aesthetically.

Other chairs of interest from the 500 designs he produced include the ‘Chair’, a collaboration between Wegner and furniture maker Johannes Hansen. Said chair was the seat of choice for John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon during the legendary televised debates during the presidential election in 1961.

The aforementioned Valet chair, designed in 1953 and also crafted by Johannes Hansen around 1965, was a genius idea by Wegner: it doubled up as a clothes rack.

The Teddy Bear chair, meanwhile, is a great example of Wegner’s experimentation with wood and leather. This four-legged masterpiece has armrests like bear paws.

They literally embrace you from behind.

Perhaps Wegner’s most celebrated work is the

‘Wegner is the pioneer of midcentury Scandinavian design’ Wishbone chair, designed for Carl Hansen & Søn in 1949. With its paper cord seat – of which 120 metres is used per seat – and distinctive back, the award-winning Y-chair is one of the designer’s bestsellers today. And despite the chair’s straightforward appearance it takes more than 100 steps to make one.

Like his fan base, museums are keen to display his work also: the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York and Die Neue Sammlung in Munich have both showcased a bunch of Wegner chairs in the past. Then there’s the auction houses, many of which are eager to have a Wegner in their lot: the oak and leather prototype Roman armchair circa 1960 fetched US$194,775 at Phillips Nordic Design auction in London last year, while a pair of rare ‘Bear’ chairs from the 1960s sold for US$137,535. Not a bad sell for a chair made by the son of a shoemaker who started out as a carpenter’s apprentice at aged 14.

It was Wegner who once said “a chair is not complete until someone sits in it”. I guess it’s time to take a seat – on a Wishbone, of course.

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Dubai Mall | Dubai Marina Mall | Mall of the Emirates | Wafi | Gold Souk

JEWELLERY > Shown unmounted and assigned a VS2 clarity grade, the aforementioned fancy intense orangey pink diamond has an estimate of US$6-7 million. Also unmounted, this sparkling D colour VS1 diamond of 10.07 carats is expected to attract enthusiastic bidding, with an estimate of between US$775,000-US$1 million.

MA NHATTA N MAGIC

L

ast Decemberâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sale of 0DJQL¿FHQW -HZHOV LQ 1HZ <RUN ZDV QRWKLQJ VKRUW RI VSHFWDFXODU $FKLHYLQJ 86 PLOOLRQ DXFWLRQHHU /LVD +XEEDUG SUHVLGHG RYHU WKH VDOH RI H[WUDRUGLQDULO\ UDUH MHZHOV LQFOXGLQJ D KDQGIXO RI H[TXLVLWH (J\SWLDQ UHYLYDO SLHFHV PDGH E\ &DUWLHU LQ WKH V WKDW GUHZ QHDUO\ LQWHUQDWLRQDO ELGGHUV )RU LWV $SULO DXFWLRQ 6RWKHE\¶V 1HZ <RUN KDV RQFH DJDLQ JDWKHUHG VRPH LQFUHGLEOH VKRZVWRSSHUV 7KH VDOH LQFOXGHV MHZHOV IURP WKH HVWDWH RI 86 VLQJHU (\GLH *RUPH EHVW NQRZQ IRU KHU *UDPP\ QRPLQDWHG KLW %ODPH ,W 2Q WKH %RVVD 1RYD DQG D QXPEHU RI VSOHQGLG ULQJV WKDW DUH ERXQG WR DWWUDFW FROOHFWRUV IURP DURXQG WKH ZRUOG &RORXUHG GLDPRQGV KDYH EHHQ WKH VWDUV RI UHFHQW DXFWLRQV ± ZKR FRXOG IRUJHW 7KH 3LQN 6WDU D FDUDW LQWHUQDOO\ Ã&#x20AC;DZOHVV IDQF\ YLYLG SLQN GLDPRQG WKDW VROG IRU D ZRUOG UHFRUG 86 PLOOLRQ DW 6RWKHE\¶V *HQHYD DXFWLRQ LQ 1RYHPEHU" $QG D FDUDW IDQF\ LQWHQVH RUDQJH\ SLQN GLDPRQG ULQJ ORRNV VHW WR EH RQH RI WKH KLJKOLJKWV RI WKLV ODWHVW 1HZ <RUN DXFWLRQ +HUH¶V RXU SLFN RI ZKDW WR UDLVH \RXU SDGGOH IRU«

$,5 FXUDWHV WKH PRVW FRYHWHG SLHFHV IURP WKH IRUWKFRPLQJ 6RWKHE\¶V 1HZ <RUN 0DJQL¿FHQW -HZHOV VDOH«

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> Also of note are these two Tiffany & Co. pieces.

Designed around 1900 by Paulding Farnham, the jewellery houseâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s pre-eminent designer of the time, this delicate pink tourmaline and diamond brooch has an estimate of US$40,000US$60,000. The fancy intense yellow diamond and emerald ring from the early 20th century, designed by Louis Comfort, has an estimate of US$100,000-US$150,000.

> This 18-carat gold bracelet from Cartier, circa 1925, also caught our eye and is sure to get pulses racing on auction day. The striking piece features emeralds, diamonds and onyx, and has an estimate of US$600,000US$800,000.

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JEWELLERY > Another exquisite Cartier piece, this elegant 1920s emerald and diamond bracelet has an estimate of between US$700,000 to US$900,000. Signed jewels that will never be made again always inspire collectors, so expect stiff competition.

> From the estate of Eydie Gorme, this beautiful Harry Winston-designed platinum and emerald-cut diamond ring has an estimate of US$350,000-US$450,000, while the internally flawless marquise diamond, weighing 7.51 carats, set in platinum comes with a similar estimate. Both pieces look stunning alongside the classic platinum and diamond rivière necklace (estimate US$250,000-US$350,000).

> Another sparkler to watch is this magnificent sapphire and diamond ring. Weighing 28.18 carats, the stone is from Kashmir, where the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most sought after sapphires are found, and carries a pre-sale estimation of between US$4-5 million.

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ASPIRE: diamonds in 18K rose gold

THE FINE ART OF DESIRE

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JEWELLERY

A

quick glance into Harrods’ shop windows is like looking at static theatre behind glass. Never dull, always captivating, constantly changing; the luxury department store pays as much attention to the exterior of its Knightsbridge store as it does to the clothes swinging from its rails. And this month sees jeweller Fabergé take a luxurious hold of its windows, façade and JURXQG ÀRRU VKRSSLQJ VSDFH IRU LWV ‘Fabergé Easter’ exhibition.

From April 1-21, the windows ZLOO EH GUDSHG LQ )DEHUJp ÀDJV and used to highlight the history of the Russian jewellery house – from its lavish Easter eggs created for the Russian Imperial family to today’s contemporary jewellery.

Inside the store, meanwhile, visitors can mosey around the Fabergé Salon, an exhibition showcasing a series of one-of-a-kind collectible pieces designed for Fabergé by Parisian jeweller Frédéric Zaavy. The much-coveted collection – which includes the original Fabergé Apple Blossom Egg, designed in 1901 – will be on display LQ LWV HQWLUHW\ IRU WKH ¿UVW WLPH LQ WKH UK in a non-museum environment.

To celebrate this milestone, the jeweller has created a limited edition pendant, the Spiral Tassel Pendant, available exclusively at Harrods from April 1. There’s more: a Fabergé ‘egg bar’ will EH RQ VLWH WR R̆HU FXVWRPHUV DQ opportunity to discover the iconic egg pendants, while a bespoke instore engraving service will allow clients to personalise their purchase.

The Fabergé Salon will be located at Door 9, Ground Floor, Harrods, London.

Eggstatic display Fabergé is taking over luxury London department store Harrods for an exclusive exhibition this month. AIR takes a look at what’s on show…

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ART & DESIGN

AMERICAN BEAUTY Ben Turnbull pulls the trigger on American History X: Volume 1 – The Death of America Words: Richard Jenkins

I

magine a world where JFK had been allowed to live to 100-years-old, and Abraham Lincoln had decided to skip the theatre and stay home instead. A world where Martin Luther King Jr. is still with us, and Jack Ruby hadn’t taken his revenge on Lee Harvey Oswald with a smoking gun in 1963.

These bleak moments in American history have shaped the identity of a nation. London-based artist Ben Turnbull has spent his career exploring these dark VSDFHV DQG LV QRZ SUHVHQWLQJ WKH ¿UVW RI IRXU YROXPHV LQ his American History X series.

Turnbull tells AIR: “I suppose the beginning of the project started when I became a bit more independent.

Most of the work I do tends to come from a sense of adversity; I thrived in just going out and doing something on my own. It began with some pieces that aren’t actually in volume one, and that’s why American History X became a series of volumes. I thought that I FRXOG UHDOO\ H[SDQG WKLV DOPRVW KDYH GL̆HUHQW KLVWRU\ lessons for each section.”

Despite not visiting the US until 2008, Turnbull feels D GHHS ḊQLW\ ZLWK WKH FRXQWU\ GXH WR D SHULSDWHWLF upbringing. “I always intended to go to America,” he says, “but I always felt that I would never be able to get - 49 -

ART & DESIGN

there. I had a pretty nomadic existence growing up, with a single mother. Reading American comics, I was almost creating my own America, and I very much took to the American pop scene in its early phases. I think it was like building your own miniature world and that’s informed me with this series of works.”

Volume 1 – The Death of America focuses on the country’s grim history of assassinations. Collage portraits of John F. Kennedy, Bobby Kennedy and Lee Harvey Oswald mingle with a revisited theme, Pezdispenser presidents. Turnbull originally had the idea to place US presidents’ heads on Pez dispensers in 2006, but saw his work plagiarised. The artist says: “I originally did a series of standard presidents as Pez dispensers. Funnily enough the American government did this themselves three or four years after that. And when the American government did their own series, the idea got copied by a couple of artists. I got sent a link

to some of the imagery and I thought, well… imitation is WKH VLQFHUHVW IRUP RI ÀDWWHU\ %\ WKH ZD\ , GLGQ¶W DFWXDOO\ think that, I thought ‘how dare you copy me!’. So when I was planning this project I thought I really wanted to make this series virtually impossible to copy and the only way to do that would be to embellish it all with my

‘I think that truth, justice and the American Way are very much in all facets of these volumes’ trademark stamp that nobody else could do, and for PH WKDW ¿W SHUIHFWO\ ZLWK WKH LGHDV EHKLQG WKLV ZKROH volume. The assassinations, the Hinckley Juniors, the Harvey Oswalds, the Kennedys… it just made sense to

- 50 -

change the lettering. It was so simple to use R-I-P. It just ÂżW SHUIHFWO\ Âą DQG UXEEHUVWDPSHG WKH %-7 IHHO ´ Pop-art collectors from Jared Leto to Harry Styles KDYH ERXJKW ZRUNV E\ 7XUQEXOO ZKRVH SURÂżOH LV becoming bigger and bigger â&#x20AC;&#x201C; a Banksy with a public face. However, anyone interested in commercialising the artist is given short shrift. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t name names but I was asked to put giant billboards down 5th Avenue in New York,â&#x20AC;? Turnbull recalls. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I had a huge falling out with the gallery, not so much the people who asked me to do it â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and it was a massive, huge name â&#x20AC;&#x201C; but it was almost glorifying death and I just thought I canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t do that. I have a massive integrity with my work, so much so that Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been asked to make numerous prints RI YDULRXV FROODJH ZRUNV RU WKH 86 Ă&#x20AC;DJ DQG LW ZDV D similar story. My work is too personal and steeped in memoriam. A lot of the work is to do with victims, the IDOOHQ 7KHVH ZRUNV DUH GRQH DV RQH RĚ&#x2020;V WKH\ÂśUH DOO

originals. It probably could have changed my career and I could have created a workforce instead of working alone, but in the modern day art world, you canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t buy integrity.â&#x20AC;?

For an America-obsessed Londoner, the exploration of the US has only just begun. Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the one thing he wants people to take away from The Death of America? â&#x20AC;&#x153;Educationâ&#x20AC;? is the emphatic answer. â&#x20AC;&#x153;What I really want people to take away is that itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a history lesson.

The pieces are aesthetically nice and each work reveals GLĚ&#x2020;HUHQW IDFHWV RI WKH $PHULFDQ FXOWXUH DQG WKH\ can be seen as coming from a very dark angle. But ultimately this is all true. I think that Truth, Justice and The American Way are very much in all facets of these volumes. Ultimately these are true stories being told but in a very unusual way, using very unusual mediums.â&#x20AC;?

American History X: Volume 1 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; The Death of America will run from April 3-18 at Brixton East, London.

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W.I . N . O .N .A Forever

At 42 – yet still looking not much more than 18 – Winona Ryder must be the only star who, for various reasons, is glad to have waved youth goodbye.

And that’s not the only way in which she stands far apart from the rest of Hollywoodkind. She talks to Celia Walden

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W

inona Ryder and I are sitting side by side in silence on a sofa in the bar of Chateau Marmont, holding our palms upturned and outstretched. â&#x20AC;&#x153;You see,â&#x20AC;? she says with a smile. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It frees you up, doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t it? Everything sort of comes to the surface.â&#x20AC;?

The star of Heathers, Girl Interrupted and Black Swan â&#x20AC;&#x201C; an actress who has been reductively if accurately described as â&#x20AC;&#x153;the poster girl for the 1990sâ&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x201C; has been telling me about â&#x20AC;&#x153;this weird thing I do if I have to get HPRWLRQDO LQ D ÂżOP ,W DOZD\V ZRUNV ´ 6KH GRHVQÂśW MXVW want me to take her word for it; she wants me to try it. Which I do because this is Los Angeles and nobody would bat an eyelid if you were to assume the lotus pose in the middle of a bar and start chanting, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Om shanti, shanti.â&#x20AC;? But also, simply, because Ryder wants me do it.

Something about the actress draws you in from the outset, making you want to befriend and protect her â&#x20AC;&#x201C; both uncomfortable sensations for an interviewer. She talks in open-ended sentences, dipping in and out of ZKLVSHUV DQG YHHULQJ RĚ&#x2020; RQ WDQJHQWV $QG DW LQ D EDWWHUHG FUHDP OHDWKHU MDFNHW YLQWDJH 7 VKLUW DQG MHDQV sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s still as fragile and translucent-skinned as she was at 18, as Cherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s pious teenage daughter in Mermaids, with the underlying grit of Lelaina, her character in the Generation X time-capsule that was Reality Bites, and the quiet wisdom of May Welland in Martin Scorseseâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s The Age of Innocence.

Maybe she was too memorable in those early years, capturing the zeitgeist of that decade too well both professionally and personally, in her highly scrutinised relationships with Johnny Depp and Matt Damon. Or PD\EH WKDW VKRSOLIWLQJ LQFLGHQW LQ DIWHU ZKLFK she was ordered to undergo psychological and drug

Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;.â&#x20AC;?

Hare was astute enough to see that Ryderâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s range as an actress should not be limited by her preternaturally youthful looks, but itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s easy to see how directors could still see that as a problem. In full make-up, Ryder somehow manages to look more like a teenager whoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ransacked her motherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s cosmetics drawer than a \HDU ROG DFWUHVV ZLWK WZR 2VFDU QRPLQDWLRQV XQGHU her belt. Âł,W ZDV KDUG WR ÂżQG WKDW WUDQVLWLRQ WR DGXOW UROHV ´ VKH FRQFHGHV Âł%XW ,ÂśP DFWXDOO\ UHDOO\ HQMR\LQJ JHWWLQJ ROGHU because I went through a period of time where I was technically old enough for roles but always associated with younger ones. The whole of my thirties was spent that way. Now that Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m in my forties itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s getting a little bit easier.â&#x20AC;? ,W DPXVHV UDWKHU WKDQ RĚ&#x2020;HQGV KHU WKDW ÂłSHRSOH ZLOO point to theseâ&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x201C; she smiles, indicating â&#x20AC;&#x153;the elevensâ&#x20AC;?, or lines between her brows â&#x20AC;&#x201C; â&#x20AC;&#x153;and say, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;you might want to do something about thoseâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want to knock anyone who does all that because it only bothers me when I see actresses I know, love and respect who have been talked into having something done. But whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s weird WR PH LV WKDW ,ÂśG UDWKHU MXVW ORRN P\ DJH 0\ IDYRXULWH performances are by actresses like Bette Davis in All About Eve or Gena Rowlands in pretty much anything â&#x20AC;&#x201C; performances that have nothing to do with age. As a teenager I worked on Indian reservations and it was such an incredible culture: the elders are so respected.â&#x20AC;?

She shrugs and reaches for her tea. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I think itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sad the way we treat older people here.â&#x20AC;?

Ryderâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s unconventional childhood has been exhaustively documented and occasionally used to explain the more disturbing events in her life, but the actress â&#x20AC;&#x201C; christened Winona Laura Horowitz and named

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Fame can be incredibly isolating. Dangerously soâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; FRXQVHOOLQJ DQG WKHQ WRRN WLPH RĚ&#x2020; IURP KHU FDUHHU KDV overshadowed the excellent work she has done since: her portrayal of the embittered, ageing ballerina in Black Swan and the cheating wife in The Dilemma. Either ZD\ ZLWK D UROH DV D P\VWHULRXV ÂżQDQFLDO 35 LQ 'DYLG Hareâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new political thriller, Turks & Caicos, alongside Christopher Walken, Bill Nighy and Helena Bonham Carter, Ryderâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s bemused by talk of a comeback. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Only because theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been saying it for so long,â&#x20AC;? she says with a laugh. â&#x20AC;&#x153;And Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m, like, where was I? Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a ELJ SDUW RI PH WKDW MXVW ZDQWV WR GR JRRG ZRUN DQG QRW have that pressure. I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have any interest in being a movie star. And although Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d love to say that everything ,ÂśYH GRQH KDV EHHQ D SDVVLRQ SURMHFW Âą ZKHQ RI FRXUVH ,ÂśYH GRQH WKLQJV MXVW WR ZRUN DQG ,ÂśYH GRQH FORQNHUV Âą you get a letter from David Hare, and youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re like, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Oh my

after the Minnesota city in which she was born â&#x20AC;&#x201C; speaks fondly of the four years she spent in a commune in Elk, Northern California, from the age of seven. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It was pretty incredible. We were in 380 acres of redwoods and there was no electricity.â&#x20AC;?

5\GHU VWDUWHG DFWLQJ DW RQFH KHU SDUHQWV Âą bohemian intellectuals who were friends with the author Aldous Huxley, the beat poet Allen Ginsberg and LSD proselytiser Timothy Leary â&#x20AC;&#x201C; moved to the nearby FLW\ RI 3HWDOXPD $Q\ UHVHQWPHQW VKH GRHV KDUERXU towards them is for setting too good an example of what marriage could be, she says. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s crazy because they DUH VWLOO VR LQ ORYH DIWHU \HDUV WRJHWKHU Âą DQG , PHDQ giddily in love. That set the bar so high for me. I think it may be why I never got married.â&#x20AC;?

She came close twice: once in the early 1990s, when,

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having got together with Depp on Edward Scissorhands, she became one half of the Brangelina of grunge, and later in 1998 when she and Damon became engaged, RQO\ WR VSOLW XS LQ )RU WKH SDVW WZR \HDUV VKH has reportedly been dating a fashion designer, Scott Mackinlay Hahn, and, although she wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t discuss this today, she is open about her desire to have children, pulling out her phone and showing me a video of her new goddaughter. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Look,â&#x20AC;? she says with a doting smile, â&#x20AC;&#x153;she even yawns. I mean talk about baby feverâ&#x20AC;Śâ&#x20AC;? Then VKH SDXVHV Âł7KLV LV D OLWWOH SHUVRQDO EXW ,ÂśP DQGÂŤ Well, I was talking to my dad last year and saying, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;What if I canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have a kid?â&#x20AC;&#x2122; and he said, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;There are other ways to have children in your lifeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s true â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and I get these amazing doses with my brotherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s kids. But Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve got to stop listening to other people. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s crazy the VWXĚ&#x2020; ZRPHQ ZLOO WHOO \RX ´ )RU D PRPHQW ZH ODPHQW WKH scaremongering all childless women over 30 seem to be VXEMHFWHG WR DQG , XUJH KHU QRW WR WDNH LW WRR VHULRXVO\ But Ryder seems happy, healthy and settled â&#x20AC;&#x201C; away from WKH PDGQHVV RI +ROO\ZRRG LQ 6DQ )UDQFLVFR ,W ZDV WR 6DQ )UDQFLVFR WKDW VKH HVFDSHG ZKHQ VKH took what we both diplomatically refer to throughout the interview â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Ryder drawing inverted commas in the air â&#x20AC;&#x201C; as her â&#x20AC;&#x153;hiatusâ&#x20AC;?. Her parents had lived there for years (they subsequently moved to Canada after George W Bush was re-elected) and she wanted â&#x20AC;&#x153;to take a break, be home for a while and explore some other interests that I would have explored if I hadnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t become an actressâ&#x20AC;?.

Sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fascinated by constitutional law and sat in on a handful of lectures at Berkeley College. She also went to see the environmental activist and life coach Julia %XWWHUĂ&#x20AC;\ +LOO ZKR OLYHG LQ D \HDU ROG &DOLIRUQLDQ redwood for 738 days to prevent it from being cut down. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I climbed 180ft up to where she was but I only lasted six days up there â&#x20AC;&#x201C; she lasted nearly two years.â&#x20AC;? But really, LW ZDV EHLQJ LQ 6DQ )UDQFLVFR WKDW KHOSHG 7KHUH VKH says, â&#x20AC;&#x153;people will be like, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;hey, whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s up?â&#x20AC;&#x2122; in the street, because Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m a home-town girl.â&#x20AC;? It gave her the grounding she needed. Âł)DPH FDQ EH LQFUHGLEO\ LVRODWLQJ ´ 5\GHU VD\V TXLHWO\ Âł'DQJHURXVO\ VR $QG ,ÂśYH GHÂżQLWHO\ JRQH WKURXJK that. There was a time when I would go for a hike and I wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t even know that I was being photographed.â&#x20AC;?

'LG DQ\ SDUW RI KHU HQMR\ LW ZKHQ LW KDSSHQHG" %HLQJ WKH hottest actress out there, stepping out with the hottest men? She frowns. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It was actually pretty weird and traumatic. I was so young that I didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t really understand ZKDW ZDV JRLQJ RQ , DOZD\V MXVW UHDOO\ ZDQWHG WR EH D good actress.â&#x20AC;?

In that respect, whatever the vehicle, Ryder has never compromised. Sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s still the girl who was so determined to play the corruptible Veronica in the 1988 hit Heathers that she â&#x20AC;&#x153;literally pleadedâ&#x20AC;? with the casting directors to be given a second chance. â&#x20AC;&#x153;My agent told me it would UXLQ P\ FDUHHU DQG WKH ÂżUVW WLPH , ZHQW LQ WR DXGLWLRQ they told me I wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t pretty enough so I got a makeover at the Beverly Center [shopping mall] and went straight EDFN Âą EHFDXVH , MXVW ZDQWHG WR VD\ WKH ZRUGV HYHQ LI they hated me.â&#x20AC;?

These days, she waits for that â&#x20AC;&#x153;I have to do itâ&#x20AC;? moment, turning down a fair number of dark, damaged roles, particularly anything involving children. After WKH DEGXFWLRQ DQG PXUGHU RI 3ROO\ .ODDV Âą D \HDU ROG IURP 3HWDOXPD IRU ZKRP 5\GHU KHOSHG VHDUFK RĚ&#x2020;HULQJ D 86 UHZDUG IRU KHU VDIH UHWXUQ Âą WKH DFWUHVVÂśV

- 56 -

sensitivity to the subject has been heightened. She is a member of the child-safety foundation set up in the wake of the crime. “It’s true that I get sent these scripts and they’re so dark,” she says. “I just got sent this one about paedophilia and it had a great cast but I read it and – maybe because of Polly – just thought, ‘I don’t want to be a part of that’.”

In this sense of responsibility – and in so many other ways – Ryder is atypical of her industry.

She won’t tweet (“apparently studios look to see how many followers you have but even the term ‘followers’ is faintly creepy to me”), and hates the idea of a stylist telling her what to wear.

“I’ve worn vintage dresses to the Oscars that I bought for US$19 and at Sean Penn’s Haiti EHQH¿W WKH RWKHU QLJKW , ZRUH D GUHVV RQFH owned by Audrey Hepburn that I’d worn to a friend’s première years ago – which apparently is some sort of no-no.”

She also prefers to spend her time unearthing Philip Roths and John Updikes at

‘I always just really wanted to be a good actress’

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her favourite San Francisco bookshop, City Lights, than waste time reading populist ¿FWLRQ VXFK DV )LIW\ 6KDGHV of Grey. “Do you know that I thought that book was about Wall Street because there’s a guy in a tie on the cover?” she says, giggling.

“Actually, I met the woman who wrote it right here at Chateau Marmont. I was at this party upstairs talking to this woman and I said, ‘Oh, so is your book about ¿QDQFLDO WUDGLQJ"¶´ (/ James was probably won over by this unabashed outlier. Where Ryder’s concerned, it’s hard not to be.

The

MAN

in the

IRON MASK Heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s played Gandhi, psychopathic gangsters, and a comic book baddie. But who is this thespian knight really? If Sir Ben Kingsley knows, he isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t telling...

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W

ho is Sir Ben Kingsley? Many have tried to get to the bottom of this conundrum â&#x20AC;&#x201C; including, you suspect, the man himself â&#x20AC;&#x201C; without coming up with a wholly satisfactory answer. To some, heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s one of the greatest theatrical knights â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the living, often helplessly grandiloquent embodiment of luvvie-dom â&#x20AC;&#x201C; whoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s actually spent the past three decades devoting himself to the movies. Heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s played forbearing goodness, in his Oscar-winning turn as Gandhi, and bullet-headed malevolence, as the gangster Don Logan in Sexy Beast, with equally stunning facility (Ray Winstone, his co-star in the latter and no stranger to villainy, DGPLWWHG WR EHLQJ ÂłWHUULÂżHG´ RI .LQJVOH\ ZKHQ he turned up in character on set: â&#x20AC;&#x153;I looked at him and thought, youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve got to be kidding me, WKLV LV *DQGKL"´

Heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s played characters from virtually every continent, subcontinent, and hemisphere, SHUKDSV D UHĂ&#x20AC;HFWLRQ RI KLV RZQ SURWHDQ $QJOR Indian-Russian inheritance. He himself says that, if weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re really intent on gleaning clues as to his nature, we should run his showreel. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I have a dear friend, Tony Palmer, who made a documentary on the life of Richard %XUWRQ ´ KH VD\V LQ KLV SUHFLVH PHDVXUHG tones. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It featured some interviews, in many of which he was a little the worse for wear. But the spine of the documentary was a mosaic of his performances. Put them together, pull back, and thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Burton. I think, when I leave the planet and the equivalent of Tony tries to construct something similar, then fragments of my roles, those bits, would form a composite portrait of me. Without a mask I havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t got a FOXH ´ â&#x20AC;&#x153;Give a man a mask and heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll tell you the WUXWK ´ The Sir Ben who says this, on a cold spring morning in a London hotel suite, is wearing a mask of cordial benignity (this will eventually VOLS MXVW D OLWWOH RI ZKLFK PRUH ODWHU

+HÂśV VWRSSHG RĚ&#x2020; KHUH RQ KLV ZD\ KRPH WR Oxfordshire, â&#x20AC;&#x153;so I can hit the ground running, VR WR VSHDN´ $W KHÂśV FHUWDLQO\ WULP DQG spruce in a black leather jacket and dark jeans that complement his saturnine brow. He orders a peppermint tea (â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m going to let it VWHHS D OLWWOH ZKLOH WKDQNV ´ KH VD\V SROLWHO\ EXW ÂżUPO\ ZKHQ WKH ZDLWHU WULHV WR SRXU LW

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s been said that, in his roles, Kingsley seems to veer between a determination to save

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;I think Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m an artist maybe a few seconds of every year, when I really nail it against extraordinary oddsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; the world or destroy it; as The Mandarin, Tony Starkâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s nemesis in last yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Iron Man 3, heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s PRVW GHÂżQLWHO\ LQ WKH ODWWHU FDPS Kingsley cheerfully admits that he came to the role free of the burden of expectation from FRPLF ERRN DÂżFLRQDGRV Âł, RQO\ KDG D YDJXH QRWLRQ RI 0DUYHO DQG ZKDW LWÂśV DOO DERXW ´ KH says. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I had no templates to copy. I simply ZRUNHG IURP WKH VFULSW ´ :KLOH FRQFHGLQJ WKDW KHÂśV ÂłQR JUHDW ZDWFKHU RI IUDQFKLVHV´ WZR WKLQJV PDUNHG ,URQ 0DQ RXW IRU KLP WKH ÂłZLW´ of the enterprise, and the stellar rep company of actors involved. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Robert {Downey Jnr} was D KXJH PDJQHW IRU PH ´ KH VD\V Âł+HÂśV JUHDW company, and he has a great arc as a human being and an actor. I knew heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d be joyfully GHGLFDWHG WR WKH MRE ´ He pauses, and his brows assume a vaguely beetle-ish aspect. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s how I have to WUDQVODWH WKH UDWKHU OD]\ $PHULFDQ ZRUG ÂľIXQÂś , canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t work that word out. They always ask you LI \RXÂśUH KDYLQJ ÂľIXQÂś RYHU WKHUH :LWK FHUWDLQ ZRUGV , UHDFW OLNH 7HĂ&#x20AC;RQ LW MXVW ERXQFHV RĚ&#x2020; DQG WKDWÂśV RQH RI WKHP ´ 7KH 0DQGDULQÂśV ÂłWHDFKLQJV´ DPRXQW WR PRFNLQJ DQG GHVWUR\LQJ the westâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s cultural lodestones, from Coca-Cola bottles to superheroes, and Kingsley groups

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him with a long line of iconoclasts, from the shrine-smashers of the Reformation to the Buddha-blasters of the Taliban. Âł7KHUH ZDV SOHQW\ WR JHW P\ WHHWK LQWR ´ KH smiles. â&#x20AC;&#x153;But I was allowed to, inasmuch as an actor can only be as good as where he or she is SODFHG ,WÂśV RQH RI $UFKLPHGHVÂśV JUHDW VD\LQJV which I passed on to an actor recently, a great girl, who was thrilled by it, she hadnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t seen it WKDW VLPSO\´ D ELW RI QRW VR ULJRURXV SURELQJ induces him to reveal that it was Catherine .HHQHU ³ Âľ*LYH PH D SODFH WR VWDQG DQG Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll move the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. They gave me a place to stand from which I had no excuses if I didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t get it right; I could really dig into this raging QDUFLVVLVWLF DQDUFKR WHUURULVW $QG DOVR JLYH KLP D SHUVRQD ´ 7KH TXHVWLRQ RI ÂłPRWLYDWLRQ´ DSW WR SURYRNH a jaded eyebrow-raise outside actorsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; rehearsal rooms, is crucial to Kingsley, but he doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t go in for Method immersion; a keen cook â&#x20AC;&#x201C; he has D 1REHO RYHQ DW KRPH ÂłD FRXVLQ´ DV KH SXWV LW ÂłRI WKH $JD´ Âą KH OLNHV WR ERLO KLV FKDUDFWHUV down to a sort of essence-haiku. Thus, for Itzhak Stern in Schindlerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s List, it was simply ÂłVDYLQJ SHRSOH´ )RU 'RQ /RJDQ LW ZDV ÂłWKH KXUW FKLOG ODVKLQJ RXW DW RWKHUV´ $QG IRU 7KH Mandarin, he picked up on a line from the script: â&#x20AC;&#x153;You know who I am, you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know ZKHUH , DP DQG \RXÂśOO QHYHU VHH PH FRPLQJ ´ â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a sort of embedded nugget that I can keep LQ P\ SRFNHW DQG EXLOG WKH SHUIRUPDQFH IURP ´ he says. $V KH JHWV ROGHU KH FRQWLQXHV KH ÂżQGV this idea of miniaturisation more attractive. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I think Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m an artist maybe a few seconds of every year, when I really nail it against extra-ordinary odds. I was talking to Daniel 'D\ /HZLV Âą ZH ORYH FKDWWLQJ WRJHWKHU ´ KH says challengingly, as if Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d dared suggest otherwise. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We both agree that we have no comprehension of how our best moments got XS WKHUH RQ VFUHHQ ´ +H FKHFNV KLPVHOI DQG IURZQV Âł+PP $V P\ GDUOLQJ IULHQG 7LOGD Swinton says, thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s an awful lot of rubbish WDONHG DERXW DFWLQJ $QG , KDYH WR WDNH P\ KDW RĚ&#x2020; WR KHU VKHÂśV DEVROXWHO\ ULJKW ´ 7LOGD PLJKW FDUH WR ORRN DZD\ QRZ $ question about why he thinks heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s so good at what he does â&#x20AC;&#x201C; to â&#x20AC;&#x153;pretend to be someone HOVH FRQYLQFLQJO\´ DV KH SXWV LW Âą \LHOGV DQ answer thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s simultaneously heartfelt and almost omni-luvvie, and therefore beyond lampoon. He begins by comparing himself to a Neolithic storyteller (â&#x20AC;&#x153;he would begin RYHU WKH OLWWOH ÂżUH LQ IURQW RI WKH FDYHÂŤ LV LW any coincidence that itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the dark of evening

ZKHQ ZH JR WR WKH WKHDWUH"´ JRHV RQ WR namecheck Clarissa Pinkola EstĂŠs and her mytho-poetic tract Women Who Run With the Wolves (â&#x20AC;&#x153;she says she believes storytelling is profoundly healingâ&#x20AC;Ś that rang a huge bell ZLWK PH´ DQG FOLPD[HV DOPRVW LQHYLWDEO\ with Trevor Nunn. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I was spoilt because, thank God, he auditioned me for the RSC when I was a toddler, barely walking as an actor. I never went to drama school, and he gave me a wonderful run of parts just to watch me. That became my family, my education, my university, my language, my embrace, my tribe. In Shakespeare, we see archetypal patterns of human behaviour that are Ă&#x20AC;DZOHVVO\ UHQGHUHG ZKLFK FRPIRUW XV SURYRNH XV RĚ&#x2020;HU XV H[SODQDWLRQV DQG ZKLFK ,ÂśYH EHHQ attempting to pass on in every role that I do since. â&#x20AC;&#x153;You know, Don Logan is Iago. Gandhi was a Hamlet who turned into King Lear. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s that XUJHQF\ WR ÂżQG WKH SDWWHUQ LQ WKH FKDUDFWHU SRVVHVV LW´ +H VKUXJV KHOSOHVVO\ â&#x20AC;&#x153;If I wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t an actor, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d be a loony, stopping people in the street, compelled to pass these WKLQJV RQ ´ :H FDQ DOO EH JUDWHIXO WKDW .LQJVOH\ discovered acting.

He was born Krishna Bhanji in Scarborough LQ +LV IDWKHU 5DKLPWXOOD +DUML %DQMKL was a doctor of Gujarati descent; his mother, $QQD /\QD 0DU\ *RRGPDQ ZDV DQ (QJOLVK model and actress â&#x20AC;&#x201C; â&#x20AC;&#x153;she did some small roles LQ $OH[DQGHU .RUGD ÂżOPV RI WKH 7ZHQWLHV DQG

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;You know who I am, you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know where I am, and youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll never see me comingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; 7KLUWLHV ´ KH VD\V +H DWWHQGHG 0DQFKHVWHU Grammar School in the expectation that he would go to medical school like his father and brother, but he belatedly realised, after scraping through sixth form, that acting was his true vocation. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I had always been the VRQJ DQG GDQFH PDQ RI WKH IDPLO\ ´ KH VD\V Âł, UHPHPEHU P\ IDWKHU UHIHUULQJ WR PH DV ÂľRXU little Danny Kayeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; when I was about seven.

That was the only remotely positive comment I remember from them. They never praised me or acknowledged a gram of talent in me. Their ZD\ ZDV WR PRFN ¹ ¾ZKHQ DUH \RX JRLQJ WR ¿QLVK ZLWK WKLV DFWLQJ ODUNœ WKDW VRUW RI WKLQJ My mother, far from being proud, was very MHDORXV RI P\ VXFFHVV ´

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â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;The other siren songs that young actors are offered today â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the magazines, the adverts, all of that noise and fizz â&#x20AC;&#x201C; lead nowhereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; JHWWLQJ EHWWHU DW ´ His knighthood, in 2002, also helped in this respect. Mention of it seems to make Kingsley glow. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I told you about my parents, and the fact that any kind of embrace was WRWDOO\ DEVHQW IURP P\ OLIH ´ KH VD\V Âł6R WR EH embraced by Her Majestyâ&#x20AC;Ś I felt like stopping people in the street, saying my mum loves me, you know. Because thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s what it felt like, to PH 7KH ÂżOOLQJ RI D YDFXXP LQ WKH XQLYHUVH ´ This sense of validation, surely, lies behind the imperishable rumour that Kingsley has, in the past, insisted on being addressed by KLV KRQRULÂżF" %XW RK GHDU +LV IDFH KDV plummeted, along with the temperature in WKH URRP Âł, KDYHQÂśW WRGD\ KDYH ,"´ KH VD\V somewhat narked. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m very sorry you had to bring that up. It was a scurrilous story in a magazine abroad and I continue to be the YLFWLP RI LW ´ On the one hand, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a shame; heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s leaving, and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a rather downbeat note to end on. On the other, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s instructive; a glimpse of the RULJLQDO ÂłKXUW FKLOG´ WKDWÂśV EHHQ WKH PRWRU for Gandhi, Don Logan, The Mandarin, and DOO WKRVH RWKHU ÂłIUDJPHQWV´ WKDW KDYH KHOSHG make Sir Ben Kingsley the actor â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and the person â&#x20AC;&#x201C; he is.

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Images: Corbis / Arabian Eye

7KHUH ZHUH IXUWKHU VHWEDFNV .LQJVOH\ Ă&#x20AC;HG KLV 5$'$ DXGLWLRQ ZKHQ RZLQJ WR KLV WHUULEOH handwriting, his name was erroneously called DV Âł.ULVWLQD %ODQJH´ KH DQJOLFLVHG LW VKRUWO\ DIWHUZDUGV /DWHU DW WKH 56& D SDQMDQGUXP told him he really shouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t set his sights any higher than playing a selection of servants. Âł%XW RQH RI P\ ÂżUVW SURIHVVLRQDO MREV ZDV ZLWK D 7KHDWUH ,Q (GXFDWLRQ JURXS ´ KH UHFDOOV Âł$QG WKLV ORYHO\ IHPDOH GLUHFWRU D EHDXWLIXO blonde woman who was heavily pregnant â&#x20AC;&#x201C; she was like Mother Earth, God I loved her â&#x20AC;&#x201C; said WR PH Âľ\RXÂśUH JRLQJ WR EH D JUHDW FODVVLFDO DFWRUÂś , WKRXJKW ÂľWKDWÂśV QLFHÂś EXW ZKDW VKH actually meant was, youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re going to have to ZRUN \RXU VRFNV RĚ&#x2020; WR JHW ZKHUH , WKLQN \RX FRXOG JHW ´ .LQJVOH\ SDLG KLV GXHV WKURXJK local rep theatres and the RSC; Michael $WWHQERURXJK /RUG 5LFKDUGÂśV VRQ VDZ KLV Hamlet and recommended his father see him for Gandhi. â&#x20AC;&#x153;That grindingly hard work seems WR EH PLVVLQJ IURP WKH HTXDWLRQ QRZ ´ KH VD\V ruefully. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s what leads you to a career, and the other siren songs that young actors are RĚ&#x2020;HUHG WRGD\ Âą WKH PDJD]LQHV WKH DGYHUWV DOO RI WKDW QRLVH DQG Âż]] Âą OHDG QRZKHUH 7KDWÂśV why some guys end up overdosing in hotel URRPV ´ Thankfully, thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a fate thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s escaped .LQJVOH\ÂśV VRQV (GPXQG DQG )HUGLQDQG ZKRÂśYH MRLQHG WKH IDPLO\ ÂżUP Âł2QHÂśV MXVW KDG a huge season at the National, the other at the 56& ´ KH VD\V KLV FKHVW VZHOOLQJ ZLWK SULGH â&#x20AC;&#x153;In contrast to the attitude of my own parents, ZKHQ WKH\ ÂżQLVK D SLHFH RI ZRUN DQG ,ÂśP LQ the same building, their ribs are in danger of being crushed. It was a huge relief to me to see they had the gift, and they have a genuine DSSHWLWH IRU LW ´ More so at this stage, perhaps, than their father, who, for all his extolling of The Bard, appears less than ravenous to return to the boards and the roles of Prospero or Lear. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re not striking any chord in me as I sit KHUH ´ KH VD\V 7KLV PLJKW KDYH VRPHWKLQJ WR do with Lavender Pictures, the production company he runs with his fourth wife, Daniela Barbosa de Carneiro (a Brazilian-born actor DQG IRUPHU ZDLWUHVV \HDUV KLV MXQLRU

KDYLQJ VL[ ÂżOPV RQ WKHLU VODWH LW PD\ DOVR have something to do with the fact that his SUHIHUHQFH IRU ÂżOP DFWLQJ HQFRPSDVVHV LWV strolling-player aspect. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I love to travel, because Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m so deeply rooted at home with my darling wife and my Nobel and magnolia DQG DQFLHQW JUHHQJDJH WUHH ´ KH VD\V Âł)RU PH itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s all about balance â&#x20AC;&#x201C; something I think Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m

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RWKHU ´ *HWW\ VD\V RI 7KH 'RFN¶V IHOORZ ODEHOV :KHQ DVNHG DERXW :DONHU¶V LQSXW LQWR WKH FUHDWLYH SURFHVV RI 5RVHWWD *HWW\ VKH VD\V ³1R 0DWW LV DPD]LQJ DQG JUHDW EXW KH¶V GH¿QLWHO\ D EXVLQHVVPDQ ´ *HWW\ ZDV DOZD\V GHVWLQHG IRU D FDUHHU LQ IDVKLRQ HYHU VLQFH VKH WUDGHG EDE\VLWWLQJ GXWLHV IRU VHZLQJ DW DJHG VHYHQ ³REYLRXVO\ , GLGQ¶W EDE\VLW E\ P\VHOI EXW , ZDWFKHG P\ QHLJKERXU¶V NLGV DQG VKH WDXJKW PH KRZ WR VHZ ´ :LWK KHU LQWHUHVW LQ FORWKHV GHVLJQ SLTXHG D \HDU ROG *HWW\ MRLQHG D ORFDO DUWV FHQWUH ZKHUH VKH ZDV DVNHG WR SRVH IRU D OLIH GUDZLQJ FODVV $V D UHVXOW RI KHU PRGHOOLQJ GHEXW VKH ZDV VSRWWHG DQG ZHQW RQ WR EHFRPH D IDVKLRQ PRGHO RQ WKH LQWHUQDWLRQDO FLUFXLW %XW ZLWK D GHVLUH WR EH ³PRUH D PDNHU WKDQ LQ IURQW RI WKH FDPHUD´ *HWW\ HQUROOHG LQ /$¶V SUHPLHU DUW DQG GHVLJQ VFKRRO 2WLV 6RRQ DIWHU JUDGXDWLRQ VKH ODXQFKHG KHU ¿UVW ODEHO 5RVHWWD 0LOOLQJWRQ )URP FORWKLQJ PDNHU WR KRPHPDNHU *HWW\ GHFLGHG QLQH \HDUV ODWHU WR VKXW XS VKRS DQG VWDUW D IDPLO\ 7KHQ - 66 -

LQ FDSWLYLW\ DV D WHHQDJHU $VLGH IURP KHU LQYROYHPHQW LQ WKH - 3DXO *HWW\ 0XVHXP IRXQGHG E\ %DOWKD]DU¶V JUHDW JUDQGIDWKHU *HWW\ KDV VHW XS D IHZ SKLODQWKURSLF YHQWXUHV KHUVHOI ³, IRXQGHG *LYH /RYH ZKLFK LV DQ RUJDQLVDWLRQ WKDW DVVLVWV GLVSODFHG FKLOGUHQ DQG IDPLOLHV DIWHU WKH HDUWKTXDNH LQ +DLWL , DOVR KDYH EHHQ LQYROYHG ZLWK /,)7 DQ RUJDQLVDWLRQ LQ /$ WKDW KHOSV EXLOG VWURQJ SHUVRQDO DQG ¿QDQFLDO IRXQGDWLRQV IRU IDPLOLHV LQ QHHG ´ 6R LQ D IDVW SDFHG WUHQG REVHVVHG FLW\ OLNH /$ KRZ GRHV *HWW\ VWD\ ]HQ" ³, KDYH D URXWLQH , PHDQ LW LV YHU\ ERULQJ EXW LW ZRUNV , WU\ WR PHGLWDWH HYHU\ GD\ â&#x20AC;&#x201C; LW KHOSV \RX JHW FOHDU DERXW \RXU SULRULWLHV DQG FRQQHFW RQ D UHDO OHYHO ZLWK WKLQJV WKDW DUH LPSRUWDQW HVSHFLDOO\ ZKHQ \RX¶UH MXJJOLQJ D ORW $QG , WKLQN ZH DOZD\V KDYH WR PDNH RXU IDPLO\ WKH SULRULW\ ´ - 67 -

MOTORING Words: Richard Jenkins

Motor heads The Geneva International Motor Show puts the pedal to the metal Somebody clever once said there are only a few certainties in life. Being gobsmacked by the Geneva Motor Show is one of them. Behold the six most lust-worthy cars unveiled at the Swiss testament to automotive glory.

Lamborghini Huracรกn LP 610-4 The iconic Gallardo is being put out to pasture, and this snorting young bull is taking its place.

Stylistically similar to the Aventador, this model is one of the more comfortable rides in the Lamborghini stable.

QUICK STATS:

0-60mph: 3.2 seconds Top Speed: 202mph Horsepower: 626

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Bentley Continental GT Speed You’re looking at the fastest production Bentley ever made. That’s right, the venerable British manufacturer has managed to squeeze even more power from the iconic Continental.

QUICK STATS:

0-60mph: 4.0 seconds Top Speed: 206mph Horsepower: 626

Koenigsegg One:1 Supercars are old hat.

Hypercars are where the future is. This Swedish monster produces one horsepower for every kilogram of the car’s weight (hence the name), and only six are being made – and unfortunately, they’ve all got buyers.

QUICK STATS:

0-60mph: Untested Top Speed: 279mph Horsepower: 1400

Audi TT Quattro Sport Can it really be 16 years VLQFH WKH ¿UVW $XGL 77 rolled out? This new concept model takes the classic shape and turns it into a performance machine capable of impressing even the most hardened of sports car owners – and outpacing the R8, to boot.

QUICK STATS:

0-60mph: 3.7 seconds Top Speed: Untested Horsepower: 420

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MOTORING

McLaren 650S Taking the 12C setup and cranking everything up as high as it would go produced this, the gorgeous 650S. McLaren says it has taken all its learnings from the 12C and the P1 and poured them into this â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and it shows.

QUICK STATS:

0-60mph: 3.0 seconds Top Speed: 207mph Horsepower: 650

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Ferrari California T The T, of course, stands for “turbocharged” which the Italian marque hasn’t used since the legendary F40 in the late 1980s. A huge engine in a modernised four-seater cabin gives this new road car fearsome statistics.

QUICK STATS:

0-60mph: 3.6 seconds Top Speed: 195mph Horsepower: 552 - 71 -

GASTRONOMY

E

ver eaten a sevencourse dinner, then felt like going out and running a marathon? No? Then you probably havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t enjoyed a night in one of Heinz Beckâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s restaurants. The German-born chef insists that his food not only tastes good, it does you good. His latest venture, Social by Heinz Beck, is found on the eastern wing of the splendid Waldorf Astoria on Dubaiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Palm Jumeirah.

Heinz tells AIR: â&#x20AC;&#x153;[Social is] a little bit more close to the people. Not WRR VWLĚ&#x2020; QRW WRR IRUPDO Âą LWÂśV GH IRUPDOLVHG ÂżQH GLQLQJ <RX FDQ FRPH to the big tables; you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have to wear a cravat and a suit. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a much more casual service. But donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t forget, SHRSOH JR WR D UHVWDXUDQW WR HDW Âą VR the food has to be perfect.â&#x20AC;?

Perfect food is what Beck is undoubtedly most famous for at his stunning Roman restaurant, La Pergola. After 15 years of nothing EXW VXFFHVV Âą QRW WR PHQWLRQ securing the only three Michelin VWDU UDWLQJ LQ 5RPH Âą ZK\ QRZ WDNH on Dubai? â&#x20AC;&#x153;Dubai is one of the most challenging scenes of gastronomy in the world,â&#x20AC;? he explains, â&#x20AC;&#x153;I was thinking about going overseas and VWDUWLQJ ZLWK WKH 0LGGOH (DVW Âą DQG if you want the Middle East, Dubai is the destination. Dubai is a booming area. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s very interesting, and the climate is very nice.â&#x20AC;?

Conscious that for todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s busy diner every minute counts, Beck has pioneered an ingenious method of ensuring that his guests are kept in peak condition. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not one thing thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s important, like â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;eat more antioxidants and you will feel goodâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;.

After a meal here you will not arrive home and think â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;I am too tired to even brush my teethâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. And you know why? Because it was healthy, prepared cooking. The emotions were there, the taste is there, the IRRG LV WKHUH Âą WKH TXDQWLW\ LV WKHUH but you are not feeling tired.â&#x20AC;?

At this point, the chef begins an animated mime routine, including

Social

COMMENTARY Heinz Beck wants to make you feel good Words: Richard Jenkins

stomach pats and gulps of air, to explain why this is. â&#x20AC;&#x153;What happens when you are eating is you have to burn the food. To burn the food in your body, to digest it, you need oxygen. If you have badly prepared food, you need more power to digest. So you need more oxygen in the stomach. The oxygen is coming only through the blood, so you have an accumulation of a lot

as possible and laden with seafood and vegetables, gets the job done.

Airy spaghetti with rich lobster, couscous made with peppers and garnished with succulent tempura tiger prawns, and a touch-soft lamb rack with a hint of zingy mint are highlights from a carefully orchestrated list. Asking Beck what the most exciting things on the menu are is asking for short shrift. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Did

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;If there is a young boy coming to me, or a Prime Minister, he gets the same serviceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; of blood in your upper belly, and all the blood is missing in the rest of the body so your brain will have less oxygenation, and your brain LV EHFRPLQJ WLUHG Âą DQG WKHQ \RX start to yawn. Integrating more air into your body, more oxygen, is the point.â&#x20AC;?

Socialâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s menu, sourced as locally - 72 -

you ever ask a mother what is her preferred kid?â&#x20AC;? he bristles. â&#x20AC;&#x153;If I put it on the menu, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s right. There are certain things I want to put on the menu that I canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t yet because Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m still not there with the ingredients or WKH HTXLSPHQW EXW ZKDW ZH KDYH RQ WKH PHQX LV SHUIHFW Âą , DP DEOH WR GR it perfectly. No prisoners! There is

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GASTRONOMY

- 74 -

no compromise. There is much more to come, however.â&#x20AC;?

Despite being a favourite of First Lady Michelle Obama, Beck is bullish in his insistence that every diner gets treated the same. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I have only one guest. I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have two guests,â&#x20AC;? he says, â&#x20AC;&#x153;If there is a young boy coming to me, or a Prime Minister, he gets the same service.

In my restaurant in Rome, the table plan is done by reservations. Nobody gets a special table because of whom he is. People ask me, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;which is your preferred guest?â&#x20AC;&#x2122; and I say â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;the nextâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;.â&#x20AC;?

That said, the chef isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t completely ruthless when it comes to customer

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VHUYLFH DQG D ÂżQDO VWRU\ VXPV up why his charm as much as his cooking skills have brought him such success. He says, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Very often we have young boys aged 22 or 25, and Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m so happy if they come. If I see that a ER\ LV EULQJLQJ KLV ÂżDQFpH KHÂśV QRW ULFK DQG D OLWWOH ELW LQWLPLGDWHG Âą ZH are doing everything to make him happy. And if we see perhaps he didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t order too much, or perhaps he would like to have more, I am sending something more out without charging. These kinds of things are YHU\ KXPDQ Âą LWÂśV QLFH WR KDYH WKHVH kinds of people as well, and this is what I believe in. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not the title that makes a person important.â&#x20AC;?

TRAVEL

THE

BEAUTIFUL SOUTH New Zealand’s stunning South Island has welcomed three new luxury lodges.

AIR takes a look around…

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Lodge at The Hills Arrowtown In 2007, avid golfer and one of New Zealandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most successful businessmen, Sir Michael Hill, transformed a former deer farm, 20 minutes from the centre of Queenstown, into a world-class championship golf course. Set in a glacial valley and surrounded by snow-capped mountains, Sir Michael recently added a luxurious lodge ZLWK VZDWKHV RI Ă&#x20AC;RRU WR FHLOLQJ JODVV so you can make the most of those views.

Sleeping up to 12, the lodge IHDWXUHV VL[ OLJKW ÂżOOHG VXLWHV ZLWK HDUWK\ GpFRU DQG FRV\ ÂżUHSODFHV Communal spaces range from grand galleries with soaring ceilings to intimate nooks for quiet contemplation. Walls are adorned with early Maori and contemporary New Zealand art, while the sprawling sculpture park includes installations by Chinese artist Liu Ruowang and English-born sculptor Max Patte.

Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a state-of-the-art spa with tailored treatments, and a Michelintrained chef to cook gourmet meals of local delicacies such as lamb DQG VDOPRQ SOXV D KHDWHG LQÂżQLW\ pool, grass tennis court, and SULYDWH SXWWLQJ JUHHQ *R ÂżVKLQJ IRU EOXH FRG DQG FDWFK FUD\ÂżVK LQ WKH QHDUE\ ÂżRUGV SOD\ XQOLPLWHG golf at The Hills course, or take a helicopter to Oreti Sands, the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s southernmost links course, to play a round accompanied by a pro golfer.

Just make sure youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re back in time to watch the sun set over your sublime surroundings. thehills.co.nz

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TRAVEL

Annandale Banks Peninsula ,I \RXÂśUH ORRNLQJ WR GURS RĚ&#x2020; WKH radar, this 4,000-acre sheep and cattle farm, an hourâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s drive from Christchurch, is the place to escape to. Overlooking Pigeon Bay, the FKDUPLQJ ÂżYH EHGURRP KRPHVWHDG built in the 1880s and lovingly restored, lies at the heart of the estate. Or take your pick from four characterful villas, all uniquely GLĚ&#x2020;HUHQW GRWWHG DFURVV WKH IDUP

Our pick is the romantic Seascape Villa, set on its own private bay with just a pod of frolicking Hectorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s dolphins for company. Accessed by helicopter or by a 40-minute 4WD transfer, this ultra-modern villa seamlessly combines indoor and outdoor living, with a wall of ZLQGRZV RĚ&#x2020;HULQJ XQLQWHUUXSWHG ocean views â&#x20AC;&#x201C; even the bathroom has an arrowslit window so you can spy on the seals â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and an outdoor -DFX]]L DQG ÂżUHSODFH If youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re feeling active, there - 78 -

are several spectacular hiking and biking tracks along the rugged 3DFLÂżF FRDVWOLQH DV ZHOO DV ND\DNLQJ SDGGOH ERDUGLQJ ÂżVKLQJ DQG sailing. Get into the swing of rural life with spot of cattle mustering or sheep shearing and then have a private farm-to-table cooking lesson with the award-winning chef.

Finish up with a wander around the )UHQFK LQĂ&#x20AC;XHQFHG WRZQ RI $NDURD half an hourâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s drive away. Life doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t get more blissful than this. annandale.com

Opened in 2010, the lodge has 11 elegant suites all with private EDOFRQ\ DQG ÂżUHSODFH EXW LWÂśV WKH newly opened, US$5 million Ownerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Cottage that has caught our eye.

Located just minutes from the Every room of the four-bedroom adventure capital of New Zealand â&#x20AC;&#x201C; home to bungee jumping, whitewater house â&#x20AC;&#x201C; including the outdoor -DFX]]L Âą DĚ&#x2020;RUGV VSHFWDFXODU YLHZV rafting, jet boating, and more â&#x20AC;&#x201C; of the glacial lake and jagged peaks things move at an altogether slower of The Remarkables mountain range. pace at Matakauri Lodge. Set on the VKRUHV RI /DNH :DNDWLSX DQG Ă&#x20AC;DQNHG And acclaimed New Zealand interior designer Virginia Fisher has created by pine forest, the serene setting a warm and inviting space in which inspires total relaxation, although to savour the Alpine scenery. youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be itching to explore.

Matakauri Lodge Queenstown

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Guests have access to the spa, gym and pool in the main lodge and a personal concierge is on hand to help you plan your days â&#x20AC;&#x201C; from adrenaline-fuelled activities to more VHGDWH H[SHULHQFHV VXFK DV Ă&#x20AC;\ ÂżVKLQJ or a photography safari â&#x20AC;&#x201C; while a private chef will create gourmet dinners. With a private jet terminal set to open later this month at Queenstown Airport, getting there will be easier, too. Get your kicks in Queenstown, then recover at this wonderful retreat. matakauri.co.nz

LIFE LESSONS

WHAT I KNOW NOW

Gerald Lawless

President and Group CEO, Jumeirah Group

The best piece of advice I was given was from my parents, and it was more an instruction than advice: ‘you’ll start working in hotel management’.

I started at a hotel college in Ireland. It was a FRXUVH LQWHUVSHUVHG ZLWK VRPH UHDOO\ H̆HFWLYH internships, which I think is a great way to learn an industry. It’s always good if a hotel manager is able to tell a kitchen porter that he too has washed dishes. To have experienced it and understand it gives you a real sense of the value of every single job within a business.

There’s a science and an art and a skill to every job, no matter how basic it is.

At Jumeirah, we established at the very beginning what we call the hallmarks of the business. They’re pretty basic and there are three of them. I’ve never allowed there to be more than three, and I’ve never agreed that they can be substantially changed. They are: we will always greet our guests before they greet XV DV D ¿UVW UHVSRQVH WR D JXHVW¶V request we will never say no; we treat each other as colleagues with respect and integrity. That last one for me is very important in our industry, because a guest feels the atmosphere of a workplace.

No matter how long you’ve been in a job you’re learning all the time. One of the deeply held principles I have is that you need to hire people who are better than you. It keeps you sharp and the whole RUJDQLVDWLRQ EHQH¿WV If you don’t put the hours in it’s very hard to succeed. A good work ethic, coupled with self belief, without arrogance, is key.

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Discover Luxury

The largest selection of genuine 19th century French antiques in the region, 19th Century Antiques includes rare furniture, bronzes, paintings, clock sets, and vases of exceptional quality and taste.

JUMEIRAH EMIRATES TOWERS, BOULEVARD | DUBAI, UAE TEL: +971 4 3887000 FAX: +971 4 3887111 | WWW.19CENTURYANTIQUES.COM