Kultuhr Nr. 40 (english)

Huber Watches Jewellery Lifestyle

Florence in winter

The Blue Hour above the Arno.

What a rip-off

Watch out.

Fortresses of the Modern Age

The architecture of money.

Kultuhr Nr. 40

Herbst / Winter 2012

5 | EDITORIAL

I must confess: It’s been ages since I travelled around on public transport, but I sure made up for it this summer. OK, I had the feeling that more than a few people were giving me worried looks as I made my way on ferries across the Mediterranean and bombed through Italy on the good old train. But two things struck me in particular about this travel malarkey. First, you slow down a lot and second, there are suddenly all these people in your face. It’s all quite relentless, really. I now think it must be rather magnificent to ride the subway through Manhattan every morning just like Mayor Michael Bloomberg. He’s one of the richest men in New York, true, but I know where he’s coming from. It’s not just that you’re bound to encounter the slightest vagaries of fashion as you go about your journey. You might also find that one of their wearers is actually sitting on the seat next to you. And the other thing is that you don’t lose sight of yourself. Neither yourself or the people around you. Inevitably, you start listening in on private conversations. Well, I suppose you can’t avoid it, really. You’re drawn into the lives of others. Their habits, the ways they behave, it’s all quite fascinating, you see.

Of course, sometimes what you see or are listening to gets a bit tedious, or slightly bizarre, even, but then at other times it can be really interesting – or marvellous, I might say. Somehow the whole world around you is sending out all these vibrations and there you are, in the thick of it! There’s a lot to be said for going off on a journey with strangers. It opens up all sorts of opportunities. It brings you back down to earth, back to the reality you prefer to shut out when you’re travelling alone. You’re no longer an individual, you’re no longer confined to your own little world and your needs, you’re not just travelling from A to B. No, no, no. You’re part of a group, instead – even though you’re completely anonymous! I often think that people long to enjoy real life when they see through the allures of temptation. Frequently we tend to kid ourselves. We buy into pipedreams. Or we’re dazzled by something or other. But we’re all in the same boat, really.

We’re all travelling on the same ferry. It’s the art of contact which makes us who we are. Which makes us human. Let’s learn this art. After all, it enriches us, emboldens us and makes us unique.

Best regards, Norman J. Huber

8-9 | ENTRÉE

10-11 | IN BRIEF

中國: The Middle Kingdom Art in the twinkling of an eye.

This & that

Born in Hilversum, Oscar van de Beek became interested in photography at an early age. His fascination with the visual world led him to spend four years studying at and graduating from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts. After serving a long apprenticeship, the Dutchman is one of the 200 best advertising photographers today. He now works for international customers. At the start of 2012, his intensive passion for photographing landscapes, people and automobiles brings him to the most highly populated country on earth. An assignment for Peugeot offers him the opportunity to travel to China, a country he has never been to before. After a four-day photo shoot Oscar leaves the studio, goes out, fleetingly touches the Middle Kingdom, begins to become acquainted with it, records everything that comes into his line of vision and is increasingly surprised by the results of his private work. The preparations usually required in his daily business are no longer important. There is no specific objective. Spontaneously, he changes his direction, finds inspiration, strays from familiar paths and plays with light, colour and moods. «The image has to approach me or I have to approach the image.» At places where heaven touches earth, Oscar clicks on the shutter and entrances viewers with sublime moments. Art in the twinkling of an eye. www.oscarvandebeek.com

Love at first sight. The Huber watch fair in 2012.

Photo Emmi Wohlwend Watches are a bit like falling hopelessly in love with someone for the very first time. Most of them are easy to recognise straight away – right at first sight. So why is that, you might ask. Well, wristwatches don’t just measure the time: They also embody the idea that each one of us has been assigned their very own hour glass. Perhaps that’s why Huber Watches Jewellery aroused so much interest when it issued its invitation to this year’s watch fair in the Liechtenstein Museum of Fine Arts. Let’s face it: magnificent examples of haute horlogerie aren’t the kind of things you see every day. We’re talking about the most exquisite watches, the finest examples, the latest collections you can imagine. The point is that hordes of visitors flocked to the fair and were delighted by what they saw. For many, a further incentive to attend the event was the opportunity to listen to the words of chronometric legend Gisbert L. Brunner. In front of a packed auditorium the expert journalist and author spoke passionately about his hobby and about the latest collections of leading brands. Brunner managed to explain the details of each tiny and complex feature in wonderfully comprehensible terms and provided the perfect prelude to the spectacle of what followed: a breathtaking display of the most beautiful examples of the art of watchmaking, with each item begging to be touched, caressed and admired. Some of the cherished items were even presented by representatives of the respective watch manufacturers in person. So for all those who couldn’t make it this time around: Well, there’s always the next Huber watch fair next autumn. And for all those who can’t wait until then: We’re always here for you – in Vaduz and in Lech am Arlberg.

She came to stay.

Photo Stefano Ammantini «I learn by going wherever I go» – a motto journalist Christiane Büld Campetti has followed throughout her career after she grad-

uated from the University of Münster. If truth be told, she hadn’t made any particular plans at all to move to Tuscany. When she did, almost 25 years ago, it was just one of those spur-of-themoment decisions which came from the heart. Obviously, communication was a problem at the start. The difficulties weren’t just those of learning to speak a foreign language. As a newcomer from abroad, Christiana also had to learn to cope with considerable differences in mentality. But she has few regrets. For she discovered that this part of Central Italy offers everything she finds important. It has beauty, all-pervasive creativity and people for whom sharing the ups and downs of life is of inestimable value – and, of course, the region also has some of the finest food in the whole world. Today, Christiane alternates between living in Munich and Florence, her husband’s home town. As a journalist and profound expert on Tuscany she mainly reports for Germany’s ARD network, writes for print media such as «GEO Saison» and has written a few books about Tuscany, her dream destination.

Significantly, her reports extend beyond the remit of art and culture. She also touches on issues of everyday life in the former agrarian heartland which, in the era of globalisation, is doing its best to keep up with other European regions while trying to preserve its identity at the same time. Here, Christiane presents her very own Florence in a six-page spread. Mille grazie, Christiane!

With regard to art.

Photo Josi Swafing As a master of his craft he can sense the truth wafting in the wind. In 2008 he received the coveted «PUK» award for journalism from the German Cultural Council; in 2012 he was awarded the «Prix Annette Giacometti». In its decision to bestow the award, the Cultural Council wrote: «Stefan Koldehoff addresses explosive themes of cultural policy and pursues them consistently in his commentaries and articles. He is a meticulous researcher in this regard and explores issues from a wide range of different perspectives. His work is a superb example of investigative journalism.»

Stefan Koldehoff, born 1967 in Wuppertal, North Rhine Westphalia, studied art history, politics and German at university. From 1998 to 2001 he worked as a journalist and deputy editor-in-chief at «art» magazine in Hamburg. Today he works as a cultural editor for «Deutschlandfunk» radio – the German World Service – in Cologne, and is a regular contributor to such magazines as «Die Zeit», «ARTnews» in New York and the «SonntagsZeitung» in Zurich. In this jubilee edition of «kultuhr», Stefan has accepted the invitation to take over the art pages and offers readers a preliminary insight into «spectacular art thefts». Anyone with an appetite for such thrilling matters is well advised to go out there and buy his many books, the most recent of which is entitled: Falsche Bilder – Echtes Geld («Fake Pictures – Real Money», co-written with Tobias Timm, 2012).

Swimming in the Städtle.

Photo Roland Korner There it suddenly appeared, one morning. A lake in the heart

of Liechtenstein’s capital. «Oh, how charming!» you might be tempted to think. But as it turns out, of course, the new water feature was less than welcome. Groundwater had somehow crept up and breached the topsoil. All at once the construction pit was completely flooded. Work on the new Huber Flagship building in the centre of Vaduz had to be suspended immediately. After a few frantic days spent installing pumps and sealing the rupture, things are now back to normal. Volumes of inflowing groundwater are back to their expected levels and building work is once again on schedule. According to the same schedule, the laying of the foundation stone for the «White Cube» in the Städtle, which is being jointly developed by Huber Watches Jewellery and the Hilti Art Foundation, is due to take place in November 2012. Further milestones which lie ahead for the new architectural highlight in the Städtle include completion of skeleton construction work in 2013 and completion of the exterior and interior by the end of 2014 – just in time for the official opening planned for the start of 2015. There’s still much to be done until then and a question remains: Despite the flooding, wouldn’t it be great to have a pivotal water feature right in the heart of Vaduz? Perhaps not quite as expansive, perhaps, as the one in Geneva, in Zurich or the Binnenalster in Hamburg, but a little lake nonetheless, a place of tranquillity, right in the centre – well, now, wouldn’t that be something?

Con spirito on the keyboard.

Photo Claudia Schumann Michael StavariČ writes in the same astounding way that virtuoso musicians play to enthralled audiences. Without sheet music.

Without any kind of prop, for that matter. No, he masters even the most complicated pieces of writing with a self-evident lightness of touch. The sentences and stories he seems to craft with such breathtaking ease are simply amazing. Given half the chance, he’s just like a spider spinning enchanting webs for his readers. The Austro-Czech writer and translator is one of the most outstanding figures on the contemporary literary scene in the German-speaking countries. His essay for this issue of «kultuhr» can be read on page 49.

Born in Brno in 1972, StavariČ lives and works as a freelance writer and translator in Vienna. His talent and achievements have been recognised in the form of numerous scholarships and awards. Recent accolades include the coveted Adelbert von Chamisso Prize 2012 and this year’s Austrian State Prize for Children and Young Adults. In addition to poems, novels, essays and short stories, StavariČ’s work also comprises children’s books. In each case, his vision is infused with his creative approach to language: and in formal terms his exploration of and experiments with the German language continue to form the bedrock of his literary oeuvre. Or as the arts section at ARTE, the Franco-German TV network, put it so succinctly: «The desire to solve the puzzles of StavariČ’s constructions may be understandable but it is not enough. His books have to be regarded as an all-encompassing piece of art – so you may as well get ready to meet the challenge of a daunting experiment. Which is to read his books, that’s all.»

Then we moved to 24 pages. And today we have 68 pages.

For a number of years we published two separate versions in English and German. Now we have an English supplement.

What are the circulation figures for «kultuhr» and where is it available?

Twice a year we ship over 12,000 magazines to customers around the world. 2,000 copies are sent to our suppliers and partners, or are available at select restaurants and hotels.

12-13 | ANNIVERSARY

Twenty at last Looking back on 20 years of Huber’s in-house magazine – with Norman J. Huber There are two kinds of magazine publishers in the Germanspeaking world. The first deals with the world of logistics. The second aims to stimulate the minds of various readerships at regular intervals. Norman J. Huber, gemmologist, goldsmith, owner of Huber Watches Jewellery and publisher of «kultuhr», is definitely someone with plenty of stimulating ideas. His «kultuhr» lifestyle magazine is published twice yearly and focuses on the kinds of things which make life beautiful and worth living. The current issue marks the 20th anniversary of the publication.

Photo Roland Korner Herr Huber, 20 years have passed since the launch of «kultuhr» magazine. This is now the 40th issue. How did it all begin?

Distributing leaflets is fine, but we were looking for a new and credible way of convey the value of our products to our customers. So we decided to publish our very own magazine – a daring idea at the time. We wanted to offer more by focusing on contemporary lifestyle and articles about the good life. Our magazine is still being read 20 years later on, so we think we made the right decision.

How did you go about producing the launch issue?

The first issue was the hardest one to do because we had nothing to go on. We needed about six months to get our partners and suppliers on board. Walter B. Wohlwend, the journalist, was truly a driving force at the beginning. Today, our magazine is well known throughout the industry. It’s much easier now to attract advertisers. We were very proud of our first issue. Customers and suppliers congratulated us on our work.

How has «kultuhr» changed its look over the past 20 years?

For the first 20 issues the publication was called «Magazin».

Although it was slightly larger in size it still only had 16 pages.

How have your customers responded to the magazine?

I get a lot of highly positive feedback. We try to offer a personal touch, to show our way of seeing things. That’s important for us. It’s an authentic approach which goes down very well with our readers.

Do you read a lot?

I don’t really have enough time to read books. Excellently produced magazines are definitely a hobby of mine; I like to keep up with them because they’re a source of new ideas and inspiration. And, I might add, our suppliers are also featured in such magazines. I want to know what people are advertising. I want to know what’s «in». Personally I read the Herald Tribune, the NZZ, the dailies and, at the weekend, the Financial Times. Incidentally, I think «How to spend it» – the Financial Times supplement – has been the best lifestyle magazine for years.

What should a good magazine always offer its readers?

Variety. Diversity. High quality. It has to be captivating. Readers shouldn’t just browse through it; they should feel they want to linger over the odd article and persevere in order to learn something new.

Has anything ever gone wrong in the production of the magazine?

An enormous amount of time and effort goes into producing a magazine and of course things can get very stressful on occasion – for everyone involved. I now have a well-rehearsed team, that’s very important because it takes away a lot of the pressure.

Up to now all 40 issues have appeared on time. Long may this continue in future! We keep back copies of each issue at our office so readers can still order any which they might have missed.

How do you think the magazine will look in future? Are you considering a digital format which can be downloaded to tablet computers?

The «print or digital» debate remains highly controversial even within the media industry. From today’s point of view I have to assume that in 20 years’ time such magazines will probably only be available in a digital format. Personally speaking, I think that’s a shame. I suppose I’m a bit old-fashioned in that regard – but who knows, we’ve grown accustomed to so many new developments over the past 20 years. On the other hand, the medium of film also offers plenty of exciting ways to showcase new watches. Basically, I’m quite open-minded to any new development in this regard. Our magazine is already out there on

the Internet for everyone at www.huber.li.

You’re a very busy man. What would be your best tip for optimum time management?

I think the most important thing is to delegate, to deliberately open up free spaces. You don’t have to do everything by yourself. Fortunately I have a lot of good people and an effective team behind me so I don’t have to decide everything on my own. At the end of the day, that’s the most important thing.

I normally hurry past. At such moments, even a walk along the city’s shopping streets around Piazza Repubblica is an exhilarating experience. Where you normally have to thread a zigzag path along crowded pavements and there’s congestion every time someone stops, I can keep up-to-date with the latest fashion trends in perfect tranquillity when I linger in front of the storefronts of temples to luxury such as Gucci, Pucci and Cavallo.

16-17 | TRAVEL 14-15 | TRAVEL

The Blue Hour above the Arno Florence – A winter journey for bonsvivants.

Imagine if the Uffizi Gallery were open and nobody showed up.

It’s one of the little winter wonders of the art metropolis on the Arno, when Florentines retake complete possession of their city.

Text Christiane Büld Campetti Photos Christiane Büld Campetti, Stefano Ammantini, Guido Cozzi There’s probably no more enchanting time of the year to visit Florence than winter. It doesn’t matter if the city is reaching out to the sun, if the cold north wind known as the Tramontana has driven away the clouds, or if the damp air in the narrow streets has turned into a warm drizzle of rain. Only between November and March do you experience what has become rare in the Renaissance city: normality coupled with typically Italian serenity.

On such days I am drawn to the street. When the streets and squares fill with light I sit down on the steps in front of the cathedral or go to the Ponte delle Grazie, the bridge over the Arno River, and take in the atmosphere. I have the same feeling of pleasure when I stroll through the streets in the centre, where it’s easy to stumble across evidence of the city’s history at each and every turn. Holding a bag of roasted sweet chestnuts which you can get from just about every street corner, I allow myself to be guided by my spontaneous whims. I poke my nose into the entrances of buildings, gasp in amazement at romantic fountains or tranquil courtyards of convents and monasteries, and take the time to stop and browse through the little shops which

Picture 1: Two well established «artisans» from Germany in Florence: author Christiane Büld Campetti (left) with shoemaker Saskia Wittmer in her atelier at the Cathedral Workshop.

An encounter with masters of beautiful shapes.

I like the winter because it’s the time of year when Florentines retake possession of their city. During the rest of the year they retreat deep into their homes or escape from the hordes of visitors by going to the seaside. But now you see them in the mornings having an espresso in the bar, at lunchtimes on park benches and in the evenings enjoying an aperitif in front of a chic restaurant. True, drinks are pricier there, but then the finger food is free.

On my extensive forays through Florence I get the distinct impression that people love to chat wherever I go. At the weekly market of Sant’Ambrogio I buy all the ingredients for the Tuscan dishes I love – with a free conversation thrown into the bargain.

In Maestro di Fabrica, my favourite shop in the Borgo degli Albizi and a showcase for exquisite handicrafts from Tuscany, the sales assistant provides me with new addresses of artisans living in the «real» Florence. In her opinion they include local leather craftsman Simone Taddei in Via Santa Margherita, who processes calfskin into photo frames and cigarette cases – it’s a family tradition, apparently – as well as forestiera Saskia Wittmer in Via Santa Lucia. The master shoemaker from Berlin originally came to this hallowed hub of artisanry in order to refine her technique.

She stayed because she was fascinated by the Florentine flair for beautiful shapes and found customers willing to pay the prices she commands for her handmade fashion and footwear.

For myself, too, artisans are the soul of the city. After all, their instinctive sense of beauty and their skills have always helped Florence to earn great respect and riches.

Now, at these quiet times, it strikes me how many testimonies

to Florentine artisanship have remained preserved. They start with the emblems of guilds over doorways and extend to the bottega in the Cathedral Workshop. Here, stonemasons continue to rebuild by hand the weathered window columns and façade statues for the cathedral. Arti and arte, guilds and art. The Italian language reveals that they are two sides of the same coin. À propos art.

Winter in Florence also stimulates my hunger for culture.

When it rains or a cold wind whistles through the narrow streets I dig out my must-do list of museums. It starts with the Archaeological Museum with its wonderfully old-fashioned collection of Etruscan art and ends at the Museum of the History of Science with exhibits from six centuries of research.

Only in winter do I hit on the idea of trying to visit the Uffizi without a prior reservation. My chances of enjoying Botticelli’s «Birth of Venus» or Leonardo’s «Adoration of the Magi» by myself grow considerably when there are no queues of people lined up in front of the entrance. Absolutely breathtaking, too, is the view from the central corridor to the other side of the Arno River, Oltrarno, with its medieval skyline, with the white marble façade of the church of San Miniato in the hills and with the copy of David on the Piazzale Michelangelo.

On clear days I like to walk up to the panoramic terrace in order to enjoy the «Blue Hour» from there. It’s a laborious climb.

But I’m finally rewarded with the incomparable sight of a red sea of roofs encircling the marble mountains of the bell tower, baptistery and the cathedral with its dome by Brunelleschi.

When at the end of the afternoon the light slowly fades and the street lights light up below me I begin to understand why the French writer Anatole France reached the conclusion that God must have been born a Florentine.

not seem to be too worried by such primal vices of his fellow citizens. In no way can the renowned collector of vintage mechanical timepieces be said to keep his fabulous jewellery jealously under lock and key. He shares them by embellishing the boutique hotel which he opened on the central Piazza Santa Maria Novella in 2009 with valuables from his collection of timepieces.

The collection itself consists of almost 3,000 items. The result is an unmistakable temporary home-from-home where guests are accompanied at every turn by carefully selected chronographs – in particular, by luxury models from Rolex, Vacheron Constantin and Patek Philippe.

A wall clock with running light by Vacheron Constantin displays the time in the reception area. In the library, the discreet ticking of a mechanical Omega clock underscores the elegant, dignified atmosphere of an English gentlemen’s club. In the meeting room your gaze wanders between a world time clock and the original dial face of an old church clock, and in the lobby an illuminated Rolex advertising clock which once adorned an elegant specialist retailer’s enables you to compare the time.

Furthermore, the 58 individually appointed rooms and suites are also dedicated to watches from the owner’s collection, including the Rolex Dato Complex Riviera from 1952 and Patek Philippe’s legendary King Abdul Aziz.

The art of watchmaking also pervades the staircase, gym and smoking room, yet the omniscient presence of the timekeepers never feels intrusive. For this little miracle we have to thank co-owner Antonella Gatti Fratini and interior designer Marianna Galliardi. They are responsible for the impeccably balanced interplay of luxurious materials, warm colours and exquisite furniture at a place where location, style and service are all perfectly intermeshed with each other. The only problem is that you’re sorely tempted to linger indoors instead of going out to explore the city of art. You can all too easily succumb to the charms of the bright breakfast room on the top floor with its wonderful views of the Dominican church of Santa Maria Novella or to a light lunch in the Bar de L’O on the ground floor. And you linger in the hope that time might occasionally stand still in this successful homage to the art of watchmaking.

Hotel L’Orologio Piazza Santa Maria Novella 24 50123 Firenze Tel. 0039 055 277380, Fax 0039 055 27738199 E-mail: info@hotelorologioflorence.com www.hotelorologioflorence.com

18-19 | TRAVEL

Florence in winter 2012/13

Hotel L’Orologio Florentines are notorious for their acerbic derision and well known for their reluctance to share. This is why their poet Dante Alighieri banished many of them to the fourth circle of hell in his «Divine Comedy». There they were condemned to push heavy boulders around for all eternity. Hotel owner Sandro Fratini does

Museo dell’Opera dell’Duomo After 27 years the restored original of the bronze Door of Paradise in the Baptistery has once again been put on view in the Cathedral Museum.

Piazza del Duomo 9 Tel 055 2300885 Opening times: 9 am – 7.30 pm from Monday to Saturday.

Marilyn Fashion accessories, photos and film clips document the inimitable femininity of the iconic pin-up in the Ferragamo company museum – after all, Monroe chose to wear shoes created by the company founder, Salvatore Ferragamo.

Museo Salvatore Ferragamo Piazza Santa Trinità 5 Tel. 055 3562846 Opening times: 10 am – 6 pm on six days a week until 28 January 2013; closed Tuesdays.

Anni Trenta. Arti in Italia oltre il fascismo.

Beyond the manifestations of fascist culture in the 1930s, Italy also had a vibrant art scene which led to the modernisation of society. This exhibition in the Florentine art gallery is dedicated to that movement.

Palazzo Strozzi Piazza Strozzi Tel. 055 2645155 Opening times: 9 am – 8 pm daily until 27 January 2013.

Also open on Thursday evenings until 11 pm.

The international men’s fashion fair serves as an annual reminder that the city across the Arno was once the cradle of the Italian art of tailoring.

Fortezza da Basso Viale Filippo Strozzi 1 Opening times: 10 am – 8 pm daily from 8 to 11 January 2013.

ART – 77th edition of Mostra Internazionale dell’Artigianato This crafts fair is an absolute must-see for Florentines with their instinctive appreciation of beautiful shapes.

Fortezza del Basso Viale Filippo Strozzi 1 Opening times: 10 am – 11 pm daily from 20 to 28 April 2013.

Paolo Conte – The Gong-Oh Tour 2012 The singing lawyer from Piedmont subtly re-invents himself on stage – unmissable, especially in front of an Italian audience!

Teatro Verdi Via Ghibellina 99 Tel. 055 213496 Concert dates: 16, 24, 27, 29 November; 2, 4, 6 December.

22-23 | TRUE CRAFTSMANSHIP

Turandot The Puccini opera as presented by the Orchestra of Maggio Musicale Fiorentino under the baton of Indian conductor Zubin Mehta and brought to the stage by Chinese director of «Raise the Red Lantern», Zhang Yimou. This version has been met with standing ovations all over the world – even at its original location, the Forbidden City in Beijing.

Teatro Comunale Corso Italia 12 www.maggiofiorentino.it Mercato di Natale German Christmas customs once again blend with Florentine traditions on the Piazza Santa Croce.

Opening times: 10 am – 8 pm daily from 30 November to 21 December 2012.

GrandiBollani The musical event of the winter: a joint concert featuring pop legend Irene Grandi and the unconventional pianist Stefano Bollani, who pulls out all the stops from jazz to Baroque.

Teatro Verdi on 2 December 2012.

Via Ghibellina 99 Tel. 055 213496 Pitti Uomo

Baby you’re a Risch man Always up and running: Shoemaker Dominik Risch.

People with perfectly symmetric feet are actually the exception.

Usually, no foot is quite the same as the other. So by definition, mass produced shoes are unable to address this problem.

Shoemaker Dominik Risch has come up with a solution, however. He supplies bespoke handmade shoes that fit perfectly at highly attractive prices.

Photos Risch On tour with the 3D scanner.

His appointments diary could easily be that of a rock star: Zurich today, Basel tomorrow, Lucerne the day after. In banks, law firms and hotels he takes 3D scans of his customers’ feet and works out the precise fit. The customer selects a pair from his collection, which features regal names such as Edward, Albert, Philip or Louis. Risch sends the data to Florence where the shoes are made in accordance with an age-old tradition of craftsmanship.

After only three weeks the customer receives a parcel and pays between CHF 320 and CHF 480 for the privilege. Thanks to the individualised «foot DNA» the customer can place his next order for any shoe model from the Risch Collection via the Internet.

Born to be a craftsman.

The young lad became accustomed to the smell of leather and shoe cream at his grandfather’s workshop in Schaan. He helped out his parents at the front of the shoe shop. After completing an apprenticeship in shoemaking, work experience in Italy, language study trips in the USA and Australia Risch started out his career by making bespoke orthopaedic shoes, acquiring experience in marketing and developing the ladies’ collection for Bally International. He returned home, took over his parents’ company together with his sister and attended to the requirements of Liechtenstein’s marathon runners. The business ran like clockwork, just like his customers. Around his 40th birthday Risch decided to leave the family firm in search of new challenges.

Traditional local handicrafts are in demand.

For the spiritually minded and sports enthusiast Risch, flying poorly made shoes halfway across the globe makes little ecological sense. «People have had enough of mass-produced goods made in China.» And he knows China. It’s where he helped develop sports shoes before taking a basic course in the Chinese language. Then he hopped on a bike and cycled thousands of kilometres across the Roof of the World to Lhasa for almost two months. Alone. He met up with Chinese migrant workers who wandered with him in their smocks and sandals from one building site to the next. They would sleep in simple wooden sheds. There were times when Risch would lie down and think he couldn’t go on any more. Without food or water he found himself knocking on the doors of houses and asking for a bowl of rice. «A credit card isn’t much use to you out there, you see.» He returned, married Nathalie, settled down with her in Zurich and founds his own company in autumn 2010.

The future belongs to Ernesto.

The art of shoemaking is crowned by welted shoes which are pierced by hand. Archaeological finds prove that in the 16th century, the cow-mouth shoe which gradually replaced the poulaine or long toed shoe that had been widely worn in Europe up to that time was already welted. The comfort and long life offered by welted shoes continue to delight their owners today.

Even so, welted shoes only account for 1.5 to 3 per cent of all hand-made gentlemen’s shoes.

Risch has managed to find three old masters of their craft, who still pierce welted shoes by hand in Tuscany. It’s what you might call a rare find – so obviously, he’s proud to include the special shoe known as Ernesto in his new range. www.risch-shoes.com

24-25 | WHAT A RIP-OFF

Vraiment faux – or the dubious value of the fake.

Unfair trading with tradition.

Let’s start with a few facts: All in all, counterfeited goods are clearly responsible for worldwide economic losses of over EUR 350bn. That’s equivalent to 7% of world trade. And that’s each and every year. In Europe some 300,000 jobs are lost through illegal trade in the shadow economy. Extremely dangerous are counterfeits of pharmaceuticals as well as spare parts for cars or aircraft. Here, material disadvantages are also compounded by damage to life and limb.

Text Gisbert L. Brunner Photo Olly Burn Watches and jewellery are ranked near the top in the relevant statistics, just below textiles, computer software, CDs and DVDs. A good 4,000 Internet addresses offer fake Rolex watches. Some 90% of all web-based search inquiries for replicas refer to the traditional watch manufacturer based in Geneva.

Fighting a losing battle.

It would be quite wrong to think that second-rate imitations of works of art are solely a phenomenon of our times. During his lifetime, even master watchmaker Abraham-Louis Breguet (1747–1823) was obliged to protect himself against the widespread, fraudulent use of his name by using a secret signature on the dial of his technically advanced – and therefore highly accurate timepieces – which had proved to be highly popular among the aristocracy, military, clergy and affluent middle classes. Presumably, counterfeit Breguet watches were even more common in those days than they are now. Since then, and thanks to discreditable machinations, there are now even fake «Breguet» wristwatches with the master horologist’s supreme invention: the tourbillon. All this with starting prices of around 700 dollars; and the counterfeit models are even available in a wide range of different finishes. Unfortunately, the plagiarists are becoming increasingly bolder. At a certain point it seems as if nothing is sacred to them anymore. Rolex has been battling against forgeries for decades. Yet more often than not, coun-

terfeiting is regarded more as a minor misdemeanour than a serious crime. In 1934 the manufacturer legally defended itself for the first time against counterfeiters of its «Oyster» case. 50 years later, in 1984, the company again filed a successful action in the courts.

What’s more Breitling, Cartier and TAG Heuer, just to mention three names, have been grappling with unscrupulous gangs of forgers for many years. Their efforts, however, have had the same effect as Don Quixote tilting at windmills.

Danger ahead.

Yet even more shocking for the world’s honest watchmaking industry is the fact that the quality of counterfeit products is improving year on year. Despite the use of similar technology, it’s still relatively simple to identify counterfeits in the case of the above-mentioned «Breguet» tourbillons and similar fakes of models from such luxury brands as Blancpain, Hublot or A. Lange & Söhne. The gap between originals and fakes increasingly widens the more the watch in question exhibits an exclusive design and high quality processing. The same applies to perpetual calendars or genuine minute repeaters which factories in the Far East can now churn out in considerable numbers.

Switzerland has managed to get even more or less by passing an amended law on the protection of intellectual property which came into force on 1 July 2008. It forbids the import, export and transit of counterfeit products.

Fake watches are for fake people.

To make your purchase you only need to have access to a computer or go to a watch swap meet or a flea market. There you’ll find just about everything on sale. But watch out! You’ll be ripped off before you know it. And in such cases, rightly enough, it’s often extremely difficult to obtain redress. Above all, customers are often taken for a ride when they buy on the Internet.

Payment in advance is the usual requirement. And recourse to the legal system is virtually impossible in cases where the customer does not receive the goods for whatever reason. Others who lose out are those who think they’ve got a real bargain by cleverly circumventing «official» channels – by going to eBay or unauthorised dealers, for example – only to find out to their cost that their purchase is actually a fake. Quite simply: you really have to go to an authorised retailer of exclusive watches and make your purchase there if you want to be absolutely sure of getting the real deal.

One final word.

Many people unable or unwilling to afford authentic items – for whatever reason – are unaware that even in supposedly expensive Switzerland numerous brand names offer affordable chronometric luxury – including a magnificent choice of electronic or mechanical timepieces. In fact, everything your heart desires.

Honesty is always the best policy. Even in the 21st century.

27 | BEAUTIFUL

Belle de Nature Luxury for the skin, sheer bliss for the soul – from Sisley Paris What’s the point of re-inventing something when the treasure chest is already full to bursting? Taking a leaf from the abundant resources of nature is the order of the day! People long for uncomplicated products that are genuinely well made and have an unmistakable origin. Their wishes are creating a new awareness among manufacturers of luxury cosmetics.

Photo Sisley According to current estimates the earth is home to some 320,000 to 500,000 species of plants – all of them unique marvels of nature, and all of them endowed with very special properties. Sisley, the French manufacturer of luxury cosmetics, has a record of working highly successfully with select plant extracts over many years.

«My father knows no fear. He’s a doer, a man of action, through and through. And he always knows precisely what he wants» – that’s how Philippe d’Ornano, the current director of Sisley, describes his father Hubert d’Ornano, the founder of the brand. Hubert certainly needed plenty of courage and entrepreneurial spirit in 1976, when he decided to focus all his efforts on the effects of plant extracts in cosmetics. Notions such as aromatherapy or phytotherapy were usually treated with mild derision at the time – in fact, very few people even knew what they meant.

But success soon proved Hubert right: The little Paris-based company has since grown to become one of the world’s leading manufacturers of high-quality plant-based cosmetics – with export markets in over 90 countries on each continent. The company’s original philosophy still applies today. Sisley only uses and manufactures products of the highest purity and quality.

State-of-the-art research methods and pure plant extracts.

Teams of researchers in special laboratories work on sophisticated formulas so that the plants can develop their active ingre-

dients and oils as effectively as possible. The secret lies in the choice and in the interplay of the plants – and of course in the purity and concentration of the extracts. Here no effort is spared, either at the research or manufacturing stage. For example, the plants are only harvested at a certain time in select regions.

Despite all the changes that have taken place over the past 30 years, one thing has remained constant: The Sisley brand is still managed by the same founding family – who are now in their third generation. There’s a simple reason why this works so well.

As Philippe says: «At the end of the day, Sisley is all about our shared passion. And it’s enormously enriching to have a sense of passion in life.» To which we can only agree. Oui, c’est vrai.

28 | PORTRAIT

Black Cube, White Cube A close inspection with Arthur F. Willi He has been to Nepal and on Mount Kilimanjaro. His idea of relaxing consists of going on mountain hikes, reaching for new heights and scaling summits. But as the representative of two prestigious building owners, Arthur F. Willi remains down-toearth, highly professional and full of enthusiasm when he talks about his latest project, the «White Cube». No-one else knows as well as he does the building which is set to house Huber Watches Jewellery and the Hilti Art Foundation in the heart of Vaduz. The White Cube is scheduled to open in 2015.

Herr Willi, as the managing director of Incon you run an engineering and consulting firm in Vaduz. You currently represent the building owners on the «White Cube» project in Vaduz. Can you tell us what your work actually entails?

I consider any money I invest as if it were my own. In this particular case I am dealing with quite different clients: Huber Watches Jewellery as a commercial enterprise on the one hand and the Hilti Art Foundation on the other. Normally, art and commerce only get along with each other to a limited degree. We try to make maximum allowance for this by ensuring that the Hilti exhibition section and the retail and office space of Huber Watches Jewellery are kept completely separate from each oth-

er within the building. The only part of the structure they share is the emergency stairway.

How do you reconcile and realise these different interests in visual terms?

Although we’ll be building shop windows for Huber at ground level and on the second floor, the Hilti exhibition on the first and the third floors does not require any external windows. The walls are needed for the exhibition, so these floors will be represented solely by the outer façade. When finished, the «White Cube» will have a height of 18.5 metres – meaning it will be noticeably taller than the art museum. Finally, the two buildings will only be separated by a gap of 2.40 metres above ground; underground they will be completely joined together. The square in front of and between the buildings will be larger than it is at present. Our intention is to create a beautiful museum square for the public which can serve as a venue for performances such as matinee concerts on special occasions.

Increasing attention is being drawn to the effective use of resources in construction design – does that also apply to this project, in terms of special daylight planning?

The heating and cooling facilities of the «White Cube» come from the central part of the art museum. Due to the lighting conditions, the exhibition rooms there generate considerable waste heat. We can recover this and use it in winter for heating. The lighting concept is already unique in the art museum. We have architects from all over the world coming here to view the skylight façade, which we’re also building in the «White Cube». I often head guided tours and crawl around the bright suspended ceilings with the architects – they’re frequently amazed to discover how technically difficult it is to achieve the best possible quality of light.

Each building site has its own particular challenges.

What kind of challenges do you face with the «White Cube»?

I don’t think it makes a huge amount of difference whether you’re building in the centre of Tokyo or in the heart of Vaduz.

It’s important that we take the local urban setting and our neighbours into the utmost consideration. So we’ve decided to use a very expensive method of construction for this precise reason.

With regard to noise, exhaust fumes and vibrations we have opted for state-of-the-art equipment. And we also send out a newsletter to our neighbours at regular intervals, telling them how the next stage of construction is going to proceed.

What kind of materials are you using?

The «Black Cube» of the Liechtenstein Museum of Fine Arts consists of the biggest artificial stone on earth – a beautiful, seamless façade which was concreted at the site with special concrete from Untervaz river gravel and black basalt rock. The façade was milled off by eight millimetres and polished so that you can now see the structure of the stones. We are now setting an interesting counterpoint to this with the «White Cube».

For although we also use river gravel, we replace the grey sand with white sand and mix it with Lasa marble. The «White Cube» will also be concreted, milled and polished, so the result promises to be overwhelming – a gleaming pearl in the Städtle.

What would be your personal tip for effective time management?

You need to devise a realistic schedule, to provide effective communications, to get everyone involved in the project on board and to make them take their fair share of the responsibility.

It’s important to work towards a common goal and not to work against each other. And if anything goes wrong, you shouldn’t immediately re-adjust your goals: it’s far better to optimise the path that leads to them, instead.

30-31 | OPEN SPACE

On many major building sites the champagne corks start popping even though the final craftsmen walk out barely five seconds before the opening.

I don’t think that things will be any better in our case. It’s always like that. You need a bit of time pressure to get things done, that’s part and parcel of the building trade.

What do you particularly like about this work?

I’ve already worked on many different projects. Some of them end up with you having ten ring binders stowed away in an archive so that you know what you’ve done but you can’t see anything of it. This assignment, on the other hand, is already a lot more satisfying. It’s simply enormous fun to watch this cube grow.

Arthur F. Willi in figures Born 1947 in Balzers, Liechtenstein.

Married, 2 children.

1975 Diploma in Mechanical Engineering and Business Studies from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology/ETH Zurich 1975 – 1984 Manager at the Hilti Corporation, responsible for budgets, investments, HR systems, strategic planning, special project duties such as overall project manager for «Development of Equipment Manufacture USA», structural modelling, new products, etc.

Since 1985 Managing director of Incon, engineering and consulting firm, Vaduz. Business models, technology transfer, factory planning, operational and organisational structures, profitability and value analyses, external project management, project manager for the Liechtenstein Museum of Fine Arts, energy systems, building developer representative for the «White Cube» project.

The hunt for obscure treasure A mountain with secrets: The Gonzen mine There are some who are in darkness And the others are in light And you see the ones in brightness Those in darkness drop from sight (Bertolt Brecht) Seething lava, steaming geysers, sparkling stones, an ice cave as large as a cathedral, salt lakes, stalactites, the bones of mammoths or relics dating back to the Stone Age – you never know what secrets lie buried inside the mountain. The Gonzen mountain in Sargans is riddled with galleries and tunnels. During the Second World War 400 miners dug for iron ore. Today the mine is open to visitors.

Text Irmgard Kramer Photos Adam M. Ziaja, Breeze From the car park in the valley you only have to walk up a few steps to arrive at a small terrace. A rusty trolley points to the entrance above which a hammer and pick are crossed. The traditional German miners’ greeting «Glück auf» is short for the hope «Ich wünsche Dir Glück, tu einen neuen Gang auf» – «I wish you good luck in opening a new lode».

Two thousand years of arduous toil.

The story does not begin in the valley but on the summit where reddish ferrous ore still glistened in the sun around the time of the birth of Christ. Fearless fellows began to dig, burrowing themselves ever more deeply into the mountain along metal wires by the dim light of their torches which were fuelled with animal fat. Romans, Alemanni, Hapsburgs and Swiss all hacked away at the rock face together with winches, woven baskets and leather sacks. Later on the ore was transported on sleds along steep trails down to the valley where it was graded, washed and loaded onto trains.

Rise and fall.

Periods of prosperity were always followed by periods of

closure, as if this were a natural cycle: In 1396 the mine was pledged as collateral by a count encumbered with debts; in the 17th century luck deserted the reeves; after a successful period during the Franco-Prussian War the mine was closed in 1878. It finally closed in 1966. Willy Hofmänner was 44 years old at the time. Working on a piece-rate basis, he would detonate and drill up to 80 tonnes of rock a day. The pneumatic hammer was an enormous physical and psychological strain for him. He used to stuff his ears with cleaning rags simply in order to hear himself think above the infernal din. But it didn’t help all that much. At the age of 87 he now moves about on crutches and is virtually deaf. He still remembers the day the mine finally closed very well: «There we were, sitting together, playing cards and waiting. And then the foreman finally came in and said, Well, boys, that’s it, we’re finished for good. I’ve ordered a litre of wine and a round of farmer’s sausages for you.» But whether the closure really will last forever is anyone’s guess. According to conservative estimates the mountain still holds 5.5 million tonnes of ore.

Entrance to the underworld.

Visitors put on safety helmets and squeeze into the «Gonzen Express». For 10 minutes that seem to last an eternity the conveyance thunders through narrow galleries and tunnels into the mountain, inducing mixed feelings of excitement and anxiety among the passengers. The vehicle stops. There is a deathly silence, punctuated solely by water dripping occasionally onto rock. The temperature measures 13 C, the humidity 90 per cent. The underground labyrinth is as long as the distance between Vaduz and Zurich. Countless steps lead up and down. All of them are incredibly steep. Here, 100 storeys lie on top of one another at altitudes varying from 300 to 1,400 m above sea level. Specially trained staff of the «Pro Gonzenbergwerk» miners’ association lead visitors into the former ammunitions chamber and past the compression machine through magically lit caves, galleries and tunnels. You’re reminded of the children who once followed a pied piper and disappeared into a mountain, of a Persian pauper who knew how to open another mountain in order to get to the treasure of 40 thieves, of dwarves who dug for diamonds with pickaxes or of deathly pale miners buried and trapped underground. In some way or other a visit of to this mine is an experience that never fails to move you. www.bergwerk-gonzen.ch

30 | OPEN SPACE Picture 1: Martin Suter, born 1948 in Zurich, is an author, columnist and scriptwriter.

Picture 2: Novel, hardcover, linen, 304 pages, first published in September 2012 ISBN 978-3-257-06830-6 Also available as an e-book and audio book (read by Gert Heidenreich)

A survey of time Literary excursions into the unknown.

Time goes off on a journey and takes the main characters from Martin Suter’s latest novel «Die Zeit, die Zeit» («The time, the time») along for the ride. An old man and a young man have lost their wives. Neither can cope with the situation. So what could be more obvious than to start tinkering with time? Countless authors, filmmakers and philosophers have been fascinated by this age-old dream of mankind.

Text David Malik Photo Gaby Gerster / ©Diogenes Verlag Martin Suter takes a top-heavy, cerebral approach to the theme.

A retired teacher decides to survey his property. The accountant from the house opposite helps him in this undertaking. Over the course of 296 pages they use photos to reconstruct the day of October 11, 1991 right down to the last detail. They trim bushes, chop down birch trees, bury and dig up things; they seem to spend an inordinate amount of time with a camera obscura and all kinds of measuring instruments in the house and garden; and they give the reader plenty to think about as they toil away. The loss of a dear one can lead to irrational acts. And while the accountant spends one evening after the next burning cigarettes because his deceased wife was a smoker, the old man undergoes a facelift, has rejuvenating injections and dyes his hair black in order for to be ready for October 11. For if he can play a trick on time, he’ll be able to meet his wife again and prevent the accountant›s wife from being shot dead.

Other authors don’t wait for time to approach them. They put their protagonists in the craziest machines and send them off with a roar of bravado. Written by H.G. Wells in 1895, «The Time Machine» is the first literary account of a journey to the future.

Time trial bikes, locomotives, spaceships, grandfather clocks, hour glasses, mirrors, drugs, illnesses, insomnia or Celtic stone circles are all suitable vehicles for travelling through time - either ahead to the future or back to the past, just as required. A

particularly classy car to take its passengers through the fourth dimension was the elegant DeLorean used in the «Back to the Future» trilogy of movies, the first of which dates back to 1985.

Doc Brown’s legendary flux capacitor transcends all boundaries.

Suter was already fascinated by time travel in his childhood days. «I always wanted to write a novel about the subject,» he reveals. He and the two men in his novel like the idea that time doesn›t really exist at all. His book fails to answer the question how such things really are, but no matter. The novel is well worth reading in any case. So sit back and take your… well, you know what we mean.

35 | SURPRISE Picture 1: In the words of Roger Jacquat, managing director at Huber Lech: «This joint project with Chopard and the Arlberg ski club means a great deal to us. The extremely beautiful and valuable Chopard SCA Lady Chronograph is absolutely unique and will only be available from just one single retailer in the whole world: Huber in Lech am Arlberg.»

Triumvirate on the Arlberg.

The exclusive Chopard SCA edition is only available from Huber in Lech

33 | SURPRISE

Men’s Casual Watch

An absolute gem and epitome of the fine art of watchmaking is now conquering the Arlberg for the third time. Luxury manufacturer Chopard, the Arlberg ski club (SCA) and Huber Watches Jewellery in Lech am Arlberg have teamed up to develop the Chopard Lady SCA Chronograph. Limited to 50 watches only, the exclusive edition is available solely for SCA members.

Photos Chopard, Adolf Bereuter

The Inventiveness of Hublot

Magic Gold Brazilian Beauty

Paraiba Tourmaline

Perfect timing.

Those who love spending winters whenever possible on the ski slopes, who have done so with wonderful regularity over the years on the Arlberg, and who have also cultivated excellent contacts over there stand every chance of being admitted to one of the biggest and most renowned ski clubs in the world: Ever since it was first established in 1901 the Arlberg ski club (SCA) has played a decisive role in the development of Alpine skiing and generated a superb array of Olympic medallists and world champions. The SCA brand is one of the best known in the winter sports segment, just as the Chopard brand is enormously appreciated among watch aficionados. Five years after the first collaborative project Norman J. Huber has now brought Chopard and the SCA back together again. The result is the Chopard SCA Lady Chronograph.

Norman J. Huber, himself a passionate skier, well remembers the winter season of 2007: «It really was the winter of the century. The amount of snow everywhere was incredible… and more often than not, the weather was just perfect for winter sports.

In winter 2007 we teamed up with Chopard and the Arlberg ski club to launch of the first Chopard SCA Edition, which was strictly limited at the time to 107 watches. Although the model was only available for ski club members, the edition sold out al-

most immediately.» Right from the start, a share of the proceeds was ring-fenced to fund important youth development work.

All in white.

The elegant, sporty Chopard SCA Lady Chronograph has been developed in association with Chopard, the luxury watch manufacturer which has been owned by the Scheufele family since 1963. It is now available with a white rubber strap in a limited edition of fifty and features a steel case. Of these just ten have been made with a beautiful diamond bezel, making them a worldwide rarity. Naturally, each watch is individually numbered and showcases the SCA logo as an elegant addition to the dial and as a decoration on the back of the watch. Part of the sales revenue will be ploughed back into financing youth development at the SCA. As a world exclusive, the watches will be only be available for sale to SCA members from Huber in Lech am Arlberg as of the start of the 2012 winter season.

the need to wind up the mainspring each day is a thing of the past. Automated winding mechanisms or movements with a long – and sometimes even, very long – power reserve ensure that gentlemen are not left timeless at some stage. On the other hand, many people relish the daily ritual of turning the winder, a reminder of the good old times even in our hectic times today.

Picture 1: Tonneau or barrel-shaped watch cases proved to be extremely popular in the «Roaring Twenties». Breguet’s Heritage collection latches on to the exuberance of this era. In the case of the golden «Heritage Phases de Lune Retrograde» the name itself is the message. Your calibre 586L automatic movement with a forward-looking silicon hairspring depicts the different lunar phases between «12» and «1» on the face with its handcrafted guilloché mother of pearl centre.

Picture 2: Panerai has been a byword for quality diver’s watches ever since the 1930s. The 45 mm large «Radiomir Black Seal 3 Days Automatic» can easily withstand water pressure up to 10 bars. The scratchproof, 1.9 mm thick sapphire glass and generously sized automatic P.9000 movement testify to the way in which the art of watch-making is interpreted today.

Picture 3: Cartier’s Tank is a wristwatch with a touch of eternity.

Since 1918 the basic, strictly rectangular design has undergone numerous metamorphoses. Christened «Tank Anglaise», the most recent version of the watch leaves no doubt about its provenance. In this striking yellow gold model the purveyor of jewellery to royalty has incorporated the automatic 077 rotor movement.

36-37 | MEN’S CLASSIC WATCHES

Let it snow The perfect gentleman’s wristwatch can and never will exist. The requirements which sport sets for timepieces differ fundamentally from those of the office or cultural schedules in the evenings. Obviously, gentlemen can wear opulent, racy timepieces on their wrists at any time in any place. But there are more than a few situations in which that isn’t quite the done thing. The time has come for genuinely classic timepieces with distinguished elegance. Such wristwatches are all but impervious to the whims of the zeitgeist or short-lived fashion trends. And quite apart from that, more than a few men appreciate the art of noble understatement. Quite possibly, outer and inner values only reveal themselves at a second glance. And that’s much more exciting than the razzle-dazzle of some superficial sunny-boy product.

Consequently, any man with a bit of self-respect – or in the case of the wristwatches depicted here, any self-respecting woman – won’t want to trust the most precious asset of his or her life to any old timepiece. Complications, meaning additional features such as a chronograph, calendar, striking mechanism or tourbillon also add to the charm of exquisite mechanics. Incidentally,

Picture 4: For the first time, the «Patrimony Traditionnelle Tourbillon 14 Jours» from Vacheron Constantin meets the recently raised standards of the Poinçon de Genève, which also define accuracy of movement. Its manual winding calibre 2260 consists of 231 components. Four barrels ensure a power reserve of two weeks. A power reserve display reminds the user of the occasional need to wind up the watch. The rosé gold case has an attractive diameter of 42 mm.

calibre 3136 with an official chronometer certificate.

Picture 3: Hublot can also turn its hand to new things. The prestigious manufacturer is proud to present its ultra-flat, skeletonised «Classic Fusion» model, the minimalist design of which is completely in keeping with the typical Hublot style. The 45 mm case contains the barely 2.9 mm high manual winding calibre HUB1300 movement with a sensational power reserve of 90 hours. The waterproof case in titanium or 18-carat King Gold can also withstand diving depths down to 50 metres.

38-39 | MEN’S CASUAL WATCHES

Men wearing jewellery: well, it’s a matter of opinion. Good taste has never been up for debate. And that continues to be the case in the 21st century. Completely legitimate and therefore beyond dispute are wedding rings, cuff links and of course wristwatches. They’re always present, even in situations where a boat, car or other large status symbols are not permitted inside – such as in theatres, restaurants, golf or yacht clubs, or on a flight. So it comes as no surprise that many men regard their wristwatch as their most important companion. The spectrum of what the watchmaking industry offers nowadays is enormously variegated. Something sporty, for example, which keeps out the rain of the sweat from strenuous workouts. Gentlemen can’t really go wrong when superb looks, top functionality and reliability are also backed up by a renowned Swiss brand name. Naturally, they leave the safekeeping of precious time solely to pioneering mechanics. Fully in the awareness that the ticking of their watches embodies the heartbeat of human culture on the one hand and is also the unmistakable guarantee for a companionship that will outlast generations on the other.

The little motor with an output of approximately a billionth of one horse-power can usually be easily repaired by expert hands after providing decades of loyal service. What more could a gentleman want?

Picture 4: IWC pitches its «Top Gun Miramar» watch range with a striking military design at real men. The manufactory calibre 89365 movement with a rotor winding mechanism and power reserve of 68 hours makes for the perfect stopwatch. An inner casing made of soft iron reliably deflects harmful magnetic fields from the movement. The scratchproof ceramic case with a titanium base and specific surface finish measures 46 mm. What’s more, the robust green textile bracelet is the pure expression of a cherished nostalgia.

Picture 5: Manufactory is a word also written large in the case of Omega’s new «Speedmaster Co-Axial Chronograph». Depending on the particular model, which comes in a steel, gold or even platinum finish, either the automatic calibre 9300 or 9301 movement ticks in the case, which has a diameter of 44.25 mm. Each watch, however, features an exclusive coaxial escapement. For superior readability, the totalisers for minutes and hours are concentrically arranged around the «3».

Picture 6: Those fortunate enough to wear the Breitling «Chronomat 44 GMT» on their wrists are fully equipped to deal with universal time across the globe. The sophisticated design of the automatic chronograph enables it to display three different time zones simultaneously. Adjusting the watch to local time is child’s play. The chronometer certified manufactory calibre B04 can run for a good 70 hours without any further power replenishment.

Picture 1: TAG Heuer first launched this iconographic range of watches in 1963. The traditional Swiss watchmaker has incorporated its very own automatic calibre 1887 movement with a classic control wheel in the steel «Calibre 1887 Chronograph Rosé Gold Colored» with a diameter of 43 mm. The timer function can be used for intervals between an eighth of a second and 12 hours. Suitable for diving to depths of up to 100 metres.

Picture 2: First launched in 1945, the Datejust from Rolex epitomises the sporty, functional wristwatch. The brand new «Oyster Perpetual Datejust II» with a stainless steel case and a diameter of 41 mm marks the latest continuation of a long tradition. If absolutely necessary it can dive with its wearer down to 100 metres underwater. Naturally, Rolex supplies the manufactory

40-41 | H U B E R S P E C I A L

A magical fusion.

Gold is now as hard as ceramic.

The thought is almost comforting: Even gold isn’t perfect. Although probably the most beautiful of all precious metals is soft and lends itself to optimal processing, it has also remained sensitive and vulnerable. Until now, that is. Hublot has fired up its magic cauldron and presented the world with the very first scratchproof gold.

It takes time for a vision to be turned into a product. It took over three years for a dedicated team at Hublot and Andreas Mortensen, professor at the Technical University of Lausanne (EPFL), to achieve their goal of making the first scratchproof gold in the world. Their efforts were soon rewarded. In comparison to conventional gold, the hardness of the new alloy was raised from 400 to 1,000 Vickers despite a fines content of 18 carats.

As a result, Hublot’s new, patented Magic Gold is almost as hard as ceramic.

Facts which speak for themselves – and which soon came to the attention of the decision-makers at Ferrari, among other companies. For the new cooperation agreement between the top horsepower provider from Modena and the Swiss watch manufacturer was officially sealed just a few months after the official presentation of Hublot’s new alloy. Work proceeded at the same frenetic pace. Five months after the announcement of the collaboration between the two brands the first joint watch was presented at BaselWorld 2012 in Magic Gold – the Big Bang Ferrari Magic Gold.

This is only the latest development that began with the Big Bang of cult watches in 2005, albeit one with a larger case, a more efficient mechanism and state-of-the-art technology. More Ferrari to be precise. Unlike the paint used on the sports car, the alloy used for the watch also has a major advantage: It can’t be scratched by ordinary materials. In fact it can only be scratched by a genuine diamond – which hopefully shouldn’t lead all that often to problems in everyday life.

Hardly magic, simply hi-tech.

What may sound magical here is simply the result of modern science and sophisticated technology: In the manufacturing process, ceramic powder is first pressed into moulds at high pressure with the aid of cold isostatic pressing. The preformed parts are now hardened at extremely high temperatures, making the structure rigid and porous. Afterwards, the 24 carat pure gold is melted and the molten gold infiltrated under very high pressure. This process requires an inert gas to be heated to a very high temperature and placed under extremely high pressure in order for the molten gold to fill the pores of the ceramic material. The fusion of the two substances eventually results in the new material: scratchproof gold – known as Magic Gold.

And once again Jean-Claude Biver, Hublot chairman, and his team were spot on with this idea. In fact, you might almost say that everything the award-winning marketing talent puts his hand to turns to gold. In any case, annual corporate turnover shot up from 25 to 200 million Swiss francs within four years of his appointment to lead the company. In the process, Biver’s take on

the Hublot brand sounds unspectacular yet plausible: «We’re not breaking with the past. We’re paying tribute to it by building a bridge into the future.» But perhaps this time around, the bridge which Hublot has built with its new Magic Gold alloy runs from the future to the present.

42-43 | WOMEN’S WATCHES

Winter wonderland It may sound trivial but there’s no way of getting round it. Facts are facts. In the course of a day even the representatives of the fair sex tend to look at the dial on their watches more often than they look at themselves in the mirror. What’s more, they attach increasing importance to presenting the world of chronometric hedonism conspicuously on their wrists. That’s why today’s woman of the world tends to possess more than just one upper-class wristwatch. But as everyone knows, variety is the spice of life. A fact that the watch industry has known and recognised for years.

When it’s a question of creating new ladies’ wristwatches, there’s virtually no limit to the imagination of the designers involved. Long gone are the times when creativity was confined to acts of trimming with sparkling stones. Feminine works of art now dominate the scene. Either with a sporty or elegant attitude. Available in a wide range of different sizes. Moderately sized cases are now back in fashion, especially as an accompaniment to evening dress. Business dress can easily take a little more. Above and beyond these fashion codes, ladies can basically pull out all the stops. Unlike men, for whom classic ladies watches are fundamentally off-limits, ladies naturally can also wear all sorts of masculine watches. Their chronometric freedom is simply unlimited.

Picture 1: Jaeger-LeCoultre presented the latest variant of this feminine wristwatch only a short time ago. The watchmaker attaches extreme importance to exclusive mechanics. The «Rendez-Vous Night & Day» features an automatic calibre 967A movement. It consists of 214 separate components and indicates day and night in addition to hours, minutes and seconds.

The newcomer is available in stainless steel or rosé gold cases with a 29 or 34 mm diameter – and on request, also with sparkling diamonds.

Picture 2: There’s no doubt that Patek Philippe is a pioneer of wristwatches with a perpetual calendar. The «Referenz 7140» was exclusively created for members of the fairer sex. Ladies can see the automatic calibre 240 movement with a micro-rotor through the sapphire glass bottom. The carefully precisionmachined cadrature is hidden beneath the dial. 68 diamonds decorate the bezels of the flat rosé gold case, which measures a mere 35 mm.

Picture 3: With a case diameter of 29 mm, the «Link Lady» from TAG Heuer is neither too large nor too small. No fewer than 11 Top Wesselton VS diamond indexes offer orientation on the silver dial with a guilloché pattern. The bezel of the steel case features 47 Top Wesselton VVS and VS quality diamonds. A supple steel strap ensures that the watch stays firmly on the wearer’s wrist while a quartz movement provides precise time measurement.

Picture 4: The «Premiere Triple Tour» link watch bracelet from the luxury Chanel label wraps itself three times around feminine forearms. Consequently, the functional aspect of a time display is complemented by an extremely decorative attitude, regardless of the fact that stainless steel and scratchproof white ceramics are in play. The overall effect is underscored by 0.256 carats of 52 diamonds and an elegant painted dial. An outstanding electronic quartz movement is responsible for measuring precious time.

44-45 | HUBER PRIVATE LABEL

Picture 1: RING from the «Huber Private Label» collection – Paraiba tourmaline 2.51 ct, 2 half-moon diamonds 0.79 ct, white gold

Beleza rara Paraiba tourmalines. The rare beauties from Brazil.

We’re back in the year 1981. Brazilian gemstone prospector

Heitor Dimas Barbosa has a gut feeling. He’s convinced that amazing gemstones are hidden somewhere deep down in the Paraiba hills, a completely unknown place. He starts digging – but all he comes across are barren boulders. For the first few years, at least. A homage to one of the most beautiful gemstones in the world. To perseverance. And to intuition.

Text Verena Ludescher Photo Adolf Bereuter You have to place enormous faith in your intuition in order to spend almost six years of your life digging at a spot without the slightest sign that it actually contains precious gems. Heitor Dimas Barbosa must have had enormous faith. For he and his helpers dug one hole after the other in ground as hard as rock.

They battled their way each day through a maze of corridors, shafts and mining galleries until eventually, in 1987, they actually came across the treasure they had been looking for. To be more precise: they came across tourmalines.

Tourmalines which nature now revealed for the very first time.

The rock crystals from Paraiba sparkled in glimmering turquoise hues which only particularly beautiful rainbows had revealed up to that point. The colours ranged from emerald green, sky blue and sapphire blue to indigo, blue violet and purple. Initially, the amazing blazes of colour were believed by many to be a divine miracle. It soon turned out, however, that they were due to the high concentration of copper and manganese in the rock.

Five-figure sums for the precious crystal rarity.

Grinding the tourmalines from Paraiba made them even more beautiful. For only faceted tourmalines emit their unique fiery light and still appear to gleam intensively even in low light. Inquiries soon came flooding in from all over the world for the little crystals from Brazil. It’s not unheard of for a single carat to command prices of up to EUR 50,000 today – providing one is available for sale, of course.

Naturally, such lucrative prices also ensured that the «Mina da Batalha» soon became a place of pilgrimage once news of the find spread all over the world. Gemstone prospectors flocked to the mine in the hope of discovering further crystals of tourmaline: It didn’t take much time before the 400 m long, 200 m wide and 65 m high hill ridge had been completely ransacked and virtually exhausted, at least in part. All these efforts were in vain, however. Not a single tourmaline was discovered after the initial find, and the mine was closed in 1993.

The history of the Brazilian tourmalines came to a temporary close at this point but started up again quite unexpectedly in 2001. Further tourmalines suddenly emerged at a market in Nigeria at the start of the new millennium, in similarly radiant colours. And in an almost identical chemical composition of the elements. So how was that possible? There is no certain explanation. One possibility is continental drift. Originally, the American continent was joined to the continent of Africa. In this scenario Nigeria was connected to Northeast Brazil – which would explain why the tourmalines were able to form under the same geological conditions before the continents drifted apart. It must be said, however, that this theory has yet to be proved and remains one of the many secrets of this rare beauty.

ments taken from remote cultures. The end results are interpretations of ideals of beauty in a plethora of forms.

46-47 | HUBER SPECIAL

Talita – the new collection in ocean colours.

Talita, the new collection, is all about exoticism. Wearers should feel the power and beauty of the Pacific Ocean with the azure blues and violet purples of its atolls, rendered and artistically combined with the natural colours of pearls, the centrepiece of the collection: «Pearls are fascinating objects. Natural, feminine, very warm and seductive,» Giovanna explains.

MIMI is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year – to which we say, congratulations from all of us. Giovanna will only be taking a short time off in honour of the occasion because she’s in the middle of planning her next journey again. She’ll disappear for a while before suddenly re-emerging – with inspiring collections à la MIMI.

Tanti auguri di buon compleanno MIMI celebrates its anniversary year with fascinating new collections.

They say you can already accurately predict the kind of individual talent a child has even at the age of six. Had you asked the young Giovanna Broggian, head designer at MIMI, the Italian jewellery brand, what she wanted to be in life, you’d immediately have received the answer: I want to be a jewellery designer.

After successfully completing her studies in design in Milan she went off to perfect her art on various travels. And while all this took place many moons ago, Giovanna has never lost her deep passion and enthusiasm for jewellery thanks to MIMI. Photo Sisley 49 | BOOKMARK

Colourful, imaginative and subtle. It’s not always easy to find the right words to describe the kind of jewellery that emanates from the Italian company MIMI. For the idiosyncratic syntheses of delicate natural pearls with unusual stones in uncompromising colour combinations are as unique and unseen as the proportions of the designs. And one thing is clear: Wearers of this jewellery nail their colours to the mast. After all, colours are an expression of identity, of empathy, of effusiveness and of emotions.

MIMI itself regards the collections as symbols of female confidence and self-assertion. The awareness of being quite unique and the ability to love and empathise with oneself are absolutely important. «The idea is not just that we feel more beautiful when we wear jewellery, but that we also feel stronger, more daring and perhaps even a little bit more magical» is how Giovanna describes the philosophy behind her collections. For the designer, the woman who wears her jewellery designer is a very special person. «A woman who feels good about herself has a special aura. She embodies the spirit of MIMI.» Typically, MIMI embraces a passion for foreign cultures. The designer feels most inspired by travel to distant destinations.

MIMI sees itself above all as a brand for the modern female cosmopolitan who feels as much at home in Italy as she does in all the other beautiful places there are in the world. Consequently, most of the company’s jewellery consists of interwoven frag-

What a giveaway An essay by Michael StavariČ Illustration Luigi Olivadoti

As a rule, the recipient of gifts is not that easy to handle: In summer he loves to adorn the four walls of his home with the cut flowers he has received as a gift. In winter he’s also happy to make do with presents such as firewood or fashionable mittens.

He’s that peculiar sort of fellow who loves birthdays and Christmas meals; and, of course, name days, too, are no problem at all for the chap. After all, he welcomes even the remotest opportunity that might end up with him receiving a gift. Ever since childhood, his conspicuous need for presents probably has something to do with the fact that he’s always loved to regret his own (far too premature) death during his own lifetime. According to the recipient of gifts, the longing for ever bigger and better presents is all the fault of his mother, who over-indulged him with new toys when he was a boy.

What’s more, the recipient of gifts doesn’t respect the rules of the road (he assumes that’s OK because he’s always running a bit late). He believes he’s a cut above the rest and sympathises

with jewellers and watchmakers. Why he’s so fascinated by jewels and precious stones appears to defy rational explanation.

Even so, the recipient of gifts always keeps a meticulous record of what he would personally regard as special gifts: 1. The «Black Orlov» diamond. It once decorated a picture in a temple and was stolen by a French deserter who sold it on to a British captain. He in turn auctioned the stone to a Jew who then passed it on to a Persian. In 1773 the same Persian happened to meet the Russian Prince Orlov, the former lover of Russia’s Empress Catherine the Great, but who had fallen out of favour with her. To win her back, he bought the diamond for 400,000 roubles – an incredible sum at the time. Catharine accepted the gift but continued to spurn her former lover. A short time later, Prince Orlov died in a mental asylum.

2. The Koh-i-Noor diamond. Over the course of history the Koh-i-Noor passed into the possession of various Indian and Persian rulers. The stone was described for the first time in 1304 when it was under the ownership of the Rajah of Malwa in India.

It subsequently fell into the hands of Sultan Zahir-ud-din Muhammad Babur. During the next two centuries the diamond was one of the most valuable jewels to be owned by the ruling moghuls.

In 1739 the Persian Shah Nadir invaded Delhi and sacked the city in search of the great diamond. But the searches ended in failure. Almost. For as legend goes on to relate, one of the ladies of the harem informed Shah Nadir that Shah Mohammed (his adversary) had hidden the diamond in his turban.

And so Nadir turned an oriental custom to his advantage. At the victory celebrations, Nadir proposed to Mohammed that they swap turbans. After all, this was in keeping with an old and well-known oriental custom of establishing friendly relations, of sealing security and eternal friendship. In any case, Shah Mohammed was amazed at his rival’s cunning. He was no longer in a position to refuse this request. And so he gave his – albeit grudging – consent. Later that evening, after Shah Nadir had retired to his sleeping quarters, he carefully unwrapped the turban of his host and found the diamond inside. At the sight of this beautiful precious stone he exclaimed: «Koh-i-noor!» – Oh, what a mountain of light! And the stone bore this name from that time hence.

Apart from diamonds, the recipient of gifts also has a predilection for books and catalogues. His four walls are lined with numerous publications on all kinds of issues and themes. Some titles are well known: «In the maze of the toys industry», «Diamonds are forever», «On dignity and dealing with birthdays», «Real generosity» or even «Investments and calculation». The favourite song of the recipient of gifts shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise to anyone. It’s that catchy tune by Abba: «Gimme, gimme, gimme / Gimme your money.»

50-51 | THE GIFT OF SIGHT

Rays of hope Omega and Daniel Craig open our eyes to people in need of help.

Daniel Craig, the current incarnation of James Bond, has stepped up to a new challenge. The actor has joined the fight against preventable diseases that frequently lead to blindness in the most remote countries on the planet. Instead of playing the movie action hero, Craig has decided to promote this cause in his work as a brand ambassador and partner of luxury watch manufacturer Omega. In a joint project the Hollywood beau and the traditional Swiss company have pledged their support to the ORBIS organisation which works throughout the world to provide optimum medical care in the field of eye diseases.

The young woman’s sight is fading hour by hour, day by day. Her life, once full of colour, is now yielding slowly but inevitably to a blurred world of indistinct outlines and shadows. Yet her disease could easily be cured if only enough money were available for treatment. What may perhaps read like the film script to some drama unfortunately continues to be everyday reality in many countries throughout the world. Every day people go blind simply for the lack of proper medical care and the right medication.

ORBIS International has worked hard to prevent cases of avoidable blindness over many years. Until now, «Flying Eye» – its flying ophthalmic surgery team – has provided medical care to over 12 million people in 88 countries and trained about 250,000 eye care professionals.

A donation worth at least one million dollars for the ORBIS aid agency.

The cause has inspired the star actor and Omega to found a joint initiative in support of the organisation. And a wristwatch has been specially developed in honour of this partnership: the Omega Hour Vision Blue, a special elegant edition of the De Ville Hour Vision. Both models feature the revolutionary Omega CoAxial Calibre 8500 movement.

Founded in 1848, the traditional watchmaking company in

Switzerland has pledged to donate at least a million dollars of its sales revenues from the watch to ORBIS. Money that’s urgently needed, according to Daniel Craig who visited a volunteer ORBIS clinic on a recent trip to Mongolia: «The more I became interested in ORBIS the more I admired the work these people do.

The idea of sending ophthalmic surgeons to areas where they’re desperately needed so that they can help people, and children in particular, sounds simple but it’s brilliant. Restoring the power of vision to someone is an absolutely extraordinary thing to do,» said the actor enthusiastically.

The colour of hope – Omega Hour Vision Blue Omega chairman Urquhart also appears deeply impressed by the project: «Omega is delighted to have to have the privilege and opportunity to contribute to the remarkable work which ORBIS does. We are deeply honoured to team up with Daniel Craig and support an organisation whose work we all believe in.»

The Omega Hour Vision Blue enables the wearer to present a particularly elegant statement against preventable blindness: A blue dial with its sunburst motif and the faceted hands made of 18-carat white gold make this model a superb piece of jewellery – and probably one of the most wonderful ways of displaying solidarity with people who urgently need our help.

54-55 | ART THEFTS

Once with charm, now with a shotgun File under: The world’s most spectacular art thefts.

Across the world, losses caused by art theft run into the billions each year. Alongside drug dealing, money laundering and human trafficking, art theft is a highly lucrative crime. So it comes as little surprise that the methods used have become increasingly brutal in recent years.

Text and photos Stefan Koldehoff They used to come at night, effortlessly disabling the alarm, prising open a window and disappearing with their loot as silently and unnoticed as they had arrived. In August 1911 the Italian

glazier Vincenzo Peruggia even spent an entire night behind a concealed door of a storeroom in the Louvre before stealing the Mona Lisa, escaping down a secondary staircase and coolly asking a workman to open an outer door for him. Probably the most valuable artwork of all time was concealed under his coat.

It took over two years for the Italian police to find it again, largely unscathed, in a hotel room in Florence. A similar method was adopted by the thieves who locked themselves into Amsterdam’s Van Gogh Museum in 1991 and made off with the most famous works of the establishment, worth billions – including the "Sunflowers" and "Wheatfield with Crows" paintings. It was only because their getaway car had a flat tyre that they were eventually forced to leave their booty behind.

The stolen Madonna.

For a certain time, thieves who outsmarted alarm systems, broke open locks and outfoxed the police were regarded as elegant gentlemen of the trade – best exemplified, perhaps, by Cary Grant in the movie: "To Catch a Thief". Art theft was viewed as a minor crime, a peccadillo.

Those days are long over. Art thieves began showing their true face no later than at the end of the 1980s, a time which saw the international art market boom and the Eastern bloc collapse.

Since then, robberies have increasingly become more violent.

They have stopped taking place exclusively under cover of darkness. Armed gangs now raid museums and private collections even during visiting times, unscrupulously calculating and accepting that people may be injured or even die in the process.

When, nine years ago, four men stole Leonardo da Vinci’s painting "The Madonna of the Yarnwinder" from the Duke of Buccleuch’s home at Drumlanrig Castle in Scotland, they held a knife to the throat of the female custodian. A year later, an armed gang robbed the Munch Museum one morning in Oslo. At first, the visitors thought it was a terrorist attack. Then they gradually realised that the thieves were after the world-famous paintings "The Scream" and the "Madonna". After being promised a reduced sentence – which is completely normal in such cases – a suspect who had been taken into custody later revealed the location of the seriously damaged works. The private foundation museum belonging to armaments industrialist and art collector Emil Georg Bührle was also the scene of a violent heist in Zurich, in February 2008. Masked men with sawn-off shotguns forced visitors to lie down on the floor. They then ripped three paintings by van Gogh, Monet and Degas as well as Cézanne’s famous "Boy in the Red Vest" from the wall and disappeared. Shortly afterwards the police found two of the paintings in the abandoned getaway vehicle. The other two were only recovered almost four years later in Belgrade. Clearly, the crime was the work of the Serbian mafia.

Ransom for return.

International police authorities have assessed the worldwide loss due to art theft at eight billion dollars a year. Consequently, this form of crime ranks just behind drug dealing, money laundering and human trafficking. Some works of art remain missing for years, such as the two early works, for example, which un-

known thieves 2002 stole, once again, from the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. Or the Vermeer and the Rembrandt which were stolen from Boston’s Gardner Museum 22 years ago: A reward now worth five million dollars has been posted for their recovery. Or the Caravaggio from a chapel in Palermo which went missing in 1969. In other cases – such as the Turner paintings stolen from Frankfurt’s Schirn Kunsthalle or the two works by Picasso which disappeared from an exhibition in Switzerland – there are grounds for suspecting that the insurance companies involved have paid a ransom to get the pictures back. After all, paying out on the full insurance sum would have cost them a lot more. This is why "artnapping", or blackmailing the owners, has long been considered the most successful version of art theft.

significant building, the dimensions, shape and spatial allocation of which fit into and convey identity to the existing ensemble and the topography," is how Hollein describes his work. He refers to his early designs for the project in which the contours of the landscape are echoed in the shape of the façade. His skill in combining art and scenery to the benefit of both is a talent he first developed on study trips in the south-western states of the USA. Together with the likes of Friedensreich Hundertwasser and Arnulf Rainer he joined Vienna’s architectural avant-garde and fully supported the 1960s’ revolution against the «dictatorship of functionalism» which categorically ruled out a considered aesthetic culture a priori. Money, too, is dependent on the same aesthetic culture. Like oral and written language it is part of human evolution, since it can be used as a formative instrument and means of design: As a driving force behind cultural evolution, wealth creates both innovation and security. No matter how diverse the rooms which people move about in are, they all share the same thing: the drive for perfection. When Hollein clads not only the exterior façade but also the roof with Andeer and Verde Spluga granite, he gives the building the face of the region and of its people. www.centrumbank.com

56-57 | BEAUTIFULLY BUILT

The architecture of money.

Banks – Fortresses of the Modern Age. A sensuous feeling of scenery, exquisite tension and wind chimes in autumnal colours – when it comes to providing bank customers with a secure home for their wealth, architects of bank buildings follow an old tradition of enhancing and innovating the cityscape.

Text Martin O. Steiner Photos KfW Bildarchiv/Thomas Klewar, Holger Peters; Centrum Bank; Foster + Partners/Nigel Young Centrum Bank, Vaduz, Liechtenstein by Hans Hollein When it came to designing new Centrum Bank building in Vaduz, the capital of Liechtenstein, Hans Hollein was inspired by the mountains and scenery of the Upper Rhine valley: "If it’s sensuous beauty we’re after, then let it be a beauty of elementary power." With its monolithic appearance in the lush green Alpine panorama, the building looks like an outcrop of rock in a roaring ravine. The foaming stream and the erratic blocks laid out in the garden of the Centrum Bank reinforce this impression. 6,000 m² of gross floor space is spread over four storeys. To judge from the lively curves of the exterior façade, you might never guess that the office units had been planned on an unostentatious 1.25 m grid. "The project deliberately represents a solitary,

58-59 | BEAUTIFULLY BUILT

Deutsche Bank Place, Sydney, Australia by Sir Norman Foster Sydney looks as if someone had just pinned a brooch on the Pacific Ocean. Lush green avenues, extensive parks with old trees and the magnificent Opera House line the harbour and its many bays. The high-rise buildings in the CBD glitter like sapphire-blue crystals with their façades of dark glass. Below them, the design of Deutsche Bank Place stands out from the other structures: The striking profile of the 31-storey edifice, completed by Sir Norman Foster in 2002, is crowned by an upwardly tapering aluminium frame with cross beams at threestorey intervals. "With our design for Deutsche Bank Place we are continuing our development of a contemporary office tower," said the architect. "The building follows new strategies in the adaptive use of office space and is deeply rooted in the life of

the city." The emphasis is on inclusiveness instead of exclusiveness. The first four floors of the skyscraper contain a plaza for public life, so valuable space has been given back to the inner city. In the spacious atrium, restaurants, cafés and shops benefit from the architecture which is flooded with light. Above this area, walkways offer shortcuts to the upper floors. An intelligent proportioning of the space has boosted the usability of the building by a third, and the energy concept meets state-of-the-art standards. Importantly, the silhouette of the building only emerged after the surrounding area had been taken into consideration.

As a result, the neighbouring buildings receive plenty of sunlight, and the profile elegantly complements views of the television tower when seen from the other side of the harbour. Sir Norman’s "Deutsche Bank Place" has enhanced Sydney’s differentiated skyline with exquisite tension – and feathery light grace. www.fosterandpartners.com Westarkade of the KfW Bankengruppe, Frankfurt am Main, Germany by Sauerbruch Hutton Creative minds have been developing wind-powered devices for many centuries – and wearing out their coronary arteries in the process. Sometimes they’ve even shaped landscapes. Or tempted noble squires to leave their castles and go tilting at windmills. But the source of energy which was once solely used for milling grain now enables the knights of the bourse at the KfW Bankengruppe to take a deep breath. For the reconstruction of the Westarkade in Frankfurt am Main, the architects from Sauerbruch Hutton have created a 15-storey office tower with views of the Palmengarten. The Berlin-based architectural office, which also designed the Brandhorst Museum in Munich, has long brought an artistic approach to its virtuoso use of autumnal colours. On the external façade of the Westarkade they liven up the street with yellow and brown hues on the sunny side and fresh nuances of blue in the shade. Yet creative minds are instinctively delighted by the spectacular wind features. For the entire high-rise has been built with an additional jacket of glass on each side. This "pressure ring façade" makes the Westarkade at the Frankfurt location of the KfW Bankengruppe one of the most state-of-the-art office buildings in the world. The aerodynamically shaped building uses the compressive force of prevailing wind directions to prevent heat loss. In this particular case, variable gaps in the glass shell automatically open up according to the particular wind direction. This leads to a constant but light overpressure in the corridor between the building’s façade and shell. The overpressure is relieved in the slipstream and can be absorbed by open windows. Afterwards, the used air flows outdoors via the ventilation system. Above all, the primary energy consumption of 98 kWh/m² is enough to impress any auditor. www.kfw.de/campus

Welcome to Huber.

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