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GIFTED Interior designer Camilla Whiteman shares her favourites with us
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visit our blog for daily updates — atlargewithwanted.tumblr.com QUALITY TIME Cartier Grand Complication Skeleton pocket watch TEXT MATT MORLEY
Hot off the press from this year’s Salon Internationale de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH) in Geneva comes this statement piece from Cartier, a company on impressive form at the watch industry’s first major gathering of 2012. Pocket watches were popular among Cartier’s aristocratic clients in late 19th century Europe, at which time there was simply no alternative as the watch strap had yet to be invented. Today, however, wearing a pocket watch speaks of a certain bohemian anticonformism, connoisseurship — when done tastefully — and self-confidence. The Grand Complication Skeleton pocket watch is no shrinking violet; it stands 59mm tall and 10mm thick even before it takes up its optional resting position in the rock crystal and obsidian base. An 18ct white gold case features open-worked Roman numerals carved from a solid gold surface that required 100 man-hours to perfect. We’ve seen these before on various models from Cartier’s 2011 collection, and they now appear to be a trademark. A manual winding mechanical movement is visible from both the front and reverse of the case thanks to the absence of an actual dial that might otherwise hide the internal components. By adding a tourbillon complication at 6 o’clock supported by a Cartier C-shaped bridge lying on its side, not only is time-keeping accuracy improved but Cartier immediately positions it in the ranks of haute horlogerie. It doesn’t stop there either. The sapphire cabochon on the crown at 12 o’clock starts, stops and resets a chronograph for
measuring short periods of time. Also at 12 o’clock sits a date display, flanked by the day of the week at 3 o’clock and a smaller months sub-dial at 9 o’clock. It’s the tiny aperture lying between November and January that reveals the watch’s most valuable secret however, for this is no standard issue calendar. It’s a perpetual, capable of accounting for the extra leap day in February up to the year 2100. Along with the mythical minute repeater, this is one of the industry’s greatest and most desirable complications. With its eight-day power reserve, the watch is relatively undemanding of its owner, requiring little more than a manual wind every week or so. Sold with its own stand for the mantelpiece, along with a white gold chain and fob, it is offered in a limited edition of 10 pieces in white gold and five in white gold set with brilliantcut and baguette-cut diamonds.
Case: 59mm, 18ct white gold or white gold and diamonds Movement: manufacture mechanical, manual winding, Calibre 9436 MC Features: skeleton with tourbillon, perpetual calendar, chronograph Chain: 18ct white gold Price: upon request Distributor: Cartier, Sandton City, Johannesburg, 011 666 2801, www.cartier.com
ED’S PICK
THE BEST CUT Frankie Fenner Meat Merchants TEXT ALEXANDER MATTHEWS PHOTOGRAPHY ADRIAAN LOUW
South Africans like beef — and lots of it. However, our insatiable demand means cows get a rough deal. They’re fed grain, pumped full of hormones to grow faster, then crammed in trucks for a traumatic journey to the abattoir. Entrepreneurs Andy Fenner and Shaun Bond know this isn’t lekker. They also know that happy cows translate into better meat. If they’re fed the right thing (grass), and killed humanely, they repay the favour with meat that’s tastier and more tender. So they scoured SA for farmers who are doing things the right way. “We found guys who weren’t about the bottom line. They were about the quality of the meat and the humane way of treating the animals,” says Fenner. In December last year, Fenner and Bond opened the doors of Frankie Fenner Meat Merchants. Every week they get in a different batch of meat: chicken and beef from farms in Stellenbosch and pork from the Hemel-en-Aarde valley. Inspired by the likes of London-based chef Fergus Henderson, an ardent advocate of “nose to tail” eating,
they’re trying to lure Capetonians away from their sirloinrump-fillet fixation, and get them to explore cooking with different cuts of meat. It’s simple. You check out the cuts of the week, place your order online, and then collect from the store (or just walk in and see what’s available). Veteran barista Msizi Ngcongo is on hand to serve up Deluxe coffee, and there’s a range of pastries from Jason Bakery for you to tuck into on one of the benches outside. In these troubled economic times, it might seem a rather brave move to open a specialist food retailer with a limited and ever-changing supply of products. But Fenner is confident. For one thing, he believes the lacklustre economy means people are eating out less. “With meat this good, you can make an incredible meal at home.”
Frankie Fenner Meat Merchants, Metal Lane, 8 Kloof Street, Cape Town, www.ffmm.co.za
FORGET THE FILLET: ANDY FENNER’S FAVOURITES 1. Brisket that is braised in beer, shredded and served with cornbread. 2. Pork loin on the bone. Make a rub with
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roasted and crushed fennel seeds, cumin and ginger. Smother it and slow roast it with apples. Carve and serve on polenta.
WANTED
3. Smoked hocks are also big sellers. I like mine cold, served with pickled cucumber on a wedge of sourdough.