Prestige 88

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88

FA S H I O N | DESIGN | J EW E L L E RY | T R AV E L | BU S I N E S S | P RO PE RT Y Ferrari 488 Spider • into the arctic circle • olympic timekeeping with omega veSpa and armani • iconic oySter box • SubScribe and win issue 88 – 3/2016

AFRICA’S PREMIER LUXURY LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE

Vehicle specifications may vary for the South African market.

Thrill instructor.

The new Mercedes-AMG GLE 63 CoupĂŠ S. Visit www.everyterrain.co.za

A Daimler Brand

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50.

Upfront Ed’s Letter – Page 6

Inside

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60.

Olympic Legacy – Omega’s timekeeping technology has been integral to the Olympic Games since 1932. We give you the latest developments and watches to commemorate Omega and Olympics 2016 – Page 8 Snakes and Ladders – Long established as the leaders of the tubogas technique, Bulgari has once again brought a dazzling new twist to this much loved classic – Page 14 Isla Skye - Isla Galloway-Gaul has returned to her passion of office furniture and Chris Buchanan caught up with an old friend and colleague – Page 18 Teach Your Children – Dr John Demartini says the foundations of success in life stem from how you influence your children – Page 24 Topless Prancing Horse – Vivien Natasen casts his first impressions of the Ferrari 488 Spider – Page 28 A Matter of Stretch – The premium denim segment is gaining traction with fits and fabrics that are acceptable as formal or smart casual wear. Chris Buchanan spoke to Oscar Sandberg of Tiger Jeans – Page 34

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Getting Away from it all

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Thai Me Up – Jo Kromberg takes a trip into Thailand to the soft sands of Nopparatthara Beach, near the village of Ao Nang and beyond – Page 40 Ashes to Ashes – Chris Buchanan finds a remarkable story of strength out of adversity within the Welgevonden Game Reserve in the Waterberg – Page 44 On the Rocks – The Oyster Box has been an institution in Umhlanga Rocks for years and so too has its unique cuisine – Page 50 Oasis of Dreams – Chris Buchanan spent a night at The Orient Boutique Hotel near Hartbeespoort where another world of serenity and ancient culture combine in a bushveld oasis – Page 60

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Food and Wine

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Life and Soul – Chris Buchanan finds new meaning in a term often glibly regurgitated to communicate good intention in the making of wine – Page 66 Cardinal and King – Aubert de Villaine believes that it is his responsibility to make sure his Domaine de la Romanée-Conti wines are enjoyed by more than just a handful of billionaires – Page 70 Remain in Light – British artist, Peter Saville, looks to chromatography to express the personality of Hennessy V.S.O.P Privilège limited edition – Page 74 Grain vs Malt – A family affair. Patrick Leclezio spotlights the plight of whisky’s less favoured son – Page 78 Maturing Tequila – An everlasting youth.

Patrick Leclezio touches base with an old friend – Page 82

Getting Around Fast Lane – Baglietto has launched the Baglietto 46 m, hull #10221, marking the birth of the La Spezia-based boat builder’s new FAST line – Page 86 Mighty M2 – The long awaited replacement to the legendary 1M has finally arrived and us South Africans were treated with a very special track day with it at the L’Ormarin’s Wine Estate in Franschhoek – Page 94 Off road special! – Vivien Natasen takes the new Mercedes Benz GLS into the bush… – Page 98 Classy Tourer – Mercedes Benz has added the Coupe to its C-Class offering and Carly BaileyNatasen gave it a whirl – Page 102 Designer Ride - The thing with Italian icons is that they preserve such heritage and are the brands that set the test in any industry from fashion to motoring, like Vespa and Armani – Page 106 The Smart Choice – With compact living, sometimes compact size is the only way around and Smart has just the solution – Page 110

Final Say

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From the Publisher – Page 112

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upfront

eD's

Publisher Vivien Natasen +27 11 484 2833 Editor Chris Buchanan chris@prestigemag.co.za

new technologies

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recently attended the launch of a luxury petrol-electric hybrid SUV which we will feature in our next issue but the conversation among the lifestyle motoring media focussed on alternative fuel technology and trying to predict how this technology will eventually consolidate for the future.

At the moment, the purchase of a hybrid comes with a special cable, not uniform among manufacturers, with which you connect your car to a special recharge unit. These units come at an additional cost and will fully charge the batteries in about 2.5 hours. For that, you get about 35 km of sole electric use.

Of course hybrid technology combines petrol and electric power depending on the conditions and recharges the power units as you use the petrol motor and when braking, etc, so the range is extended and fuel consumption is halved.

Other solutions include hydrogen, LP gas, biofuels and their combinations with the old internal combustion petrol, or diesel engines. So, in fact, there’s no standard in technology pursuits, nor is there a standard in the batteries, cables and recharge units – it’s pretty much where cellphone manufacturers sit, each with their own interface and no standardisation.

Our publisher talks about digital media in his column on page 112 and there again exists a fractured approach to content provision and revenue models.

In the days of print, radio and television media, the formula was simple. We provide a newspaper, magazine, radio station or television station to the public and based on how many people consume the media, we sell advertising space or airtime at a certain rate to make our money combined with the purchase cost of a publication to cover print and distribution.

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in several ways. First of all habits of media consumers are vastly different and are demand rather than supply focussed – people read, watch and listen to the content they prefer as opposed to what is prescribed by a publication or channel.

Second of all, the days of reading publications from cover to cover are over. Time spent consuming media is short lived and ten publications will be visited online in the time it takes you to read an in-depth piece of investigative journalism in a newspaper. And last of all, online media is driven by breaking news, whether it’s in mainstream news or whether it’s another picture on Instagram or post on Facebook.

The buzzword driving online media is engagement but open the homepage of your favourite news website and in front of you are at least 50 pieces of content or marketing with which you can engage relegating high spend media campaigns to the whim of a Like button.

This content/revenue model is far away from any standardisation and the diverse nature of online media probably means that it will never standardise like old media, but it is likely that there will be a gravitation to a set of standards or norms.

How then did we see the alternative energy landscape playing out in the future motoring world? Ideally, whether you run a petrol, diesel, electric or hydrogen power unit the filling station should be the point of replacement or refill. Standardise the battery and hydrogen container, simply remove it from the car and replace it with a fully recharged or filled unit. You are credited with anything left in the old container and charged for a full one. This model depends on all manufacturers agreeing on a standard of fuel cell and technology but as we know with the motor industry, this is highly unlikely.

CHRIS

Deputy Editor/brand ambassador Carly Bailey-Natasen carly@prestigemag.co.za Layout and Art Direction Daniel Jonathan info@danieljonathan.co.za Advertising Sales Carly Bailey-Natasen carly@prestigemag.co.za Operations and Circulation Eugene Reuben eugene.reuben@neoafrica.com Digital Marc Rudman marc.rudman@neoafrica.com Contributors Keri Harvey, Patrick Leclezio, Jo Kromberg Printing Paarl Media Subscriptions: To subscribe please go to www.prestigemag.co.za click on the Subscribe tab and submit the form. An invoice with banking details will be sent to you. Your first issue of Prestige will be despatched as soon as payment is made. Costs: 6 Issues = R600 per annum excl VAT, other countries are subject to a postage surcharge and will be calculated accordingly.

Single copies of Prestige can be purchased for a nominal fee of R89.00.

PUBLISHED BY Neo Publishing (Pty) Ltd Tel +27 11 484 2833. Fax +27 11 484 2899 All rights reserved. Opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the publisher or any of its clients.

Information has been included in good faith and is believed to be correct at the time of going to print. While every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the information and reports in this magazine, the publisher does not accept any responsibility, whatsoever, for any errors or omissions, or for any effects resulting therefrom. No part of this publication may be used, or reproduced in any form, without the written permission of the publisher. All copyright for material apearing in this magazine belongs to Neo Publishing and/or the individual contributors. © 2014

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legacy

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1932 was a defining year in the history of sports measurement. for the very first time, a single private company was entrusted with keeping time across all events at the olympic games. prestige gives you insight into the new technology to be used at the rio olympics 2016 and three timepieces that commemorate the event.

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he honour in 1932 went to Omega, who supplied one timekeeper and 30 high precision chronographs which had all been certified as chronometers by the Observatory at Neuchâtel. In this first occasion as Official Timekeeper of the Olympic Games, Omega was able to capture results to the nearest 10th of a second.

The brand’s expertise was highly appreciated by the officials in Los Angeles and was also invaluable when it came to confirming 17 new World Records.

The event was also notable for having the first Olympic Village, as well as the first medal podiums at an Olympic Games.

NEW TIMEKEEPING TECHNOLOGIES AT THE RIO 2016 OLYMPIC GAMES OMEGA SCAN’O’VISION MYRIA Perhaps the most widely known sports timekeeping device used in athletics is the photofinish camera, the equipment set up at the finish line of sprints, hurdles and other races.

Each runner’s image is captured by this device as he or she crosses the finish line and it is this information that the judges use to officially determine the champion of each race. The new Omega Scan’O’Vision Myria is a combination of a time detector and a chronograph. Its photofinish images are produced using a high-tech imagecapture device that records up to 10,000 digital images of one vertical line per second.

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NEW OMEGA PHOTOCELL TECHNOLOGY Photocells have been an important part of “stopping time” since 1948. They are used to give an instant result at finish-lines and give racers and spectators a precise understanding of the winner’s recorded time. In most recent competitions, two pairs of photocells have emitted beams of light across the finish line that halt time as soon as a competitor crosses. Instead of two photocells, there are now four, all integrated into one unit, and positioned on the finish line of the Athletics events. With four photocells in operation, more body patterns are able to be detected as they cross the line, and it will no longer be necessary to move the height of the cells for hurdle races.

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GOLF SCOREBOARDS As golf makes its return to the Olympic Games after more than a century, Omega is introducing a new scoreboard especially for the event. Placed at ground level on four dedicated tees, the scoreboards will be equipped with radar measurement systems. As a player tees off, information will be captured and then displayed to spectators so that they can closely follow the action. Along with the player’s name and current score, the scoreboard will show a live output of the stroke speed, estimated distance and height of the stroke.

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THE LAST-LAP BELL IN HIGH-TECH TIMEKEEPING Forged, almost entirely by hand at Blondeau’s foundry near the town centre of La Chauxde-Fonds in the Swiss mountains, Omega’s last-lap bells will be seen- and heard–by millions of people around the world. At the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, the lastlap bells will be used to sound out the final push for victory; marking the last laps in the athletics, track & road cycling and mountain bike events. It’s an interesting combination; Bronze Age hardware working alongside the most state-of-the-art sports timekeeping technology on Earth, very much in keeping with the spirit of an event that still captivates the modern world, but dates back to the time of ancient Greece.

FALSE START DETECTION SYSTEM The starting blocks in Athletics have been enhanced with built-in sensors that measure an athletes’ force against the footrest 4,000 times per second.

The detection system instantly sends the force measurements to an on-site computer and creates a “force curve” so that the starter can visually analyse the reaction in the event of a false start.

ARCHERY TARGETING SYSTEM For the first time at the Olympic Games, technology will be used to record scores in archery events. Until now, the judging has been done solely by the human eye using a specialised scope. Now, Omega introduces a new target with a built-in scanning system. When the arrow hits the target, two scanners run lengthways and widthways to calculate the arrow’s distance from the centre point. The system has a 0.2mm accuracy which is impossible for the human eye to detect.

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SEAMASTER DIVER 300M “RIO 2016” LIMITED EDITION Rio de Janeiro is a city full of life. It is the first place in South America to host the Olympic Games and the perfect location for athletes and spectators alike.

Inspired by this dynamic spirit, Omega has created the Seamaster Diver 300M “Rio 2016” Limited Edition.

Beginning on the city’s famous beaches, we have taken the wave pattern from the mosaic design on Copacabana’s sidewalks and used it as inspiration for a similar style on the watch’s lacquered black dial.

The uni-directional rotating diving bezel is also black, this time made from black polished ceramic.

However, what truly sets this feature apart is the lacquered numbers in red, green, yellow and blue.

These represent the exuberance of Rio as well as the five colours of the famous Olympic rings.

On the reverse side of the polished and brushed stainless steel case, the screw-in caseback has been stamped with the “Rio 2016” logo and engraved with an individual Limited Edition number.

Only 3016 of these pieces have been produced. Other features of this timepiece include a date window at 3 o’clock, a helium escape valve at 10 o’clock, and polished facetted skeleton rhodium-plated hands coated in white Super-LumiNova.

Presented on a stainless steel bracelet, the timepiece is driven by the Omega calibre 2500 and is water resistant up to 30 bar (300 metres / 1000 feet).

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SEAMASTER BULLHEAD RIO 2016 LIMITED EDITION At first sight, the Bullhead Rio is instantly recognisable for its individual style and design. The blue leather strap links directly to the Rio 2016™ logo, and features stitching along each side, coloured yellow, green, red and black to represent the Olympic rings.

This colour theme is continued on the rotating inner-bezel, serving as a meaningful reminder of the unity and harmony that the Olympic rings signify. This particular style was first released in 1969, and was used by rally drivers to time their laps.

Like its predecessors, the Bullhead “Rio” also features a white dial, as well as a central chronograph seconds hand, and a 30-minute recorder at 12H. It’s interesting to point out, that the name “bullhead” was originally a nickname, coined by watch collectors who concluded that it looked like the head of a bull.

The Bullhead Rio is built with Omega’s Co-Axial calibre 3113, and stamped with the Rio 2016™ logo on the caseback.

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SPEEDMASTER MARK II “RIO 2016” Inspired by the 1969 model of the original Omega Speedmaster Mark II, the polished and brushed stainless steel case is barrel-shaped and has a polished crown and pushers. Beneath a flat scratch-resistant sapphire crystal is a matt black dial featuring a 30-minute recorder at 3 o’clock, a 12-hour recorder at 6 o’clock and a small seconds sub-dial at 9 o’clock. The sub-dials are decorated with a bronze ring, 18K yellow gold ring and 925 silver ring respectively – a design that recalls the medals awarded to Olympic Games champions.

The transparent tachymeter scale on the sapphire crystal is illuminated from beneath by an aluminium ring filled with Super-LumiNova. The varnished white and black hour and minute hands, chronograph seconds hand and hour markers are also coated with Super-LumiNova, making it possible to read the time in a variety of lighting conditions. The Speedmaster Mark II is the first watch in Omega’s collection that makes it possible for the wearer to see the tachymeter scale in the dark.

The screw-in caseback is stamped with the Rio 2016 logo and is engraved with “Si14”, “Column Wheel” and the limited edition number of the wristwatch – only 2,016 pieces of this model will be produced. The Speedmaster Mark II “Rio 2016” is water resistant to 10 bar (100 metres / 330 feet) and is offered in a special presentation box with a certificate of authenticity.

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snakes and ladders long established as the leaders of the tubogas technique, bulgari has once again brought a dazzling new twist to this much loved classic.

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s 2016 promises to be the year to celebrate Bulgari’s unique heritage as the masters of colour, the sleek Serpenti Tubogas ladies watch takes a bold bite in purple. This is a timepiece for the powerful, charming, and daring – are you ready to show your true colours?

The tubogas practice dates as far back as the early 1930s with its name derived from the modernistic, industrial aesthetic of the flexible piping featured in sports car exhaust during the Art Deco

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period. A true reflect of the highest level of skill, the tubogas technique consists of assembling gold or steel ribbon-like strips around a core spring without any soldering. The result is a lithe, sensual watch bracelet or piece of jewellery that moves and breathes in perfect harmony with the wearer.

Bulgari dedicated itself to perfecting the art of creating these spiraled, supple forms. Soon the Italian Maison had a distinctive watch collection, the bracelet sumptuously wrapping itself around the wearer’s wrist.

Another icon synonymous with Bulgari has to be the snake, now famously known by its Italian name as Serpenti. It was in 1962, when filming scenes for Cleopatra in Rome, Elizabeth Taylor fell head-over-heels for a Bulgari

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snake watch in gold with diamond-paved head and tail. In constant, restless state the snake has evolved over the years.

And today seen on the wrist of Dubai TV reporter Diala Maki.

Bulgari uses coloured gems to bring expression to the jewellery and watches created by its master craftsmen. Every imaginable shade, hue, and tonal subtlety is hand-picked to perfect each exquisite piece. In celebration of this passion for colour, the 2016 Serpenti Tubogas collection features a purple dial.

From deep amethyst to romantic spines; purple has a rich history as the colour of royalty and is often associated with magic and mystery. The new Serpenti Tubogas is available in polished steel or the combination of chrome and gold, both with two rows of diamonds.

LIVE. LIKE NO ONE ELSE. BeoLink Multiroom unites your Bang & Olufsen products into one liberating wireless system. Play different music in different rooms or let one tune flow throughout your home. Just touch your Bang & Olufsen product to instantly join the music stream, or control the experience from your mobile phone.

SOUND EVERYWHERE. Products are connected wirelessly via Wi-Fi, allowing for simple installation and moving around the home. The sound distribution is ‘echoless’ and thereby synchronised even when listening from several rooms.

TOUCH TO JOIN. A single touch expands sound from one room to several more. Simply go to a product, touch it, and it will come to life.

CONTROL VIA APP. The BeoMusic App lets you start the music and easily select the music source you want to play. The App also provides an overview

of all products available in your Multiroom setup, shows you what each are currently playing, and with a simple command you can expand the music experience from one room to another. Your Bang & Olufsen TV is a part of the experience too. Use the speakers on your television to listen to music, or play sound from the TV in another room.

FUTURE PROOF. Only Bang & Olufsen offers customers a simple setup where you can add products over time. BeoLink is a system that takes basic operation of older products into account and ensures that new developments can easily become part of your BeoLink experience.

B E O L I N K M U LT I R O O M

Mall o f Af r ic a +27 10 020 345 0

M elros e Arc h + 27 11 684 1496

Sand ton C it y + 27 11 783 8550

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Isla skye

isla galloway-gaul has returned to her passion of office furniture and CHRIS

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BUCHAnAn caught up with an old friend and colleague.

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her. She needed to get back to work and Ditulo needed a visionary for it to fulfil a niche in an industry that was evolving as work patterns changed to suit modern technology and best practice.

Isla embarked on a strategy of identifying brands that worked together in creating the ideal office solution for the fast evolving working landscape, placing the emphasis on collaborative environments, away from the traditional notion of “if you’re not at your desk you must be goofing off”.

She says, “It was a gradual gathering of brands into a bouquet that we find we can give a solution from cost effective to top of the range.”

Ditulo calls itself “Office Engineers” so providing engineering solutions in desking and chairs rather than office furniture supply. Isla believes it’s a study of what you are doing in your office given the tools we now use in the workplace that have evolved from computer boxes to laptops and tablets.

The layout of the Ditulo showroom space demonstrates the philosophy of engineering a solution with an integrated space between which there are no divisions. Staff all work around a cluster of desks, CEO included, and are constantly exchanging ideas in a collaborative environment. If you need quiet, there are stations in the showroom that provide for that and a boardroom if you’re conducting a private meeting.

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first met Isla Galloway-Gaul in the mid-nineties while working in architectural and interior design media. It was still early days in our new democracy and the office furniture business consisted of a handful of big egos who considered themselves the rock stars of an industry that was on trend and offering top designer office space solutions into a market deprived through isolation.

Isla worked for one of the egos and it was clear through our robust discussions at cocktail parties that working in the trenches, peddling other people’s wares, was not in her long-term game plan.

As a natural entrepreneur and leader she pioneered the French seating brand Dauphin in South Africa and it wasn’t long before Dauphin chairs were on high profile television sets and in the offices of the coolest and most sought after brands in the country. Isla Galloway-Gaul had turned office seating into a must-have item with an x-factor – she was a rock star without an ego who did more than any of her peers in pushing the chair to the top of the office furniture food chain.

After starting a family later in life, Isla decided to semi-retire and spend time with her daughter doing what stay-athome mothers do, but the school run and socialising with other mothers over tea and dinner discussions were always going to prove difficult while the office furniture landscape moved on without

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Reception is not the conventional desk and switchboard as a barrier between you and the staff, it’s built into the showroom behind a coffee bar where the receptionist gets to greet you, make you a coffee and do what she does while you wait for your meeting as part of the furniture, so to speak.

What changed in the four years that Isla was spending with the family?

She says the pace was faster and the number of competitive international brands had grown significantly. There were also elements to furniture design that had not been considered in the days before slimline monitors and tablets, like monitor arms for desks.

But for Isla the spend on furniture is where the attention needs to be paid and the true ergonomics, where a larger slice of the pie should be allocated, is the thing that holds your body up for most of the working day – the chair. She says a desk is something you sit at, it holds up the monitor and provides a surface.

Intelligent desks can be factored in to allow for articulation but ultimately it’s a surface and should give way to what is important to the wellbeing of the staff member.

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Trust and respect for your staff have become highly regarded factors in the new age of office engineering where you trust that your staff are being productive even when sitting away from their desks in a pause area or when they’re having a conversation with a colleague in a collaborative area. And respect by providing a seating solution that looks after their bodies and an environment they will enjoy spending half of their lives in. “It’s as good as having a decent toothbrush for goodness sake”, but she says all too often office furniture spend is dictated to by getting the most for your money.

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it’s as good as having a decent toothbrush for goodness sake.

it was a gradual gathering of brands into a bouquet that we find we can give a solution from cost effective to top of the range.

One of the biggest challenges that premium office furniture faces is certainly the exchange rate since most of it is either filly imported or imported in knockdown form and assembled locally. She says lead times from quotation to delivery can be many months or years and, as the last 12 months have shown, the attrition on the bottom line can be 30% when finance ministers are fired.

Ultimately for Isla Galloway-Gaul she envisions Ditulo as a home of well recognised and well respected office furniture brands, and solid in being able to deliver outstanding engineering solutions. In terms of growth in an environment that is buoyant – just have a look at the cranes on the Sandton skyline – Isla is focussing on organic growth and personal relationships and that’s a formula she made her own when she took the chair and made it king.

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McLaren 540C Coupe

McLaren 650S Coupe

Price

R3 750 000

Balloon Payment

50%

Price

R5 500 000

Balloon Payment

50%

Deposit

50%

Monthly Instalment

R19 999

Deposit

50%

Monthly Instalment

R29 500

Total Cost to Customer

R4 470 021

*Fixed Interest Rate 12.75%

Total Cost to Customer

R6 562 021

*Fixed Interest Rate 12.75% Term

37 months

Term

37 months

BOOK A TEST DRIVE TODAY McLaren Johannesburg

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No. 1 Breakwater Drive The V&A Waterfront, Cape Town 8002, South Africa

T: +27 11 301 7000 www.johannesburg.mclaren.com

T: +27 21 425 2007 www.capetown.mclaren.com

Edge offers available through Alphera Financial Services a division of BMW Financial Services (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd, an Authorised Financial Services and Registered Credit Provider NCRCP2341.

Total cost includes initiation and monthly service fees (R57 p/m) and excludes license and registration. Residual applies subject to deal structure.

Offer valid until 30 June 2016 and subject to stock availability. Instalment may vary if price differs from the example displayed in this advert. Model shown with optional extras not included in pricing. Terms & conditions apply. Offer available with fixed or linked interest rates. *Advertised instalment is based on the prime lending rate of 10.25%, should the rate change during the period of the offer it will have an impact on the monthly instalment.

For more information visit www.alphera.co.za

THE GAME. CHANGED. Driving a pure sports car has never been this easy.

Exquisite engineering. Fine-tuned finance.

MCLAREN 540C COUPE

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37 MONTHS TERM 50% DEPOSIT

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business

teach

your children if you don’t fill your day or life with challenges that inspire you, it will fill up with challenges that don’t. challenges that inspire you can be the source of eustress, achievement and wellness, whereas challenges that don’t can be the source of distress, ageing and illness.

DR JOHn DEMARTInI says leaders with great wisdom pursue challenging, inspiring, meaningful and contributive endeavors.

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impeded, but he spontaneously is inspired from within to do what he loves most. He has a built in desire to master what he focuses on most with enthusiasm and tackle ever greater challenges that accompany his inspiring pursuit along the way.

As he matures and as his highest values evolve, his most inspiring pursuits naturally evolve along with them. If he has become used to pursuing his video game dreams and tackling ever greater challenges from his youth he will have a greater probability of growing in confidence in conquering other areas of life to become master of his fate. He is more likely to become master of his destiny more than victim of his history. His growth naturally becomes accelerated with every new game, problem, or challenge that he conquers. He repeatedly excels in what his is inspired by most. The executive centre in his developing forebrain comes more and more on line with increased blood,

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hen your 12 year old boy whose temporary highest values revolve around conquering the next most popular on line video game has worked diligently and mastered his more recent purchase, he naturally yearns to expand his dexterity and creative skills once again and ingeniously tackle the next most challenging online video game of ever greater complexity. He does not require any extrinsic motivation, reminders, or incentives by you to arise each morning and work intently and enthusiastically on this primary or chief aim; he simply naturally yearns to become the video game master he envisions.

He may have to be reminded to do his uninspiring school homework, or chores, and thereby feel momentarily

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glucose and oxygen as he awakens his next inspired vision, strategically plans, executes and masterfully self-governs his highly prioritised actions.

Of course, you as his parent, being member of the previous generation, may tend to project your more conventional set of values and wellmeaning intentions onto your son in an attempt to moderate, or in some cases impede your child’s natural desire for tackling ever greater challenges or problems, not realising that the very new games that seem to you to be meaningless are the very temporary sources of meaning and empowerment along the way and act as a catalyst for his future leadership development in his later, more socially contributive endeavors.

As new values evolve and emerge within your son - the soon independent young man, his similarly new natural yearnings can fulfill the same outcomes of developing his inner governance and self-mastery with his new and more expanded objectives. If he discovers what is truly most important to him

and learns the vital skill of seeing how whatever comes along his way can be perceived as on the way more than in the way, he will embrace the many challenges that emerge as catalysts for accelerated and hormonally driven growth, development and achievement.

When he learns to ask himself, How specifically is whatever I am experiencing at present helping me fulfill my highest values and chief aim? he will then awaken his executive centre and empower his natural innate and emerging leader from within.

Like for biology in general whatever is not “negentropically” ordered and directed by life physics becomes “entropically” disordered and scattered death physics. When your son and developing young man brings order into his life by strategically pursuing what truly inspires him he is less vulnerable to the outer forces of disordering entropy that result from the scattering influences of others. When his voice and vision on the inside becomes greater and more profound than all opinions on his outside he naturally

begins to master his life.

Like for your son, whether you are a young man still at heart or now a matured man of more ripened age, if you do not fill your day with high priority actions that inspire you, it will automatically fill up with low priority actions that won’t. And, if you do not fill your day with meaningful challenges that inspire you and that serve ever greater numbers of others or humanity, it will fill up with challenges that create distress and desperation to warn you. These less fulfilling feelings are nothing more than essential feedback mechanisms to assure that you eventually return to pursuing what is truly inspiring and meaningful in your life. Nature has a way of honing you in over time to be authentic with who you truly are. You and your son are leaders deep within waiting to emerge.

Founder of the Demartini Institute, International best-selling author, educator and consultant

www.dr.demartini.com

w w w.aegirper formanceyachts.co.za | info@aegirper formanceyachts.co.za frederic@neoaegir.co.za +27 (0)21 554 1743 | john: 072 683 2660 | frederic: 072 244 1982 Head oďŹƒce: Cape Town – South Africa | Service points: France & Italy

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horse VIVIEn nATASEn casts his first impressions of the ferrari 488 spider.

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o me the 458 Italia was a great achievement for the marque – A poised supercar graced with looks, with performance and reliability to match that could still invoke emotions that every car fanatic reminisces about.

To take that DNA and make it better was always going to be difficult for Ferrari. Yet they managed to do exactly that. Purists will say that the move away from natural aspiration to turbochargers is sacrilege, however, like everything else in life, change is inevitable. Enter the 488.

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We recently had the privilege of driving the 488 around the track and I must say it is a superb vehicle and extremely focused away from street congestion and only a circuit ahead. It keeps its nose down much better under different power inputs.

The corsa piloto instructor pointed out the differences, the most of which have come out from their

learnings from Formula 1 which have translated into changes in the 488. It genuinely is not a facelifted 458 with turbochargers bolted on as some have postulated.

And now they have launched a spider (convertible) version. To really put this into perspective the 488 Spider is more powerful than the Ferrari icon of the millennium, the

Enzo, and is capable of 0-200 kph in 8.7 seconds. This means Ferrari was able to harness the turbo technology to provide masses of power through various ranges in order to quicken the car not just from take-off but in the high rev ranges too. The car is fitted with a twin-turbocharged 3.9-litre V8 that produces 492 kW and a hefty 760 Nm of torque.

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The car is fitted with a twinturbocharged 3.9-litre V8 that produces 492 kW and a hefty 760 nm of torque.

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In most territories it appears that the 488 Spider outsells the Coupe. This makes perfect sense as the vehicle carries the option of topless driving without any compromise on performance and safety. In climates like South Africa, this is almost a given where the weather is suitable most times of the year to take the roof down. The profile of the vehicle looks superb with the roof open or closed, as many marques design convertibles to look great with the roof open yet they look a bit off with them shut.

On the 488s driver ergonomics have been vastly improved with more accessible controls and relevant information provided on multifunction displays

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as wings on either side of the rev counter thereby allowing the driver to focus on the road and have all important data a glance away.

With customer deliveries of the 488, it’s no wonder that all sales units have been taken up for the coming year which is an amazing achievement in a depressed economy with a general slowdown in consumer demand. To the purists that say this car loses some of Ferrari’s soul, I vehemently disagree.

Times require the use of new technology and Ferrari has come to the party to not only be responsible for innovation, but to show people how innovation should be done.

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stretch the premium denim segment is gaining traction with fits and fabrics that are acceptable as formal or smart casual wear. CHRIS BUCHAnAn spoke to oscar sandberg of tiger Jeans.

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eans and denims have long been considered work wear or casual wear, particularly with modern styles of distressed fabric, worn looks and often resembling jeans that have more holes in them than intact fabric.

Oscar Sandberg looks after Tiger Jeans in international markets and like most things Scandinavian in design, this brand is looking at less complication in style and fit, rather concentrating on a central objective of stretch fabrics and slim fit. Like the philosophy of the mother brand Tiger of Sweden, embellishment is not a factor and clean, simple constructs drive the design ethos.

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“We only have six different fits in men’s and four or five different fits in girl’s jeans, se we keep it simple”, says Oscar, “of the total turnover of Tiger of Sweden, 22% is Tiger Jeans which is a proof of concept for us and our designs”. But the Scandinavian design look is not to every market’s taste and another proof of concept for Sandberg is the fact that the brand has just opened its fifth store in South Africa and his visit to our country came on the heels of two weeks in Canada where the same success is being achieved away from the home market.

Initial exploits outside of Scandinavia include the European markets of Germany, France and the UK with the aforementioned SA and Canada spearheading the international foray. Australia is another identified market with presence already for Tiger Suits at David Jones and Sandberg says the markets will depend on the capacity for the look that the brand pioneers.

Exciting developments in the Tiger Jeans portfolio start with a new fabric called 360 stretch, “in a normal comfort stretch you have the elasticity of 50 to 20%. This is almost like “jeggings” with almost 110% elasticity with full recovery so it’s like a 360 thing”. He says it’s important and a challenge with these high percentage stretch fabrics that you maintain the jeans look in a sophisticated sense without looking too casual.

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“In terms of fit for the girls I see potential still in the straight leg and also a really nice flair that starts underneath the thigh like a Woodstock kind of look in many ways.” He says they’re also seeing it for the guys where there are a lot of slim fits but going toward a wider look, not loose but with a little more space in a retro look. But it’s the slim fit that stays in the DNA of the Tiger Jeans family although there are opportunities for more rigid denim options in the future as well. The bottom line is that 99% of Tiger Jeans sales are in the slim fit.

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Innovation in jeans a demin for Sandberg lies in materials and fabrics, “I think development with the fabric is more of the future than the fit because with girls if they feel the rigid fabric they say I can’t wear this”. He added that men are more traditional and the true innovation is coming in the women’s market where they are more open to changes in style and fabrics. When Tiger introduced stretch fabric into the men’s range the first response was we want real jeans.

In terms of fashion sense he could identify mine in an instant when I asked him if the style of the jeans I was wearing – Levi’s 501 straight leg – was in fact dead. He was diplomatic and said many people are going back to the old “dad Jeans” look. We left the interview there.

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“would like some champagne, madam?� the soft voice of the airhostess is accompanied by beautiful smile. i nod enthusiastically and slump w w w. p r e st i g e m ag .c o. z a

deeper into my huge, plush premium economy seat. cathay pacific is transporting us on a 12 and a half hour flight to thailand via hong kong and i feel like royalty. the service and food on this airline is simply sublime.

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by: Jo Kromberg images: Jo Kromberg and Supplied

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t is hot and sticky when we finally land in Phuket. Yet another two hours later, courtesy of our Destination Asia transfer, we arrive at the classy Centara Anda Dhevi Resort & Spa in Krabi. Krabi is set on the edge of Phang Na Bay and all along the road from the airport the green-clad cliffs and towering limestone islands protrude like emerald skyscrapers.

The resort is located about five minutes’ walk away from the soft sands of Nopparatthara Beach, near the village of Ao Nang. Our double room overlooks the tropical courtyard pool and after a lovely Thai dinner, we turn in early. The next morning we catch a boat over translucent waters from Nopparatthara Pier to Centara Grand Beach Resort and Villas, on the same peninsula but set within its own bay.

Our villa has an uninterrupted view of the Andaman Sea. Designed in a modern Thai style, it is a study in tranquillity. After a lazy afternoon and spectacular dinner, I languish in my Jacuzzi. In the full moon, the rock formation in the sea below rises about ten stories high out of the black ocean into the dark sky with its million stars.

Situated deep in the tropical jungle of southern Thailand, Elephant Hills is in the Khao Sok National Park is our next stop. It is difficult to describe the awestruck feeling upon discovering the colossal, verdant mountains in this jungle of all jungles. The luxury-tented accommodation is en-suite and has a fan to relieve the worst heat. After all, there is no mention of the Garden of Eden being airconditioned.

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Our guide here is a never-to-beforgotten slip of a girl called Tik and she accompanies us to the elephant sanctuary nearby. There are 13 elephants here, all female and all rescued from logging camps. “Dey ar letiled,” says Tik. “Retired,” she means…

We wash and scrub them. Sullen, middle-aged, spoilt tourists transform into joyful, laughing people in front of my eyes. Like magic.

We are here during the Loi Krathong festival and back at the lodge we are all given a kratong (basket) in which we place a coin and a lock of hair and we all go down to the river and launch our floating, candlelit wish basket. After dinner, I sit on my veranda, immersed in the jungle night filled with the strange grunts and squawks of the macaque monkeys and other creatures. There are very few places left unscathed by the necessary evil of mass tourism and this is one of them...

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of the Cheow Larn Lake, about an hour by boat. And then lo! What is this vision I see before me? Imagine the most exotic getaway fantasies you ever had. Then multiply this by ten. And I still see you and raise you Elephant Hills Rainforest Camp. It is a floating bungalow paradise, unassuming and calmly buoyant on the emerald green water, surrounded

by tropical mountainous jungle. There are only ten tents accommodating two people each. The camp is set on a flotilla secured to land by four underwater cables and the closest shore is at least 20 metres away.

The cicadas’ distinctive, eerie sounds ring out and echo in the cloudy, hot sky and we feel like the only people on earth.

can still be found here but numbers are very low. It is said by the locals that the tiger’s lone mating call can still be heard around May. We say fond farewells the following morning with mournful promises to return soon.

On our second last day in Thailand we go on a boat and kayaking trip with a company called John Gray. After lunch on the boat we explore the bay's limestone caves by canoe. Our guide Boa traverses the narrow caves with masterful skill. Visceral, claustrophobic fear grips me as we have to lie completely flat while wading through the pitch black, barnacled cave tunnels,

After lunch I have a solitary languid swim in the cool, green lake. There is also the option of kayaking on the lake in your own kayak, moored to your tent, which we later do of course.

The impenetrable rainforests hold their own mysteries – pristine and most of it never violated by man. In a place like this, God cannot be very far away.

The highly endangered Indochina tiger

millimetres from your face. The caves are home to a gazillion bats and their chemical smell is overpowering. But my trepidation quickly gives way to pure awe as we emerge into the inner “rooms” with the sun bright above us. The limestone caves are 700 million years old, says Boa. We find ourselves in a green “hong” - inner lagoon caves inside the limestone rocks that are accessed through the small tunnel openings. Once inside the hongs, time stands still and the only sound is the gentle splash of our paddles.

We retrieve our kratongs from the boat after dinner and kayak back to one of the previous caves with only our candles and the light of the moon and stars as light sources. The phosphorous in the dark water looks like tiny fairy lights and it’s wondrous. Once back inside the hongs, an incredible feeling of deep spiritual peace descends on me as we lower our kratong into the sea and make a wish in the stars’ and the moon’s reflections. There are candles everywhere and the only sounds are the soft murmurs from the other guests in their kayaks.

In all my travels this counts as one of my most special lifetime moments. The magic of Thailand lies in its beautiful nature and forests, its wonderful Buddhist culture and history. But most of all it lies in its people - always with a smile that extends right around their faces and deep into your heart.

Contact: The Tourism Authority of Thailand http://www.tourismthailand.org/

Destination Asia: http://www.destination-asia.com/ The Holiday Factory: http://www.theholidayfactory.co.za/

Cathay Pacific flies to Phuket via Hong Kong from South Africa every day of the week. Go to http://www. cathaypacific.com/cx/en_ZA.html for special offers, information and bookings.

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Getting there:

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Centara Resorts and Hotels: http://www.centarahotelsresorts.com/ index.asp

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the theme of something good coming out of tragedy is ubiquitous across social media and feel-good programmes on cable tv. CHRIS BUCHAnAn found a remarkable story within the welgevonden game reserve in the waterberg.

K

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ing Louie in Disney’s cartoon adaption of Rudyard Kipling’s Jungle Book was obsessed with fire – it’s all he wanted the little boy for, to “give me the power of man’s red flower so I can be like you!”. Be careful what you wish for King Louie because your desire is arguably the most destructive of the elements and reduces dreams to destruction before you can say “Ooh-oohbee-doo”.

Two years ago, fire destroyed the dream of Frank and Myriam Vogel, a Dutch couple who had invested into Welgevonden and who had built up a lodge in the south eastern quarter of the reserve. It spared little from the ashes apart from a few of the suites which were far enough away to avoid the flames. A small electrical fault in a thatch cocoon razed the main lodge, front and back of house, public areas and surrounding suites in an inferno that left nothing – even steel taps were molten into the earth.

They set about re-building Mhondoro asking the questions of the experience that would differentiate the property from the much staid formula that luxury game lodges have relied upon for years. There’s no getting around the habits of wild animals so game drives early morning and late afternoon are unavoidable. It’s the expansion of activities in the quiet hours around the lodge that they saw as an opportunity. They also exploited the growing trend of private villas, accommodating larger parties or families with their own private amenities, butler, chef and game viewing vehicle included.

It was clear that a policy of differentiation meant throwing away the traditional game lodge feel of heavy wood and a colonial vernacular but keeping the rich textures of an African colour palette and local materials that define the bush. European influences would

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be unavoidable since Myriam Vogel is an interior designer and locally sourced furniture and fittings combined to perfectly marry European minimalist and modern style with the palette of African colour and texture. Finished wood and glass juxtapose against local stone and architecturally, the six sleeper villa would be at home in the designer rows of our top tier local suburbs.

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Interior spaces of the villa, and the new lodge, exploit the natural volume of the thatch roofs which provide cavernous uninterrupted spaces intelligently portioned off through the use of furniture.

Glass walls and doors keep you surrounded by the reserve and always living with natural light. Peel back the glass and you let the outside areas in, doubling the space with a large deck and

private pool for the villa. The suites that managed to avoid the fire have all been redone to replicate the design ethos of the rebuild.

Any traveller to South African wilderness areas will marvel at the skies at night and Mhondoro has created a star deck to take advantage of the pollution free atmosphere. Benches are reclined at 45 degrees on an elevated platform

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a drink without recognising any threat the human beings in the hide might pose. But it’s the antics of the smaller warthogs and baboons that keep you in the hide for hours and if you get lucky as we did, you might get an elephant bull come down and do his thing close enough to touch.

The aspect of all rooms, the villa and the main lodge is toward the waterhole as the focal point. I fact if you decide to have a workout on the gym apparatus, lie at the pool or head toward the spa, which is a serene Nordic space with

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with a tracking telescope in the centre to allow for close-ups of the constellations and they have camera hook-up planned for amateur astronomers to take their star shots home.

But the one differentiator that trumps them all is the waterhole hide. A tunnel was dug through the rock from the basement of the lodge to the waterhole some 50 metres away and opens up to a hide which puts you at water level for unique shots of wildlife from a low down angle and super close-up.

Herds of elephant frolic and enjoy

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an Africa view, you’re looking at the waterhole, ready to abort all current activity and hot foot it down to the hide if anything of interest comes for a drink.

Our short stay meant two outings on the game vehicle and a guided walk through the bush, in the capable hands of S’bu – a lad out of Soweto who had dreams of a life in the wilderness.

We attended the same school in Johannesburg albeit many years apart and we were all convinced that this fella should have been on Ritalin. He will show the big stuff like elephant and rhino, Charlie the crocodile and the resident hippo, but he immerses you in the small stuff, introducing you to plants you can eat for constipation, make tea with to relieve a headache and leaves you can rub into insect bites. He showed us the ball that is the fruit of a dung beetle’s labour and which bakes under the sand like clay to form a hollow orb the weight of a shot put and impenetrable to the enemy.

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As we walked we made the sound of a nest raiding bird which attracted about five species who thought their homes were in danger, and he introduced us to the texture of boekenhout wood which, from the outside looks ugly and gnarly, but peel away the outer bark and the rich red hue of the wood gives it the colour so popular with furniture craftsmen. His compulsive nature kept us entertained until a few stomach rumbles reminded him that we had to get back to the lodge and breakfast.

The food at Mhondoro is another differentiating point and under the realisation that there’s a lot of eating that happens at game lodges – breakfast, lunch, dinner and tea – portions of classical dishes are small and even a full breakfast, which has all the ingredients, won’t have you running for your day bed to sleep it off. There’s no affiliation to an international culinary standard like Chain des Rotisseurs or Relais and Chateaux and there’s no need because these chefs are masters at the use of ingredients grown on the property and they surprise you at every meal with food that sits comfortably in any fine dining establishment.

Mhondoro’s story is one of rebirth out of a tragic event that could have been a lot worse had circumstances been any different. The opportunity to take the norm and re-invent it has been seized and the result is a refreshing departure from tradition which leaves a lasting impression.

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when a hotel embraces local flavour, combined with global trends, taste buds explode. the oyster box is renowned for its breath taking views, warm hospitality and colonial charm and caters for all different events - whether it is a unique celebration, business meeting, high tea or Just a relaxed occasion.

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he Oyster Box is rich in history and has several living stories to tell, especially in light of it being a family establishment. One of whom is Hendry Pakiri, the Maitre’d, of the Grill Room and a member of The Oyster Box family since 1963 when he started as a waiter in the children’s dining room. Another interesting reminiscent fact is that the current chef Kevin Joseph, still uses recipes that were inspired by Kay O’Connor – the cofounder of the hotel with her brother Ken. There are two things that set the Grill Room aside from other fine dining establishments. First of all, the hors d’oeuvres trolley that 18 serves 1920s inspired “olde worlde” appetisers on a vintage carousel and second of all, the authentic Gueridon service where dishes are prepared and presented at the table.

Personally, I think food is not just about the taste (which is was truly divine) but I found the interactive setting part of the whole refined dining experience.

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Savoy hotel in London. I enjoyed the live piano in the background while enjoying all the decadent delights. High tea can be quite a lengthy affair at the Oyster Box. All the mouth-watering pastries and baked goods are made in-house so you can just imagine the aroma that lingers while you enjoy your cup of tea (or cocktail – which is apparently very acceptable in this day and age).

At The Oyster Box the oysters are freshly harvested from their own oyster beds – surely it cannot be fresher than that! – to be enjoyed at the all new Oyster, Salmon and Sushi bar. It is quite a get-together spot with live local music throughout the week. I love to pair my

If you would like to take experience to the next level though, The Chef’s Table, is the latest concept from the Oyster Box. Executive chef Kevin Joseph and his team prepare a delicious five course menu for between six and ten guests right before your eyes. It was a “behind the scenes” experience to see these masters at work in the kitchen or should I say their second home.

Having five star sister hotels in London (The Milestone, 41 Hotel, The Egerton Hotel) probably helped The Oyster box to perfect this lovely occasion in the most charming colonial style. The Palm Court is a visual spectacle with even the chandeliers purchased from the PRESTIGE: in the lap of luxury

The Oyster Box has a signature Cocktail, the Umhlanga Schling, which seemed very popular the evening I was there.

a 180 degree view of the coastline, this is the ideal spot to meet some friends or just enjoy a sun downer. The Lighthouse Bar, with its dark wood and detail in leather, crimson and gold, makes it very cosy in winter too, not that Durban ever truly experiences a cold winter.

Durban has been fabled as the largest concentrated population of Indians in the world, outside India itself. This area is renowned for their incredible curries and the now globally accepted Bunny Chow, effectively a curry embedded in an unsliced loaf of bread. The Oyster Box takes pride in sourcing their ingredients locally and what better way to showcase local flavours than a buffet – with 11 different styles of curry each day.

There is a selection of meat, fish and vegetarian dishes and the two tandoori ovens make sure that the chicken stays truly authentic. One of my favourites is the traditional Durban lamb curry and accompanied by fresh, home-made condiments including lime and vegetable pickle, home-made chutneys, raitas, sambals and freshly baked naan breads, papadums and roti.

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oysters with a glass of Veuve Cliquot, but like any fine establishment, The Oyster Box has a signature Cocktail, the Umhlanga Schling, which seemed very popular the evening I was there.

It consists of ingredients uniquely particular to Durban, such as cane sugar and cane spirit.

I simply cannot visit Durban and not go past the Lighthouse Bar. There are only a handful of places in South Africa that can boast an establishment that is right on the water, without a road or anything in between. The Lighthouse bar is the ideal place to switch off after a long day. It’s just you, the ocean and the famous Umhlanga lighthouse. With

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arctic summer two hundred kilometres above the arctic circle is a different world of reindeer and wild, running rivers. while winters are dark and frozen solid, summer in sweden’s arctic circle is an adventurer’s wonderland where you could easily run short on sleep – courtesy of the midnight sun. words and pictures: Keri Harvey

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his year has just been too hot,” says adventure guide David Lind, “the salmon in the Torne River have been dying from heat.” It’s 23 degrees Celsius today, swelter temperature for the Arctic Circle. Long-haired horses are grazing amongst knee-high daisies and the dog parking lots are empty around the small Arctic village of Jukkasjarvi. In the distance we hear a rhythmic tonk of metal on wood and trace the sound to an intrepid boat builder fixing wooden struts on a traditional nuut boat. He’s so focused he hardly notices us, until we ask about the unique design of the longboats used for transport and fishing.

We’re in traditional Sami territory, but Jukkasjarvi was possibly put on the world map because it’s the original home of the ICE HOTEL. It started over 25 years ago, and the story goes that local Yngye Bergqvist built an igloo on the banks of the frozen Torne River with the help of Japanese ice sculptors. It was just 60m² and intended to be an art gallery. One thing led to another and the 250m², 65-suite ICE HOTEL came into being.

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Just imagine – walls, floor, beds, furniture and artwork, even the glasses you drink from at the bar are solid ice.

Each March, two-tonne blocks of perfect ice – 35 000 m³ of it - are cut from the Torne River and kept in cold storage to build the ICE HOTEL later in the year. Building commences every November and it takes about 100 construction workers and artists to complete the project. Everything is of ice. Just imagine – walls, floor, beds, furniture and artwork, even the glasses you drink from at the bar are solid ice.

Inside it’s -5C which is toasty compared to - 45C outside. In summer, of course, the hotel has melted back into the Torne River, and wooden cabins provide guest accommodation.

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To get to Jukkasjarvi – which means ‘meeting place near water’ in local Sami language - took a 17-hour train trip from Stockholm, straight up the length of Sweden – or you can take a two-hour flight. The further north we travelled the more sparse the villages became, but trees lined the route all the way. Then a 17km drive from Kiruna, the nearest train station and airport, lands you in Jukkasjarvi: population 600 people and 900 dogs. This is so because, in

winter, dogsleds are the only practical transport when the landscape is frozen and dusted fairytale white with snow and ice. But in the summer months, from June to August, the huskies are on holiday though their wolverine howls can sometimes be heard bouncing across the surface of the Torne River. This wild watercourse travels for over 500km all the way from Norway, through Sweden to Finland, bringing with it salmon and trillions of litres of pure clean water. Here

the river is easily a mile wide, rushing cool and clear – except this year when the waters reached 20C, which is just too hot for salmon.

Jukkasjarvi is tiny and you can walk everywhere. The butter yellow and dull red homes with triple glazing on windows and doors for deep frozen winters; verandas festooned with hanging candles for light on dark days and ladders up pitched roofs to clear snow all allude to frozen winter weather.

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while the arctic circle is in constant darkness for a month or two in winter; during midsummer in July there’s eternal sunshine.

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Circle, accompanied by cheese.

Everything is prepared over a central open fire, meat sizzling in an iron pan, the smoke spiralling out of the open funnelled tent top. It’s somehow all familiar, and yet not, at the same time: the quiet wilderness, cooking over an open fire, dining in a tent – the Arctic version of an African bush break.

Nearby a herd of reindeer is grazing, and the clicking sound they make is intriguing. “It’s a tendon in their hooves and it serves to keep the herd together in winter blizzards and darkness,” explains Theresa. Reindeer are smaller than expected but surprisingly tough and well adapted for this harsh Arctic environment where the temperature can drop to -50C in winter.

Today, nearly half of Sweden is still

But today doors and windows are wide open to let in the summer warmth, and gardens are bursting with colour and a riotous rainbow of wild flowers crowd in between homes. It’s completely unexpected, almost unnerving to see in the Arctic Circle.

Peckish for lunch, we step into the conical Lavvu tent at the Sami Siida Café, just at the end of the main road through town. Here, traditional Sami slow food is prepared and Therese Iverson the chef recommends the Suovas, which is smoked reindeer meat on flat bread and topped with sour lingenberry jam, or Gurpi - the Sami rendition of a reindeer hamburger.

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reindeer territory and there are 4 500 reindeer owners in the country with 230 000 animals between them. There are no longer wild herds as reindeer are simply too precious to the nomadic Sami herders. The animals pull their sleds, their hair is Arctic adapted and used to line clothing and boots and blankets, sinews are used for cotton or twine, and reindeer meat is healthy and delicious.

While the Arctic Circle is in constant darkness for a month or two in winter; during mid-summer in July there’s eternal sunshine. This means that if you can only enjoy dinner and head to bed after dark, you’ll be both very hungry and ragged in no time, as the sun touches the horizon, threatening to set, but then promptly rises again. So homes have block-out curtains and blinds to mimic darkness inside, but the locals are familiar with turning in while the sun still shines. For us it was strange, until exhaustion takes over at midnight with bright sunshine outside.

Walking back to our summer cabin at the ICE HOTEL, David passes us and waves. He’s heading out into the

wilderness with a fishing party to catch salmon, raft and camp. We’ll also dine on salmon for dinner, but first stop off to buy fika for the afternoon. It’s the Swedish tradition to nurture blood sugar levels at 4pm. Even in the capital Stockholm, work halts for fika time of a tiny sweet treat and coffee, and then promptly resumes with renewed energy and interest.

Following the banks of the Torne

River ‘home’, we pass the boat fixer still hard at work and as focused as ever. We hand him a chocolate and marzipan fika and his face lights up. “That’s just what I need,” he smiles. “Please stop a while and share fika with me.” We do, and are reminded of the simplicity of life here.

People live by the seasons, find joy in small pleasures and value community.

That – and the reindeer, of course – are their true wealth.

Getting there: We disembarked in Stockholm after a Baltic Sea cruise on Windstar (see: www.cruises.co.za) then took an extremely comfortable overnight sleeper train (www.scandinavianrail. com) from Stockholm to Kiruna (17 hours) in order to experience the journey into the Arctic Circle, and a 17km road transfer from Kiruna to Jukkasjarvi. Returning to Stockholm we flew 2 hours on Norwegian Air (www.norwegian.com) from the airport in Kiruna.

Sleep and eat

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At ICEHOTEL or the summer log cabins – email: info@icehotel.com; www.icehotel.com Reindeer Lodge – email: info@nutti.se; www.nutti.se

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CHRIS BUCHAnAn spent a night at the orient boutique hotel near w w w. p r e st i g e m ag .c o. z a

hartbeespoort where another world of serenity and ancient culture

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combine in a bushveld oasis.

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here are few scenic drives leaving the urban sprawl of Johannesburg but one worth taking, heads north-north-west toward the Magaliesberg mountains and Hartbeespoort Dam. The savannah gives way to mountainous bushveld that forms a barrier to the north and provides articulation to the flat landscape before it.

The Orient appears like an oasis out of the African terrain reminiscent of Roald Dahl's Uncle Oswald's jaunt into the Egyptian desert when his car broke down and he spent the night in the hospitality of Abdul Aziz who built his luxury, walled oasis in the desert in order to live isolated with a family secret – you can read the exploits in The Visitor published in Roald Dahl’s Switch Bitch.

Driving into the gates is a trip into a Moorish palace grounds dominated by prayer turrets and an intricate network of narrow passages that lead, like warrens, to the rooms and other areas of the hotel. Rooms are all themed around the Orient including the medieval Byzantyne aesthetic of ancient Constantinople, India’s Rajasthan and the Sahara Desert cities of Marrakesh and Mogador.

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Staircases creek and work their way along the walls to rooms decorated with detailed wooden furnishings and fittings all sourced by the owners from India, North Africa and the Middle East to replicate the aesthetic of the region.

Ornate Mashrabiyas or Shanasheels protrude into the courtyards and a feeling of serenity has a lasting effect as you work your way through the public areas and admire an art collection considered one of the finest of original South African art.

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One narrow staircase leads up to the jewel in The Orient’s crown, Restaurant Mosaic. Chantel Dartnall has been SA Chef of the Year and put Mosaic in the top ten SA restaurants but that’s not why she does what she does. Her belief in her craft and the creation of food that is simple in its complexity makes this chef a champion of fine dining in our country.

Chantel introduces herself to each table and takes you through her menu in a detail that immediately puts you in the market for the full ten courses although we chose restraint and went for the five.

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chantel’s belief in her craft and the creation of food that is simple in its complexity makes this chef a champion of fine dining in our country.

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comes with a wealth of knowledge and experience in the food and beverage department, having started his career as a sommelier at the world renowned restaurant Tour d’Argent in Paris. He was also a finalist in the Best Sommelier of the World competition. Germain lectured at the Wits Hotel School as well as the Cape Wine Acadamy. He worked in a number of top South African establishments, of which one was Lindton Hall with Richard Carstens.

This guy has the most diverse private collection of wines to look after in a

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I can in no way do her justice by telling you here what to expect, it’s something you have to experience and menu changes are seasonal. Just hope that Dancing Veils and Simply Shoots are on the menu for a sensation of garden veloute, fava bean mousse and pea shoots, and the experience of watching the maritime broth percolate into the horseradish root and send a tart note to the sweet Irish scallop.

Courses are paired in connoisseur, enthusiast or non-alcoholic pairings by sommelier Germain Lehodey who

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labyrinth of cellars and we’ll be looking at this collection and more about Germain in detail in a future issue of Prestige.

A weekend at The Orient is intended to be a quiet time away so you won’t get rugby on TV in the lobby or TV in your room for that matter, just the silence of the bush and the occasional voice or footsteps that are magnified through passages.

If you’re up for it after an innovative and daring approach to breakfast, a morning stroll or brisk walk can be had through the Francolin Conservancy within where the Orient is situated or a quiet meander through the gardens to sit

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rooms are all themed around the orient including the medieval Byzantyne aesthetic of ancient Constantinople, India’s Rajasthan and the sahara Desert cities of marrakesh and mogador.

on a bench or maybe admire the vintage Rolls-Royce motor cars or visit sculptor Tienie Prichard’s Museum and Gallery.

The original dwelling was a meandering Mediterranean homestead which is now Restaurant Mosaic and off which the palace was built. It’s difficult to imagine a Moorish theme in a wildlife area but someone had a vision to put a little bit of an unfamiliar culture on our doorstep. The definition of an oasis is “something serving as a refuge, relief, or pleasant change from what is usual” and that’s what you will get at The Orient with its people, food, ambience and sheer audacity of scale and concept.

www.the-orient.net

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ChRIS BuChanan finds new meaning in a term often glibly regurgitated to communicate good intention in the making of wine.

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Avondale is a pioneer of sustainable viticulture in the Cape winelands, with Grieve bringing together elements of organic farming, biodynamics and modern science into a unique farming philosophy dubbed BioLOGIC®.

“It’s about creating living systems naturally, using those different disciplines,” explains Grieve, a fervent believer that healthy soils produce great wines. “Soil is life. It’s as simple as that.”

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practice, eyebrows are raised as to the true intention of the ‘organic’ label and the depth to which farmers will participate in the movement.

There are many definitions of organic, the most popular being “relating to or derived from living organisms” and that is only one of the true fundamentals to organic farming as Johnathan Grieve of Avondale Wines tried to explain to predominantly wine journalists over a vertical tasting of Avondale’s Cyclus blend.

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here are number of South African wine estates plugging the word ‘organic’ into their methodology. We hear how vines are pesticide free and not subject to industrial fertilisers and how ‘organic’ farming methods are conserving and increasing biodiversity. But, like any revolutionary or out of the ordinary

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in restoring the farm’s natural ecosystems to embracing both innovative and sustainable practices in the cellar, there’s no shortage of stories to be told on Avondale. Each wine in the Avondale portfolio tells part of this remarkable journey, and Cyclus is a testament to the farm’s natural approach and the crucial role biodynamics plays in the vineyards.

Instead of synthetic chemical fertilisers, biodynamic viticulture uses nine core ‘preparations’ to feed and nurture the soil through the year.

Before being applied, these are first stirred into a vortex to create alignment and rhythm, and then reversed to create energy and chaos. This hourlong process of ‘dynamising’ using the vortex is integral to the efficacy of the preparations, and the eventual health of the vineyards. Little surprise then that the graceful curves of the vortex dominate the label of Avondale’s flagship white wine.

It’s a philosophy of Rudolf Steiner, founder of the Waldorf education

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system and biodynamics and I think went above many heads in the main area of James Diack’s Coobs restaurant in Parhurst. Grieve talked about preparations in cattle horns which are buried and then applied to the soil according to phases of the moon.

Now in its sixth vintage, Cyclus is a five-way blend built on a foundation of Viognier, balanced by equal parts Chenin Blanc and Roussanne, and rounded off with smaller portions of Chardonnay and Semillon.

Grapes are hand-harvested before pressing in the gravity-flow cellar, with the unfiltered juice fermented in 500-litre and 600-litre oak barrels for 12 months.

Crucially, only natural yeasts are used in “a warmer, more oxidative” style of winemaking, says Grieve.

“Because we only use natural yeasts it can take up to nine months for the wine to finish fermenting. It’s part of the process, and it really contributes to the character and expression of the wine.” Grieve believes that commercial

yeasts deliver one-dimensional wines.

The natural approach also sees a small portion of grapes fermented on both the skin and stalks for three months, which are then pressed and matured in both oak barrels and clay amphorae for a further nine months.

“The whole bunch pressing and the maturation in amphorae is also integral to the character and expression of the wine,” explains Grieve, adding that clay from the farm was used in casting the unique earthenware vessels. “It’s just another way for us to maximise the Avondale characteristic in the wine.”

On the nose, Cyclus is redolent of violets and peach, with a hint of frangipani blossom, while the palate delivers intense flavours of pear, apricot and fig. The integrated oak and extended lees contact offer a creamy, structured finish.

“A single varietal is the best expression of that varietal on Avondale, but a white blend like Cyclus is the best expression of the entire farm,” says Grieve. “It’s a unique expression of what Avondale is all about.”

We tasted the 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010 and 2009, vintages of Cyclus and decided on the 2011 to take us through the menu prepared by Diack whose sustainable and organic ingredients sat perfectly beside these exceptional wines.

‘Organic’ might be a buzzword in winemaking but not at Avondale. Here it’s a way of life and a philosophy that permeates the winemaking, the viticulture and the people. The motto is Terra Est Vita (soil is life) and judging

by Cyclus, life at Avondale is good.

www.avondalewine.co.za

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Competition valid until 31 August 2016. Prestige and Bisquit maintain the right to decline subscription applications.

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now you can own a bottle of bisquit xo cognac with a wolf & maiden travel bag worth r7000 by visiting www.PRESTIGEdIGITal.nET and clicking on subscribe to enter. three lucky new subscribers will be selected as winners of the bisquit xo, wolf & maiden hampers‌

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wolf & maiden and bisquit cognac have collaborated to create a limited edition range of items, perfect for those who appreciate the simplicity of design and the sophistication of superior quality. the range has been specifically produced for bisquit cognac and represents the time-honoured heritage and handcrafted technique of both brands. these beautiful leather pieces are only gifted to select members of the bisquit cognac connoisseurs society.

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cardinal and

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King

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he may be the proprietor of the legendary burgundian vineyards that make the world’s most expensive wines, but 77-year-old aubert de villaine believes that it is his responsibility to make sure his wines are enjoyed by more than just a handful of billionaires. by: janine walker

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the finer things in life.

The legendary vineyard has a tiny output when compared to Bordeaux’s Château Lafite Rothschild. However, DRC’s wines have distinct personalities, each capturing its vineyard’s individual terroir.

However, ethereal perfection doesn’t come cheap. Bottles from 2009 range in price from R11 500 to R250 000, and older years can cost thousands more, putting them among the very top of the most highly coveted, most expensive wines in the world. In late 2014, Sotheby’s sold a 114 bottle set of Romanée-Conti wine for R26.5 million, setting the record for most expensive wine lot ever sold at auction.

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ffectionately called the Cardinal of Pinot Noir, De Villaine – the proprietor at Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, the centuries-old vineyard that produces what most agree is Burgundy’s finest and rarest wine – was recently in South Africa to showcase his wines and reinforce the message that these are refined pleasures to be shared among wine connoisseurs who truly appreciate

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“I am sure that it happens (that some people drink the wine only as a status symbol), but that is why we try and control our distribution as much as we can through our own distributors in France and other people we work with throughout the world. We also try and choose the right customers so as little wine as possible is sold to those who buy it only to resell it for a profit.”

De Villaine was brought to South African by importers Great Domaines, whose goal since 2000 has been to focus on giving wine lovers in South

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Africa the opportunity to buy and drink fine wine from some of the most revered domaines in Europe.

De Villaine’s first stop was at the award-winning Restaurant Mosaic at Elandsfontein, outside Pretoria, where Chef Chantel Dartnall had spent months preparing a special menu to accompany some of his wines following a sold-out tasting.

One of those who attended was Cape Town based sommelier and wine maker Jean Vincent Ridon. “Some wine tastings make dates in history. You

have the famous Tasting of Paris on the 24 May 1976, Robert Parker’s 50th birthday on the 23 July 1997 where only 1947 grand cru were served and Mosaic’s Romanée Conti tasting on the 12 January 2016 in South Africa,” he says.

De Villaine brought with him to South Africa some of the best vintages of the last 15 years. Besides the Romanée Conti 2009 with only 6465 bottles produced, the Mosaic tasting featured the Chardonnay based Montrachet 2009, twice as rare as the Conti, and

In late 2014, Sotheby’s sold a 114 bottle set of Romanée-Conti wine for R26.5 million, setting the record for most expensive wine lot ever sold at auction. year with Unesco, the United Nations’ cultural arm, granting World Heritage site status to the “climats” of Burgundy – the 1 247 vineyards that make up the Côte de Beaune and the Côte de Nuits wine regions.

But for the man who says he works harder now than ever before (“You work more when you are older than when you were younger because you are more conscious that attention to detail is crucial”) what would be his perfect meal? “A great steak, perfect puree de pommes (mashed potatoes made similarly to those made famous by Chef Joel Robuchon) accompanied by Domaine de la Romanée-Conti La Tâche 2009.”

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also the most scarce of all, the 2000 Batard-Montrachet, which yields only one barrel a year and which is usually reserved for private use at the estate.

Ridon tried to put into words how he felt when trying the Romanée Conti 2009 described as the King of Pinot and the Pinot for Kings. “The silence in the tasting room was tangible as if everybody refrained from commenting to avoid the noise from influencing any subtleties of the wine. It was sublime, a wine with multiple layers; complexity put into a bottle.”

However, De Villaine has done more for wine lovers around the world than just carry on the legacy of the house of Romanée Conti. He led a decade-long project that culminated in July last

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cognac

remain in

light british artist, peter saville, looks to chromatography to express the personality of hennessy v.s.o.p privilège limited edition.

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he true art of Hennessy V.S.O.P Privilège lies in its inherent harmony. When it was first unveiled, in 1817, for the future King of England, later George IV, V.S.O.P was considered the expression of a perfectly balanced cognac. Nothing has changed in the nearly two centuries since that time. For seven generations, Hennessy cellar masters continuously honoured an unwavering quest for excellence and ensured that V.S.O.P Privilège always retained its unique identity.

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cognac

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In 2015, Hennessy celebrated the 250th anniversary of its legacy with a hybrid cultural event. Today, Hennessy V.S.O.P Privilège celebrates its legacy of exceptional character through its collaboration with the British art director, Peter Saville, renowned for his innate flair for colour and remarkable technique of re-contextualising data as a visual, cultural language. Throughout his career in music and design, the artist has become legendary for his artistic vision and willingness to push boundaries.

For the 2016 Hennessy V.S.O.P Privilège limited edition series, his second collaboration with Hennessy, Saville looked to the science of chromatography, a natural extension of his work for the ground-breaking “Genome” bottle (2014). The applied science of chromatography, or “colour writing”, makes it possible to break out individual components of a complex whole across the colour spectrum.

Having analysed the actual topography of Hennessy V.S.O.P Privilège as data on a chromatographic scale, Saville used his signature technique of data visualisation to transpose abstract data findings into pictorial form. In pushing his process ever further, the artist came upon a uniquely rich, visual landscape.

“This dynamic composition of elements is the interpretation of the real, scientific data within the V.S.O.P

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What one immediately observes is that there is a very constructivist connotation to the V.S.O.P blend: its material properties and its large presence both come into play.

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with copper, and a Prussian “chemical bright” blue, as Saville calls it, a colour that blends a feeling of richness with the edge of science.

As always, the V.S.O.P blend inside the 2015 V.S.O.P Privilège Limited Edition Bottle remains the unique cognac that has been enjoyed neat, on the rocks or in refined mixed drinks for nearly 200 years. Hennessy V.S.O.P Privilège blends eaux-de-vie from the four best growing areas of the Cognac region to create a well-balanced blend of richness and smoothness. The new Hennessy V.S.O.P Privilège Limited Edition bottle will be available for sale on-shelf at select retailers later this month. Each Hennessy V.S.O.P Privilège Limited Edition bottle will be marked with a number attesting to its authenticity.

In reconstructing the V.S.O.P blend’s complex topography within a virtual, graphic 3D environment, Saville

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blend. The 2015 Hennessy V.S.O.P Privilège Limited Edition shows what V.S.O.P would look like if we were able to stand inside the very structure of the cognac’s blend. What one immediately observes is that there is a very constructivist connotation to the V.S.O.P blend: its material properties and its large presence both come into play,” Saville explains.

Through Saville’s science-based artwork, the 2015 VSOP Privilège Limited Edition series reveals in architectural, emotionally resonant imagery – of colour, contrast, finish and texture — the harmony that V.S.O.P aficionados have appreciated for nearly 200 years. In reconstructing the V.S.O.P blend’s complex topography within a virtual, graphic 3D environment, Saville discovered colours informed by the distillation process: the warmth of red and orange hues, the verdigris naturally associated

discovered colours informed by the distillation process: the warmth of red and orange hues, the verdigris naturally associated with copper, and a Prussian “chemical bright” blue, as Saville calls it, a colour that blends a feeling of richness with the edge of science.

A unique, integrated voice art experience: To accompany the launch of the 2016 V.S.O.P Privilège Limited Edition’s series, Hennessy invites its fans and followers to use their voice to create a unique work of art. Inspired by the science of chromatography and the artistic renderings of Peter Saville, the Hennessy Voice Art platform captures each user’s unique personality in a voice recording, and then translates each vocal signature into a one-of-a-kind work of digital art. Once completed, users will be able to submit their entry on social networks, vote for favourites, and view V.S.O.P-based mixed drink recipes that best correspond to the tone, tempo and qualities of individual Voice Art submissions.

The 750ml bottle retails at R649.95 and is available at all major liquor outlets. For more information about the Hennessy V.S Limited Edition bottle by Peter Saville, visit www. hennessy.com. Follow Hennessy on Facebook (HennessySouthAfrica) and Instagram (@HennessySA).

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grain vs

malt a family affair. PaTRICK lEClEzIo spotlights the plight of whisky’s less favoured son.

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here are two brothers in the Whisky Family.

Malt Whisky, the eldest, is a prodigy of the highest order.

It’s clear from the start that he is both outrageously talented and wildly popular, and as a result his potential has been obsessively nurtured, to the virtual exclusion of anything or anyone else.

He is lavished with the best that the family has to offer, and, unsurprisingly, his accomplishments have been prodigious. His brother Grain Whisky also shows glimpses of great potential, and he has his own aspirations, but for the most part they’ve been swept aside. He is recognised only for what he can do to contribute to malt’s success. Ironically it’s as a team that they’ve made the most impact, but whilst grain does most of

the heavy lifting the plaudits always seem to go to malt. He basks in the glory of the applause, as his brother, unacknowledged, if not downright ignored, is relegated to watching from the wings.

This is the dynamic that plays itself out in Scotch whisky primarily (but also elsewhere), albeit in less pointedly emotive fashion. And as with any family drama worth its salt, each party has their side of the story.

Malt typically dominates the whisky conversation, but the less recognised, less understood, less appreciated grain also deserves its chance – and if you have an affinity for whisky (which of course you do!), you’ll be amply rewarded in giving grain some of your attention. I love whisky for a whole variety of reasons, large amongst them being the variety of flavour that it offers. Grain whisky may be related to its malt sibling in their common whisky brotherhood, but it is also a distinct

The most obvious difference between malt and grain whiskies is the raw ingredient or base from which each is made.

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style of its own – and it varies on perhaps the most fundamental possible basis – thereby offering an alternative, refreshing corridor of exploration, which you overlook to your detriment.

The most obvious difference between malt and grain whiskies is the raw ingredient or base from which each is made: malt from malted barley, and grain from any other cereal, although there are some caveats. Malted barley is used in many grain whiskies in small proportions to assist with fermentation, and there are some styles, single pot still comes to mind, that would defy categorisation as either malt or grain.

The grain whisky of Scotland is made primarily from wheat, but also from maize. American bourbons (the cousins of our two brothers) are effectively grain whiskies made predominantly from maize (corn in their parlance).

This base, being the core of a whisky, imparts significant differences in flavour, and even in mouthfeel, to the final spirit. In wheat based whiskies there is often a biscuity sweetness and an oily mouthfeel detectable, and in maize based whiskies a full buttery chewiness, through the other influences.

Malts and grains are produced by means of two different processes, the former through pot distillation, the latter through column distillation. The conventional wisdom is that pot stills facilitate more flavour through copper “conversation” and by distilling a less pure liquid to lower concentrations (with the impurities imparting flavour).

Column stills conversely are seen to produce lighter, cleaner spirit to higher alcoholic strengths. It is true that most grain whiskies tend to have

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I evaluated two of these recently – Compass Box’s Hedonism (a blended grain), and Bain’s Cape Mountain whisky (a single grain), both brilliant fulfilments of the grain whisky potential.

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I evaluated two of these recently – Compass Box’s Hedonism (a blended grain), and Bain’s Cape Mountain whisky (a single grain), both brilliant fulfilments of the grain whisky potential. Hedonism is a decadent delight, especially for those of us who value the typical elements of American oak ex-bourbon cask maturation.

Vanilla and coconut abound, being given free rein, with some oatmeal and honey also detectable. The advantage of a lighter, purer spirit is that it doesn’t have to fight with its casks - it simply provides the canvas, and lets the painting ensue. Bain’s, whilst still a lighter whisky in an absolute sense, is noticeably more fat and robust, with toffee nibs, a brisk hit of spice, and sweet oak prominent, the latter perhaps a factor of the double maturation, and ripe-ish fruitiness and some vanilla in the background.

There is a certain line in the whisky family which is expected to be toed: malt comes first. This is how it is – and it’s not to be disputed. The extent of his talent and the weight of momentum have created an unstoppable force. It’s exciting though that that there have been the occasional infractions, as grain has stepped out of line to express his own talent. There’s room I think for lot more of it. May the rivalry endure, and may the dram be with you.

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lighter characters than malt for this reason, but distillation is a dark art in which many things are possible, and accordingly you should be careful not to paint all grains with the same brush.

Anyone who has sampled the Nikka Coffey grain and malt whiskies would be able to testify to the richness and depth of flavour achieveable with a column still.

Perhaps the most striking deviation between the two styles is not so much in their intrinsic constitution – the ingredients and the processes just described – but in the intentions that have guided their creation and importantly their maturation. Scotch grains have been made almost exclusively for blending. As a result they are designed to be light, to “dilute” the rough edges of young malts; to be cost effective, so perhaps racked in lesser casks, and to be simple and accessible, so that the blend doesn’t detract from character of the malt. These intentions, that have inhibited grain’s ostensible ambitions for the most part, are luckily not ubiquitous. They may be in small numbers but there are grain whiskies that have been and are being produced for their own glory, and that are equivalent in class to the great malts whilst having their own unique charm and flair.

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spirits

maturing

tequila an everlasting youth. PaTRICK lEClEzIo touches base with an old friend.

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n the movie Betty Blue, there’s a memorable scene in which Zorg, one of the principal characters, mixes shots of alcohol with a carbonated beverage in a glass, which he then wraps in a napkin and pounds on the table, inducing an explosion of fizziness, before downing the mixture. It was a slammer of course, one of the many epically, vigorously festive drinks which tequila has bestowed upon us, and at the time it struck a deep chord; I had to get out there and give it a try at the soonest opportunity. And so began my tempestuous friendship with tequila. Twenty odd years later I feel that I’ve grown up (somewhat), but that tequila hasn’t – all dressed up it can look the part, but at heart it’s still stuck in its twenties, ready to tear it up given the faintest nudge. We’re still friends, we still indulge in the occasional big night (and still there’s no-one who’s more fun in these instances!), but I’m reluctant to invite tequila to an elegant adult gathering for fear of intimidating my other friends or for risk of trashing the event? Its illustrious, outrageous exploits may just have pigeonholed it for life.

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The success of tequila is hinged in my opinion on three factors. First of all, the incipience of the mythical “tequila buzz”, a widely believed-in phenomenon despite having with no scientific basis –alcohol is alcohol, differing only in flavour so this can only be explained psychosomatically, as a self-fulfilling prophecy - has been a powerful influence on the cult of the drink. Second of all, tequila has cornered the market on ritualised drinking. Shots with lemon, lime and salt, body shots, shots with oranges segments, “no hands no faces”, slammers, and all manner of other

customised practices – I’ve participated in some involving raw eggs and physical abuse (don’t ask). These all form a largely universal party language that everyone wants to speak and can only be understood with tequila. Last of all, tequila is the base of one of the world’s most popular cocktail: the margarita, an incredibly tasty, versatile drink, made with tequila, lime juice, triple sec and salt, that seems to suit just about every moment - lunch, dinner, smart, casual and everything in between.

These forces have propelled tequila into our consciousness, where it lives a large but limited life. It is a party

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I’m not sure though that I want my friend tequila to change though. In fact I think I need this friend to stay true to what I know it to be as a connection to that part of myself that might otherwise get lost.

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drink, a carousing, revelling, raucous, rioting drink. Yet, the older tequila, that friend who never quite grew up, has all the potential, the proven potential, to be a responsible, sophisticated member of society. Tequila is made using the heart of the blue agave plant, an unusual medium for alcohol, which tends to be made from grains or fruits, and then distilled primarily in alembic stills made from copper or with copper components.

There are five basic types of tequila: Blanco, unmatured or minimally matured tequila – which is mostly used for margaritas; Gold, effectively

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There’s a uniqueness to it that you just won’t come close to finding with any other spirit. My second outing was with Patron Anejo – from the cleverly crafted range Patron Spirits, which you may or may not know was founded by shampoo-guy Paul Mitchell. Yes, you can sip it. You can see that this is the direction in which it’s going.

The richness and mellowness of the cask maturation is apparent, but I still found myself shooting it, albeit without the need for any kind of fruit to follow. The Anejo is still a bit on the young side, but it shows enough to validate tequila’s claim to the status of fine spirit. Habits are habits though, and this is the nub of it: whilst the fundamentals may be in place the perception will take longer to shift.

Given enough time you can reinvent yourself. I’m not sure though that I want my friend tequila to change though. In fact I think I need this friend to stay true to what I know it to be as a connection to that part of myself that might otherwise get lost. We may not hang out as often as we used to but it’s good to know that we can if we want to. Everyone has to have a friend like tequila. Adios for now amigos.

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Blanco with some colouring, the stuff that created the legend; Reposado, aged a minimum of two months (in oak barrels); Anejo, aged a minimum of a year (in small oak barrels), and Extra Anejo, aged a minimum of three years.

These latter categories, the Extra in particular (added in 2006 for this very purpose), are the face of respectable tequila. The guy who has trimmed his hair, put on a good suit, and gets to work on time in the morning, and whose rough edges have been smoothed away (in multiple senses). I like him, I like that he’s trying, I can’t fault his efforts, but somehow I just can’t take him seriously enough in this alternative guise.

I recently took two tequilas out for a spin. I relived some youthful moments with Sauza Blanco, a couple of slammers for old time’s sake, and a margarita, to which I’m still partial. This is the tequila I know and love. There’s a certain magic to the flavour, general to tequila, and faithfully represented by the Sauza – it’s repulsively attractive on its own (after you get to know it better), and outright delicious in thoughtful combinations, as in a margarita.

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baglietto has launched the baglietto 46 m, hull #10221, marking the birth of the la speziabased boat builder’s new fast line. this vessel - an evolution of previous models, but also ensuring continuity with the brand’s tradition - is the result of baglietto’s cooperation with francesco paszkowski design.

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he launch ceremony took place at sunset at the Baglietto shipyard at the presence of the Baglietto top management and workforce as well as local authorities as the Major of La Spezia Massimo Federici, the President of Confindustria La Spezia Francesca Cozzani, the President of the Port Authority Lorenzo Forceri.

Following in the wake of the sleek aluminium planing yachts that have made the brand’s success all over the world, the new 46 m FAST stands out for its streamlined bow and rakish lines expressing a strong personality, but also boasts an imposing stern with hawses, thereby maintaining the family feeling of previous Baglietto yachts. The trapeze-shaped windows in the hull alternate with rectangular ones arranged on two different levels, enhancing the slender shape of the hull and giving a more contemporary touch to the yacht's outer profile. Another new element characterising the exterior lines is the compact shape of the superstructure, which enhances aerodynamic penetration.

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The aft area of the upper deck is like a huge open terrace overlooking the sea: featuring teak floors and it can be furnished with a large table and a spacious sunbathing area.

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When designing this new vessel, great care was also taken to maximising the outdoor areas, so as to allow passengers to be in closer contact with the sea when both cruising and at anchor, and to enjoy the open air. The aft area of the upper deck is like a huge open terrace overlooking the sea: featuring teak floors and it can be furnished with a large table and a spacious sunbathing area.

Fitting-out operations are now about to be completed in the interiors, which have once more been pencilled by Design firm Paszkowski and architect Margherita Casprini and stand out for incredibly spacious volumes for a planing vessel of this size.

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The warm shades of rosewood alternate with the colder white lacquered ceiling and side panels, resulting in very refined, contemporary, stylish interiors. The traditional layout offers four en suite guest cabins on the lower deck, and the master suite - featuring an office, a dressing room, and the bathroom - on the main deck.

The upper deck is large enough to host a comfortable salon with lounge area, the captain’s cabin, and the helm station, while the crew quarters, on the lower deck, include four twin cabins plus a single cabin and the dinette.

The yacht, entirely built in aluminium, will be pushed to a maximum speed of approximately 28 knots by twin MTU 16V4000 engines. It is classified with Lloyd's Register of Shipping and compliant to MCA standards.

The Baglietto 46m Fast will be a worldwide premier at the next Cannes and Monaco Boat Shows.

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he long awaited replacement to the legendary 1M has finally arrived and us South Africans were treated to some very special track day with it at the L’Ormarin’s Wine Estate in Franschhoek. As an avid car enthusiast, some might say car fanatic, I relished the opportunity to try out this baby monster around the track, under the guidance of Bruno Spengler, the BMW DTM official driver.

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However, it’s around a track with its superb handling and drivability that the M2 comes into its own.

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The car in the flesh is impressive to say the least. Ostensibly targeted at an individual that cannot yet get into the mainstream M3 sedan or M4 coupe, however the M2 already has carved out its own niche as a purist’s car, one destined to be owned by those, irrespective of wealth or social standing, who is truly looking for sheer driving pleasure. Rumours abound that the first versions of the car were so good that BMW had to de-tune the vehicle so that it didn’t compete with its larger siblings. Given the performance that we were able to glean from this vehicle at the track, it

is pretty darned close.

The M2 is fitted with a 3-litre in-line 6 cylinder with a turbocharger achieving 272 kW and 500 NM of torque, making it no slouch in the least as it claims a 0-100 kph sprint in 4.5s, slightly slower than the Mercedes A45 AMG and equivalent Audi S3.

However, it’s around a track with its superb handling and drivability that the M2 comes into its own, being a rear-wheel drive, the power provides for generous involvement of the driver and is responsive even on the DCT version, though a manual is available for the truly faithful. I didn’t mind the

paddle shifter at all, as it would make handling traffic a little easier.

Around the track, there is a different driving style that had to be employed to take advantage of the braking and lower body weight on such a short track. The M2 comes into its own with focus and helping the driver engage and experience the handling with confidence without too much intervention of electronics.

There is already a long waiting list on this vehicle though thankfully many more owners will get to experience this vehicle. BMW has confirmed that they will not restrict units as they had done with the 1M. The entry model starts of at just over R800 000 with a fully specified one not far off from a million.

BMW applied their minds on the price points so that they are reasonably in line with similar competitors and do not steer sales away from the larger models. The long waiting list vindicates this decision.

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VIVIEn naTaSEn takes the new mercedes benz gls into the bush…

ercedes Benz has been busy recently, launching model after model in the hopes of being able to provide a vehicle for almost every taste and application. Whilst the whole market eagerly awaits the new E-Class and the range of drop tops later this year, they sprung on us the new GLS. This vehicle technically though is not new – it replaces the GL. Under Mercedes Benz’s new nomenclature program, this means that the GL becomes the GLS in line with the model derivatives of the marque’s A, B, C, E and S models, which in turn explains why they refer to it as the S-Class of SUV’s.

Mercedes Benz chose Mpumalanga with its decent and sometimes unintended mix of great driving roads, some neglected ones to test the robustness of some vehicles and to add some excitement, a makeshift off-road track in a quarry on Kapama Private Game Reserve to showcase the vehicle’s extraordinary off road credentials. Given that the last launch of off-roaders was done in Namibia, where all the vehicles, even the lowly GLC (C-Class SUV) performed admirably against its higher riding bigger brothers, the GLS had its work cut out.

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The ride control in relatively difficult terrain was superb and I was most impressed with its tight turning circle despite its size and length, easily manoeuvring around obstacles set before it.

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Our experience commenced with a unique launch set in Nelspruit (or Mbombela) on the banks of a trout dam with the three GLS derivatives being the 350 diesel, the GLS500 (petrol) and the flagship GLS 63 AMG. My driving partner and I were lucky to secure the metallic red GLS 63 AMG clad in a devilish red. I think just the colour translated into energy in my right foot. The vehicle is easily able to handle high speeds through the passes and is significantly larger in dimension to the GLE so the extra length reflects in its poise against its smaller sibling.

I guess though that the intended client of this vehicle is not as frisky and speed hungry as the GLE 63 owner, so the top end is unlikely to be tested.

The GLS is fitted with the well proven 5.5 litre V8 with decent torque with minor tweaking to accommodate its bulk and the possibility of towing whilst still achieving a 0-100 kph sprint in a claimed 4.6s. Fuel efficiency is claimed at just over 12 litres per 100 kilometres though we struggled to come anywhere close to that with heavy feet.

The next vehicle we experienced was the GLS 350d. To me, this was the pick of the bunch as a practical work-horse for the school run without breaking the bank, having to tow a fuel bowser behind the car. Delivering 190

kW off a three litre V6 diesel plant, it is well capable of holding its own against similar specified competitors.

Most important, it boasts a claimed consumption of 7.1 litres per 100 km on a combined cycle which is a great achievement for its weight.

I enjoyed driving the GLS 350d and the GLS 500 on the gravel paths and on the off road course that was set.

These were fitted with the optional off road packages that elevate the ride heights significantly through the air suspension. The ride control in relatively difficult terrain was superb and I was most impressed with its tight turning circle despite its size and length, easily manoeuvring around obstacles set before it. The various tools to manage ascent and descent made even inexperienced drivers of off road look good which will tempt many urban dwellers to seek more off road

The vehicle is easily able to handle high speeds through the passes and is significantly larger in dimension to the GLE so the extra length reflects in its poise against its smaller siblin. applications for their tanks.

The GLS comes standard as a seven-seater vehicle and the marketing team was at pains to point out that a tall person could easily fit into the last row. We actually tested that and can confirm that it is true. There were a few interesting quirks which I really liked about the GLS, some of which being the electrically operated tow bar

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(from both the tail gate and from the driver’s door) and the electronically controlled releases for the second row of seats to access the rear row.

My only real criticism of the GLS, like with the GLE, it appears that the SUV’s are a “generation behind” on the fascia layouts, electronics and controls. These need to be modernised when compared with the competitors from the other German marques and now with emerging entrants into the SUV space from Jaguar, Bentley, Lamborghini and Maserati. I wish that they had drawn more from the superb layouts and fixtures in the S-class to truly make it the S Class of SUV’s. The real clients who would purchase this vehicle will barely climb a pavement outside a school let alone tackle serious off-road challenges.

Overall conclusion though is that the GLS is a vast improvement over its predecessor GL. The lesser derivatives make ideal weekend getaway vehicles to pack in everything bar the kitchen sink and head out into the wilderness for a bit of clean air and open space.

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mercedes benz has added the coupe to its c-class offering and CaRly BaIlEy-naTaSEn gave it a whirl.

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riving through the lush passes of George, which form part of the Garden Route in South Africa, I felt grateful that I am in a 2.0 litre engine that can not only get me safely around the bends, but gives me enough power to get over the hills and through the valleys. I have a new found respect for the pioneers and ox wagon drivers that had to navigate these passes in the mid-1880s without any inkling for what dangers lay ahead. The Garden Route is known for its immaculate beaches, indigenous forests and pristine landscapes, so driving between the Indian Ocean and the majestic Outeniqua Mountains I am privileged to be in an age where technology and torque do a lot of the work for me and I could just sit back and enjoy the ride and the beautiful scenery.

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These bends remind me of the GT roads in the South of France where you need a safe, comfortable drive, but also have on tap the speed to get you from town to town. The raunchy AMG63 version (with a 4.0 litre twin turbo V8 under the hood) would be the perfect car to hire when you are on a beach holiday in St Tropez and you are used to a powerful car back home.

It sits closer to the road than many of its rivals since it achieves a drag coefficient of 0.26, which is the same as an aeroplane’s wing and flies around corners with this lower centre of gravity without the occupants feeling at risk.

The fact that it is rear-wheel drive with a slight under steer makes the corners even more manageable.

The C-coupe has a certain poise that looks amazing from all angles, especially the lines that resemble a proper grand tourer super car and this is probably since it takes most of its features after the S-Class Coupe – specifically the steep sloping lines at the rear. Compared to its predecessor, the 2016 model is wider and longer which adds to its aggression and sportiness - the bonnet is a whole 60mm longer! The C300 and C63 have wider rear axles that enhance their PRESTIGE: in the lap of luxury

stances dramatically. Beside the fact that it has this sportier look, especially compared to the sedan, it is also a whole 0.2 seconds faster.

Our C300 was equipped with an optional sport exhaust system that gave the engine a more resonant tone.

With the dynamic select you press one button on the centre console, the Sport+ mode, and the exhaust makes a racket that is unmistakable. When you opt for the diesel option though, the exact opposite applies. There is almost no noise or vibration that normally pervades diesel vehicles and given the fuel efficiency claimed by Mercedes Benz, this is bound to attract customers who do a lot of mileage.

Back to the petrol derivatives, the bulkier look and boisterous exhaust makes it exude sportiness, yet when you step inside you have the comfort of what you would expect from a Mercedes-Benz – soft leather and soft to the touch buttons and switches. The look is very refined, that makes it a very elegant and pleasurable setting.

The interior is classy with a simple design and clear controls - fitted with the latest multi-media features and internet connectivity. We are eagerly looking forward to the Mercedes

The raunchy AMG63 version would be the perfect car to hire when you are on a beach holiday in St Tropez and you are used to a powerful car back home.

Connect Me app which is not yet available in South Africa, but will bring a whole lot more convenience to our lifestyles when introduced.

Our test vehicle was fitted with several Driver’s Assist functions, one of which was the Automatic Collision Prevention that intervenes before impact and automatically does the braking for you. What a lovely safe car for a lady that is not scared to put her foot down, yet knows she is confident enough with all the safety systems backing her up. This is for the type of girl who enjoys speed, especially the C300, which is not as aggressive as the C63. The legroom is a bit limited, so maybe this is a weekend car, or meet the girls out for lunch while the SUV is parked at home. Two small kids can easily fit in the back though.

South Africa will get 4 different models. The C200 starts at 135kW/300Nm for power and torque, rising to 180kW/370Nm for the C300, 150kW/500Nm for the C250d and the AMG63 at 375kW/700Nm. If you are looking for a weekend tourer and rarely have need for the use of the rear seats, the C Class coupe is a great option to consider or better yet hang in there for the soon to be launched C-Class cabriolet!

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the thing with italian icons is that they preserve such heritage and are the brands that set the test in any industry from fashion to motoring. two of these icons have launched a collaboration and ChRIS BuChanan went weak at the knees.

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Apparently there are 200 million motor cycles, including mopeds and motor scooters, in use worldwide and they are the preferred mode of transport in many developing countries, particularly in urban areas in south-east Asia.

They’re inexpensive to run and to own but they’ve never really caught on as everyday transport in South Africa and the majority of those that we see on campuses and in parking lots are questionable in quality and longevity.

I ride a 40 year-old Vespa 150 Sprint V that still has the original motor and carburettor and runs me around the neighbourhood and occasionally to work and back when there’s no threat of an afternoon thunderstorm.

We travel fairly large distances in Johannesburg, so a 150cc old timer might be ok for a short commute – work is only 7.5kms away – but Fourways to Rosebank is hard work with dodgy brakes, a stiff clutch and clunky gearbox.

It leads to the question asked by a typical scooter customer when they enter the Vespa showroom and express interest in an available model, “why are they so expensive? I can buy a scooter for a fraction of the price”. And so you could, and

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Vespa MD Andy Reid agrees but let’s go back to the opening sentence of the previous paragraph………

Reid’s philosophy with this iconic brand is to get people onto the bike, confident that a serious buyer will make that extra financial commitment when they compare the experience with another bike that’s one sixth of the price. Vespa is the superbike of the below 500cc two-wheeler family, solidly built with a steel monocoque frame, ABS braking systems, fully electronic ignition, four stroke single cylinder motor and a CVT (continuously variable transmission).

The models available in our market are the PX 150 Original, the 150 Primavera 3V which is the urban workhorse of the brand, the GTS 300 Super and the GTS 300 Super Sport, both capable of any commutable distance Johannesburg might throw at you including stints on the freeways with the ability to cruise at 120 kmh+, and now the Vespa 946 Emporio Armani.

The 946 was designed to be the ultimate inner city runaround and celebrate the year in which Vespa first took to the streets – 1946 – as an Italian design icon. So to celebrate 130 years of the Piaggio Group and the 40th year of another Italian design icon Giorgio Armani, the Emporio Armani 946 was conceived, merging Vespa’s innovation with Armani’s aesthetic.

“You can have it in any colour, as long as it’s charcoal with green detail”.

Armani inspired design elements are in the detail and badging, with hand stitched leather hand grips, saddle and accessories, and to quote an American motoring pioneer, “you can have it in any colour, as long as it’s charcoal with green detail”.

It’s a striking motorcycle that shouts “metrosexual” and puts you in a league of the ultimate designer accessory to co-ordinate with your designer shoes, suit, shades and carry bag. Hell, you

wouldn’t want to ride this baby in shorts and a t-shirt unless they were tailored board shorts or Vilebrequin trunks with a G-Star Raw shirt. And adding to the must-have in the collection of any biking enthusiast is the fact that each Vespa 946 Emporio Armani is an individually numbered, exclusive limited edition, not to mention the coolest bike in any designated motorcycle parking area.

Because the 946 was designed with the inner city in mind, the 125cc four stroke motor might seem a little underdone but the technology behind the bike puts it comfortably in the short to medium commute – in JHB Parkview to Sandton, in CT Claremont to the city, and in DBN Berea to Umhlanga – as long as there’s not too much sustained motorway driving at 120kph. It will stay ahead of the traffic, lights to lights, and give you the edge when things are gridlocked and everybody you pass will second glance or stop and Instagram when walking past in a parking lot.

But maybe you just want to keep it for special occasions and ride it when you’re in a good mood on weekends because it’s special and there’s a good chance that in 40 years you will have an old timer with a clunky gearbox that gets you around the neighbourhood.

Only this one will be charcoal and have the original leather and motor and a badge that says Vespa 946 Emporio Armani.

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smart choice

the whole idea about living an urban lifestyle is to make it as easy, quick and effortless as possible. with a coffee shop around every corner and your offices within a stone’s throw from your home, parking in the city becomes an impossible task. and with compact living, sometimes compact size is the only way around.

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he Smart Fortwo’s and Forfour’s mission is to fit into the urban dweller’s manic lifestyle. With its manoeuvrability and its compact shape it makes driving in the city more practical and nimble. It can easily turn around within the width of two traffic lanes, since the Fortwo’s wheelbase is 1.85m with short overhangs that contribute to the tight turning circle.

It has been seven years since Smart last brought out a model and they have largely become unnoticed on our roads.

Getting into this new model now, I was actually reminded how spacious it feels on the inside. It is a very pleasant surprise with the enormous windshield, high seating and plenty headroom that creates an illusion of generous space and you soon forget how small the car is, in that it cocoons you in a comfortable shell – perfect for urban mobility.

Smart car is a trendy lifestyle choice since it sits in a price bracket where you can buy a larger vehicle for less money.

However, once you are a Smart Car driver (My first car was a ForFour when I was 18 years old) you become part of a cult. It is hard not to set a trend with its funky multi-colour body and design elements. It reminds me of my Jack

Russell, two toned, full of life, confident (forgets her own size) and ready to take on the world no matter how big the challenge.

If practicality is a material factor in your thinking, I would still stay with the Smart Forfour, which is the four-seater and just gives you that little extra space

It is hard not to set a trend with its funky multi-colour body and design elements.

Technical summary:

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Engine: 1L 3-cylinder engine with 5-speed manual producing 52kW or 0.9L Turbo charged paired with a 6 speed dual clutch transmission (on the ForFour Model only) 4 Trim levels – Base, Prime, Passion and Proxy

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to play with. The seats can completely fold away and you will be surprised at how much you can fit in this stylish little car, especially as a university student.

The Smart car might be diminutive in its outer appearance but I would not underestimate the safety features and comfort levels that have been packed into it. Features such “Crosswind Assist” support the driver when there is buffeting wind pressures and, in the event of impact, the high tech composite metals and plastics absorb impact for minimal deformation and for the safety of occupants.

Mercedes Benz has persevered with the Smart car despite criticisms that it may not have the practicality needs for space and distance travelled in Africa, specifically South Africa. With the rapid urbanisation of the population and ever increasing number of vehicles on the roads, this may soon change and their gamble may be paying off soon in the larger metropolitan cities.

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digit-all revolution, or is it evolution!

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he Matrix, Tron and all the sci-fi horrors come in to haunt print media.

We have all dreamt of it, that horror movie where science takes over humanity! The digital revolution that pervades our lives today has embedded itself in every aspect of existence, be it to communicate, obtain instantaneous information at our finger tips or just to socialise. With this amount of availability of information and the consequent influence on the buying habits of consumers, brands are scrambling to get to grips with this phenomenon. There are many industry experts and “experts” emerging to lay claim to this magic recipe of Digital Marketing. Even traditional newspapers are faced with a crisis as traditional journalists are technically being replaced by a person with a cellular telephone in the right place at the right time. With the advent of social media and rapidly improving data connectivity, by the time the newspaper reaches the stand, many of the headline stories are already old news.

The reason why I wanted to chat about this topic is two-fold. Firstly, because many agencies are telling publications that they are not devoting any further or are reducing spend on printed media in favour of digital.

Secondly, it is important to grasp and comprehend the factors that influence the buying decision of consumers of many brands. That being said, it is also important to ensure that the brands/ corporate understand these and not merely rely on the whims and fancies of some of the agencies that advise them.

So how do we get to grips with this current scenario? In many encounters recently I tasked the Prestige team

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to ask the client or agency to define what digital really means to them. The responses that came in showed a wide diaspora of understanding and different strategies that various brands have pinned their hopes on to attract and maintain market share.

For me, who sits as a CEO of a brand also sometimes facing the other side of the coin in deciding on where to place marketing spend, I constantly am reminding myself of that.

Marketing is defined as the systematic planning, implementation and control of business activities to bring together buyers and sellers.

How does this work in a digital environment? To me, it should entail verification that the buyer (or digital audience) is in fact the buyer of the product or service through some kind of reliable mechanism. Many agencies and brands have bandied about the concept of digital but few have yet to crack a recipe that works properly.

Merely throwing marketing spend at a digital platform will not yield the results unless there is a well thought out plan that accesses the right markets in the right way. I have also noted that some brands prefer to be portrayed in some conversational way as opposed to a hard and pushy sell, through some sort of ambassador, and that this trend appears to be on the rise.

The lonesome grand-daddy of print though appears to be on a steep decline.

Although we have made a conscious decision as Prestige to continue our print run and we have developed sustainable methods to maintain it, we do not have the luxury of ignoring digital. The revolution is here to stay and the rules have changed so it’s a case of taking the heat and applying more fire, or getting out of the kitchen. At least the trees are thankful… or are they really?

Vivien Natasen

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R E C O R D I N G O LYM P I C D R E A M S S I N C E 1 9 3 2 An Olympic medal is the ultimate sporting dream. A lifetime of dedication can be transformed into gold in less than a heartbeat. This summer in Rio, OMEGA’s team of timekeepers will measure the fractions of a second that determine the medal hopes of the world’s best athletes, including Chad Le Clos. We will be beside every pitch, pool and track to record their achievements as they aim to fulfill their dreams.