Brummell Winter 2015

Winter 2015

Sharing the fruits Giving as good as you get • Changing the world for the better • Horology goes blue in the face Accessories to gift and to keep • McLaren’s new entry-level sports car • Luxury skiing, Italian style

Breguet, the innovator.

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Welcome to Brummell This issue finds us in seasonal good cheer, and exploring the idea of giving. Taking the idea of philanthropy to heart, our columnist David Charters proposes that financial institutions should devote a fixed percentage of income to charitable causes, or – like livery companies – adopt schools, hospitals or non-profit concerns, or units of the armed forces to help support the wounded, perhaps even thoughtfully establish scholarships at universities, so future world leaders would be associated with the firm’s name.

We talk to one former City employee who literally walked the walk, leaving Goldman Sachs in the middle of the financial crisis of 2008 to set up a charity. The entrepreneurial Carolina Gonzalez-Bunster co-founded the Walkabout Foundation with her brother Luis, who was paralysed at the age of 18. It funds research to find a cure for paralysis and, at the same time,

donates individually adapted wheelchairs to those who need them most: some 59 million children and adults in developing countries worldwide.

In travel mode, we journey to the Okavango Delta in Botswana with Yann Arthus-Bertrand, legendary aerial photographer, film director and president of the GoodPlanet Foundation, who is producing a series of documentaries about Earth to draw attention to the environmental endgame facing the planet. His latest, Terra, will be available to watch on YouTube in the new year Elsewhere, we admire new blue-faced watches with horological heft; report on the luxurious allure of Italian skiing; and source stylish accessories gifts that are guaranteed to be gratefully received.

As the year draws to a close, we hope Brummell brings you tidings of comfort and stars of wonder.

Joanne Glasbey, Editor

CALIBER RM 011

FLYBACK CHRONOGRAPH YELLOW FLASH

Automatic winding chronograph movement Power reserve : circa 55 hours Annual calendar 12-hour totalizer 60-minute countdown timer Chronograph flyback function Grade 5 titanium baseplate and bridges Rotor with ceramic ball bearings Special tungsten-colbolt alloy rotor weight 6-positional, variable rotor geometry With 18-carat white gold wings Balance wheel in Glucydur with 3 arms Frequency : 28 800 vph (4Hz) Moment of inertia : 4.8 mg.cm2 Case in TZP Ceramic with caseband in NTPT速 Carbon Finished and polished by hand Limited edition of 50 pieces

Contents • Brummell

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Cover illustration: Edward Carvalho-Monaghan 17 Show Media Brummell editorial 020 3222 0101 — Editor Joanne Glasbey Senior Art Director Dominic Murray-Bell Managing Editor Lucy Teasdale Chief Copy Editor Eirwen Oxley Green Deputy Chief Copy Editor Gill Wing Art Director Jo Murray-Bell Picture Director Juliette Hedoin Picture Editor Amy Wiggin Editorial Assistant Jemima Wilson Copy Editors Nicky Gyopari, Tanya Jackson, Clare O’Dwyer, Katie Wyartt Creative Director Ian Pendleton Managing Director Peter Howarth — Advertising & Events Director Duncan McRae duncan@flyingcoloursmarketing.com 07816 218059 — showmedialondon.com brummell@showmedialondon.com — Visit Brummell’s website for more tailor-made content: brummellmagazine.co.uk @BrummellMag

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Foreword It’s time financial institutions devoted a fixed percentage of income to charitable causes, suggests David Charters Money no object McLaren’s first ‘entry-level’ sports car, engineered to be fun at modest speeds BEAUMONDE News Tailor-made bicycles; signature-style fountain pens; vintage-inspired leather bags; timepieces commemorating the Battle of Britain; Bath’s newest luxury spa Photography Marilyn Monroe was one of the most photographed celebrities – a new exhibition reveals more unseen images of the star Skiing Avanti! We guide you to luxury skiing, Italian style, with gourmet recommendations Audio Sennheiser’s headphones: the pinnacle of audio accomplishment – at a price After the City Why Carolina Gonzalez-Bunster left Goldman Sachs to set up a charity Documentary The GoodPlanet Foundation’s Yann Arthus-Bertrand on his new eco-film

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STYLE Jewellery Cool modern lines and crisp gemstones take inspiration from Art Deco designs Men’s accessories Covetable pieces that are guaranteed to be most enthusiastically received Men’s watches Showcasing watchmaking’s latest trend: horological bolts from the blue FEATURES Chinese Business Leaders Awards 2015 Identifying the movers, shakers and makers in the UK’s Chinese business community Fencing Learn how to parry and thrust – it could prove useful in the office Innovation Legendary Italian motoring marque Bugatti launches its custom clothing service EPICURE News The new app for tables at the best places; notable openings; and the season’s spirits Need to know Graff gives back via FACET to the countries in which its diamonds are sourced

Colour proofing by Rhapsody, rhapsodymedia.co.uk. Printed by Pureprint Group, pureprint.com Brummell is published by Show Media Ltd. All material © Show Media Ltd. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is strictly prohibited.

While every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in this publication, no responsibility can be accepted for any errors or omissions.

The information contained in this publication is correct at the time of going to press. £5 (where sold). Reader offers are the responsibility of the organisation making the offer – Show Media accepts no liability regarding offers.

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The sky’s the limit

Foreword • Brummell

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A new year presents an opportunity for investment banking to take a central role in making the world a better place for all

Words: David Charters Illustration: Brett Ryder

Another year almost gone, another mile on the clock. It is that time of year for taking stock.

Has it been a success? Well, it depends what you measure. Financially, most of us will end the year wealthier than when it began. The exceptions are those who lost their jobs as the industry contracted. More will follow them next year.

Our industry may not be in overdrive, but it is surviving and, after a fashion, prospering. It helps that politicians and regulators seem to be giving us fewer kickings than they were. Regulation is ever more burdensome and intrusive, and most revenue generators feel as if they go into battle carrying a legal and compliance person on their back. But at least we are still fighting.

The question, inevitably, is what are we fighting for? Of course we still focus on paying the mortgage and the school fees, and enjoying little extras like the place in the country. But the fact is that investment banking has seen its glory days in terms of pay. This year, think tank New Financial told us that pay in investment management had overtaken pay in investment banking.

What else are we fighting for? We represent an industry in dire need of reputational rehabilitation, yet we tinker round the edges when it comes to changing our standing.

I used to believe that whatever the question, the answer was usually lunch. If someone is being difficult, engage with them, entertain them, charm and disarm them. Reluctantly I’ve come to the view that a more substantive response is needed.

As an industry we will be judged not by what we say, but by what we do. And to win back the regard of our fellow citizens, we need to shine.

We can do so in various ways – little things like paying taxes, or more important ones such as not

We represent an industry in dire need of reputational rehabilitation, yet we tinker round the edges

rigging markets, lying or laundering money for Mexican drug cartels. The lack of bad news for a decent period would in itself be hugely helpful.

But more than that, we need to stand out as clearly contributing to the greater good. We have accepted that we have to shoulder an additional supervisory and regulatory burden in the way we do business. We brought it on ourselves and there is no point complaining. We should also accept that before we skim off the returns we seek for ourselves and our shareholders, we must shoulder an additional burden, whereby we make use of not just our financial resources and expertise but also ourselves in terms of time, to make a difference in areas where society is struggling.

Everywhere we look, the government is cutting back and new ways are having to be found to provide services. Philanthropy is as essential as it has ever been, whether individual or corporate – not just to plug the gaps but to make things better.

So let’s be ambitious. Imagine if every financial institution as a matter of course had its equivalent of the Lloyds TSB Foundation, taking a fixed percentage of income and devoting it to charitable causes. Or, like the livery companies, if every business adopted particular charities to support, or schools, hospitals, or injured members of the

armed forces. Then imagine the competitive spirit of City firms, who all want to be the biggest, best, first or fastest. So your firm has opened an academy school? Big deal – we have six, and a children’s hospital. What – you don’t have an air ambulance? I thought everyone had one of those.

The greatest innovations do not always require the biggest wallets, but rather the greatest thought and care. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s Chevening scholarships bring a future generation of leaders from all over the world to study in British universities. Chevening scholars have an identity and a pride in their achievement.

Imagine how good our people would feel if they were, say, Goldman Sachs or Morgan Stanley scholars and the name of their firm was attached to generations of global leaders.

Imagine also the smile of the CEO at the AGM. Why are we doing this? Because it’s the right thing to do. Of course it has an impact on distributions, whether as dividends or through the bonus pool, but it makes a statement about us as an institution that goes beyond those things.

There will be those who disagree. The business of business is making money, legally, ethically and over the long term, not changing the world.

Yet we already did change the world, quite dramatically for the worse, back in 2008, and were bailed out by people who can only dream of the kind of bonuses we complain about. So in the world of business we are a special case. Wouldn’t it be nice if in 2016 we decided to show the world just how special we can be? ● The Ego’s Nest by David Charters, the fifth novel in the series about City anti-hero Dave Hart, is published by Elliott & Thompson, £6.99

Brummell

McLaren’s first entry-level sports car offers intuitive handling as well as the capacity for phenomenal bursts of speed

Words: Peter Howarth

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‘With the 570S, McLaren’s tried to go for the typical British sports car, which is not necessarily the one that’s the fastest in a straight line or that has the most down-force or grip. It usually has lots of personality: it dances around and is engaging and driver-focused.’ So says driver Euan Hankey, who’s just scared me more than a little on a test track, where I was his passenger in the new launch.

This striking motor starts at a mere £143,250, and the company is assiduously particular about its nomenclature. It is part of its new Sports Series, which has, frankly, been developed to give the British engineering firm an entry-level model that can compete with top-end Audis, Aston Martins and Ferraris. This is important, given that McLaren is probably best known for its F1 activity and the supercar its racing heritage spawned: the P1, an astonishing performance vehicle that has a price tag of £866,000, but which, with a few bits of customisation, can easily come in at around £1m.

The new 570S has been conceived as a different proposition: a road car that a driver could run out every day – to work, to the shops – at 30mph.

It’s engineered to be a lot of fun at modest speeds.

That is why McLaren insists this is a sports car, not a supercar, despite its all-aluminium 3.8-litre V8 engine with twin-turbocharged technology, its top speed of 204mph and the fact it will do 0-60 in 3.1 seconds. It is indeed a lovely 21st-century incarnation of a British sports car, and it puts a smile on your face. Even at 30mph. cars.mclaren.com

BR-X1 THE HYPERSONIC CHRONOGRAPH The BR-X1 is the perfect synthesis of Bell & Ross’s expertise in the world of aviation watches and master watchmaking: an instrument with an innovative design, produced in a limited edition of only 250 pieces. The rose gold case of the BR-X1 is protected by a high-tech ceramic bezel with a rubber strap. Ergonomic and innovative, the push buttons allow the chronograph functions to be used easily and efficiently. Sophisticated and reliable, the skeleton chronograph movement of the BR-X1 is truly exceptional and combines haute horlogerie finishes with extreme lightness. Ref. BR-X1 Skeleton Chronograph - Rose Gold & Ceramic.

BELL & ROSS LONDON BOUTIQUE Units 48-49 Burlington Arcade – London – W1J 0QJ +44 (0)207 629 6464 | e-Boutique: www.bellross.com

Beaumonde A bike made for carrying; a new watch emporium; aid for airmen; and a hotel room with a unique water supply

The wheel deal ← If you cycle to work, chances are your bike spends a lot of the day either chained to a lamppost or being lugged around. To make carrying it more comfortable, without compromising on style, London independent cycle manufacturer Freddie Grubb has collaborated with Glasgow-based design studio Instrmnt on an elegant city bike with a leather top-tube protector that acts as an all-in-one chip guard, carry grip and shoulder pad.

The bike also features some advanced technical components tailor-made for cycling in town, including an internal Automatix two-speed gear hub and an SRAM coaster brake. £990; freddiegrubb.com

Don’t toe the line Socks don’t have to be dull, and wearing a colourful pair is a great way to add style to otherwise boring work attire. The London Sock Company is a purveyor of socks to suit all personalities, knitted in luxurious Scottish lisle-thread cotton. Its Pull Your Socks Up campaign supports charities such as Style For Soldiers, the House of St Barnabus and Fashion Targets Breast Cancer. londonsockcompany.com

Pretty faces ↑ Luxury watch brand Longines’ timepieces can be described as the epitome of elegance, and its innately chic brand ambassador, Kate Winslet, recently opened the new Longines boutique on Oxford Street, bringing together all the classic collections in one space. Here, you’ll find heritage pieces alongside new designs, such as the latest in the Symphonette range; its distinctive vintage-inspired, oval shape is ideal day–to-night wristwear.

411 Oxford Street, W1C 2PE; longines.com

Signature style ↑ Montegrappa pens have been writing instruments of choice for myriad presidents, royalty and literary greats since the company was founded in Italy in 1912. In recent years, Montegrappa has expanded its offering to include leather goods, watches, scents and cufflinks, all made with the same skill and attention to detail as its signature pens. The brand recently opened its first London standalone boutique.

The Village, Westfield London, W12 7SL; montegrappa.com

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Beaumonde • News

Aqua vita ↑ The Gainsborough Bath Spa hotel has added a unique twist to an ancient tradition. Like the Celts, Romans and Georgians, you can soak in the city’s mineral-rich thermal pools – only, this time, thanks to a three-year, £35m redevelopment project, you can enjoy the waters inside the hotel itself.

The precious stuff is piped into three suites as well as the colonnaded spa, where walls of aged, softly lit limestone add a serene purity to proceedings.

The hotel is an inventive fusion of two Grade-II-listed 18th-century hospitals, a historic doctor’s house and a sympathetic new building.

Its rooms offer muted blue-brown hues uncluttered by the usual anodyne art, allowing the elegant Georgian walls, towering ceilings and huge windows to speak for themselves.

Need further evidence of the hotel’s ancient DNA? Check out the pile of silver coins in the lobby, discovered during excavations – part of the largest hoard ever unearthed in a British Roman town.

Room-only doubles from £285; thegainsboroughbathspa.co.uk

Wings of desire ← The ‘official supplier to the world of aviation’, independent Swiss watchmaker Breitling has been associated with the Royal Air Force since the 1930s, when its on-board flight chronographs were installed in RAF aircraft.

To mark the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Britain, the company has created a 75-piece limited-edition series, featuring a Navitimer pilot’s watch that bears on its face the official anniversary crests, which are also engraved on the case back.

Through the sale of these special timepieces, Breitling is supporting the RAF Benevolent Fund, which assists those who served in the RAF, their families, and the families of those who died in battle, as well as current members. The funds raised will contribute to the development of two seaside respite apartments, in which serving members and their families can rest and recuperate after a tour of duty.

From £6,480, at Breitling, 130 Bond Street; breitling.com; rafbf.org

Ann Ronan Picture Library / Heritage Images

Prime mover ↑ Named after the iconic Gladstone bag - a style created to memorialise prime minister William Ewart Gladstone – luxury-accessories brand Gladstone London’s bags revive traditional designs for the modern man on the go.

Handmade in a small factory near Lake Como, in Italy, the G48 bag is an ideal companion for business travel. Featuring Gladstone London’s signature diamond-cut bolt, it has four multifunctional pockets on one side and a handy back pocket suitable for storing everything from digital devices and paperwork to clothing. £1,095; gladstonelondon.com

Our quest for perfection.

Senator Chronograph

Senator Chronograph. Start. Stop. Fly-Back. Central stop seconds hand, 30 minute and 12 hour counters with flyback mechanism; small seconds counter; and Glashßtte Original’s compelling Panorama Date display. Featuring an exceptional 70 hour power reserve, this new masterpiece makes time a true pleasure.

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Beaumonde • Photography

Heavenly body A new exhibition presents unseen images of a screen legend during her stratospheric rise to fame

Words: Joanne Glasbey

‘We are all of us stars, and we deserve to twinkle,’ Marilyn Monroe breathily proclaimed. To many, she not only shone, she illuminated constellations and made supernova glow bright. As she was one of the most photographed women in the world, it’s perhaps unsurprising, 53 years on from her untimely death, that we are still being presented with unseen images of her. Some of these can be viewed at a new exhibition of Monroe pictures, called Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, by two celebrated American photographers, which opens next month at Chelsea’s Little Black Gallery.

New Yorker Milton H Greene, whose work in the 1950s and 60s was published in the likes of Life, Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, was part of the eminent group of photographers that included Avedon, Beaton, Penn and Parkinson, who elevated fashion photography to an art form. Greene first met Monroe in 1953 on an assignment for Look magazine. Three years later, they formed Marilyn Monroe Productions together, producing Bus Stop and The Prince and the Showgirl, in which she starred with Laurence Olivier. Their collaboration resulted in Greene shooting Monroe in more than 52 different sittings, producing over 5,000 images.

Toronto-born photographer Douglas Kirkland worked for both Look and Life during the 1960s and 70s, and shot on the sets of more than 100 well-known mainstream movies. His images are in permanent collections and have been exhibited all over the world. When Kirkland was just 27, he lucked out – and certainly didn’t get the fuzzy end of the lollipop – when Monroe teasingly invited him to photograph her in bed. The sensual results were presented as the intimate series An Evening with Marilyn Monroe and featured the glamorous film star draped in just a white silk sheet and, presumably, her favourite Chanel No.5 perfume.

The exhibition showcases well-loved as well as previously unknown portraits of the enigmatic Monroe by these two celebrated snappers, documenting further the luminosity and shadows she cast throughout her stellar life. ● Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, starring Marilyn Monroe,

by Milton H Greene and Douglas Kirkland, is at The Little Black Gallery, 13a Park Walk, London SW10 0AJ from 19 January to 27 February 2016.

High-quality prints of both photographers’ works are available from the Gallery, from £1,000-8,000

©Douglas Kirkland 1961; Milton H Greene/Archive Images

From left A picture from 1953’s The Rock Sitting series

by Milton H Greene; one of the sensual images from An Evening with Marilyn Monroe,

by Douglas Kirkland, 1961

WELCOME TO MY WORLD

In the lead role: John Travolta, movie legend and aviation aficionado.

Guest star: the legendary North American X-15 that smashed all speed and altitude records and opened the gateway to space. Production: Breitling, the privileged partner of aviation thanks to its reliable, accurate and innovative instruments – such as the famous Chronomat, the ultimate chronograph. Welcome to a world of legends, feats and performance.

CHRONOMAT 44

Skiing • Beaumonde

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The Modernist Piz Boè Alpine Lounge

Peak of perfection Many skiers are looking for a luxury alternative to France and Switzerland, meaning Italy, which offers the best food in the Alps, is looking attractive

Words: Chris Madigan

Sipping an aperitivo, watching the sunset paint the pale Dolomite cliffs a vibrant orange to match your Aperol Spritz, you could forget that Italy used to be regarded as the poor relation of the Alps – largely thanks to school ski trips to budget resorts.

Now, especially after the recent lifting of the cap on the Swiss franc, skiers are rediscovering it – and finding luxury at relatively reasonable prices.

In the South Tyrol, there is a 600km circuit of linked lifts and pistes around a central massif of dramatic, often sheer rock. On this Sella Ronda circuit, the valley of Alta Badia is a collection of attractive villages – most notably San Cassiano and Corvara – with a veritable constellation of stars both in the Michelin restaurant guide and over the hotel canopies. In Corvara, the Hotel Sassongher has five and La Perla four, while San Cassiano has superior four-star hotels Gran Paradiso and Ciasa Salares, as well as five-star institution the Rosa Alpina – a celebrity favourite and home to Michelin-starred restaurant.

Last season, the very traditional Rosa Alpina unveiled a very modern, American ski lodge-style apartment with three double bedrooms. Châlet

Zeno is all cool, unvarnished wood, slate surfaces and floor-to-ceiling glass, with a sauna and hot tub. Guests can hire their own chef, but would undoubtedly want to book at least one night in the hotel’s own restaurant, St Hubertus, to be cooked for by two Michelin-star recipient Norbert Niederkofler. The local chef’s cooking is very much in tune with his native region – signature dishes include a risotto with pine needles and beef cooked in a crust of salt and hay.

Niederkofler is also the driving force behind Alta Badia’s many culinary events, such as the Gourmet Skisafari, in which eight Michelin-starred chefs turn up in mountain-hut restaurants dotted around the slopes and cook a dish. On the launch day (11 December in 2016), you can pay €40 to have leading chefs personally serve you four dishes with matching wines. Those dishes remain on the menus for the rest of the season. This year’s theme is ‘the south’, combining the South Tyrol with regions such as Puglia and the Bay of Naples.

Angelo Sabatelli, from Monopoli, is serving spaghetti aglio, olio e peperoncino with scallops and wild radish, while Alois Vanlangenaeker, from Zass

in Positano, is cooking linguine with mussels, bottarga and crunchy Agerola bread. The idea is to ski between the huts and eat from 11am to 3pm; however, a better idea is to hire snowshoes and work up an appetite between dishes – not to mention take in the views.

If you really want to appreciate the sunset and sunrise over the Dolomites, stay up the mountain at the Las Vegas Lodge, which is isolated at night but tends to host a good party. Club Moritzino, at the top of the Piz La Villa gondola, is a charming fish restaurant by day – by night, diners are up on their chairs between courses, belting out a disco version of ‘Il Canto degli Italiani’.

As stylish as Italy can be, there is often a quite hilarious level of naffness to its luxury. At La Perla’s Michelin-starred La Stua de Michil restaurant, you can be murmuring appreciatively at another fine example of molecular cuisine when, suddenly, wooden panels in the wall are drawn back to reveal a laser display in the kitchen, played out to a Mozart soundtrack. Meanwhile, at the hotel’s L’Murin bar, located in a barn, it’s still acceptable to dance to ‘Cotton Eye Joe’ in your ski boots.

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Beaumonde • Skiing

Exploring this region is both challenging and enjoyable, as it unfolds to reveal how unspoilt it is

Those looking for a more restrained, rather hipper evening take the Piz Boè gondola from Corvara to the Piz Boè Alpine Lounge – a striking yet sympathetic Modernist structure. The late-night destination is lounge bar Toccami, back in Corvara, for prosecco or cocktails.

If the Gourmet Skisafari hasn’t finished you off, it’s worth spending an evening at the Ciasa Salares hotel in San Cassiano. Chef Matteo Metullio is a former pupil of Niederkofler and is also involved in the Gourmet Skisafari (serving caprino-cheese pie on a bed of beetroot, with a suckling pig and peanut ragout in 2015). Its labyrinthine wine cellar has tables dotted around for enjoying an aperitivo, while the stanza del cioccolati has marble shelves laden with after-dinner chocolate temptation.

There isn’t an Italian region where food is not important, and the Aosta Valley, to the northwest of Turin, is no exception. But the Monte Rosa ski area, comprising three valleys, is more renowned

Powder Byrne (powderbyrne.com) can construct a tailor-made package to Alta Badia, including meals on and off the mountain and shuttles around the valley. Ski Total (skitotal.com) offers a week at Chalet Hotel Breithorn in Champoluc from £496

Alex Filz

From top Rosa Alpina’s Châlet Zeno apartment; its two-Michelin-starred St Hubertus restaurant; Monte Rosa, which lures serious skiers

as a serious skiers’ destination. Until recently, one valley, Alagna, had barely a piste – it was a paradise for tourers and freeriders who’d overnight at the basic Rifugio Guglielmina, wake at dawn and ride through untracked snow to the village. Now, the mountain refuge has burnt down and, while they haven’t quite paved paradise, a new M25-wide piste carves its way down the mountain.

You still need an avalanche transceiver (and, on more risky days, a guide) to be allowed on the Punta Indren lift to the off-piste routes from the highest point. With a guide, there is much to explore across the lift-served area – powder fields, steep couloirs, deep forest – and that is before you jump in a chopper. Heli-skiing is legal in Italy, and Monte Rosa is renowned for its excellent drop points. Passo di Verra, and the vertiginous Colle del Lys at 4,260m, give you options to ski towards home or to descend into Switzerland via the glaciers and use Zermatt’s lifts to cross back over the Klein Matterhorn to Italy.

Exploring this region is both challenging and enjoyable, as it unfolds to reveal how unspoilt it is, with little Walser villages settled some 600 years ago by German migrants. Even the main resorts, Gressoney and Champoluc, have an old-school ski-resort charm. In the latter village, the prettiest building, the wood-and-stone Breithorn Hotel, built in 1903, was in danger of closing until British operator Ski Total took it over and maintained it as the best place to stay in the resort, offering cosy rooms and spa facilities.

On the slopes, it’s hard to go wrong for lunch – the Punta Jolanda restaurant, above Gressoney, marks a halfway point to a day’s tour around the ski circuit, and offers excellent pasta, polenta and rice dishes, not one of them over €13. In the Champoluc valley, the light-filled round Campo Base has a Tibetan theme, with a thali available once a week. The restaurant also offers a selection of gnocchi dishes and, on Mondays, a 600g T-bone steak of tender beef from nearby Fassone.

The culinary highlight of the entire area, however, is Rascard Frantze – a rustic restaurant in one of those Walser villages, owned by the eponymous Francesca whose family team creates some simple but wonderfully flavoured dishes such as mocetta (similar to bresaola), white-bean and onion salad; beef carpaccio marinated in juniper with rocket and parmesan; and melted fontina on polenta slice. Again, there is hardly a dish on the menu priced above €10 – another example of Italian luxury at budget prices. ●

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Audio • Beaumonde

Music to the ears Seeking the best cans money can buy? Sennheiser’s reissued its Orpheus limited edition – but you’ll need to dig deep

Words: Jeremy White

How much should one pay for a decent pair of headphones. Fifty pounds? Well, if you can bear to, more than £250 is a good general rule, I’d say – but if you are serious about your sound, you can shell out considerably more.

Way back in 1990, audio manufacturer Sennheiser brought out a pair called the Orpheus HE 90 that was the result of an R&D mission to create ‘the finest headphones ever made’.

At the time, only 300 were made, and they sold for the princely sum of £12,000 each – now, however, these iconic cans change hands on eBay for more than twice that amount.

After allowing it 25 years’ rest and recuperation, Sennheiser’s audiophile division has finally gone back to its lauded creation, tinkered away and worked its magic once more. The new Orpheus headphones will retail at £30,000, which makes them the most expensive in the world. Quite an accolade.

Available from next year, they combine a set of electrostatic headphones with a valve pre-amp and DAC (digital-to-analogue converter) – all dressed in Italian Carrara marble. The use of marble is for more than decoration, as it results in less distortion for the valves, which are extremely sensitive. ‘The properties of marble optimally protect the amplifier’s core, and its unique structure turns each Orpheus into an individual work of art,’ says Maurice Quarré, director of Select & Audiophile at Sennheiser.

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In total, some 6,000 components are needed to manufacture each Orpheus, and it takes a whole day to assemble one unit. The good news is that, this time, there will be no limited run, although Sennheiser admits that, owing to the complex construction, the company is physically unable to make more than 250 a year, so availability will inevitably reflect this.

Unlike other beautiful hi-fi products launched over the years, the headphones’ performance thankfully matches their arresting looks. They produce a claimed 8–100kHz frequency response, which is phenomenal. To give you some idea of the range on offer here, this is in fact beyond what human ears are capable of hearing: elephants can register sounds around that very low 8Hz range, and only bats will be able to pick up the 100,000Hz top end.

Sennheiser also claims they have a harmonic distortion of just 0.01 per cent, which, if true, means the lowest distortion ever measured in a sound system. However, Orpheus’s real party trick is the show it puts on even before you listen to any music. When you turn it on, the controls on the front and the valves on the top of the amp rise out from the marble, and a glass lid lifts to give access to the headphones themselves. It’s pure theatre and delights every time the sequence occurs. If you have very deep pockets, the bragging rights are certainly yours. ● sennheiser.com

After the City • Beaumonde

Wheels of change Carolina Gonzalez-Bunster is using the hard-earned skills of a financial career to help change the world for disabled people

Words: Jemima Wilson Photography: Trent McMinn

When Carolina Gonzalez-Bunster chose to leave Goldman Sachs in 2008 to start a charity, more than a few eyebrows were raised. ‘Everyone thought I was crazy,’ she says. ‘But if there’s something you really want to do, and you’re passionate about it, I think you’ve got to go for it.’

Gonzalez-Bunster wanted to help a cause close to her heart, so founded the Walkabout Foundation with her brother Luis, who had been paralysed from the chest down in a car accident in 1994 at the age of 18. Its mission is twofold: the charity funds research to find a cure for paralysis, but until a cure is found, donates a wheelchair to as many people as possible in need of one: more than 59 million children and adults in developing countries.

Connecticut-born Gonzalez-Bunster first worked in philanthropy at the Clinton Foundation in London, following an MA in comparative politics at the LSE. However, while she was still deciding on a career path, a friend encouraged her to apply for a role at JP Morgan. ‘I was in New York and was called for an interview in London the next day,’ she recalls. ‘I knew nothing about finance, but I bought the Financial Times, got on a plane, stayed up all night reading it, then went to the interview.’

Her ambition impressed, and, although she received a job offer from JP Morgan, she chose to join the financial-analyst programme at Goldman Sachs. ‘I learnt about humility, motivation and work ethic – it’s a meritocracy, so if you work hard, you’ll reach the top,’ she explains.

Accepting a post at Goldman Sachs in Dubai in 2008 saw Gonzalez-Bunster climb the career ladder; however, a trip back home to Connecticut prompted a dramatic reassessment of her future.

Her brother had been training to compete in the New York marathon and had hoped to prepare for it in the $40m Olympic-size indoor pool that had just been installed at the local YMCA – but, as there were no ramps or lift, he was unable to access it. The siblings launched a campaign to make the building wheelchair-accessible and, such was its success, were encouraged to help disabled people in less privileged parts of the world similarly.

On leaving Goldman Sachs, Gonzalez-Bunster enrolled on a business and administration MBA in social entrepreneurship at Oxford, before going to Haiti with Bill Clinton in the wake of the 2010

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earthquake. The newly formed Walkabout Foundation sent a shipment of wheelchairs for people who had been paralysed or had lost limbs in the disaster and then made a commitment to the Haitian government to send 10,000 more chairs over the following five years. ‘We’ve now donated more than 7,000,’ she beams.

This is a larger undertaking than it seems.

Accompanying every shipping container of chairs is a team of volunteers who custom-build each one for the individual. What’s more, they are made from simple bicycle parts, so can easily be mended in remote locations across the world.

But the chair is only half the story. ‘A person’s demeanour and outlook changes when you lift them up off the ground and put them in a wheelchair,’ says Gonzalez-Bunster.‘And when you change someone’s life, you change that of a family, which has an impact on a whole community. We restore people’s dignity, freedom and independence.’

Fittingly, the charity has always fundraised by organising sponsored walks and, last year, a gala held at the National History Museum, with Clinton as the keynote speaker, raised over £2m to pay for the first Walkabout Foundation rehabilitation and wheelchair repair centre in Haiti.

Although it is in the non-profit sector, Gonzalez-Bunster runs the charity like any other business, using her hard-won skills. ‘At Goldman, Sachs, nothing was due today; it was due yesterday,’ she says. It’s with this attitude that she’s driving change, one wheelchair at a time. ● uk.walkaboutfoundation.org

Scenery of change His evocative imagery has already spread the eco-message to millions. Now videographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand has partnered with Omega for a new film about the challenges facing our planet

Words: Nick Smith

Baboon Research Island isn’t easy to get to.

Located in one of the remotest corners of Botswana’s Okavango Delta, it’s a long-haul flight from London to Jo’burg, followed by a four-hour hop-skip-and-a-jump to Maun in a Cessna light aircraft, then a bit of bone-rattling in a Land Rover and an hour or two in a speedboat. After 24 hours travelling, I’ve finally pitched up to a place so far-flung that to describe it as being in the middle of nowhere would be an understatement.

This tiny island is the temporary base for Yann Arthus-Bertrand’s film unit, on location for his new production, Terra. He is probably best known as the aerial photographer behind the monolithic project The Earth from the Air, and he has joined forces with luxury watchmaker Omega to create a documentary that draws attention to the environmental endgame facing our planet. You won’t be able to watch it in a cinema because (as with his previous film, Human) it will be available only on YouTube. So far, hundreds of millions have watched Yann’s free movies. ‘That’s the way to get the eco-activism message across these days,’ he says. ‘You can’t expect people to pay for that.’

Watching the sun set to the west over faraway Namibia, the most important thing to get to grips

Per Kårehed; Ian Schemper

Documentary • Brummell

with is the stunning beauty of the Delta landscape.

It has found its way onto the list of the Seven Natural Wonders of Africa for a reason.

An endless tangled mass of swamp vegetation, water channels and small islands, the Delta teems with birdlife and mega-fauna. Just a stone’s throw from where Arthus-Bertrand and I are sitting, an intensely grumpy pod of hippopotamuses is belching its disapproval of these human intruders, while a curious herd of elephant keeps a watchful eye on proceedings. Apart from what the film unit has brought – literally tons of digital filming gear, a mobile camp, two helicopters, a medevac unit and a well-stocked bar – there is nothing man-made for hundreds of miles around. At night, the music of the bush is loud and travels far. As adventures in paradise go, it doesn’t get much better than this.

Despite being one of the best-known aerial photographers in the world, Arthus-Bertrand doesn’t like to describe himself in terms of his art.

He’s an eco-warrior, an environmental activist and, as president of the GoodPlanet Foundation, an advocate for a more responsible approach to safeguarding the future of the planet through sustainable development. If all this eco-jargon comes across as a bit of a holier-than-thou

Here, every day is better than yesterday. When I look at some of the footage we have got, it’s quite amazing

Opposite and this page Botswana’s spectacular Okavango Delta comprises permanent marshlands and seasonally flooded plains

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mouthful, it’s perhaps better to think of him as a man who produces films that make people stop and think. As you might expect, they are stunning evocations of the beauty of the planet, usually shot from a helicopter and broadcast in slow motion.

To do this requires a generous budget: much of the videographer’s vision is made possible by collaboration with Omega’s corporate social responsibility programme. Arthus-Bertrand likes the Swiss watchmaker because it is ‘helping me to make films that could change the world’.

‘From a creative point of view, what I love about the Delta is simply that it is the best location for filming animals,’ says the Frenchman, who goes on to describe the instinctive reaction he has to the place. ‘When you’re looking for somewhere to film, you need to know in advance that it is going to be perfect, a location you know is easy for shooting images. Here, every day is better than yesterday. When I look at some of the footage we have got, I think it’s quite amazing, actually.’

As we swoop along in his helicopter, scanning the Delta’s broad meanders for elephant and giraffe, I can see at a glance that he’s right: it is amazing. As his pilot and camera technicians position the helicopter and the Cineflex HiDef

Documentary • Brummell

Opposite and this page, from top Arthus-Bertrand captures images of the Delta from the air; the Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra ‘GoodPlanet’ is made from titanium, and sales will go to a social and environmental project in Botswana that encourages harmonious co-existence between humans and wildlife, £4,860

camera with pinpoint accuracy, it’s easy to see why he is so passionate about the world he lives in.

Arthus-Bertrand’s conversation is shot through with Gallic fire and he doesn’t beat about the bush. The destruction of the earth’s fragile ecosystems is everyone’s fault ‘and not just the politicians’ ’, he says, adding that the answer to environmental issues such as climate change lies in what he calls ‘a scientific revolution’.

‘But this will never happen while we are consuming 85 million barrels of oil per day. It will never happen while our televisions beam nonstop messages into our homes that say the only way we can be happy is to consume, spend and eat more.’

And yet, his movies come at an environmental cost. By his own admission, he spends ‘an incredible amount of time in the air’. The early-morning filming expedition we went on took up two hours, and in itself accounted for only a tenth of the footage that will be shot while in this one location. What will end up in the film Terra – if any of it – will be ‘microscopic in comparison’.

So how does Arthus-Bertrand reconcile himself to this apparent inconsistency: the endless transportation of film units and equipment around the world accounts for an untold amount of greenhouse gas emissions?

He says that in the early days of his career, when he was specialising in stills photography, there was ‘a lot of talk’ about how the emissions associated with his work could be offset. This ultimately led to the formation of his GoodPlanet Foundation a decade ago, which essentially repays his environmental debt to the world.

The Foundation’s mission is to ‘raise public awareness of ecology, making it a central issue, and to inspire a desire to take positive action’.

Arthus-Bertrand says, ‘People tend to think that this should be all about planting trees, but it’s really about helping poor people to have better lives. I have projects in India and Indonesia that help to provide better water, monitor pollution, reduce deforestation and create employment.

Politicians and NGOs don’t really like talking about these things. But they are simple to achieve.’

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It’s not practical for Arthus-Bertrand to do what he does and stop flying. But he has become a committed vegetarian. ‘I think it’s crazy that we live in a world where humans still eat animals.

Look at the imbalance between the biomass of animals reared for food compared with that of wild animals. Ninety per cent of the creatures on earth, excluding humans, are for eating. That doesn’t allow much room for those in the wild.

‘The story that comes from this is that we have asked ourselves: do we need elephants and rhinos in order to live? And the answer is yes we do. But it is a spiritual answer that talks to people’s hearts.

That’s what I try to do with my films. I have tried talking to their brains in the way that Al Gore does with climate change. Doing that can alter people’s opinions, but not by much.’

After a few days out of range of mobile phones, the internet and all the other electronic accoutrements of modern life, it’s time to reluctantly pack up and go home. I have a last big question for Arthus-Bertrand: if he is so much against modern consumerism, isn’t it, well, anomalous that it should fall to a Swiss watchmaker to become involved in his movies?

‘No, it’s not,’ he says. ‘And that is because to get my message across, I need the assistance of people like those at Omega who are willing to contribute in a tangible way to the future of the planet. What the company is doing is showing that it cares.

‘Of course, people want nice watches: that’s the way the world works and I have no objection to that. But there’s no reason why those who sell luxury watches can’t play a huge role in spreading the eco-message.’

With that comes the beginning of the long voyage back to London, a city that feels worlds away – back to the epicentre of commerce and consumerism that threaten Arthus-Bertrand’s pristine world. As we fly over miles of unspoilt wilderness in a bumpy old Cessna, I can now see what he is talking about. As a photographer and a film-maker, his career has been a triumph. As an activist, he has much he still wants to achieve. ● Terra is released on YouTube in January 2016

MKI

AN Y R E SE M B L AN CE TO T H E DA SH BOAR D O F THE E-T YPE JAGUAR IS PURELY INTENTIONAL .

Enzo Ferrari called it the most beautiful car in the world. Now two new watches pay homage to Malcolm Sayer’s ground-breaking design. The Bremont MKI and MKII have been developed in partnership with Jaguar. The dials are inspired by the E-Type’s tachometer and the winding weight is based on the car’s iconic steering wheel. You may never own the car, but the MKI and the MKII might just be the next best thing.

Accessories • Brummell

Accessories special — Standout style Party season is underway, and, when it comes to individual style, it’s time to shine. To add sparkle to women’s attire, we select refined creations by the world’s most revered jewellery houses, from delicate bracelets to sophisticated cocktail rings, inspired by the eclectic Art Deco era. And, to make sure men share the limelight, too, we handpick a stylish array of menswear and accessories, including elegant eveningwear and fine fragrances, all of which make thoughtful gifts. Finally, looking to statement timepieces for additional flair, we choose six blue-faced designs for keeping track of time on every occasion.

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Shape shifters

From elegant bracelets to delicate cocktail rings, the eclectic Art Deco era inspires striking jewellery creations

Photography: Marius Hansen Styling: Jessica Diamond Set design: Mathias Renner

Jewellery • Brummell

Opposite, from left Earring (one of a pair) in white gold, pearl and white jadeite, £POA, CHOPARD. Charleston necklace in white gold,

diamonds and onyx, £POA, CHANEL FINE JEWELLERY. Victoria ring in rose gold and jet, £4,580, POMELLATO

This page, from left Mosaic bracelet in rose gold, morganite and diamonds, £POA, BOODLES. Keystone ring in white gold and cabochon quartz, £1,750,

BOODLES. Classics ring in white gold and diamonds, £32,690, CHAUMET. Ring in white gold and baguette-cut diamonds, £16,070, CHAUMET

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Brummell • Jewellery

This page, from left Amulette de Cartier bracelet in yellow gold, diamonds and onyx, £52,500, CARTIER. Paris Nouvelle Vague ring in yellow

gold and chrysoprase, £23,800, CARTIER. Earrings in yellow gold with rubies, sapphires, emeralds and diamonds, £POA, BULGARI

Opposite Poisonous earrings in white gold, with diamonds, tsavorite garnets, rubellites and lacquer, £55,000, DIOR JOAILLERIE

Jewellery • Brummell

Opposite, from left Ring in platinum with a central diamond, sapphires and tsavorites, £23,400, TIFFANY & CO. Lucida ring with a central diamond

and sapphires, £60,500, TIFFANY & CO This page, from left Ring in platinum with an emerald-cut diamond

of 20.64 carats and diamonds, £POA, HARRY WINSTON. Art Deco bracelet in platinum and diamonds, £POA, HARRY WINSTON

FOR STOCKIST DETAILS, SEE PAGE 70 Retouching by Touch Digital

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Height of luxury Head for the hills on an exclusive driving tour of the Highlands hosted by Elegant Resorts and Aston Martin

Words: Jemima Wilson

Spend just a short time in the Scottish Highlands and it’s clear why its dramatic landscape has inspired the work of authors and artists for aeons: the combination of majestic scenery, mystical history and untamed nature is enchanting.

Though stunningly beautiful, the terrain is vast and its weather capricious, so exploring it poses particular challenges. For those who want to admire breathtaking views but are keen to do so in comfort, Aston Martin and luxury tour operator Elegant Resorts have the answer.

The renowned car marque and prestigious private-travel company are collaborating to deliver a series of luxury road trips. Launching in 2016 with the six-night Scottish Legends tour, Elegant Journeys with Aston Martin will take in some of the world’s most scenic roads, with overnight

stays in luxurious hotels and private residences.

Highlights of the Highlands trip include a first-night dinner prepared by Michelin-starred chef Jeff Bland at Rocco Forte’s Balmoral Hotel in Edinburgh; a personal tour of the fairytaleturreted Inveraray Castle by the Duke and Duchess of Argyll; a stay on the private island of Eilean Shona, the summer retreat of JM Barrie and a source of inspiration for Neverland; and a two-night sojourn at the glorious 10,000-acre Glen Affric Estate in the Highlands’ National Nature Reserve. There are cultural and sporting diversions to engage in en route, too, and a tasting of rare whiskies, hosted by Chivas Regal.

A similarly action-packed itinerary is available further afield on the five-night Italy Unpacked tour. Beginning in romantic Venice, the trip will

Brummell promotion

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Opposite, from top Inveraray Castle from Loch Fyne; the Glen Affric National Nature Reserve This page, from top The Glen Affric Estate; a sea plane prepares to take off on a sightseeing flight through the Highlands

take in some of the country’s most picturesque scenery, including Lake Garda, the magnificent Dolomites, the imposing Marmolada Glacier, Trentino and the sweeping valleys of Fassa and Fiemme, before concluding in Milan with a dinner hosted by Aston Martin’s Chief Creative Officer and Design Director, Marek Reichman.

Closer to home, the England All-Stars tour more than lives up to its name. Starting in the capital with a welcome dinner prepared by Michelin-starred chef Jason Atherton at the London Edition hotel, it continues with a helicopter ride to Blenheim Palace and a drive through the charming Chiltern Valley and the Cotswolds to Cornwell Manor, in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in Oxfordshire.

From there, it’s the scenic route to Cirencester for a stay at Barnsley House, concluding with a screening of a Bond film in its boutique cinema and dinner with members of the Fleming family – Aston Martin is, after all, the marque of choice for Ian Fleming’s debonair spy. The finale? A tour of the company’s headquarters in Warwickshire, offering a rare behind-the-scenes glimpse at how its legendary cars are made.

Once a two-man operation working out of a modest London workshop, Aston Martin has grown over a century to become a globally revered brand. It has always delivered an unforgettable driving experience – and its current line-up of models is arguably its best yet. Every one is as exhilaratingly powerful in its handling as it

Aston Martin always delivers an unforgettable driving experience – and its current line-up is its best yet

is precise. With a maximum of six cars and 12 guests per tour, exclusivity is guaranteed.

After putting their Aston Martin through its paces, participants will have worked up an appetite and be ready for a good night’s sleep – and this is where Elegant Resorts’ input proves invaluable. With 28 years’ expertise crafting luxury travel for a discerning clientele, it will ensure the off-road element of the tour is as memorable as that behind the wheel.

While an Elegant Journeys tour may be the closest you’ll ever come to being a Secret Service agent, thankfully, unlike Bond, you won’t be on the tail of a villain. And that means all you have to do is sit back and enjoy a once-in-a-lifetime driving experience. ● stories.elegantresorts.co.uk; 01244 897540

Š Paolo Pellegrin / Magnum Photos per Reda

150 years thinking outside the flock.

Finest fabrics made in Italy

Discover more at reda1865.com

Covet story Iconic design, luxurious materials and consumable delights – some things are just too good to give away

Photography: Andy Barter Styling: David Hawkins

Clockwise from top left Boxcalf leather bag, £925, JM WESTON. Kaiser Idell 6631 lamp, £506, THE CONRAN SHOP. Tie, £130, ERMENEGILDO ZEGNA. Boston Ivy eau de toilette, £98 for 50ml, DS & DURGA at GOODHOOD. Tangerine Karung Aster smartphone, £5,400, VERTU. Voyageur tablet case, £295, TUMI. Glasses, £144 (frames only), ERMENEGILDO ZEGNA at MARCOLIN. Heritage 1912 pen, £400, MONTBLANC

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Brummell • Accessories

This page, from top London Gin, £24.95 for 70cl, EAST LONDON LIQUOR COMPANY. Cambridge shoes, £1,000, GAZIANO & GIRLING. Oak board, £85, and Terra Cotto casserole dish, £55,

both THE CONRAN SHOP. No.12 Lacha EDP, £125 for 100ml, ODIN NEW YORK at LIBERTY. Wallet, £175, PAUL SMITH. Globemaster watch, £4,785, OMEGA. Shirt, £225, EMPORIO ARMANI

Opposite, clockwise from top left Celeste champagne flute, £115, RALPH LAUREN HOME. Loafers, £470, JM WESTON. Evening shirt, £145, and bow tie, £45, both GIEVES & HAWKE.

Austin cufflinks, £85, ALICE MADE THIS. 18ct rose-gold CT60T watch, £12,200, TIFFANY & CO. Bravo fragrance, £250 for 50ml, RAMON MONEGAL at HARRODS. Wallet, £135, DAKS

Clockwise from top left Parka coat, £10,500, BALLY. Avalon blanket, £1,030, HERMÈS. The Glenrothes Select Reserve Single Malt, £38.70, BERRY BROS. & RUDD. Brogan glass, £95, RALPH LAUREN HOME. Card case, £630, DUNHILL. Balmoral candle, £62, CIRE TRUDON AT LIBERTY. Colonia Club eau de cologne, £85 for 100ml, ACQUA DI PARMA. Clipper bag, £595, MULBERRY

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Brummell • Accessories Clockwise from top left Sutton cocktail shaker, £395, RALPH LAUREN HOME. Aventus eau de parfum, £215 for 120ml, CREED at HARVEY NICHOLS. Regal wash case, £295, MULBERRY. Walkton made-to-order brogues, £1,200, GAZIANO & GIRLING. No 9 card case, £110, PAUL SMITH. Future Rescue Repair serum, £48, LAB SERIES at MR PORTER. Shirt, £150, PAUL SMITH FOR STOCKIST DETAILS, SEE PAGE 70.

LOVE AT FIRST TOUCH. The Leica T Camera System.

Hand-crafted in Germany from solid aluminium, the Leica T combines exceptional design with outstanding photographic quality. Created in collaboration with Audi Design, this iconic camera features a huge touchscreen display with intuitive, ergonomic controls.

Integrated WiFi connectivity makes sharing photos stunningly simple.

With a perfect blend of technical excellence and engineering precision, and the pure simplicity of Leica photography, the Leica T delivers images with incredible contrast, detail and natural colour rendition – even in low light.

Try it today. The Leica T Camera System, lenses and accessories are available now from Leica Store City, 18 The Royal Exchange, London EC3V 3LP.

For more information: T 020 7283 0700 | www.leicastore-city.co.uk

Kind of blue Whether ultra-thin dress watch, rugged chronograph or Sixties automatic, these timepieces are Miles cooler than most

Photography: Victoria Zschommler Words: Simon de Burton

Watches • Brummell

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From far left BELL & ROSS BR 03-92 Ceramic Blue; TUDOR Pelagos Blue; CHOPARD LUC XPS Poinçon de Genève; BREITLING Superocean Heritage, RICHARD MILLE RM 011 Felipe Massa 10th Anniversary Edition, GLASHÜTTE ORIGINAL Sixties Iconic

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Brummell • Watches

Bell & Ross BR 03-92 Ceramic Blue ↑ The 46mm, square-cased BR 01 launched by Bell & Ross a decade ago is said to have been inspired by the cockpit instruments found in military aircraft. Its rugged, industrial look proved a huge hit and the watch – together with its 100 or more variants – is now regarded as the brand’s signature creation. The BR03-92 pictured here features a smaller, 42mm case made from blue-tinged ceramic that replicates the colour of the French Air Force pilots’ uniform. The scratchproof and lightweight case is complemented by a blue rubber strap and highly luminous dial markings. £2,800; bellross.com

Tudor Pelagos Blue ↑ Tudor was set up by Hans Wilsdorf in 1926 as a more affordable alternative to his original Rolex dial name. Following a major relaunch last year, the Tudor brand is now firmly establishing its own identity with a range of rugged and well-made sports models, such as the new 42mm Pelagos Blue. Fitted with Tudor’s MT5612 self-winding movement, this is a serious dive watch offering 500m water resistance, a helium escape valve, a unidirectional bezel and high-visibility dial markings. The light titanium case comes with a matching bracelet or a dive strap in rubber. £3,020; tudorwatch.com

Chopard LUC XPS Poinçon de Genève ↑ This ultra-thin dress watch from Chopard celebrates the long-standing Geneva Seal, or ‘Poinçon de Genève’, which was introduced in 1886 as a mark of excellence attainable only by watchmakers operating within the Geneva canton. A measure of both precision and finish, its strict criteria account for everything from the quality of a movement’s decoration to the materials used. The LUC XPS passes with flying colours, not least due to its exquisite ‘sunburst’ dial and hand-striped self-winding mechanism.

The case back is engraved with the Geneva Seal. £16,560; chopard.com

Breitling Superocean Heritage ↑ Despite an ever-growing number of contemporary watch designs, horophiles are, by and large, traditionalists – which is why many brands enjoy their best success with reincarnations of ‘classics’.

Breitling, for example, harks back to the 1950s with this 21st-century interpretation of its Superocean dive watch, which now features 42mm or 46mm cases and a choice of blue, green or black dials with matching bezels. The watch is powered by Breitling’s Calibre 17 self-winding movement and is water resistant to 200m. This example features the soft, flexible ‘Ocean Classic’ mesh bracelet. £3,170; breitling.com

Richard Mille RM 011 Felipe Massa 10th Anniversary Edition ↑ Ultra-high-end watch brand Richard Mille is marking its decade-long partnership with Brazilian F1 star Felipe Massa with a pair of limited-edition timepieces, the most ‘affordable’ of which is this version of the RM 011. A flyback chronograph, it has a movement made from Grade-5 titanium, contained in a case made from NTPT (‘North Thin Ply Technology’) carbon, so it’s almost unfeasibly light yet exceptionally strong. Details are picked out in Massa’s blue and yellow racing colours, while the 12 has been styled to recall his ‘19’ race number. £111,500; richardmille.com

Glashütte Original Sixties Iconic ↑ Glashütte Original’s new ‘Sixties Iconic’ collection of simple three-handers offers a choice of five different ‘of the era’ dial hues. In addition to this lustrous blue version, the watch is available in vibrant orange, dusky gold, soft grey and shimmering brown. Based on the Spezimatic, an automatic watch produced from 1964 to 1979 by the state-owned VEB Glashütter Uhrenbetriebe factory, the domed dials are stamped-out using the original presses before being galvanised, hand-lacquered and individually spray-painted to achieve their distinctive colour gradients. £5,000; glashuette-original.com

Chinese Business Leaders Awards 2015 As official media partner, Brummell is delighted to present the results of the inaugural Chinese Business Leaders Awards – a celebration of the most talented individuals in the UK’s Chinese business community.

Recognised as outstanding leaders in their field, the winners were announced at a glittering ceremony and gala dinner in London in November, in front of an audience of 300 senior business professionals

Awards organiser:

Words: Jemima Wilson Photography: Jermaine Francis

In association with:

Sponsored by:

Business Leader of the Year ← Arthur Siu Hong Fan CEO, BOCI Global Commodities (UK) As the global head of Bank of China International (BOCI) Global Commodities and the CEO of its UK subsidiary, Fan has helped the company become the first Chinese investment bank to establish a commodities platform and break into the international markets. He has developed BOCI Global Commodities’ capabilities to provide comprehensive risk-management solutions and commodities products to natural-resources corporations and financial institutions around the world. Fan has helped BOCI to become the first Chinese institution to obtain clearing membership of multiple major international commodity bourses, including the London Metal Exchange, Chicago Mercantile Exchange and Intercontinental Exchange.

Under his leadership, BOCI independently launched a global benchmark commodity index in 2015 – the first international commodity index released by a Chinese financial institution.

Excellence in Asset Management Xia Wang (opposite, top row, left) Co-founder and CIO, Ark Wealth Wang founded Ark Wealth, a specialist advisory and investment boutique providing bespoke management services to financial institutions and high-net-worth individuals. Ark Wealth is further strengthened by Dr Xiaohan Pan, a seasoned investment professional. In 2008, the founding team worked together at Barnett Waddingham (BW), one of the UK’s largest independent pension-consultancy firms, where it established its fund-management business. Wang also co-founded St Mary’s Private Wealth, a regulated investment advisory arm for the China Talent Consultant group. She was senior portfolio manager and head of research at BW, where she achieved outstanding investment performance and helped clients navigate the 2008 financial crisis.

Excellence in Banking Rongrong Huo (opposite, bottom row, centre) Global Head of China & RMB Business, Capital Financing, HSBC Bank plc Huo has played a pivotal role in shaping HSBC’s China and RMB strategy globally, driving client execution and revenue growth across various business lines. Her current focus is delivering tailored investment-banking products. She was a co-founder of HSBC’s RMB internationalisation initiative and is now a leading global influence in this key area, working closely with governments and clients as they seek to benefit from the globalisation of China. In 2015, Huo and the HSBC team have been establishing new, innovative and bespoke financing solutions to assist with China’s green and infrastructure initiatives. Huo also featured in the Financial News list of the most influential women in financial services for 2015.

Excellence in Small & Medium Enterprises Ning Li (opposite, bottom row, right) Founder and CEO, Made.com After the success of his first business, Myfab.com, Li co-founded Made.com in March 2010 alongside Brent Hoberman, the founder of Lastminute.com, with £2.5m in initial funding. By December 2014, Made.com had already achieved £42.8m in annual revenue and, in July 2015, raised an additional £38m in funding to accelerate its expansion into Europe. Li has taken Made.com from an unknown start-up to a big player in Europe’s furniture market, and the company is now ready to take on major competitors such as Ikea. Made.com has been expanded from the UK to Ireland, France, Italy, Netherlands, Belgium and Germany, and is still growing rapidly. It was named the second-fastest-growing technology company in the UK in 2014.

Chinese Business Leaders Awards 2015 • Brummell

Excellence in Large Corporations Raymond (Wen) Li (top row, right) Head, BBC Chinese Li is the most senior ethnic-Chinese executive at the BBC. He is based in London and has a global network of reporters. With more than 16 years’ senior managerial experience at the corporation, he is currently in charge of all Chinese-language content production. Li was previously responsible for the BBC World Service’s business development strategies and activities in China and North Asia, establishing partnership deals with leading media companies in China and neighbouring countries.

Li has also advised the BBC’s top executives on political, editorial and business issues relating to China, which has included securing the first meeting between senior BBC executives and then Chinese president Hu Jintao at the World Media Summit in Beijing, in October 2010.

Rising Star Peng Zhang (bottom row, left) Founder, director and chief editor of HereInUK Zhang facilitated the rapid growth of HereInUK, which, in just four years, has become the largest and most influential Chinese social-media platform in the UK. Through its Weibo platform and WeChat account, HereInUK reaches millions of Chinese people on a daily basis, providing a range of interesting content and useful information, principally about life in the UK from a Chinese perspective. HereInUK’s Weibo platform has 4.4 million followers, while its WeChat account achieves 24.3 million monthly visitors. Recent successes include generating more than 7.8 million page views for articles on the four-day Chinese state visit to the UK, with 3.8 million views alone for a piece on President Xi enjoying fish and chips at a British pub.

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International Contributions Yang Du (top row, centre) Head of China Business Desk, Thomson Reuters As founder of Thomson Reuters’ first China Business Desk, Yang Du structured an offshore RMB trading community, helping Chinese customers expand their practices globally and strengthening the company’s market presence.

He is an author, public speaker, and well-known thought leader on RMB internationalisation, regulation and Chinese capital markets. Du has sat on international forums and led discussions with regulators and market participants. The co-founder of the RMB Interest Group, with the aim of promoting Chinese financial knowledge among professionals in London, he is also passionate about financial education at leading business schools. He is the first Chinese associate of the Moller Centre at Cambridge University.

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Brummell • Chinese Business Leaders Awards 2015 Excellence in Accounting and Finance ← Suwei Jiang Lead partner, China Business Group, PwC Jiang was the first Chinese national to be made an equity partner at a ‘big four’ professionalservices firm in the UK and is the most senior of PwC UK’s 500 Chinese-speaking staff. She leads a team of 70-plus that assists UK and Chinese companies in making cross-border investments between China and Europe, focusing on such areas as organic growth, acquisitions, partnerships and listing on capital markets.

Jiang, a chartered accountant, is very experienced in delivering M&A transactions and IPO projects. She works with UK clients across a range of industries and advises Chinese companies investing in Europe. She is the lead partner on a number of PwC’s major Chinese client relationships across Europe.

The panel The expert judging panel comprised senior professionals, all leaders in their own right and well qualified to identify exceptional pioneers in the Chinese business world

Lord Tim Clement-Jones CBE London managing partner, DLA Piper, and deputy chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on China Lord Clement-Jones, a lawyer, was head and founder of DLA Upstream, now the Global Trade and Government Affairs practice of DLA Piper. He combines his role as London managing partner and chairman of the China desk with that of spokesman on the creative industries in the House of Lords. He was made a Liberal Democrat life peer in 1998.

Stephen Phillips Chief executive, China Britain Business Council Phillips joined the CBBC as CEO in 2006. He has been actively engaged in business in and with China since 1989.

He started at the Barclays Group in London and Botswana, then held senior investment-banking positions with Deutsche and BZW/Barclays Capital in Asia. He then co-founded iBridge Capital Corporation before working for UK Trade & investment for two years.

William Harry Dove OBE Chief Commoner, City of London Corporation Dove’s 22-year ILEA career was followed by 15 years as charity administrator at the Attlee Foundation and 13 as clerk to the trustees of the Housing the Homeless Central Fund. His committee work for the City of London is extensive and was recognised in his appointment as Chief Commoner in 2015. He serves as the foremost representative of members in regards to their rights and privileges.

Joanne Glasbey Editorial director, Show Media Glasbey is a founder-director of creative agency Show Media, which was set up as a publishing company in 2003. She currently edits Graffiti for Graff Diamonds, The Quarterly, Brummell and The Times Luxx Watch Report. A journalist and editor with a career spanning more than 25 years, she previously worked at The Economist Group and has held senior editorial roles at both Esquire and Time Out.

Janet Ming Director of China Desk, Bank of America Merrill Lynch (EMEA) Ming heads the China desk in EMEA for Bank of America Merrill Lynch, and is passionate about supporting Chinese companies’ expansion into EMEA and the internationalisation of RMB. She was head of the China desk EMEA for RBS, and has worked in both the East and West financial markets. She has worked on the corporate and banking side, and has a thorough knowledge of China.

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Details and prices are correct at time of going to press and subject to apartment type and availability. Computer generated image depicts South Quay Plaza. © DBOX for Berkeley Homes. *Source: www.tfl.gov.uk. Jones Lang LaSalle International Properties Ltd for themselves and for the vendors or lessors of this property whose agents they are, give notice that the particulars do not constitute, nor constitute any part of an offer or a contract. All statements, contained in these particulars as to this property are made without responsibility on the part of Jones Lang LaSalle International Properties Ltd, or vendors or lessors. All descriptions, dimensions, and other particulars are given in good faith and are believed to correct but any intending purchasers or tenants should not rely on them as statements or representations of fact and must satisfy themselves by inspection or otherwise as to the correctness of the each of them. No person in the employment of Jones Lang LaSalle International Properties Ltd has any authority to make or give any representation or warranty whatever in relation to this property. In line with the developer’s policy of continuous improvement, they reserve the right to alter the layout, building style, landscaping and specification at any time without notice. License No:C--029469.

By the sword Fencing might not be your first thought when considering a new sport, but it’s surprisingly easy to get started. Just make sure your wits and manners are equally sharp

Words: Tanya Jackson Illustration: Rob Bailey

It’s quite something, watching a one-to-one fencing lesson. Unencumbered by the wires, boxes and beeps of a normal practice session, the nimble footwork and thrust-and-parry of two people locked in battle but retaining impeccable manners and self-control is certain to resonate with the romantic in everyone.

And rightly so. There is a reason why Alexandre Dumas’s enduring musketeer tale is revisited by Hollywood with every new generation, attracting megastars including Douglas Fairbanks, Michael York, Gérard Depardieu, Jeremy Irons and Gabriel Byrne. The sport, which came from the French nobility, is infused with the principles of etiquette, honour and good manners. As such, those who become proficient in it imbue those qualities – hell, even Oliver Reed looked dashing

with a sword. But, of course, it offers much more than just the chance to revisit childhood fantasies.

‘When you fence, you have to think,’ says five-time British champion James Williams, who has been putting a student through his paces in a tutorial at City Fencing Club in Greenwich.

‘You can’t simply fight. If you want to develop, you have to understand that it’s more than just “Wallop!” It’s actually, “I’m going to wallop you… [he waves his hand elegantly] like that.”’

Williams speaks with the ease and confidence of someone at the height of his fitness; however, physical prowess isn’t an absolute requirement: the skill of fencing demands quick wits and agility, developing flexibility, balance, coordination and intuition. It also requires an unwavering focus, which means that combatants don’t necessarily

notice the 450 calories being burned up each hour. Picking up a sword is probably one of the most effective and rapid ways to tone up the lower body, particularly the stomach, thighs and bottom.

The sabre, Williams’s blade of choice, is one of three weapons that have their own sparring methods – the others being the épée and foil.

The épée (the French word for ‘sword’) is a thrusting weapon used to spear an opponent in any part of their body. The foil is its lighter cousin, designed as a practice weapon for épée and sabre, and combining some of the qualities of both.

The sabre is the cutting weapon passed down through the centuries by the French cavalry. Of the three methods, sabre is the most recognisable.

It is in this that film stars train for swashbuckling roles. Sabre is also the most energetic method,

Fencing • Brummell

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Sweating, shouting and venting your frustrations with the same group of people creates a bond

the battleground running to 10 metres, enabling participants to shuffle crab-like at great speed.

‘Yeah, sabre’s for the younger ones,’ says Jacqueline Hibbert, secretary at London Fencing Club, near Old Street. One of about 5,000 female fencers in the UK (the gender split is equal in this sport), Hibbert represented her club in this year’s World Veterans Fencing Championships, in France. Not bad when you consider that she first picked up a blade just eight years ago.

‘One of the best things is watching students learning the skill and, sometimes, becoming good quite fast,’ says London Fencing Club manager Tim Gadaski. ‘It’s great seeing the way that new people interact with each other.’

Gadaski’s club offers taster sessions in which beginners can borrow all the kit they need to try

out the sport. It also organises team-building events, fencing trips and social functions.

If you’re put off by the prospect of spending even more time away from home, you might be interested to know that people of all ages are welcome to the ‘piste’. The City and London clubs are two of the many across the capital that welcome both children and adults. Fencing can do wonders for a child’s self-confidence, fitness levels and balance – not to mention provide relief from stress during exam time.

‘People take up the sport for different reasons,’ says Williams. ‘If you get red mist, you react, so people will try and wind you up. They want a reaction and will use it against you. But when you’re fencing, you’re in control – you can use it as a tool to support yourself and be more resilient.’

Getting kitted up is surprisingly inexpensive.

Leon Paul is the industry-standard brand, and starter kits begin at just a few hundred pounds, rising to around £1,000 for a top-of-the-range sabre kit. Weapons are generally around £100, so the degree of equipment one-upmanship is kept to a minimum. There’s also a strong social element to fencing: sweating, shouting and venting your frustrations with the same group of people creates a bond you won’t get from doing 40 lengths in the local pool.

‘In the club, we’re a family, and people chat,’ adds Williams. ‘Don’t get me wrong, though – when you get high tension, it’s full on! But there’s etiquette in fencing. You shake hands. Win or lose, you always shake hands.’ ● cityfencingclub.org; londonfencingclub.co.uk

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Brummell • Innovation

Get in gear With the same impeccable craftsmanship it applies to its iconic sports cars, Bugatti is now custom-building its clothing

Words: Peter Howarth

Following on from its new fully custom-made service, enabling you to have pretty much anything you want created from scratch by the team at Bugatti, the motoring marque has created a walk-in – or at least, reach-in – travel trunk.

In black, made from wood and metal, and with a woven-leather surface, it has a motif inspired by the grille of the famous 1936 Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic. Standing at head height, the trunk opens to reveal a mirror, hanging rails and compartments for shirts, shoes, knits, ties and other accessories.

More than a beautiful and portable (if you own a jet or yacht) storage container, it is, explains Bugatti’s brand art director Daniele Andretta, emblematic of the firm’s mission to give customers a chance to have their entire wardrobe personally tailored. Let’s face it, once you have the wardrobe, you’ll need the clothes and accessories to fill it.

Bugatti, founded by Ettore Bugatti in 1909, was resurrected in 1998 by the Volkswagen Group and has since found world fame with its daring sports car, the Bugatti Veyron. Not content with the plaudits of the road, Bugatti has ventured into fashion design, reasoning that its customers might want some luxury clothing to go with their

Luca Patrone

Innovation • Brummell

motors. The Bugatti name has certainly been a draw for the more than 450 who have bought the limited-edition Veyron (now sold out, but orders are apparently being taken for its next super-sports car). Currently, the fashion collection is one of very few ways you can own a piece of the brand. Another is to buy a previously owned Veyron, or even a vintage Bugatti.

Speaking of things vintage, at the top of the big travel trunk – really a piece of furniture on wheels – above the grille motif, sits what looks like a dancing elephant. On closer examination, that’s exactly what it is. ‘This was a sculpture made by Ettore Bugatti’s brother, Rembrandt,’ says Andretta.

‘As an homage to his, by then, late brother, Ettore put the sculpture on the best limousine there was in the world: the Bugatti Royale.’

When the idea of a custom-made service was mooted by the CEO, Andretta said, ‘We can do this, but I want it to be in every category, because we are able to tailor-make glasses, belts, every single type of apparel: big leather goods, small leather goods, shoes and ties.’ Andretta’s vision was simple: a customer visits the store in Brompton Road, sees a range of samples and, in consultation with head tailor Jonathan Clay, starts to build unique pieces. ‘If you like the leather of some shoes and want to put it in the back part of a jacket, you can do that,’ says Andretta. ‘You want the same fabrics for bags as for a suit, in the same colour with the same treatment? You can do that, too.’

He then shows me a shirt, and hypothesises that a client might prefer it with a French collar and in blue silk, which is no problem – nor would it be if someone asked for ‘this bag in this fabric with the centre-line stitching and the handle in crocodile leather’. All, it seems, is possible.

For Bugatti fashion, the initial idea was to make limited-edition pieces, and each item would come in a run of just 431. This number, in kilometres per hour, is the world-record speed of the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport. But when the first Bugatti collection went on sale a year ago, Andretta realised he could deliver another level of product. The soul of this brand, he recognised, lay in the commitment to create a genuinely one-of-a-kind experience. Hence, the custom-made option came to fruition.

‘It’s important for us to understand the smell of the car,’ says Andretta, and it becomes apparent that here he is using the olfactory system to describe an intimate knowledge of the vehicle.

‘It’s an integral part of the project – you cannot disconnect from the car. And if you listen to it when you drive it, you understand its vibrations.

I think it talks to you.’

It is an intensely personal relationship, and the tailor-made fashion division is born out of a desire to replicate that sort of passion. Andretta explains that each garment developed by Bugatti carries an envelope that includes the name of the craftsperson who made it. This, he explains, is because ‘we like the customer to know there is someone behind it – with a soul, with a heart’.

When Andretta says there are no limits to what Bugatti can do for its customers, he really means it. As he proudly shows me some of the ‘hundreds’ of leathers available, the crystal buttons that can be painted in any colour and initialled

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If you listen to the car when you drive it, you understand its vibrations.

I think it talks to you

Opposite Bugatti’s new travel trunk; items from the brand’s AW15 collection; duotone silk bow tie This page The Bugatti Veyron sports car; hand-painted Ettore Bugatti bag, £4,600; bespoke crocodile-skin Ettore Bugatti shoes, £5,570

with a laser, and the ‘more than a thousand’ fabrics at his disposal – which turns out to be an infinite number, as Andretta can make fabrics specially for individual customers – I begin to understand that this enterprise owes more to the motor industry than just its badge.

It is head tailor Clay who perhaps articulates this best: ‘It’s not even fair to talk about “bespoke” or “made to measure”. This is “custom-built”.

It’s a technical detail but, at the end of the day, this is [more in keeping with] the origins of the company. It’s what Bugatti does with a car.’

Clay explains just how unusual this is: ‘You have to imagine that when something is ordered from Bugatti, it’s “Let’s stop everything. We’ve got to work on this now”, which means drawing a pattern and having the team sitting there as you explain the product and process step by step.’

What’s clear is that, whether it’s a finely tuned 431kph motor or a unique, hand-made-in-Italy outfit you’re after, Bugatti has got it covered. ● For more information, contact the Bugatti Lifestyle Boutique, 24–26 Brompton Road, London SW1X 7QN; 020 7589 8765; lifestyle-bugatti.com

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Brummell promotion

Taste of the tropics Embark on a culinary adventure at one of Constance Hotels & Resorts’ gastronomic island hideaways

Words: Georgie Lane-Godfrey

When it comes to hotels, the art of luxury isn’t simply a tick-box list of pillow menus and infinity pools, bespoke butler services and five-star ratings.

Luxury is an intangible experience, offering opportunities that cannot be found elsewhere.

It is this philosophy Constance Hotels & Resorts strives to capture in each of its idyllic island hideaways – an ideal that starts with a commitment to gastronomic innovation. With award-winning sommeliers and world-renowned chefs in its employ, it’s no surprise that the Constance Group has attracted some of the best talent from around the world to create a unique dining experience for its guests.

‘Constance Hotels gives me the freedom to create and innovate, and to experiment with new concepts,’ says Jordi Vila, executive chef at Constance Halaveli, Maldives, who previously worked at the celebrated El Bulli, voted the best restaurant in the world five times in a row.

‘I really love creating dishes with our fresh lobster and tuna,’ he continues. ‘The quality really is exceptional.’ Showcasing the superb standard of the seafood is Kaika, the Constance Halaveli Maldives’s new sushi bar. Here, the signature item on the menu is reef-fish sashimi – a dish that perfectly harnesses the flavour of the local catch.

However, this culinary excellence isn’t restricted to the Maldives. Constance Belle Mare Plage in Mauritius has become synonymous with gastronomic innovation, too, thanks to its role in hosting the annual Festival Culinaire Bernard

The Constance Group has attracted the best global talent to create a unique dining experience

From top The Constance Halaveli, Maldives; a dish created for the 2015 Festival Culinaire Bernard Loiseau competition

Loiseau. Every March, the hotel opens its doors to six Michelin-starred chefs, who come to Mauritius from right across the globe in order to compete against resident chefs in this prestigious cookery competition.

Visiting local markets to source the very freshest ingredients, the chefs create outstanding dishes for Constance Hotel guests to sample.

About to enter its 11th year, the Festival Culinaire Bernard Loiseau is a five-star celebration of food that is quite unlike any other.

And the Constance Group’s commitment to superior gastronomy doesn’t apply only to its food. Each hotel has a wine list, drawn up by its team of acclaimed sommeliers, that is as sophisticated as it is extensive. ‘We have one of the biggest selection of wines in the Maldives, with around 1,000 labels from all around the world,’ reveals Jordi Vila. ‘The cellar at Constance Le Prince Maurice, Mauritius is the largest in the Indian Ocean region, filled with more than 25,000 bottles from the world’s best terroirs.’

Unsurprisingly, the dedicated wine dinners at the hotels are perennially popular, offering a chance to sample the treasures stored within these cellars. However, it is the lagoon wine-tasting at Constance Moofushi, Maldives – where the finest vintages are served in the lapping waters of the ocean – that really embodies Constance’s philosophy of unique luxury. If you raise a glass here, it’ll be a toast you’ll never forget. ● constancehotels.com; +230 402 2772

Epicure • Brummell

Epicure In good spirits Just in time for festive feasting, Brummell’s epicure pages focus on the finest fare to bring you the most exciting culinary action in town.

We use the Uncover dining app to browse and book tables at London’s leading eateries; dine like Indian royalty at ex-Cinnamon Club chef Abdul Yaseen’s new restaurant in the City and recommend other notable openings across the capital; guzzle Gusbourne’s English sparkling wine; and sample superb preserves homemade in Hackney. Finally, we round up new after-dinner expressions and select a book that delves into the history of one of the world’s most iconic cocktails, the negroni. Cheers!

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Brummell • Epicure news

Jewel in the town ↑ Having earned his stripes at Indian fine-dining institution The Cinnamon Club, chef Abdul Yaseen has launched his first solo project, Darbaar, just five minutes from Liverpool Street station.

Seating 220, it was inspired by the banquets of the Indian Royal Court in that it encourages a shared dining experience. Reinventions of ancient recipes use local produce, and dishes are cooked using not only modern but also traditional techniques, be that a clay oven or a charcoal robata grill. darbaarrestaurants.com

English preserve ↑ An edible homemade gift is always appreciated, but not everyone has the time or inclination to make it themselves. Luckily, there is some fine produce out there to purchase.

Newton & Pott’s founder, Kylee Newton, makes a range of delicious chutneys, jams and preserves in her own kitchen in Hackney from natural ingredients. She uses traditional artisan preserving methods to create interesting flavours, often with an exotic twist.

Newton & Pott can be found at Broadway Market, London E8, on Saturdays as well as in a number of stores and delis, including Selfridges.

Anyone who wants to give preservemaking a go should seek out Newton’s first book, The Modern Preserver (Square Peg, £20); newtonandpott.co.uk

Jump the queue Bagging a last-minute table at the city’s most esteemed eateries is notoriously difficult. To help make it easier, the Uncover dining app has partnered with a roster of leading restaurants, including Kitty Fisher’s and Restaurant Story.

The expert team behind the app hand-selects a shortlist of dining options each day, showing only those with availability, meaning reservations can be made instantly.

Users can also peruse menus and browse a feed of foodie news. uncover.london

British fizz comes of age ↓ When Andrew Weeber took over the Gusbourne Estate in Kent in 2004, he put the land to good use, planting 40 hectares of classic champagnegrape varieties to produce fine English sparkling wine. In the decade since, Gusbourne has won multiple awards, including two gold ‘Outstanding’ medals at the International Wine and Spirits Competition, and you’ll find it on the wine lists of several top UK restaurants. The flagship blanc de blancs is made using hand-selected Chardonnay grapes.

From £29.99; gusbourne.com

Epicure news • Brummell

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Food for thought ← After launching The Richmond in Hackney, Brett Redman has teamed up with Saatchi & Saatchi’s Natalie Lee-Joe to open Jidori (jidori.co.uk), left, a Japanese yakitori restaurant, in Dalston. The menu focuses on yakitori skewers served alongside inventive Japanese small plates and rice dishes.

Meanwhile, on Houndsditch, Zebrano (zebrano.london), is the new go-to destination for dining, drinking and dancing in the City. The restaurant has devised a seven-course chef’s-table tasting menu, for which each course is paired with a Taittinger champagne.

Finally, in Marylebone, The Ivy Cafe (theivycafemarylebone.com) – yet another offshoot of the renowned Ivy brand – is now open for leisurely all-day café-style dining. The condensed cocktail menu features just six specially concocted creations.

La dolce vita ↑ Synonymous with Italian sprezzatura, few drinks have acquired the cult status of the negroni. Paying homage to the iconic cocktail, The Life Negroni delves into its illustrious history and dissects each of its ingredients: gin, vermouth, bitters, ice and orange.

The book also explores the influence the negroni has had on style, fashion and etiquette, as well as the part it has played in music, art and luxury hotels since the start of the 20th century.

Beautifully designed, it includes both archive images and contemporary photographs with contributions from negroni aficionados. £20; thelifenegroni.com

Recommended after-dinner → Bourbon Woodford Reserve Master’s Collection, £120; woodfordreserve.com Every year, Woodford Reserve releases a limited-edition whisky. This year, the bourbon has been finished in ex-pinot noir barrels from the Sonoma-Cutrer winery in California, which adds Burgundy-like cherry and berry notes.

Cognac Rémy Martin 1738 Accord Royal, £60; remymartin.com Cognac lovers who regularly visit the States may know the chocolate and butterscotch notes of this smooth, spicy brandy, as it’s been available there since the 1990s.

Single malt The Glenlivet Nàdurra Peated Whisky Cask Finish, £59; theglenlivet.com The third expression of The Glenlivet’s raw, cask-strength range is a whisky for those who like a touch of smokiness. Time spent in a cask that previously held a heavily peated whisky works on the traditional fruity, floral Glenlivet characteristics.

Port Berry Bros & Rudd Vintage Port, £42; bbr.com Britain’s oldest wine merchant made this selection from a wide range of samples of the 2011 vintage, which was the best in many years. Floral on the nose, it’s rounded, with a powerful tannic bite.

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Brummell • Need to know The art of craftsmanship, science of gemmology and history of a diamond life is portrayed in the Graff stort

A cut above A captivating new book explores Graff Diamonds and the company founder with a feeling for gems

Words: Joanne Glasbey

The Graff name is synonymous with legendary diamonds and perfect gemstones. The fascinating story of the family-owned house – and that of its founder, Laurence Graff – is told in a new and rather grand eponymous tome that showcases the exceptional jewellery and timepieces and spotlights the most famous historical stones that have passed through Graff’s hands.

The miracle of the discovery of diamonds and the adventures of the stones’ epic travels from their origins millions of years ago in the Earth’s crust are described, as are the cutting-edge technologies used to source then cut and polish them into fabulous gems. Essays by expert jewellery and watch specialists pay homage to the rarity of nature’s wonders, the artistry of jewellery design and outstanding human know-how.

This savoir faire is in the DNA of Laurence Graff, whose biography is as fascinating as the stories of the stones. His passion for diamonds is boundless and he seems to possess an uncanny sixth sense about them. However, back in 1953, the young Hatton Garden apprentice was told he had no future in jewellery. This proved to be more of a provocation than a deterrent, and six decades on, Graff is arguably the world’s leading diamantaire. Entrepreneurial flair, a talent for spotting opportunities and the courage to take risks have all contributed to his stellar business trajectory, and Graff Diamonds is now a global,

vertically integrated company operating at the pinnacle of the luxury-jewellery sector.

‘I have the same passion and desire for diamonds as I did when I established Graff Diamonds,’ Laurence Graff says. ‘I truly believe I am the luckiest man in the world because I see diamonds every day.’

He decided to give back and share his success with the countries in which the company sources, cuts and polishes many of its diamonds: Lesotho, Botswana and South Africa. He established the FACET Foundation – For Africa’s Children Every Time – in 2008, to team up with African charities to combat the devastating impact of poor health and a lack of basic education on the life chances of disadvantaged children and young people. FACET works with local partners to develop targeted programmes – in leadership, mentoring, computer and life skills, and more – designed to improve standards of health, education and well-being, and aims to make a fundamental difference to communities in southern Africa. All proceeds from the sale of the Graff coffee-table book will go to FACET. ● Graff, with a foreword by Suzy Menkes and essays by jewellery and watch specialists including Vivienne Becker, Joanna Hardy and Nick Foulkes, is published by Rizzoli, £65; graffdiamonds.com; facet-foundation.org

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