MARCH 2011
the little black book for the city
Measuring up BESPOKE AND tailor-made suits / the e-type, 50 years on / Racehorse ownership the world’s best HI-Fi / Remote luxury travel / motorsport-inspired watches
"BOUCLE DE DIAMANTS" RING
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18K WHITE GOLD AND DIAMONDS
CONTENTS | BRUMMELL
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Cover illustration by Janine Rewell 37
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Show Media Brummell editorial 020 3222 0101 Editor Joanne Glasbey Art Director Dominic Bell Associate Editor Henry Farrar-Hockley Chief Sub Editor Chris Madigan Picture Editor Juliette Hedoin Designer Hillary Jayne Sub Editors Sarah Evans, Gill Wing Fashion Director Tamara Fulton Styling Assistant Pop Kampol Senior Art Director Ciara Walshe Creative Director Ian Pendleton Managing Director Peter Howarth Advertising & Events Director Duncan McRae duncan@flyingcoloursmarketing.com 07816 218059
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Roger Rich; Bruce Anderson
brummellmagazine.net Colour reproduction by Fresh Media Group, wearefmg.com Printed by The Manson Group, manson-grp.co.uk Brummell is designed and produced by Show Media Ltd and distributed with Financial News. 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).
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showmedia.net brummell@showmedia.net Visit Brummell’s new website for more tailor-made content:
Foreword Clients tire of identisuited bankers with identical PowerPoint presentations, says David Charters. Let loose the individualists Money no object The spirit of Coco Chanel lives on in the sparkling fine jewellery collection
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News The latest watches and tech; a New York boutique hotel; a luxurious Land Rover and an exclusive Brummell readers’ event Women’s accessories Bright, colourful shoes, belts and bags to bring some vitality to a neutral wardrobe After the City The Cad & Dandy is the new tailor on the Row, set up by two former Square Milers
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Superior sound systems At hi-fi’s high end, a system can be a work of art, with style, engineering and price (even colour) to match an Aston Martin Tailor-made suits With the emphasis on customers’ needs, it’s easy to forget each tailor has a personal style. Find the one that works best for you. Travel Ladakh is India’s most remote region, but now you can explore it in style, stopping off in beautiful, refurbished houses Style Lightweight suits and accessories that keep their cool in the urban jungle Watches Tracing the historic connection between motor-racing and chronograph watches Racehorse ownership Why buying into a syndicate can bring thrills, spills and profitable horseplay By George The E-type Jaguar: 50 years old and still one of the most gorgeous cars in the world
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ROYAL OAK OFFSHORE DIVER Designed and developed for deep-sea exploration, the Royal Oak Offshore Diver is equipped with a dedicated divingscale on an inner rotating dial ring and meets the demanding criteria of the Swiss watch industry diver’s watch norms. Water-resistant to 300 metres. Stainless steel case. Proprietary selfwinding calibre 3120, all parts finely decorated; oscillating weight engraved with the AP monogram as well as the Audemars and Piguet family crests.
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foreword | brummell
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Let loose the individualists With regulation suits and a by-the-book approach to business, it is easy for bankers to appear identical and robotic. What clients really want is a touch of authentic character and hinterland; they’re looking, if you will, for a well-rounded peg in the Square Mile words David Charters Photography Eda Ekaltun I had a dream recently. No, not one of those. A bad one. I dreamt that the whole investment banking industry had been subsumed within a single global monoculture. That gigantic, soulless finance factories were churning out identical, commoditised products on a colossal scale, on vast trading floors staffed by identikit, one-dimensional functionaries. They were all dressed alike, all went to the same business schools and thought identically. They even sounded the same, communicating in a midAtlantic accent about bandwidth, traction and alpha. Luckily it was only a dream. I think. It is often said – not least by me – that investment banking is the triumph of form over substance. Presentation is everything. Get that right and everything else will follow. Or not. At every firm, a huge amount of focus and effort goes into achieving an industry standard of presentation material that covers, well, exactly the same things everyone else covers. The frustration is that reaching the standard does not win you the business, but not reaching it almost certainly excludes you. I’m old enough to recall when PowerPoint presentations were regarded as novel; now we produce them on an industrial scale. As clients disappear beneath piles of paper produced after all-nighters by sweating teams of analysts and associates, it is clear that the personal touch is needed in investment banking as never before. I had the good fortune to start my investment banking career at SG Warburg, a firm that prided itself on its ability to hire and retain smart people from diverse backgrounds, who were individuals. Warburg had a strong corporate culture, but it also felt personal. It sounds like a cliché from a corporate branding consultant, but Warburg, in the old days, was family. It was tough and competitive, but we liked being there and took an awful lot of pride in what we did. And when we met prospective clients, we had an understated confidence and assurance that went far beyond anything you can put in a PowerPoint. I’d like to claim we were unique,
but Cazenove had a similar feel, as did Morgan Grenfell and probably half a dozen others. By contrast, US firms pitched for business like machines, using identical terminology, making an impact by using individuals with Big Verbal Presence – typically tall, well-built former football players or marines who spoke in loud, deep voices – and for a while they won. Our response was to try to be like them, because they were Wall Street-cool, clearly successful, and had to represent the future. Luckily, this did not last forever. The investment banking business evolves fast and dinosaurs don’t get the chance to hang around for long. The slick presentational style of the big battalions came to be seen for what it was – an artificial construct that could have been designed by machines or, failing that, management consultants and, in the end, lacked both humanity and integrity. Anyone hiring a professional services firm likes the assurance of getting a good brand name but, more importantly, wants to hire individuals whom they feel they know and can trust and respect. Robots need not apply. Doing an IPO or a takeover may be everyday meat and drink to the investment bankers, but, for the client, it could be the first – possibly the only – time they do it. If it goes wrong, they will carry the scars for ever. It might end their careers. So the human factors are critical. Do you care? Will you be there for them in adversity? If you look them in the eye and ooze sincerity, do you mean it? Thank goodness you can’t yet bottle authenticity any more than you can box up individuality.
As clients disappear under piles of paper produced after allnighters, it’s clear the personal touch is needed as never before
So, how do you show these critical qualities? Where is the scope for the personal touch? How do you best project awesomeness without looking like a great white shark in a suit? It certainly isn’t in the way you dress. Men in the Square Mile dress not to stand out. If they dress down, they wear identical chinos and polo shirts. If they wear suits, the maximum scope for being different, showing how daring they are, is in choosing a flashy scarlet lining that makes their tailor silently wince. Yes, it says, I’m sober and conservative on the outside, but inside I’m racy and daring (or vulgar and tasteless). Suits, ties, shoes, cufflinks, even watches have gone the way of the PowerPoint presentation. Of course, a successful banker should wear a Patek Philippe. Not doing so might mean you haven’t been successful enough to afford one. Get these things wrong and you fail, get them right and you don’t necessarily win. Are we really so superficial? The best way to come across as an individual is to be one. When David Yarrow of Clareville Capital published Nowhere, his extraordinary collection of photographs from remote regions of the world, in aid of his chosen charities, he stood out. Yes, he really had been to all those places; yes, he was lucky to walk away when his microlight crashed in the Sahara desert; and, yes, the photographs are of a professional standard. But this is his hobby. His day job is running money. That’s impressive. And it harks back to the old days, before PowerPoint. Bankers stood out as impressive individuals because they were. They could not afford to be one-dimensional, all work and no play, narrow specialists knowing more and more about less and less. They had the time – or made it – to pursue their passions, to do good works and to listen to and understand their clients. Unrealistic? Back to the future even? Yes, please. Let’s not just look the part, let’s be it. I’m off to the Antarctic next year. ‘Where Egos Dare’ by David Charters is published by Elliott & Thompson, priced £6.99
MONEY NO OBJECT | BRUMMELL
PLUME BLOOM Coco’s beloved feathered camellia is reimagined with 853 diamonds
When Gabrielle Chanel launched her first jewellery collection, called Bijoux de Diamants, in 1932, she intepreted her signature camellia, bows, stars and feathers in spectacular diamond designs. For her, these stones represented ‘the greatest value in the smallest volume’. Coco’s beloved feather theme was the inspiration for Chanel’s high jewellery collection shown at last autumn’s Biennale des Antiquaire, projecting the creative freedom and visionary modernity of the original pieces into fine contemporary styles, like this extraordinary necklace. The ‘Eventail’ is made of 18-carat white gold, and includes two pear-cut diamonds, 601 white brilliant-cut diamonds, 250 black diamonds, plus a pink sapphire and two fresh water pearls. The piece highlights how the house has reinterpreted Coco Chanel’s designs for a modern age and embraced her creative instinct: ‘My love of things that glitter has inspired me to try to combine elegance and fashion through the medium of jewellery.’ chanel.com Photography Bruce Anderson Words Joanne Glasbey
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www.canali.it
126-127 New Bond Street, Tel. 0207 2903 500 london.bondst.shop@canali.it
news | beAumonde
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A heritage timepiece, ultra-thin netbook and an exclusive tailoring event
seconds best It was 190 years ago that Nicolas Rieussec, horologist to the French Royal Court, invented the chronograph movement as a means of accurately timing Louis XVIII's racehorses. To mark the occasion, Montblanc has designed this limited anniversary edition 43mm platinum Rieussec, which features a similar monopusher mechanism to drive the second and minute hands of its chronograph function. Just 25 will be sold through Montblanc boutiques from June. £39,100; montblanc.com
dive Time Jaeger-LeCoultre may be known first and foremost for its feted Reverso mechanism, but its diving watches are arguably worthy of similarly high praise. This Master Compressor Diving GMT Lady Céramique, available at William & Son, is JaegerLeCoultre’s first automatic, dual time-zone wristwatch designed for women. Water-resistant to 100m, it combines a ceramic strap with a uni-directional bezel inlaid with diamonds. £7,815; williamandson.com
Scent and the City A common misconception is that clothing alone maketh the man, but all that time and money invested in your bespoke suit will have been for naught if you go and pair it with a cheap, ubiquitous cologne. For a fragrance with artisanal credentials and a heritage to match Savile Row’s finest, we’d advocate tracking down a bottle of Houbigant’s Fougère Royale. Its herbaceous notes – fougère means ‘fern’ – were a hit when it was created in 1882. Now it has been re-tailored for 2011 by perfumers Roja Dove and Rodrigo FloresRoux. A refined and invigorating blend of bergamot, cinnamon and oakmoss, it is an essential addition to every wardrobe. From £105 at the Roja Dove Haute Parfumerie at Harrods; harrods.com
striking defender Though we have long revered the Action Man credentials of the Land Rover Defender, its rugged charm and austere comfort levels have never really chimed with the workaday backdrop of the office high-rise and corner coffee outlet. All that looks set to change, however, with the introduction of the special-edition Defender X-Tech this month. More urban conqueror than weekend warrior, the three- or five-door hardtop (based on the model 90 Defender) eschews Land Rover's utilitarian colour palette for ‘Zermatt silver’ panel-work, with the roof, wheels and lamp caps offset by a shade referred to as ‘Santorini black’. Other upgrades include 16-inch sawtooth alloys and two-tone leather seating. The 2.4-litre turbo diesel engine, meanwhile, manages a reliable 122bhp, and 265 lb/ft of torque (ample for navigating London Wall at rush hour). From £24,995; landrover.com
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Light entertainer Aesthetics traditionally feature low down on the to-do lists of Windowsoriented laptop manufacturers, but Samsung has done PC-toting salarymen proud with its flagship 9 Series notebook. Despite weighing a mere 1.31kg (and measuring 16.3mm thin), this Intel Core i5-powered computer somehow still manages to accommodate 128GB of solid-state storage, 4GB of RAM, a 13.3-inch screen and a backlit keyboard. Better still, the chassis is cast from duralumin – an extremely rigid alloy used in aircraft fuselages – to ensure it remains that little bit more resistant to everyday use. The device’s battery life, meanwhile, tops out at a respectable 6.5 hours – just long enough for a medium-haul flight. samsung.co.uk Taking the Fifth Not content with opening Wall Street’s only hotel (the imaginatively named Andaz Wall Street) the Hyatt group’s boutique offshoot has opened a second New York outpost on Fifth Avenue. Occupying the former headquarters of Tommy Hilfiger, this 184-room property is conveniently located across the road from that other local refuge, the New York Public Library. As with its financial district sibling, guests are allocated their own ‘host’ to see to their every whim, and bedrooms boasting 12ft ceilings. The bathrooms are equally opulent, with travertine marble counters, rainfall shower cubicles and CO Bigelow toiletries. Jet-lagged residents can also tuck into locally produced goods from Katz’s Delicatessen and the Sullivan Street Bakery, without setting foot outside the hotel. Rooms from $435; andaz.com
Exclusive event To celebrate the launch of the new DAKS made-to-measure service – with suits made in Italy from a choice of over 300 fabrics – the British luxury brand has joined forces with Brummell for an exclusive event on 31 March, 6.30-9pm, at the DAKS store at 101 Jermyn Street. There will be a prize draw and a 10 per cent discount on purchases made on the night. To join us, email your name and address to duncan@ flyingcoloursmarketing.com by 25 March – limited tickets will be offered on a ballot basis. Suits from £1,450; daks.com
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lighT Touch Follow this season’s trend of adding bold touches of bright colour to accessorise even neutral outfits Photography Bruce Anderson
whose hue? Striped shoe, £399, salvatore Ferragamo. Red belt, £85, yellow belt, £85, both Aquascutum. ‘Sfrangiato Knot’ clutch, £1,225, bottega Veneta
24 beaumonde | after the city
dandy lions Tailors Ian Meiers, left, and James Sleater at their City HQ off Cornhill, beneath those icons of Englishness: Crouchie and Caine
Needle match Two ex-City men who’d planned to set up rival tailor shops have thrived by joining forces Words James Medd Photography Sam Christmas
The waistcoat spray-painted with the image of Michael Caine in Get Carter pose, shotgun cocked, is a surprise. But then so is the attention-seeking name, the site in the heart of the City and, frankly, the youth and laid-back demeanour of the two owners. This is not Savile Row, but it is bespoke tailoring. James Sleater, 30, and Ian Meiers, 31, set up Cad & The Dandy (which refers not to them but to their customers) two years ago on the back of redundancy payouts from their City jobs. The career change was a leap for both, although not entirely in the dark, since Meiers’ mother was a tailor and Sleater’s family had been in cloth manufacture. They had each been considering the move when they were put in touch by a fabric merchant they had both approached for advice. ‘We met up for beers a
few times – more to know the enemy really,’ says Sleater from the shop’s large leather sofa. ‘Then we decided two heads were better than one.’ The plan was to aim at a younger clientele than Savile Row, around the 25-45 mark. Prices start at £450 for suits machine-stitched in their workshop in Asia, and from £750 for the fully hand-stitched, bells-and-whistles version. They say customers range ‘from baggage-handlers to heads of worldwide corporations’, but they’re particularly attuned to the needs of first-timers. ‘Older guys might come in and say, “Show me your 14oz plain weaves,”’ says Sleater, ‘but a young guy comes in and he’s looking at the floor, not knowing what to ask. He needs to be put at ease.’ A drink, some light banter and a thorough lack of stuffiness do that. In addition to the City premises and an office in Canary Wharf, the pair do, in fact, have a shop in Savile Row, shared with old-school tailors Chittleborough & Morgan, whom they’ve clearly enjoyed geeing up: ‘We bullied them into getting a website,’ says Sleater, ‘but they’re still operating with a typewriter.’ They’re not just two cocky City boys, though. ‘We know how to make a suit,’ says Meiers, ‘although you probably wouldn’t want us doing yours ourselves.’ Their financial experience is fully employed, however. For example, they have turned around the tailoring business model of payment on delivery and long-term bills. Customers spending under £1,000 pay upfront, so they in turn can pay their cloth merchants upfront, thereby securing a 30-40 per cent discount. It’s maverick behaviour in a slow-moving world, and it has a dramatic effect on pricing. In many ways, though, they embrace tradition. Most of their 11 staff are from Savile Row. They also use about 90 per cent British cloth: ‘It’s so much better,’ says Sleater, ‘and we’re selling the cloth as well as our style.’ That style is, by bespoke standards, pretty dandyish. They have even collaborated with Chris Eubank, most recently producing a pair of twisted-seam jodhpurs. This comes from Sleater more than Meiers, who worked in accountancy and investment management at Barclays and deals with the operations end of the business. He talks about ‘the relationship with the customer and delivering quality all the time’, whereas former sales-trader Sleater, who is in charge of marketing, admits that, if it was all up to him, everything would probably be as flamboyant as that Get Carter waistcoat. ‘It’s a good job we got together,’ he says. ‘This way we meet somewhere in the middle.’ cadandthedandy.co.uk
sweet music This page: Wilson Audio’s imposing Alexandria speaker. Opposite, from left: the Continuum Caliburn turntable; a Davielet integrated amp
Sound investment surrounding yourself with excellent music is not only a question of technology. some of the best components are works of art words Ken Kessler
high-end hi-Fi | brummell 27
Most people have no idea how good music can sound in the home. Downmarket purveyors have succeeded in promoting features over performance, while all that the iPod and its ilk have given us is convenience at the expense of sound quality. But if you meet but one prerequisite – an overpowering passion for music – there’s a dream route to musical nirvana, and that’s a serious hi-fi system. What defines ‘serious’? Just as seven-figure price tags no longer surprise watch or car enthusiasts, hi-fi too has exploited the freedoms imparted by ‘cost no object’ design. Specialists create systems worthy of a Berkeley Square townhouse or a spread in the Hamptons. Forget high-street brands: likening them to ‘high-end audio’ is tantamount to citing a Dacia and a Bugatti as ‘cars’ in the same sentence. At the cutting edge, manufacturers assume that clients have the space in which to house no-compromise hardware. The components are almost unrecognisable as traditional audio gear. Some even qualify as sculpture. Instead of dull wood-grained boxes, speakers might consist of transparent panels or massive, angular enclosures finished in the same paint used on a Ferrari. Think of CD players shaped like a Chris Foss spacecraft, turntables so complex they require dedicated floor-stands, speaker cables the diameter of a bullwhip. High-end audio first appeared in the Fifties, after stereo arrived, when systems delivered two channels of sound instead of one. Audio pioneers such as McIntosh, Quad and Marantz priced components for doctors, lawyers and other professionals. But they rarely suited décor conceived by interior designers. It all changed in the early Eighties. After decades of cubist wooden speaker boxes, Italy’s Sonus Faber introduced hand-finished loudspeakers with curved edges, using solid staves of walnut polished to violin-making standards instead of veneers. Above all, they sounded as good as they looked. You can see and hear this in its Stradivari Homage loudspeaker (£28,000- £30,000 per pair), an elegant panel suggestive of fine furniture. Along with the new-wave styling, copied by every speaker builder from Berlin to Boston,
came the knowledge that build quality and finish had to reflect the value of the acquisition. When asking a client for an investment akin to that for a Rolls-Royce, it’s only right that the pride of ownership be its equal. Wilson Audio realised that there was nothing to stop it finishing its speakers in any colour the client desired. Standing nearly 2m tall, a pair of Wilson Alexandria X-2 Series 2 speakers (£150,000 per pair) dominates a listening area. Wilson installed a paint booth at the factory so advanced it can be used to spray-paint a car. Which gave them another idea: why not offer the customer the same finishes as in the automotive palette? If you prefer, sir, your Alexandrias can match your Aston-Martin. One must remember that, unlike a car or a watch, the acquisition of a sound system means purchases from more than one manufacturer. A complete hi-fi consists of a source (CD, vinyl etc), amplification and speakers, connected by high-quality cables. As no single manufacturer excels in every discipline, tailoring the complete package from varying hardware makers is inherent in its purchase. Any audiophile might also argue that much of the pleasure of acquiring a sound system is putting it together from the tens of thousands of candidates suitable for inclusion. Whichever route you choose, however, you should be guided by a retailer capable of dealing with high-performance audio components, for that retailer must also be there to ensure that the system’s components possess sonic and electronic synergy, that the system works in your room, and that the installation is set up to perfection before they leave you to enjoy its pleasures. To supply the power to speakers such as the Alexandrias, one needs to investigate
Think of speakers shaped like a spacecraft, turntables so complex they require floor-stands, and cables the diameter of bullwhips
brands such as Krell. Their flagships, the Evolution Two pre-amplifier (£55,000) and the Evolution One power amplifier (£65k per pair) will drive any loudspeaker to which they might be attached. Producing a robust 450 watts per channel, the EVO 1 is made up of four chassis. At 25kg per unit, floor space, rather than shelving, is required. More compact but equally capable – and arguably prettier – is the new amplifier from former Krell CEO, Dan D’Agostino. His Momentum Monoblock Amplifier (£42,000 per pair), with a power meter inspired by a Breguet wristwatch, will supply 300 watts to each speaker. If, however, such amplification is too cumbersome or even too costly, the new kid on the block is Devialet from France. It has combined a pre-amp and power amps into a single, solid aluminium chassis no larger than a stack of a dozen LPs. You can even wall-mount it. Full remote control, complete integration with digital sources: the Devialet will set you back only £11,000. In high-end audio, analogue still rules. To reproduce the sound of your precious vinyl, look to Continuum’s Caliburn turntable with Cobra tone arm for £140,000, complete with stand. Fit to it a moving-coil cartridge from Koetsu, made, perhaps, from solid jade, for another £11,000. Do the maths, and you’ll find that using such a thoroughbred will cost you around £10 every time you play an LP (the Koetsu’s stylus typically lasts 1,000 hours). To connect all of this, consider Transparent Opus cables. A 2m pair of its speaker wires will cost £12,600. Its interconnects – you’ll need at least two pairs – start at £7,700 per metre. Acquiring such an investment demands a hi-fi emporium with a proper showroom for a private demonstration of a much-loved record. Absolute Sounds, distributors of many of the brands mentioned here, has a list of approved dealers. With the exception of allowing you to light up your favourite Cuban, a demonstration should replicate the conditions in which you wish to savour the music. If it is so realistic that you’d swear the performer was in the room, you’ve heard what extreme audio equipment can do. absolutesounds.com
GAR25410 Swaylands 275x210 AD:Layout 1 11/02/2011 15:45 Page 1
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NOW IS THE TIME TO DISCOVER THE DELIGHTS OF SWAY A TRULY IMPRESSIVE COUNTRY RETREAT
tailorinG | BrUMMEll 29
Style detail Singlebreasted
While buying a bespoke suit means you control how it ends up looking, each London tailor has its own house style. Here’s a quick guide
Slant pocket
Words Josh Sims illustration Emily Forgot Patch pocket
Gauntlet cuff
Jet pockets
Gieves & Hawkes
John Pearse
Mark Powell
History Thomas Hawkes, established in 1771, was hat-maker to the military; the firm amalgamated with naval tailors James Gieves in 1972, moving from Bond Street to Savile Row
History Pearse trained with shirt-makers Hawes & Curtis; he opened seminal Sixties King’s Road ‘psychedelic boutique’ Granny Takes A Trip; established his current tailoring business in 1991
History First Soho business opened in 1985; created costumes for David Bowie movie Absolute Beginners; in current premises since 2010; in 1988 Powell also launched London’s first easy-listening club.
Big clients Not the average celebrity client: Lord Nelson, the Duke of Wellington, Winston Churchill
Big clients Sixties icons such as Jimi Hendrix, Jack Nicholson and Mick Jagger
Big clients Flamboyant TV presenters and, perhaps oddly, Harrison Ford
House style Close-fitting, moulded chest, angular shoulder line, two side vents, two-button single-breasted jacket
House style Close-fitting, high arm-holed, singlebreasted, two-button, wide lapels and patch pockets
What to buy now Classic two-piece suit with peak lapel and angled pockets in Harrisons mid-royal-blue wool mohair
What to buy now Twenties-style, six-button, double-breasted jacket in navy and black seersucker, the quintessential summer stripe
House style Three- to four-button, single-breasted, three-piece Edwardian-style suit, shorter jacket, shallow vents, gauntlet cuffs, tapered trousers.
Fittings & timings Four fittings (including measurements); 12 weeks from measurements to completed suit
Fittings & timings Three fittings (including measurements); six weeks from measurements to completed suit
Fittings & timings Three fittings (including measurements); six weeks from measurements to completed suit.
From £3,800 for a two-piece suit. 020 7432 6403; gievesandhawkes.com; 1 Savile Row, London W1S 3RJ
From £2,500 for a two-piece suit. 020 7434 0738; johnpearse.co.uk; 6 Meard Street, London W1F OEG
From £1,800 for a two-piece suit. 020 7287 5498; markpowellbespoke.co.uk; 2 Marshall Street, London W1F 9BA
What to buy now High-closing, four-button double-breasted suit in pastel tropical wool.
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Lutwyche High waist
Doublevented
History Established by ex-army officer Tony Lutwyche in 2000; in 2006 established a workshop in Crewe; in 2010 bought Lodger shoes to create the company Lutwyche & Lodger Big clients City bigwigs, corporate lawyers and professional sportsmen House style Single-breasted, two-button jacket with standard lapel, angled or single jet pockets, and softer construction What to buy now Single-breasted, side-vented, two-button suit in blue wool-mix mohair and lightweight lining Fittings & timings Three to four fittings (including measurements); eight weeks from measurements to completed suit
Notch lapel
From £3,000 for a two-piece suit. 020 7292 0640; lutwyche.co.uk; 15c Clifford Street, London W1S 4JZ Tapered leg
Kilgour
Edward Sexton
Chris Kerr
History Launched in 1882 as T&F French, merging with AH Kilgour in 1923, and then with Fred and Louis Stanbury in 1925 to create a company named Kilgour, French & Stanbury from 1937; it reverted to Kilgour in 2003
History Trained as an assistant cutter with Kilgour, Sexton launched the seminal Nutters with Tommy Nutter in 1969 – the first tailors to open on Savile Row in a century; established his own business in 1977
History Established by father Eddie Kerr in 1962; son Chris was trained by his father 15 years ago; the company has since taken on Chris’s name and is a regular maker for period films and the recent Daniel Craig Bond movies
Big clients Cary Grant, Fred Astaire House style Two-button, double-vented, singlebreasted, full-chested jacket with notch lapels and straight flap pockets; longer but moderately waisted
Big clients Rock royalty and Formula 1 bigwigs House style Thirties-style hacking-type, gently flared, three-button single-breasted jacket with square shoulder, high arm hole, wide lapel and high waist
Big clients Comedians, musicians House style Sixties-style, Mod-inspired, close-fitting, low-breaking, one-button, single-breasted jacket with notch lapel and slant pockets
What to buy now Single-breasted, one-button, unlined jacket with high-peak label and no vents, in 8oz steel blue mohair
What to buy now Single-breasted, one-button jacket with two-button, turn-back cuff, in 9oz light grey check wool
Fittings & timings Two fittings (including measurements); 12 to 16 weeks from first to completed suit
Fittings & timings Three fittings (including measurements); six weeks from measurements to completed suit
Fittings & timings Four fittings (including measurements); four to six weeks from measurement to completed suit
From £3,600 for a two-piece suit. 020 3283 8941; kilgour.eu; 8 Savile Row, London W1S 3PE
From £3,500 for a two-piece suit. 020 7838 0007; edwardsexton.co.uk; 26 Beauchamp Place, London SW3 1NJ
From £1,350 for a two-piece suit. 020 7437 3727; chriskerr.com; 31 Berwick Street, London W1F 8RJ
What to buy now A one-button, single-breasted jacket with notch lapels and slant pockets in inky blue Glen check Super 150 Golden Bale
www.twsteeluk.com
travel | BrUMMell 33
BlUe sky thinking View from rooftop pagoda of Shakti village house, looking towards the snow-licked peak of Stok Kangri, 6,153m high
High praise In beautiful, remote, elevated Ladakh, renovated houses offer eclectic alternatives to hotels Words Ian Belcher
God forbid they ever introduce speed cameras to Ladakh. India’s northernmost region, home to some of the most savagely beautiful roads on earth, uses gentle double entendres rather than dull-eyed penalties to keep its drivers in check. ‘Darling, I like you but not so fast,’ blurts one road sign, followed by ‘Feel my curves, do not test them’ and ‘Be Mr Late, not late Mr.’ I can’t see it changing. Not Ladakh. It’s too quirky, feisty, otherworldly. The ridiculously photogenic, high-altitude desert might be part of Jammu and Kashmir, but it shares a surreal, intergalactic landscape with the Tibetan plateau, along with anthropology – faces are Himalayan not Indian – and Buddhism. Each winter it hibernates for months behind an icy drawbridge, burning yak dung against the -30ºC freeze. Speed cameras? I don’t think so. They’re too mundane, too anodyne, symptoms of a more controlled, sanitised world. Ladakh, however, isn’t totally immune to modernity. Previously a target for more adventurous backpackers and grizzled hikers, it recently tasted its first shot of luxury tourism. Shakti, pioneer of Himalayan home stays, has performed Grand Designs surgery on three handsome houses in different villages along the Indus Valley, all with sweeping views of the dramatic terrain.
Forget Four Seasons or Aman; this luxury is a tad more eclectic. Rooftop pavilions have rugs, scatter cushions and wraparound panoramas – you’ll never play more scenic Scrabble. Beamed rooms come with huge windows, ‘Bukhara’ stoves to keep it cosy, and homebrewed organic toiletries. Like a 21st-century caravan, the group travels from house to house with a gaggle of chefs, waiters, drivers and guides staying with the family on the ground floor. Days are punctuated with hikes, rafting on glacially green rivers and the chance to witness high-altitude religious worship that stirs the inner Cartier-Bresson as well as the soul. The money shot arrives early. As the first UV rays strike the Zanskar and Ladakh mountains, washing warm light across the valley far below, two burgundy-robed monks blow conch shells, raising a mournful call to
Like a 21st-century caravan, the group travels from house to house with a gaggle of chefs, waiters, drivers and guides
prayer at Tikse monastery. The air is startlingly clear, colours Persil bright, the backdrop simply epic. I point, click and suffer delusions of a future with Magnum. Tikse also has the world’s highest, most scenic wishing well. Make the most of it, because just across the Indus valley the light fades and the mood darkens. Hemis monastery mounts an annual dance of death using mummified human hands. Its ugly protective deity is placated with bottles of booze, and its museum exhibits a disturbing creature, Lak Kyi, which, it is claimed, is the offspring of a vulture and a dalmatian dog. And then I hear about the Hemis monks. Many retreat up the mountain to meditate in isolation for three months, three days and three hours. ‘Some turn delirious,’ warns our guide, Sid. ‘Some go mad, some die of hypothermia.’ Not us. Not safely swaddled in the hands of Shakti. We hike through barley fields separated by dry stone walls and studded with ‘stupa’ burial mounds, march across sunburnished rocks to cross a strand of the famous Silk Road, and plunge into a deep ravine, where the vertiginous sand and towering rock buttresses look like the Namibian desert. But that is one of the rare descents on the route. In Ladakh, you are normally looking
34 BRUMMELL | tRavEL
aLtitUDE RiCHnESS CIockwise from top left: Tikse monastery; Tikse monks looking across Indus Valley; road sign to deter speeding; bedroom with corner windows in Shakti house in Taru village
towards the heavens. Khardung La is the highest pass on Earth that’s accessible to motor vehicles, with its 39km of switchbacks taking around three hours to drive. We pass army checkpoints (reminders of the strategic sensitivity of the Pakistan border), masochistic cyclists and more road signs that would annoy Gloria Steinem: ‘Don’t gossip, let him drive.’ ‘See that blue patch?’ asks Sid casually, as our 4WD climbs to the equivalent of 300 metres above Everest Base Camp. ‘Milk packs. The lorry went over just there. Two dead.’ Still, the 5,602m summit, buried under a blizzard of prayer flags and looking across to the Karakoram Mountains, is worth the terror. But Shakti embraces the intimate as well as the immense. Our second property snuggles into a slender, serenely beautiful agricultural valley to the north of the Indus, where terraced fields are laced with ribbons of emerald and ochre forest. Bar the occasional hiker pitching a tent, Taru has never received visitors. It might not be first contact with an Amazonian tribe, but it still feels an absolute privilege. Swapping the sharp tang of adrenalin for a taste of local life, we’re guided around the white-walled properties by Lolo, our house owner’s teenage daughter. We cross irrigation channels, passing yaks, women roasting skillets of barley and village elders using beads to record the annual audit of farmland.
Taru’s a gentle antidote to manic, technologyrich lives. It’s almost sad to find television has recently penetrated the Himalayan society. ‘It changes people,’ says Angmo, Lolo’s elder sister. ‘They want more things. But it also does good – our winters are very long.’ She’s not joking. It’s claimed locals spend six months working like yaks and six sleeping like marmots. After the small-scale simplicity, our final base in Nimu offers the most astonishing views of the trip. Sedimentary rocks lean like chaotic bookshelves opposite the vast flat-topped ridge of an ancient ocean bed forged 55 million years ago by the collision of the Indian and Asian continental plates - a brutal geology lesson from the school of hard knocks. It’s impossible not to stare. To one side the Indus meets the magnificent Zanskar River Gorge, India’s answer to the Grand Canyon with 600m-high cliffs veined purple, green and orange. In winter the frothing rapids are seized by icy rigor mortis, creating one of the planet’s most lauded treks - another elegy-inducing sight from the land where photo-ops are ten-a-penny and speed cameras, traffic jams and parking tickets, gloriously non-existent. Cazenove + Loyd offers a 10-night Ladakh trip with Shakti Himalaya from £4,130pp, including flights, meals, activities, private guiding, transfers, and two nights at the Imperial in Delhi. cazloyd.com
Remote luxury Dunton Hot Springs United States Welcome to the designer Rockies. The restored ghost town in Colorado mixes gentrified miners’ cottages with gorgeous views. From £494 per night full board. duntonhotsprings.com Erg Chebbi Dunes Morocco Glorious isolation meets decadent luxury. This chic camp is raised on demand among the exhausted volcanoes and rolling dunes of the Sahara. £2,000pp for two nights’ full board and excursions. abercrombiekent.co.uk Explora Patagonia Chile The wilderness luxury firm's Patagonian base, Hotel Salto Chico is the only lodge in the centre of the Torres del Paine National Park. It offers astounding panoramas, along with guided excursions. Four nights’ full board with activities from £1,717pp. explora.com
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STYLE | BRUMMELL 37
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Concrete jungle This summer’s suiting is fitted, sharp and lightweight to help you stay cool when the heat is on Styling David Waters Photography Roger Rich
STYLE | BRUMMELL 39
Opposite page: Suit, £860, Paul Smith London.Shirt, £115, Burberry London. Check tie, £116, Marni. Pocket square, £22, DAKS. This page, top: Doublebreasted suit, £750, Paul Smith London. Shirt, from £370, Louis Vuitton. Tie, £55, Hackett. Glasses, £190, Dolce & Gabbana, at David Clulow.Pocket square, £18, Gieves & Hawkes This page, below: Doublebreasted suit, £675, and contrast collar shirt, £90, both Hackett. Spotted bow tie, £55, Paul Smith. Silk pocket square, £60, DAKS. Shoes, £295, Burberry London
STYLE | BRUMMELL
41
Opposite page: Suit, £695, Burberry London. Patterned shirt, from £80, Paul Smith. Spotted tie, £116, Marni. Glasses, £155, Burberry at David Clulow. Silk pocket square, £92, Louis Vuitton This page: Suit, £775, DAKS. Shirt, £370, Louis Vuitton. Striped tie, £65, and Panama hat, £75, both Hackett. Handkerchief, £15, Gieves & Hawkes GRooMinG Adrian Clark ModEL Chris Walters at Select FaShion aSSiSTanT Pop Kampol PhoToGRaPhER’S aSSiSTanT Matt Foxley LocaTion The Barbican Conservatory, barbican.org.uk/ conferences
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watches | BRUMMeLL 43
taG teaM Left: The TAG Heuer McLaren MP4-12C, price to be announced, is a new version of the classic Carrera chronograph to accompany production of the McLaren MP4-12C sports car. Right: The TAG Heuer SIlverstone, £4,750, was first produced in 1974 as an alternative to the square Monaco. This reborn version, with a choice of blue or brown dials, is a dead ringer. tagheuer.com
Track Time As soon as there were cars, there were time trials. As the F1 season begins, TAG Heuer’s Jack Heuer celebrates the partnership between motor racing and the chronograph
Interview: Simon Brooke
Photography Bruce Anderson
TAG Heuer’s relationship with motorcars started in 1911, when my grandfather created the ‘Time of Trip’, the first dashboard chronograph to measure how long it had taken to drive between locations. After World War II, TAG Heuer became the timing instrument for rallies. In 1958, we did a survey at the Monte Carlo Rally and found that more than 60 per cent of the cars were equipped with our dashboard instruments. In 1969, we launched the world’s first self-winding chronograph – we had finally
solved the last big problem in watchmaking. I was looking for a way to promote this breakthrough and our new watch, but I had only limited means. I heard of a very good race driver in Switzerland called Jo Siffert, who people were saying was the next world champion, so I took him under contract. He was an excellent ambassador and promoted our watches all through the racing world but, tragically, he had a fatal crash in 1971. That’s how I got to know the Formula 1 circuit. We created timing instruments for Ferrari and
also signed an agreement with them for the drivers to wear the TAG Heuer patch. TAG Heuer’s association with Steve McQueen came about because the property master on the 1971 film Le Mans happened to be under contract with me in Hollywood to place watches on actors such as Jack Lemmon and Charlton Heston. He rang me one day and said: ‘We’re shooting a big film with Steve McQueen about motor racing, so come to Monte Carlo and bring watches, a timing board, stopwatches…’ Luckily, McQueen also knew
Jo Siffert and, to make him look more authentic in the role, he asked to wear Siffert’s white racing suit, adorned with a ‘Chronograph Heuer’ crest. To complete the look, McQueen also decided to wear our new Monaco automatic Calibre 11 – and it looked great on him. The Monaco wasn’t actually a great success at the time because it looked too avant-garde – it was worn mainly by designers and architects. By the time it was relaunched in 1998, McQueen, who’d died in 1980, was an icon. We bought the rights to his name to promote the Monaco and sold all 5,000 watches within a few months. After our success with Ferrari, we worked with other teams, such as McLaren, providing them with sophisticated timing equipment. Through them we also had a collaboration with Mercedes-Benz, and created a special-edition watch for the SLK. There is a similarity between the look of cars and watches and the technology they use. We get input from McLaren, for instance, on their use of new materials. Car manufacture and watchmaking are really both all about accuracy, engineering and beautiful design. Honorary chairman of TAG Heuer, Jack Heuer, 78, is the great-grandson of Edouard Heuer who founded the company in 1860. Jack joined as an engineer in 1958 and has created some of its most distinctive and successful watches.
Gentlemen, start your engines Five more motor-racing watches (from left) Hublot F1 Monza The King Power F1 Monza follows Hublot’s appointment as official watchmaker of F1. With a 48mm case made from black ceramic, the Monza features a ‘brake disc’ bezel and a nifty chronograph ‘start’ button. £18,500; hublot.com Blancpain Lamborghini Super Trofeo This 43.5mm flyback chronograph complements the ‘Super Trofeo’ series sponsored by Blancpain. For a €25,000 fee, entrants compete in six races, driving a Lamborghini Gallardo at some of Europe’s top circuits. £13,760; blancpain.com Chopard Mille Miglia GT XL Black Speed Chopard releases a new watch every year to give to teams competing in Italy’s legendary Mille Miglia race. A further limited-edition run is released for general sale, on the distinctive ‘tyre tread’ strap. £5,850; chopard.com Jaeger-LeCoultre AMVOX Jaeger-LeCoultre’s latest collaboration with Aston Martin is the AMVOX5, a ceramic and titanium chronograph. Note the use of Gaydon (Aston HQ) instead of London on the world time function. £14,350; jaeger-lecoultre.com Frédérique Constant Austin-Healey The official timing partner of Austin-Healey events around the world recently introduced this 43mm chronograph in steel or rose gold. And there’s a retro, hand-held stopwatch thrown in. From £1,920; frederique-constant.com Words Simon de Burton
WATCHeS | BRUMMeLL 45
46 BrUMMeLL | raceHorses
Horse trading A horse is offered for sale at Tattersalls auction company, 1885
Equine equity Naturally, investing in a racehorse is a gamble – it could be a classic winner or end up saddling you with debt. But, for City people accustomed to risk, buying and racing horses will definitely get the adrenalin rushing Words Colin Cameron
As boutiques for the elite go, Tattersalls’ park paddocks in Newmarket, where horseracing’s champions of tomorrow are auctioned, is perhaps one of the more exposed. Suffolk winds can blow a bitter chill in winter outside the town’s season of highestrank horseracing events in the spring, summer and autumn, such as the 2000 Guineas in May. The neighbouring train station from which the likes of a young Lester Piggott made their way to horseracing’s other principal venues has been reduced by the growth in other modes of transport to a single platform servicing travel in both directions.
Yet from October, for two months, the 45-acre grounds of Tattersalls can be the location for both the beginning and end of dreams that draw many to dealing in horseflesh. The most blue-blooded of thoroughbred racehorses – potentially the essence of luxury in that each is unique and, if talented, may end up being coveted by millions – pass through the sales ring here. In 2010 alone they generated a turnover of more than £165m. For many focused on fluctuations in the price of commodities, shares and currency, Tattersalls is a fascinating micromarket. As generation after generation of champions has
been sold by the auction house since 1766, there is a chance to buy into some history. Equally, a horse in which a stake is owned can be offered up and converted into hard cash after a value-enhancing career at the races. The sales themselves bring together protagonists face-to-face in a way that financial markets rarely do. There are no computer screens here. This can produce pure theatre, maintains Kim Bailey, who has saddled the winners of the Grand National, Cheltenham Gold Cup and Champion Hurdle races. As this is just one aspect of horseracing apparently tailor-made to appeal to people in
Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
the City of London, there is little surprise that the two worlds enjoy shared patronage. From a syndicate share in a horse to outright ownership and the thrill of seeing your own silks hit the front in the shadow of the winning post, bloodstock investments grant entry to a world rich in colour and personalities, both equine and human. Sink your money into a horse and you are a prospective candidate for a centre stage role at the Cheltenham Festival, Royal Ascot or the winner’s enclosure at any of Britain’s 60 racecourses. Indeed, you might profit over and above all this, having invested in an
Bloodstock investments grant entry to a world rich in colour and personalities, both equine and human
appreciating asset. As well as where you first speculate, Tattersalls is potentially where you can find out exactly what is the return. According to Bailey, there have always been significant numbers of horseracing followers in the City. ‘Racing is based around gambling and that, after all, is what many in the City do every day,’ he reasons. ‘Horseracing is a clean, free-living way to relax among like-minded people out for a day of fun. The geography of most racecourses means they are also taken out of their usual world. So: plenty going on to make them feel at home yet, at the same time, a release.’ Horseracing can be good for business, continues Bailey, who trained the prolific steeplechaser Docklands Express (18 wins, £585,000 in prize-money) for a group of City stalwarts, including Compton Hellyer, the founder of the spread betting company Sporting Index. ‘At the races you do get the chance to spend time with clients,’ Bailey, whose stables are in Gloucestershire, explains. ‘That is, of course, true at, say, Twickenham for a rugby international. But racing offers the chance, especially if you are in a hospitality box, for guests to come and go. There is both the chance to talk – plenty to discuss, too - and the opportunity to escape. Things never get stale.’ Bailey adds that racehorse ownership also offers the chance to make money. ‘That is not guaranteed, not by a long way,’ he warns. ‘But if you are successful, then there is potentially the kudos of a winner, plenty of fun along the way, and your money back or, even better, a profit. You cannot say that about an afternoon shooting, can you?’ Bailey wasn’t talking specifically about Harbinger, but he might well have been. As a yearling – one-year-old – the colt cost 180,000 guineas (a guinea equals £1.05) at Tattersalls. A total of six wins over three seasons followed, along with earnings of £775,000 in prize money. Harbinger was ultimately sold to stand as a stallion in Japan for a sum reputedly over 50 times his purchase price. His owners were a syndicate, in which numbers involved can be up to 20 or so. In this form of ownership, resources are pooled and costs – training fees are usually just north of £10,000, then there is the cost of capital – spread ahead ultimately of any dividend being shared. Shareholders either entrust decision-making to a syndicate manager or/and trainer, or a quasi-democracy shapes plans. The alternative to this would be a horse owned in partnership – a group of say four – individual ownership or by a racing club, although this last option usually means you savour the thrill of ownership without the dividend at the end of any success. The Harbinger syndicate was one run by an operation called Highclere Thoroughbred Racing – specialists in this type of ownership since 1992. In the 18 years since then, Highclere has raced horses on behalf of hundreds of patrons, who have shared in prize money exceeding £5m, and proceeds from sales
48 BRUMMELL | RacEhoRsEs
coURsE woRk Mark Dwyer, in hooped cap, centre, rides Jodami at the Cheltenham Gold Cup
horses for courses highclere is the quintessential modern-day syndicate and is illustrative of how one can work from initial investment to the cashing in of any chips The horses From July to the end of the year, Highclere (highclere.co.uk) invests in potential talent at bloodstock sales in America, France, Ireland and Britain. Prices paid for each horse range up to 200,000 guineas. Shares in a syndicate of one to three horses are from £3,500 for two seasons, including training costs. The more expensive syndicates can feature shares at as much as £40,000. The syndicate
of investing blind. In addition, racing’s governing body, the British Horseracing Authority, offers free guidance via its website. Furthermore, there is plenty of scope for self-education. Even the very top trainers are not shy to explain what they can do for you, especially if there is a horse potentially at the end of the conversation. Indeed, your trainer will be a pivotal figure in any bloodstock endeavour, so best establish first whether there is any chemistry. In other words, just call. The dream is Harbinger, an outstanding champion of 2010. ‘He was so incredibly special,’ Jacques enthuses. ‘He almost knew it himself. When he came into the winner’s enclosure he was always so composed, just a great presence. I am reluctant to say it, as I would love another one, but horses like him come along once in a lifetime.’ Harbinger was, Jacques acknowledges, the equivalent of hitting the jackpot. At a more realistic level, she can further claim to have proved Bailey right about enjoying a return. Ardour was another Tattersalls purchase, for 100,000 guineas. After a successful season, he was then sold for a hefty multiple of that price. Of course, you win some, you lose some. But even the less successful investments can be redeemed. Jacques had an interest in Zakeeta, who cost 75,000 guineas at Tattersalls as a yearling. Then, after some lacklustre showings, the filly was sold there again in July 2010, this time for just 4,000 guineas. Since this cutting of losses Zakeeta has shown promise at the National Hunt discipline of hurdling, proving good enough to feature at Cheltenham. Horses can surprise you – just one reason why investing in them can be so fascinating.
The management Highclere manages the career of the syndicate’s pride and joy, in partnership with trainers. Decisions are made to reflect the syndicate’s overall wishes. Guided by Highclere, syndicates can decide when to sell, which can mean either appearing at the likes of Tattersalls, or a private deal (as with Harbinger). The length of a Highclere syndicate’s run is usually two seasons – with the option of selling at any time in this period if market conditions are favourable. The industry bodies The British Horseracing Authority (britishhorseracing.com) is a good starting point if you are looking for guidance about investing. Likewise, the National Trainers Federation (racehorsetrainers.org), and Racehorse Owners Association (racehorseowners.net) can steer you towards expertise that ensures your investment is tax efficient and you take advantage of sponsorship opportunities. Contact details for trainers such as Kim Bailey (kimbaileyracing.com) can be sourced via the NTF, while the ROA will put you in touch with syndicates such as Highclere.
Rex Features
topping £28m. Highclere, founded by Harry Herbert, second son of the late Lord Carnarvon, who was racing and bloodstock adviser to the Queen and owner of Highclere Castle in Berkshire, claims an overall trading profit (income from prize money and sale of bloodstock less training fees of around £15,000 a year per horse, initial capital outlays and administrative costs) of £8 million between 1992 and 2009, and a handsomely rewarding 2010, thanks to Harbinger. The late Robert Sangster, a highly successful investor in bloodstock, would always joke that the quickest way to a million is to invest two million in horses. In contrast, Yvonne Jacques was fortunate enough to invest in Harbinger, drawing on liquidity from the sale of the insurance-broking specialist company she founded. Having been raised around horses – riding before walking, she maintains – once Jacques had the capital, she looked to invest in her lifelong passion. Today she has a financial interest in more than 30 racehorses. Some of these she owns outright, which means she has the added excitement of seeing her light blue and pink racing colours carried to victory. Syndicate ownership for Jacques proved the ideal preface to ownership outright. ‘By starting in a syndicate such as Highclere, which buys the horses for you and selects a trainer for each one, I was able to learn about the world of racing without the risk of going alone from the start,’ she reasons. Organisations such as the Racehorse Owners Association and National Trainers Federation provide the sort of expert advice that can prepare novices to avoid the pitfalls
Highclere offers shares in horses to prospective syndicate members. Efforts are made to bundle owners into groups with shared hopes of, for example, having a runner at Royal Ascot, and any preference for a particular trainer, or stables in a location that suits them all.
50 BRUMMELL | BY GEORGE
Year of the cat The eternally young Jaguar E-Type celebrates its 50th anniversary this spring
For a lesson in how to grow old gracefully, turn to the Jaguar E-Type: the car that even Enzo Ferrari described as ‘the most beautiful ever made’ turns 50 this year and somehow seems more gorgeous than at any time in its history. Launched first in America as the XKE in March 1961 before being made available in the UK four months later, the E-Type had already made headlines before it officially hit British roads after The Autocar magazine confirmed Jaguar’s claim that it was a genuine 150mph sports car – well, almost. The test car (which was subsequently discovered to have been a tweaked example with a ‘blueprinted’ engine) managed 149.1. That sort of performance is pretty impressive today, but half a century ago it seemed truly sensational – and combined with
the E-Type’s stunning looks, it established the car as an instant classic with an unmistakable profile dominated by what has often been described as a ‘phallic’ bonnet that seemed to stretch out forever ahead of a compact two-seater cockpit and truncated rear end. No wonder it became the default choice of chariot among those who made up the zeitgeist of the swinging Sixties – from George Best to Brigitte Bardot and from Steve McQueen to Frank Sinatra, everyone who mattered wanted to get behind the wheel of what US journalist Henry Manney called ‘the greatest crumpetcatcher known to man.’ Purists believe the original 3.8-litre ‘Series I’ cars to be the best, with their simple, leather-covered bucket seats, aluminium centre console, jewel-like rear lights and faired-in headlamps, although the more refined Series II and III versions are still desirable, be they in open-topped ‘roadster’ format or with fixed-head coupé bodywork. The original price of an E-Type rolling on wire wheels was £2,256 – but by the mid-Seventies the Opec oil crisis and a parlous British economy had combined to hit sales hard. No one, it seemed, wanted to spend the £3,350 it then cost to buy a V12 roadster and stories abound of second-hand ‘Es’ being virtually given away. That certainly seems hard to believe today, not least because the E-Type is regarded as being one of the most covetable of all classic cars, with the best examples changing hands for up to £150,000 and ultra-rare competition versions potentially being worth £1 million (although less perfect fixed-head coupé road cars can be had for as little as £15,000). Whichever model you prefer it’s bound to be represented at this year’s Silverstone Classic (22 – 24 July) which is the main venue for the E-Type 50th anniversary celebrations. Up to 1,000 owners are expected to bring their cars from around the world to create the biggest display of E-Types ever seen, and more than 50 race-prepared examples will compete. The event will also showcase the 11th E-Type to roll off the production line – it was originally sold to Formula 2 racing driver George Wicken who competed in it in 1961 against track stars such as Graham Hill, Roy Salvadori and Bruce McLaren. If you decide to attend, don’t forget to don flared trousers or mini skirts as appropriate, because one thing’s for sure – it's going to be one hell of a groovy weekend, baby. silverstoneclassic.com Words Simon de Burton
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