Business Day Wanted | Watches, Jewels and Luxury 2023 / 24 Special Edition
Sipho “Hotstix” Mabuse
wearing
Rolex Oyster Perpetual Cosmograph Daytona
Pineas necklace, POR, Cartier
“Much of what we make as humans has its creative spark in symbiosis with the natural world and all its creatures”
Environmental scientists have been using the term Anthropocene to describe the current geological epoch. We are not in the Holocene anymore, Toto. Some argue that the Anthropocene began with the Industrial Revolution, others say that it may have been seeded from the moment we started farming or smelting iron. Regardless, what becomes achingly clear is that, from whatever point you begin the dating, human activity has become the dominant influence on the climate and the environment. In some respects, placing humans at the centre of the current predicament — the evident global warming, extreme weather events, deforestation, and species extinctions — is precisely the kind of thinking that got us into this state in the first place. We have operated on the assumption that humans are somehow superior to the rest of the living beings on the planet. Our thinking is that the curious quirk of our evolutionary roll of the dice has entitled us to the spoils of the Earth. All of them. We have told ourselves that we have dominion over all other living creatures — and over the rest of the stuff too. Our anthropocentric state of mind has led to the Anthropocene state of being.
CONTRIBUTORS
I
n conceiving this issue of Wanted Watches, Jewellery, and Luxury — in which we celebrate our beautifully inventive minds; the peak of human aesthetic and technical artistry; and the most delightful of human endeavours — we felt we needed to take a stand against the idea that we are the masters of this world. In fact, it is obvious that much of what we make as humans has its creative spark in symbiosis with the natural world and all its creatures. We exist in a continuum of creative energy. You only have to experience the love of our closest animal companions in our homes, or the sheer majesty of an owl or a tiger cub, to know that we are not alone and that we are not above it all. The past 100 years have seen the extinction of over 500 species of our fellow travellers on this planet. Feast your eyes on our pages, look at the wondrous creatures we playfully captured in these sublime portraits and really see their blissful communion with our human selves. And then tell me that we are not all on this journey together as equals who deserve the same respect and honour.
x Aspasia
(No animals were harmed in the making of this edition.)
Sipho “Hotstix” Mabuse Musical icon and our cover star
Greg Strydom Exotic-animal handler and conservationist (pp. 32-53)
The garden variety
The masterful Tribute to Paris necklace by Bulgari centres around a 35.53ct oval-shaped Colombian emerald. POA. picotandmoss.co.za
Like a little bit of Eden, these high- jewellery treasures radiate the freshness and clarity of a magical garden dotted with luminous emeralds and sparklingdiamondsdewdrop
2.
The Miraggio necklace is the most beautiful of white-gold creations adorned with sapphires, emeralds, onyx, and diamonds. POA. cartier.com
3. LouisVuitton
These Liberty earrings from the Spirit Chapter II collection are perfection in white gold, emerald, and diamond. POA. eu.louisvuitton.com
Cartier
1. Bulgari
photography Judd van Rensburg
Reflection de Cartier bracelet, POR, Cartier
production Sahil Harilal
text Aspasia Karras
avis
The immortal Iris Apfel has the eye of a magpie and the confidence of a peacock
Iris Apfel is a blue zone unto herself. The 102-year-old style icon — the oldest model to be signed to IMG Models and who has been immortalised as a Barbie — started collecting her extraordinary costume jewellery and sublime clothing as a young girl. She would take the train and then the subway from the farm where she grew up into Manhattan’s Greenwich Village. It was a journey that would culminate in a much-lauded retrospective at the Costume Institute at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2005, entitled “Rara Avis (Rare Bird): The Irreverent Iris Apfel”. Her aesthetics are grounded in her art-history degrees and a lifetime of collecting. Together with her husband Carl, she launched a hugely successful textile firm called Old World Weavers in 1950. One of their most illustrious and, indeed, easiest clients was the White House, where they worked with nine presidencies. They specialised in reproductions of 17th-, 18th, and 19th-century fabrics, which led to intense immersive trips all over the world, honing Apfel’s magpie eye for the unusual, the dramatic, the artisanal, and the spectacular and resulting in the look that is now shorthand for advanced style.
Iris
Apfel X H&M
text Aspasia Karras
from the chandeliers swingin’
handelier earrings
First noted on an earlobe in the ancient world, they’ve appeared in bold and substantial iterations through Big and bold was the cri de coeur in the 1990s and they are back this season, elevating your day as per Valentino, paired with a jean pant, and putting the “s” into statement dressing.
Valentino
Versace
Aglobal case of nostalgia
There seems to be collective turn to the nostalgic across the world. Between the ongoing Millennial versus Gen Z debate on social feeds (to determine which is the better generation, of course), the revival of Y2K fashion, TVshow remakes, and the recent Netflix doccie which made us crave a time when the 1990s version of Posh and Becks still reigned supreme — this desire for a generous dose of the past has also made its way into the fragrance world. Our need to escape the current state of affairs has only grown stronger and, with that, we find ourselves wanting to cling to simpler times and the treasures of yesteryear. In the fragrance industry, the global nostalgia kick is manifesting in iconic fragrances making a comeback by way of new iterations that bring them into the 21st century or celebrations of their legacy that introduce them to a younger generation. Achieving longevity and iconic status in the fragrance world while remaining desirable and relevant for every new generation is no small feat.
Look back to the classics as iconic fragrances are reimagined,demonstrating their staying power over generations
This can take the shape of a reformulation of an iconic scent that stays true to the signature olfactive structure but now incorporates factors such as sustainability; the use of new technologies or ingredients; or a fragrance campaign with a face that resonates with the current market. Whatever the case may be, our love for fragrances that have stood the test of time will have us reaching for new versions of them for years to come.
Sign of the times
Many beloved fragrances have captured the world’s gaze, but the ones that become permanent fixtures in our fragrance wardrobes are those that keep on resonating with us. “Fragrances are the products of their time,” says Michael Edwards, fragrance historian and author of Fragrances of the World. “The fragrances of the 1920s were the symptoms, symbols, and expressions of the twenties. Until the 1940s, perfume was niche. The great names such as Chanel N°5, Joy, Miss Dior, all of these were made for a very small audience of connoisseurs, wealthy men and women. After the Second World War, fragrance ‘opened up’ because soldiers, sailors, and airmen would bring back fragrances from the war for the women in their lives. But the niche fragrances of the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s were too avant-garde. That’s when you saw the development of easier fragrances. Then, in the 1970s, the US [market] exploded and [people] were willing to try innovative scents — think of Halston or Oscar de la Renta, for example, and in the 1980s, think of Red Door. Each decade has its scent. The attitude of the 1980s was quite different from that of the 1990s,” says Edwards.
TIMELESS SCENTS
Revival of icons
One fragrance that continues to remain on everyone’s list of the greatest scents of all time is Chanel N°5. Although it was created over 100 years ago by perfumer Ernest Beaux, it still feels relevant. Starting off as a lab sample that had little meaning and no value, the N°5 scent became synonymous with celebrities such as Marilyn Monroe, but it was also an icon in its own right for its timeless floral olfactory composition that blended an unprecedented use of aldehydes. Its scent is as unmistakable as its famous bottle and it continues to be reimagined in new ways, such as N°5 L’Eau, limitededition collectors’ bottles, and the Chanel Factory 5 collection that scents everyday formulas such as body oil, shower gel, and body lotion.
In the Maison Lancôme collection, which pays homage to founder Armand Petitjean, there’s another Lancôme icon — Peut-Être, a scent that was created in 1937, reworked in 2008, and reimagined in 2020 for the collection by perfumer Nathalie Lorson. Inspired by Petitjean’s secret garden at his home of Les Vallières and with an ambery floral-musk scent with notes of damask rose, benzoin, and white musk, it is housed in a flacon with an intricate design that echoes the resplendent golden gate in the garden. And who would have thought that when Hubert de Givenchy created the L’Interdit fragrance in 1957, it would still be around today? An aldehydicfloral scent dedicated to actress and maison muse Audrey Hepburn, L’Interdit was
one of the first fragrances that had an actress’s face attached to it, birthing the celebrity fragrances of today. It was reformulated in 2002 and given new life in 2018 when L’Interdit Eau De Parfum was created by master perfumers Dominique Ropion, Anne Flipo, and Fanny Bal as an amberfloral scent with notes of pear, bergamot, tuberose, jasmine, and Ambroxan. It also has a new fragrance face — actress Rooney Mara — and L’Interdit continues to be reinvented with newer versions such as Givenchy L’Interdit Rouge.
Not every iconic fragrance will birth an iconic reiteration, of course, but Dior’s J’adore remains exceptional. The scent that has embodied sexiness, liberation, and femininity since 1999 has been reinvented over the years, but it stays true to its golden juice and the use of the signature J’adore bouquet of white flowers (ylang-ylang, centifolia rose, lily of the valley, and jasmine). The modern versions have ranged from J’adore Infinissime, which uses the coveted Grasse tuberose, to the latest J’adore Parfum d’Eau, which changed the game by creating the first waterbased scent, using only a concentration of water and flowers.
Another fragrance that is still relevant, with an innovative, gender-fluid scent profile — CK One — walked in 1994 so that unisex fragrances could fly today. Hailed as among the first of its kind, it blends traditionally feminine and masculine notes to create a balanced, fluid, gender-neutral scent and remains a classic with its minimalistic bottle design and fresh floral juice with notes of green tea, bergamot, nutmeg, rose, and cardamom.
And if you want to feel like a king for a day you can add a treasured Clive Christian fragrance to your arsenal. Created by the Crown Perfumery Company, the Town & Country scent, inspired by the English countryside and London Town sophistication, is a royal icon. Famously worn by Winston Churchill and part of The Crown Collection, Town & Country was originally created in 1925 and has been re-imagined for today. A fresh yet warm herbaceous, aromatic scent with notes of clary sage, grey amber, and sandalwood, its profile is concentrated and complex, comprising 207 ingredients.
If time is a luxury, then scents that have stood the test of time are the most luxurious of all. It is a fragrance’s ability to transcend and live outside of its era, fluidly evolving to be enjoyed by generations to come, that makes it a piece of art to be collected, passed down, and savoured.
01. Clive Christian Town & Country Eau De Parfum 50ml, R9 450 02. Dior J’adore Infinissime EDP 100ml, R3 720 03. Givenchy L’Interdit Rouge EDP 80ml, R2 880 04. Chanel N°5 Eau De Parfum 100ml, R3 450 05. Calvin Klein CK One EDT 100ml, R1 215 06. Maison Lancôme Peut-Être EDP 100ml, R4 100
Aspasia Karras
blue beetle juice
The Diamond Guy is bringing superhero energy to the world of jewellery design
NCelebrating Saint-Tropez at the Platinum walk
evin Sher (aka The Diamond Guy) has been busy in the creative trenches. First he found inspiration in the Blue Beetle-DC Comics universe, creating a bespoke jewelled scarab that both speaks to the traditional Egyptian symbol and channels superhero energy to create a new take on the form that is true to the moment. The Diamond Guy is now turning his hand to the hummingbird for the next instalment of The Hunger Games, partnering with Empire Entertainment to create a series of bespoke jewellery pieces inspired by The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
Sher has been in the diamond retail and trading industry for over 15 years and is a member of the Diamond Dealers Club of South Africa. His brand — The Diamond Guy — aims to take the consumer directly to the source, providing a one-stop shop for both design, with an in-house team of highly skilled artisans, and dealer-grade stones. This is a winning formula, grounded in business nous seasoned with a strong dose of celluloid-dreams inspiration. nevinsher.co.za
Jean-Philippe Avenel has a long personal history with watches and jewels. His collector’s passion started in his youth with his first watch and saw him pursue a luxury retail career with Cartier, first in Paris and then in South Africa. He has now branched out and is opening his flagship store in Umhlanga, on the Platinum Walk at the Oceans Mall. L’Atelier Paris will marry this rich French heritage with the warmth and vibrancy of South Africa. Avenel is inspired by Côte d’Azur vibes, which he feels in spades along the KwaZulu-Natal south coast, pairing high luxury with the easy style of perpetual summer. latelierparis.co.za
Nevin Sher
Jean-Philippe Avenel
e are all thrill-seekers. The desire for an uplifting and inspiring experience — whether a ride on a rollercoaster, the adrenaline rush of skydiving, a sensational cold Atlantic swim or the simple emotional fix of a new lipstick — makes us unique among all species. These ignite a “superpower” high for those living their best lives and are instant cures on a bad-hair day. In an era marked by widespread anxiety and uncertainty, there is an even greater quest to seek out experiences that bring us joy, a sense of adventure and wonder, which is at the centre of what the recent Wunderman Thompson report “The Age of Re-Enchantment” calls a “yearning for a better life”.
This yearning sometimes involves turning back the clock, stimulating the exponential rise of interest in vintage timepieces in a nostalgic turn to a less complex time and slower pace. This is fuelling the prominent neo-vintage trend in watchmaking but is also why there has been strong interest from the younger generation in small mechanical wonders, print-edition books, vinyl, classic cars, IRL gatherings, and a return to nature.
Yes, this period may call
The facesmany of 2023’s inspired (and inspiring) offerings
ATCHES,
01. Hermès H08, Boutique Haute Horlogerie
text Gary Cotterell
for sensibility and discretion but we are also desperate for a playful, optimistic deviation from our maladies. Watchmakers have certainly heeded the call. Neo-vintage styling brings us smaller, genderneutral sizing, a less-is-more timeless attitude, and practicality, with some stand-out examples being the Tudor Black Bay 54, TAG Heuer Carrera, Panerai Radiomir Quaranta gold, Timex Giorgio Galli, Tissot PRX, and a refresh of the Gérald Genta-designed IWC Ingenieur SL. This trend also draws inspiration from the disruptive designs of the 1970s and early 1980s with cushion-shaped cases, rounded square designs, and sporty integrated bracelets, as demonstrated by the Hermès H08, Laurent Ferrier Grand Sport, Angelus Chronodate Titanium, Hublot Square Bang, Raymond Weil Freelancer, Bell & Ross BR-X5, and Swatch Bioceramic What If?, to name a few. Older form-watch icons such as the Jaeger-LeCoultre (JLC) Reverso and Vacheron Constantin Historiques American 1921 are refined and brought up to date with modern movements and materials in new editions that continue to captivate a new generation, while a squadron of pilots’ watches from IWC, Zenith, and Breitling
01. Panerai Quaranta 02. Tudor BB 54 03. IWC Ingenieur 04. TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph 05. Bell & Ross BR-X5
06. Raymond Weil Freelancer, Picot & Moss 07. Laurent Ferrier Grand Sport
“ONCE I DREAMED TO BECOME THE FASTEST DRIVER. TODAY, I AM A DRIVER OF CHANGE.” LEWIS HAMILTON, 7 TIME FORMULA 1 TM WORLD CHAMPION
PILOT’S WATCH CHRONOGRAPH 41 TOP GUN
Maximum performance and versatility: when it comes to chronographs, we have been setting ourselves the highest standards for more than four decades. Like with the 69000 caliber family, which we developed with an uncompromising focus on robustness and durability. Because only those who keep surpassing themselves can become the reference for others.
ELEGANCE · SANDTON · MELROSE
encourage us to take off on flights of fancy and explore bucket-list territories.
Brands are on a roll this year, re-enchanting us with bright colours and patterns, from the avant-garde Chanel J12 Cybernetic to the bold, child-like pops of energy in the “effervescent” Rolex Oyster Perpetual bubble and puzzle dials, Beauregarde Lili Candy Rose, and Czapek & Cie Antarctique S Sashiko Pink Lotus. Then there are the multiple tints and tones of the growing green movement, including the smileinducing Oris ProPilot X Kermit, the emerald Piaget Polo Perpetual Calendar Ultra-Thin, and Patek Philippe’s khaki Calatrava Pilot Travel Time Chronograph. There are also plenty of seasonal sparkles from various métiers d’art, with masterful gem-setting and decorated dials and cases in the Cartier Clash [Un]limited and Chopard’s Haute Joaillerie pieces, the Art Deco styling of the JLC Reverso One Precious Colours, and the more subtle Grand Seiko Master Collection.
VISION &
01. Parmigiani Tonda PF Xiali Calendar, Boutique Haute Horlogerie 02. Ulysse Nardin Freak One, Boutique Haute Horlogerie 03. Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Tribute Chronograph 04. A. Lange & Söhne’s Odysseus Chronograph 05. Arnold & Son “Dial-Side True Beat” DSTB 42 06. Montblanc 1858 The Unveiled Secret Minerva Monopusher Chronograph Limited Edition 07. Grand Seiko Evolution 9 Collection Tentagraph 08. Van Cleef & Arpels Lady Féerie Or Rose 09. Hublot MP-13 Tourbillon Bi-Axis Retrograde 10. Vacheron Constantin Traditionnelle Tourbillon Retrograde Date Openface 11. Chronoswiss Delphis Paraiba
Innovation is in the DNA of the industry, which has been around since the 1600s. Each year, new designs, complications, and materials are delightful proof of the creatives and engineers passionately at work. Innovation in materials sees further use of ceramics and recycled materials, as well as the introduction of lab-grown diamonds. Then there’s the return of lightweight materials, such as the aluminium and fibreglass-based composites featured in the updated Hermès H08 using aluminised fibreglass and slate powder and the Hublot Big Bang Integrated Tourbillon Full Carbon in texalium. Ceramics and steel still dominate, but there is also a noticeable adoption of high-performance, lightweight titanium from brands such as Czapek, Grand Seiko, Hublot, and Rolex. Technical prowess is presented in the Montblanc 1858 The Unveiled Secret Minerva Monopusher Chronograph Limited Edition, Arnold & Son “DialSide True Beat” 42, Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Tribute Chronograph, Ulysse
colour, pattern and finishes
01. Cartier Clash [Un]Limited 02. Patek Philippe Calatrava Pilot Travel Time Chronograph
06. Beauregarde Lili Candy Rose 07. Chanel J12 Cybernetic 08. JLC Reverso One Precious Colours
Nardin Freak One, the hi-beat Grand Seiko Evolution 9 Collection Tentagraph, and one of the most elegant sports watches — A. Lange & Söhne’s Odysseus Chronograph. The retrograde display has found multiple applications, as noted in particular with the Vacheron Constantin Traditionnelle Tourbillon Retrograde Date Openface and Overseas Moon Phase Retrograde Date, the charming Van Cleef & Arpels Lady Féerie Or Rose, Hublot MP-13 Tourbillon BiAxis Retrograde, Hautlence Linear Series 2 with retrograde jumping hour, and colour-changing Chronoswiss Delphis Paraiba. Open dials reveal the magical heart of watchmaking in full view with the Vacheron Constantin Traditionnelle Tourbillon Retrograde Date Openface, Zenith Defy Skyline Skeleton, Roger Dubuis Excalibur Blacklight Spin-Stone Monobalancier, and Cartier Santos Skeleton. Others remain more discreet with novelties such as the Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda PF Xiali Calendar and new platinum A. Lange & Söhne Lange 1 Perpetual Calendar, leaving the exceptional work of their complications to the imagination.
Sustainability is the key to a better life, prioritising values and the ethics of care for others and our planet. There is an encouraging commitment to transparency with circular manufacturing processes. Panerai has expanded its use of eSteel and Chopard, a pioneer of sustainable luxury, introduced Lucent Steel, an alloy made from 70% recycled stainless steel — first in its slim-cased Chopard Alpine Eagle 41 XPS and to all its stainless-steel watches by year-end. Several projects established over the past few years, such as the Watch & Jewellery Initiative 2030 launched by Cartier and Kering in 2021, have made inroads through partnerships with external experts. The growing membership, which includes A. Lange & Söhne, IWC Schaffhausen, Jaeger-Lecoultre, Panerai, Piaget, Chanel Horlogerie Joaillerie, Montblanc, and Swarovski, highlights how a proactive and collaborative approach can achieve a paradigm shift at scale. Breitling’s 2023 Sustainability Report demonstrates a new corporate culture of care that reaches beyond customers to include social impact along the value chain through direct engagement with artisanal and small-scale miners. Zenith Defy Extreme E’s signature “Vital Green” communicates “awareness and action on climate change” and is made from carbon fibre and recycled parts from the electric SUV off-road race event. For even more of an emotion-inducing rush, try Hublot’s Big Bang Unico Nespresso Origin, made from recycled Nespresso capsules and coffee grounds.
01. Chopard Alpine Eagle 41 XPS, Boutique Haute Horlogerie 02. Hublot Big Bang Unico Nespresso Origin 03. Breitling Super Chronomat Automatic 38 Origins
The distinctive chronograph with anti-scratch, anti-shock and antimagnetic protections – expertly crafted in our own factory.
production
Sahil Harilal
photography
Aart Verrips
02.
Dress, R15 000, Erre; 18kt pink-gold Serpenti bracelet with diamonds, R1 323 000; 18kt slim Serpenti bracelet with diamonds, R950 000; 18kt pink-gold Serpenti watch with diamonds, R703 800; Serpenti Viper bracelet, R242 000, all Bulgari
01.
Hooded jacket, R6 500, Ephymol; pearl necklaces, R1 890R12 800, Veronica Anderson Jewellery
01.
Suit, model’s own; Oyster Perpetual Cosmograph Daytona watch in 18kt white gold with black lacquered diamond-set dial and trapeze-cut diamond bezel fitted on Oysterflex bracelet, POR, Rolex
02.
Skull and serpent signet ring with diamonds, POR, Charles Greig
Shirt, R8 000; waistcoat (part of three-piece madeto-measure suit), R78 000, both Row-G; Parmigiani Fleurier
Tonda GT
Chronograph 42mm watch in polished and satin-finished stainless steel, R462 000, Boutique Haute Horlogerie
01.
02. Fancy Intense yellow- and whitediamond necklace set in platinum and white gold, POR, Graff Boutique
01.
Etho Maria white-gold and platinum earrings with 8.64ct of diamonds, R950 000; Etho Maria white-gold and platinum necklace with 18.59ct of diamonds, R3 420 000, both Elegance Jewellers; crystal bikini top, stylist’s own
02.
and pearl
Leather, braided pewter,
choker, POR, Charles Greig
01.
Blazer, POR, Ryan Keys; necklaces, from top, Easy Rainbow choker, R147 000; Easy Rainbow cross, R105 000; Pizzo cross, R308 000, all Dolce & Gabbana
02.
[Sur]naturel earrings with grey mother-of-pearl, coral, and 3.9ct of diamonds, POR, Cartier
01. Dress, R12 500, Erre; earrings in yellow gold with diamonds, POR; diamond and multi-gemstone spectacle chains and necklaces, POR; yellowgold diamond and tsavorite bracelets, POR; rare diamond and multicolour gemstone rings, POR, all Charles Greig
02.
Fabergé x Game of Thrones featuring Gemfields White and Rose Gold Ruby and Diamond Dragon Skeleton wrap ring, POR, Fabergé
01.
Jumpsuit, R25 000, David Tlale; bow, POR, Erre; Messika Gatsby earrings in white gold and diamonds, R100 000; Chopard Happy Diamonds double-chain necklace in 18k white gold and diamonds, R369 800; Chopard Happy Diamonds necklace in white gold and diamonds, R440 800, all Boutique Haute Horlogerie
02.
Etho Maria ring, R310 000, Elegance Jewellers
01.
Suit, POR, Ruald Rheeder; Ulysse Nardin Lady Diver 39mm watch with blue dial and diamond-set bezel, R255 900, Boutique Haute Horlogerie
02.
Fancy white-gold Y-link diamond necklace with pear-, round-, and baguettecut diamonds, POR, Charles Greig;coat, stylist’s own
01.
Suit jacket, POR, Ruald Rheeder; Pomellato necklace in 18kt rose gold with sky-blue topazes and white diamonds, R432 500; Pomellato Nudo ring in 18kt rose and white gold with sky-blue topaz, agate, and 38 diffused topazes, R68 500; Pomellato Nudo ring in 18kt rose and white gold with brown diamonds, R155 500; Pomellato Nudo ring in 18kt rose and white gold with amethyst and jade on 18kt black rhodium-plated rose gold, R65 000; Pomellato Nudo bracelet in 18kt rose gold, two sky-blue topazes, and 38 white diamonds on 18kt white rhodium-plated rose gold, R214 000; Pomellato Nudo bracelet in 18kt rose gold with white topaz, white mother-of-pearl, and 38 white diamonds on 18kt white rhodium-plated rose gold, R194 500; Hermès Heure H watch with diamond-set white mother-of-pearl dial and diamonds, R76 500, all Boutique Haute Horlogerie
02.
Clash [Un]limited de Cartier earrings with amethyst and 6.62ct of diamonds, POR, Cartier
02.
Floral gold brooch with 5.17ct of yellow and white diamonds, POR, Cartier
01.
Dress and T-shirt, both POR, Viviers; Black Bay S&G 41mm watch with a champagne-coloured dial on aged brown-leather strap with fold-over clasp, R81 050, Tudor; jewellery, model’s own
01.
Divas’ Dream 18kt pink-gold earrings with diamonds and rubies, R725 000; Divas’ Dream 18kt yellow-gold necklace with rubies, pink sapphires, and diamonds, R718 500; pink-gold classic Serpenti ring, R26 500; Serpenti ring in 18kt pink gold with diamonds, R252 000; Serpenti 18kt pink-gold watch with diamonds, R806 000; Serpenti double bracelet in 18kt pink-gold with diamonds and rubellite, R488 200, all Bulgari; dress, R22 000, Kat Van Duinen
02.
Fabergé x Game of Thrones featuring Gemfields White and Rose Gold Ruby and Diamond Dragon Ear Cuff, POR, Fabergé
BULGARI’S MAN OFTHE HOUR
BULGARI’S MAN OFTHE HOUR
CEO Jean-Christophe Babin is the perfect face for the brand’s luxury game
text Siphiwe Mpye
2022
was a boon for the luxury market. Licking our wounds from an unresolved pandemic, we tested the limits of our plastic money and swiped with abandon. The revenues of luxury companies such as LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, which had taken a knock during the most surreal time in recent memory, were boosted by what Bulgari CEO Jean-Christophe Babin calls “revenge buying”. This phenomenon lives in the province of “revenge travel” — a backlash against isolation and limited or controlled consumption over 2020/21. The performance was outsized, and it was no surprise recently when things trended toward normalisation. But revenues are still on the rise, if at a slower rate.
While LVMH’s 2023 Q3 revenues were up 9% from the same period in 2022, its 2023 Q2 results had increased by 17% year on year. This means a slowdown on a quarter-toquarter basis. LVMH nonetheless saw a 14% organic revenue growth in the first nine months of this year, with subsidiary Bulgari experiencing “strong growth” in a period that saw the celebration of 75 years of the cross-category Serpenti collection, the launch of the Mediterranea High Jewellery collection, and an updated Octo line. The traditional Roman jeweller with a Greek founder has been synonymous with the
“THE TRADITIONAL ROMAN JEWELLER WITH A GREEK FOUNDER HAS BEEN SYNONYMOUS WITH THE PINNACLE OF ITALIAN CRAFTING SINCE 1884,EXPERIMENTING WITH MATERIALS AND CONVENTIONS AND ADVANCING ITS ROMAN HERITAGE”
pinnacle of Italian crafting since 1884, experimenting with materials and conventions and advancing its Roman heritage. Babin — the charming, charismatic, intelligent type that many companies hope to attract as a leader — took up the reins in 2013. He has been very visible, wearing his position well, staying on top of trends, cutting every ribbon, and maintaining a vibrant social-media presence. He embodies the kind of engaged but breezy sophistication required to properly pull off high luxury, in hospitality and in luxury goods. When we met earlier this year, during Watches and
Wonders Geneva, he was in great form. Even after backto-back interviews with the world’s press, nothing — not a word, not a tie knot, not a hair on his neatly cropped dome — was out of place; “even his wrinkles looked curated”, remarked a thoroughly charmed fellow journalist. And while he may present well, his appeal as a business leader is far richer. It doesn’t hurt that he was a bit of a prodigy, earning an MBA at the tender age of 21, but, as he has said elsewhere, he is also “driven by my gut”, which comes with experience, having spent 13 accolade-filled years as CEO at TAG Heuer prior to his current stint.
If he had a mission in the past decade, it was “bringing the meticulousness, craft and heritage of Rome to the entire brand”, he said.
Beyond jewellery, the brand also plays in luxury hotels, leather goods, accessories, and fragrances, perennially seeking ways to set itself apart — as was clear in Geneva. Unlike its competitors, which had booths that ranged from the elaborate to the fantastical at the Palexpo convention centre where Watches and Wonders is held, Bulgari had commandeered a floor at the swish Hotel President Wilson, overlooking the lake. It was a proper takeover with varied displays in multiple rooms across the entire floor, with messaging ranging from heritage to the latest releases.
This decentralised strategy was, Babin said, a deliberate, longstanding decision, an attempt to stand out while presenting “the best of Roma” (a few months prior, the brand had been in the presidential suite of the Four Seasons Hotel Bangkok at Chao Phraya River, with upwards of 190 pieces on display).
Historically, celebrities have been integral to the Bulgari story and its marketing mix, with the late Elizabeth Taylor, a passionate client, the enduring image of Bulgari elegance. Nowadays, you are likely to find actors Priyanka Chopra, Zendaya, and Anne Hathaway, as well as Lisa, a member of the K-pop girl-group Blackpink, on the brand’s friends roster in a nod to Hollywood and Asia’s continued strategic importance.
After our chat, as I patiently waited to take a photo with him, he gave face-time to a Chinese delegation developing a mall in which they would like a Bulgari store. Having shaken every hand and looked in every eye, Babin kept the party of six transfixed with his words. Whether or not they’ll get their store remains to be seen, but the smiles as the group headed out were encouraging. As I took my place next to the man of the hour and his PR reps snapped away, he apologised for “taking your time”. The pictures were decent and, naturally, he looked better than me, in his tailored suit and a Bulgari timepiece on his wrist proudly on display.
chat to Maison Francis Kurkdjian CEO Marc Chaya
We
about how a relentless commitment to creative geniusand perfume artistry has built one of the industry’s most exciting brands
What makes a fragrance great?
Some may say that it’s a cult following, attention-grabbing marketing, displayworthy packaging, your favourite celebrity putting their face to its campaign — or, maybe, a combination of the above. For Marc Chaya, CEO of French luxury artisanal perfumery brand Maison Francis Kurkdjian, what makes a great fragrance is the genius of creativity.
A self-proclaimed activist driven by the need to correct the wrong of perfumers having been undermined in the past, Chaya speaks with a profound passion for art and creativity, despite his corporate background. He hadn’t initially considered a path in fragrance, but became bored in the business world (he had a successful career in finance and business management at Ernst and Young), which meant that a chance encounter at a dinner party with perfumer Francis Kurkdjian, the mastermind behind iconic fragrances such
CREATING OUTSIDE THE BOTTLE
as Jean Paul Gaultier Le Male, resulted in a 20-year partnership and the birth of a luxury perfumery brand steeped in artisanal craftsmanship in a world that can be very commercially driven.
“One day I met Francis and learnt that he was a perfumer. I love the arts, creativity, and perfume. As a Lebanese child I already had a collection of fragrances, many of which Francis had created, and I had had no idea. When we met at a dinner party, he told me he was a perfumer, had created Jean Paul Gaultier Le Male and Green Tea for Elizabeth Arden, and was working with Elie Saab at the time, who is a very famous Lebanese designer. I was like, ‘How come I don’t even know your name?’ From there, a friendship
“WHAT MAKES OUR MAISON UNIQUE IS THAT IT IS A HOUSE OF CREATION, IT IS NOT A HOUSE OF MARKETING. IT IS A HOUSE OF CRAFTSMANSHIP”
was born and we discovered that we share the same values when it comes to the vision of life, family, and friends, as well as a sense of aesthetics,” says Chaya.
Chaya has known the power and wonder of fragrance from a young age. Growing up in Beirut, Lebanon, scent always surrounded him. “Lebanon is a Mediterranean country that is 200km long and 40km wide, but it has mountains and rivers and a seashore of 250km. You have all of these aromatic scents of nature — the pine tree is everywhere. The sea and the smell of the sea and the smell of nature getting scorched by the sun. The smell of jasmine, the smell of orange flower, the smell of my mom cooking — smell was everywhere. What I love is that smell takes us places. It is immediately linked to our memory. I have always loved scents, I have always been very open to scents, and I see beauty through scent.”
Many are aware of the global appeal of Maison Francis Kurkdjian, but not many know about the genius and commitment to craftsmanship that fuel the brand. What makes Maison Francis Kurkdjian different from other brands is that, while it has managed to attain global appeal and status, its primary goal has always centred on fostering the best possible environment for creative vision to thrive. “What makes our maison unique is that it is a house of creation, it is not a house of marketing. It is a house of craftsmanship — we are artisans. We love the product and we try to create enchantment by letting the genius of creativity unfold in 3D — this is the specificity of the maison,” says Chaya.
Steering away from excessive marketing, paid celebrity endorsements, and limited visions hemmed in by strict budgets and marketing-driven briefs, the brand has allowed the art of perfumery to shine, giving perfumers a platform to create truly inspired work. “If the entire fragrance industry were on a table, we’d be turning the table upside down. This is the activist in me, in an industry that thrives on marketing, where, for many years, we have asked the creative mind to execute a marketing brief. For me, there was a highway of opportunity to let [perfumers] express their creative vision freely. This is where value comes in, this is where you are no longer within a trend but set trends, because creativity is a free world, it is seeing the unseen and creating the unexpected.”
The maison’s brand value of always putting vision first was responsible for Baccarat Rouge 540 — initially a limited edition that turned into a global phenomenon.
“When Francis created Baccarat Rouge 540, which now sits among the best-selling scents in the world, we did not use celebrities, we did not spend on mass marketing, we did not do media; the perfume was not even meant to be. This perfume was an idea that he had for the 250th anniversary of Baccarat and wanted to express in a scent — the alchemy and the fusion of making crystal. Crystal, which is simply glass, but glass that is shinier, more beautiful, and really changes the experience of drinking water, for example… Artists in general reflect the era in which they live. They are avant-garde; they seem to see things before we do, but they are simply translating what they feel. They feel the moment that we are in and they are capable, thanks to their genius of creativity, to express it — it is the same in all forms of art. Baccarat Rouge is a new family in the scent world — this family did not exist before — a gourmand that is also airy. A gourmand that is amplified in such a light and beautiful way that it is almost delicate, because usually gourmands are sweet and heavy, and Baccarat Rouge has this
01. Palace of Versailles
02. Marc Chaya
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light, almost invisible aura that is completely addictive. It is a scent that was not meant to be — it was limited to 250 bottles, but people were crazy about it and I felt that it would be a shame not to give it an opportunity to be appreciated by as many people as possible.”
Though the brand has global appeal, notoriety, and iconic fragrances such as Baccarat Rouge 540 and Oud Satin Mood in its stable, its footprint is still quite small in comparison to that of other fragrance brands. It is kept this way to preserve the maison’s artisanal approach to craftsmanship and its philosophy that perfumery is art. Chaya has always believed that “what is made with time is respected by time”, and so scaling the business into a global brand without sacrificing creativity, craftsmanship, quality, luxury, and the ability to spark joy was no small feat.
“The brand has a global momentum and has gained global recognition, yet it is only available in 850 doors [stores]. A regular fragrance brand would be available in up to 60 000 doors. So, on the grand scale of things, we are maybe in 12% of the global network. We have the most beautiful doors globally and it took us 15 years to be in those 850 doors. Some brands can roll out in 3 000 doors overnight. Our strategy has always been step by step, building door by door and making sure that [each one] gives the best experience possible. Building long-standing partnerships with our network globally, making sure that there is a real love of the brand and a real understanding of what the brand stands for — it didn’t happen overnight.”
The artistic DNA of Maison Francis Kurkdjian also allows it to create spaces in which to invent outside of the bottle. With codes similar to that of a community of artists, the maison makes a point of facilitating conversations with artists and institutions such as the Palace of Versailles, bringing scent into everyday spaces to create wonderfully immersive experiences.
“We don’t collaborate, we call them conversations. What’s the difference? When you collaborate, you are starting from a marketing standpoint. You say, ‘Okay, this artist is trendy, people love them, let’s do something with them.’ Collaboration has a commercial ending and interest. A conversation is free and artists have always talked to each other. With Francis, since our very beginning, his dream was to scent the fountains of Versailles — there is no commercial return, it even cost us money, but the beauty of that is to create something that is uplifting. To go into the beautiful gardens of Versailles in 2007 and to see scented bubbles, to see a scented fountain, is something that generates a dream.
“Since we’ve started the maison, we’ve offered Francis a platform of freedom to create outside of the fragrance bottle. Because when you create inside the fragrance bottle, it goes on the skin, it is within a certain pattern; it’s happy, it’s sensual, it is soothing, it is positive. But in art, you can also express the negative. With a painting, you can describe war or death, but when you put the perfume in the bottle you cannot do that.
“When you take perfume outside the bottle, you can do something that Francis did with a Syrian artist — describing the suffering in Syria during the Syrian war with nails in wax that were melting on a hot platform, releasing the smell of jasmine, sand, and blood. These are things you can express through art.
“When we did the collaboration with Versailles, we didn’t expect that it would become so successful globally, it was just an idea. Francis met the chief gardener of Versailles and there was this beautiful land that had been abandoned and they were thinking about how to give it new life and Francis said, ‘You know, Versailles was the capital of perfume at some stage. It was the place where big perfumers created extraordinary scents and it is within the court of Versailles that people started wearing perfume. Marie Antoinette had her own perfumer.’ So we decided to fund it. It is an experience that takes you outside of time, as though you are suspended in time. And this is what we love to do.”
With the introduction of new digital technologies, specifically AI, the way that we create is changing. While most would be threatened by technology’s impact on the traditional approach to fragrances, for Chaya and Maison Francis Kurkdjian it’s just another tool to amplify innovation and create more immersive experiences.
“Art has evolved throughout our history — from primitivism to modernity, art has always expressed the time in which we live. AI is a tool at our service. It is not going to replace a perfumer, but it can give the perfumer more power. For example, Francis uses AI to understand why a scent diffuses or doesn’t diffuse. Sometimes you mix beautiful essential oils together and the smell is extraordinary, but it doesn’t diffuse. So AI can help us analyse different patterns and understand why this happens. AI can help you create new forms of art that are more immersive and can accelerate virtual reality — and maybe accelerate store design. Recently, we were with our team, talking about our laundry detergent and our fabric softener, which is under the scent of Aqua Universalis.
“SINCE OUR VERY BEGINNING, EVEN BEFORE STARTING THE MAISON, [FRANCIS’S] DREAM WAS TO SCENT THE FOUNTAINS OF VERSAILLES”
Francis was talking about this campaign where he wanted to see Paris with a lot of laundry outside the windows, like you see in Portugal or Spain. In Paris, you cannot do that. We told AI that we wanted to see Paris with clothes hanging out of the windows, just to see if this idea could resonate artistically, and it was fabulous. AI is a tool but it’s not going to replace you,” explains Chaya.
So, what makes a fragrance truly great? For Maison Francis Kurkdjian, the answer goes beyond the bottle. At its core, perfumery is artistic expression. It’s the perfumer’s ability to create a high-quality, well-structured scent that transcends time. “You have a beautiful scent that nests in a beautiful bottle. We’re not selling you a brand that a celebrity is wearing. We’re telling you a story that comes from the guts of a creator in a beautiful store that builds an uplifting experience. All of this together creates an ecosystem. That is what I call luxury — the extraordinary genius of creativity, extraordinary craft, and extraordinary experience.”
core the
production Sahil Harilal
photography Judd van Rensburg
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Santos-Dumont watch, extra-large, hand wound, mechanical movement, rose gold, R186 000, Cartier 01.
Santos De Cartier watch, large model, automatic movement, steel, R164 000, Cartier
04.
Omega Speedmaster Professional Moonwatch Moonshine, R923 000, Elegance Jewellers
03.
Monaco Night Driver watch, 39mm, limited edition, automatic chronograph, R190 000, TAG Heuer
Panerai Radiomir Otto Giorni watch, 45mm, brunito-steel case, trapezoidal brunito-steel buckle, R176 800, Panerai Boutique Elegance Jewellers 05.
CHRISTIAAN GABRIEL DU TOIT AND MALCOLM KLUK
DESIGNER FLAIR
With its long and storied history, instantly recognisable tile-clad buildings, and beautiful evening light, Lisbon has been attracting admiring visitors for centuries — many of whom end up deciding to stay a while. Among the more recent of these are South African fashion designers and property developers Christiaan Gabriel du Toit and Malcolm Kluk, who immediately found Lisbon’s attractions compelling. “We first visited in 2015 and fell in love with the city,” explains Kluk. “One of our travel group stayed on in Lisbon then and there, and lives in the city to this day,” he adds. “And when we returned to visit her later that same year, we decided to start looking around for a property.”
With considerable experience in renovating and developing property in Cape Town, where the couple’s fashion-design business is also based, Kluk and Du Toit had a clear idea of the Lisbon districts in which they would be prepared to buy. “I was adamant that we would only look at certain areas and drove the estate agent crazy,” says Kluk. “Eventually we found this place online and when we saw the view — a spectacular, uninterrupted vista across the Tagus River — it became the irresistible choice.”
The property is located in the central but relatively underthe-radar area of Lapa. Says Kluk, “Lapa is known for being quite local, but it also seems cosmopolitan.” The building in which their top-floor apartment is situated was built by the grandfather of one of Du Toit and Kluk’s new neighbours and has a typical Lisbon feel, combining the authentic charms of a narrow footprint and tiled façade with a subtly modern sensibility. Plus, it is within walking distance of almost all of the places in which the couple enjoy spending time — restaurants, shops, museums, and public gardens.
Ready to consider selecting a professional to help them renovate the apartment, the couple “overheard architect João Gameiro talking about design and renovation in a coffee shop — and that’s how we met him”, says Kluk. On checking out Gameiro’s website, they immediately admired his dynamic, contemporary style.
Other than deciding — unusually for two lifelong lovers of abundant colour and print, in fashion and interiors — that here they wanted “an earthy feel without losing the luxe”, Du Toit and Kluk’s brief to Gameiro was open and flexible. In fact, Kluk suggests, it was more like a carte blanche to interpret the space as the architect wished.
Says Gameiro, “The concept for this project aimed to connect Cape Town and Lisbon via the light and colour that derive from both places. The ‘prism house’ idea was born from a narrative that resonates and refracts the natural light into colours, with the existing features always filtered and enhanced when appropriate.” The underlying concept of a prism, with refracted light on reflective surfaces introducing natural colour into the compact spaces, originally came “from our posts of Cape Town’s beautiful ombre sunsets on social media”, says Kluk.
Blending its owners’ creative flair with smart architectural interventions that make the most of the compact spaces, this Lisbon apartment features unique art and furniture pieces and a simply superlative view
Chief among the “prism house” interventions is the metallic ceiling used to lighten and add a more expansive feel to the central passageway, while also functioning as a kind of reflection of the meandering Tagus. Gameiro and his practice, Studio Gameiro, also suggested the use of earthy yet sculptural stucco in the bathrooms and kitchen. “There is definitely a collaborative element to the interior design too,” says Kluk. “For example, João designed the staircase, and we added the stone plinth.” The stairs form part of the very practical side of the renovation, during which an additional en-suite bedroom was cleverly tucked into the rafters.
Complete trust became firmly established between clients and architect during the main structural renovation, which took place amid the lockdowns and travel disruptions of the Covid-19 pandemic. “Studio Gameiro was our eyes and ears on the ground in Lisbon during this time,” says Kluk. “WhatsApp was our only means of overseeing what was happening, and the process became a huge leap of faith.”
When it came to finalising the interior furnishings and selecting artworks, Du Toit and Kluk were in their creative sweet spot. They sent most of the furniture and art from South Africa — “a mix of new, repurposed, and vintage”, as Kluk puts it.
“Art is so subjective and our tastes change continually, but each home has a feeling that requires a certain look,” explains Kluk of the process of selecting artworks for the apartment. “We started with a minimal feel, and we wanted abstract and sculptural pieces; we felt we needed to bring architecture to the spaces and then we wanted some colour — but continuing the iridescent theme that João had introduced, and always returning to the juxtaposition of earthiness and glamour.”
text Robyn Alexander production Sven Alberding photography Greg Cox
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76 / In the bathroom on the main floor of the apartment, the prismatic theme is continued in the built-in storage. The ceramic sculpture is by Kluk and the shower rose and tapware are from ASM Taps.
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/ Wittily placed outside the door of one of the two additional bedrooms on the main floor of the apartment is a dog sculpture from a Cape Town décor store called Wallflower. The dining area does double duty as a working space.
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/ Both minimalist and practical, the kitchen contains plenty of storage space and is open to the dining and living areas. The glass-topped table is from Cape Town vintage furniture and décor dealer Ride a White Swan.
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71 / The living-room furniture is positioned to allow maximum enjoyment of the apartment’s panoramic view over central Lisbon to the Tagus. The resin hand sculpture is from a local vintage store.
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70 / Sectional sofas from Piér Rabe Antiques make the living area ideal for ultra-relaxed lounging. The artworks on the wall include a metal sculpture by salvage artist Philippe Bousquet and a photograph by Anton De Sousa Costa.
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70 / Architect João Gameiro of Studio Gameiro came up with various ingenious ways to draw more light into the narrow apartment, including installing a reflective surface on the ceiling of the passageway, which creates prism-like lighting effects in the space.
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68-69 / Typical of the buildings of central Lisbon, the narrow façade is clad in exuberantly patterned tiles and features cast-iron balconies on the upper floors.
Unsurprisingly, Kluk and Du Toit now spend a considerable amount of their time in Lisbon. “We are here every chance we get, using it as our base and travelling on afterwards,” says Kluk. “We feel like we have taken the ‘work from home’ concept to a new continent.” The locals have been very friendly and welcoming, so it has also “felt easy to fit in, to make friends, to navigate”.
When in the city, the couple usually work at the apartment until about midday, then head out to a museum or art gallery or to do a bit of shopping. “We’ll stop for either lunch or dinner,” says Kluk. “A great thing about Lisbon is that the malls are open until midnight, so chores like DIY sourcing and grocery shopping can be done last thing before heading home to bed.”
Asked about their favourite part of the apartment, the couple agree that it’s “definitely the view”. The interior is designed to place the vista at the centre of attention and to showcase it, with “everything happening in the living room”, as Kluk says, and the furniture in the space carefully arranged to facilitate this point of focus.
And, as the kitchen and dining areas of the apartment are mostly open plan, “we work from the dining table and cook in the kitchen — always together, with the windows wide open”. There can be few more enviable ways to organise one’s life as a creative person today. klukcgdt.com, studiogameiro.com
THE
Please tell us about yourself.
I am a dedicated art enthusiast with a rich international background steeped in the world of art. My journey into the realm of creativity began at a tender age, nurtured by the unwavering support of my father, a true art aficionado himself. In my formative years, he introduced me to the enchanting world of museums and gave me an abundance of art books, immersing me in a tapestry of artistic knowledge. I spent countless hours poring over these tomes.
My father’s encouragement extended beyond mere admiration. He commissioned me to create art — a cherished memory that remains an integral part of my artistic foundation. It was in Italy that I embarked on my formal art education studying fine arts, which marked the beginning of my academic journey in the arts.
ART LIFE
ART LIFE
Throughout the years, my exposure to art has transcended borders, embracing both international and local spheres. Art seeped into my very essence. I transitioned from making my own works of art to cultivating a deep appreciation for the creative endeavours of others.
However, my story doesn’t end there. I am also an entrepreneur, specifically in the mining industry. My entry into the mining sector came at a time when there were very few women, and even fewer women of colour. Notwithstanding the obstacles, for over two decades, I carved a niche for myself within this sector, holding various executive and non-executive positions. My life is a blend of artistic passion and business acumen — a duality that defines my diverse and enriching journey.
01. Deborah Bell, She Wolf, 2017 02. Nicholas Hlobo, Ityhengetyhenge, 2015 03. Khetiwe McClain 04. William Kentridge, Eight Figures, 2010
what is your role at Strauss & CO?
My decision to join Strauss & Co represents a convergence of passion and purpose. First and foremost, I wholeheartedly align with Strauss & Co’s vision and unwavering values; this alignment is paramount to me.
I find it to be an exceptional fit, considering my extensive background in fine art and entrepreneurship. I am confident that I can cultivate novel connections and foster visionary partnerships within the art realm, leveraging my wealth of knowledge, experience, and extensive networks.
Joining Strauss & Co is like returning to a cherished space to which I’ve dedicated a substantial part of my life — a 360-degree journey that has rekindled my profound enthusiasm.
Talk to us about your art studies.
My academic journey included an immersive exploration of Mannerism at Villa Schifanoia at the European University Institute in the picturesque town of Fiesole in Tuscany. This was complemented by the attainment of a Lyceum certificate from the Istituto D’Arte in Perugia, Italy. Subsequently, I did four years of fine arts at the renowned Accademia di Belle Arti Pietro Vannucci in Perugia, followed by an enriching two-year foray into the world of architecture at the University of Florence, Italy.
If you had unlimited funds, in which artists would you invest?
Although I lean toward contemporary African art, I am also a great lover of some African modernists, such as Gerard Sekoto, Moses Tladi, and the brilliant sculptors Sydney Kumalo and Ezrom Legae. Some of the artists in whose work I’d love to invest are (in no order of priority): Wangechi Mutu, El Anatsui, William Kentridge, Lady Skollie, Nicholas Hlobo, AthiPatra Ruga, Zanele Muholi, Kudzanai Chiurai, Mary Sibande, Zandile Tshabalala, Aida Muluneh, Julie Mehretu, Turiya Magadlela, Michael Armitage, and Deborah Bell.
Which up-and-coming artist excites you?
I’m truly captivated by the artistic journey of the very young artist Boemo Diale. Witnessing her growth has been nothing short of extraordinary. She’s not only taken part in major art exhibitions across South Africa but is also currently showing work in Paris.
What art events are you looking forward to in 2024?
There are many, including the Investec Cape Town Art Fair; “Curatorial Voices”, a Strauss-led event in Cape Town; Dak’Art; the Venice Biennale; African Art in Venice Forum; Also Known As Africa (AKAA); the FNB Art Joburg fair; RMB Latitudes; 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair; ART X Lagos; Art Basel; and the Art Business Conference.
05. Ezrom Legae, Agonised Torso (EL24) 06. Ezrom Legae, Lonely Head (EL8) 7. Athi-Patra Ruga, Night of the Long Knives, 2014 IV 08. Moses Tladi, Winter – Trees, Driefontein 09. Ezrom Legae, Head II (EL 35)
Veronica Anderson vajewellery.com Viviers viviersstudio.com
W Woolworths woolworths.co.za
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Zenith picotandmoss.co.za
pennsylvania
In the week that Sir David Chipperfield won the Pritzker Architecture Prize — the most prestigious global prize in the profession — at a ceremony in Athens, Greece, he was also honoured as part of the celebrations for the 20th anniversary of the Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative, which were taking place concurrently in the ancient city. He has lent his name, his time, his talent, and his inspiration to the initiative, aimed at creating a global culture that transmits knowledge and perpetuates the arts across and between generations. As Sir David Adjaye, another architectural luminary and Rolex mentor, says, “It’s become a little like the Oscars — it’s definitely up there as one of the great things to be: becoming director of the Venice Biennale, winning the Pritzker Prize, being a Rolex mentor. It is now part of that garland of great things that one should do as a professional.” Starting in 2002, the initiative has partnered 63 mentors and protégés from 40 countries in dance, film, literature, music, visual arts, architecture and, since 2020, in an open category to cultivate interdisciplinary work.
I was delighted to have my path cross that of Chipperfield at both of these celebrations in Athens, especially considering the architectural heritage of this city, where the Parthenon dominates the landscape, firing imaginations and creating an architectural dialogue with the world for millennia.
The Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative cultivates this rich transmission of information between the built environment and society by making architecture one of its pillars. Rolex mentors in architecture have included such luminaries as Kazuyo Sejima, Peter Zumthor, and Anne Lacaton. These mentors and their protégés have collaborated on projects in Niger, the UK, South Korea, and an area of Japan devastated by the 2011 tsunami, among many others. Protégés have also spearheaded master plans for entire neighbourhoods, from London to Lebanon.
To celebrate Rolex’s 20-year milestone they curated an architecturedriven group exhibition at Athens’s Benaki Museum / Pireos 138 with Rolex architecture protégés Sahel AlHiyari, Gloria Cabral, Mariam Issoufou Kamara, Simon Kretz, and Yang Zhao. These exhibits bore witness to a multiplicity of responses to their own environments, the question of how best to live now, and what that means in terms of the spaces we create and the environments we cohabit — all of which was both fascinating and timely.
01. The Rolex Learning Center at École Polytechnique Fédérale in Lausanne, designed by SANAA 02. Sir David Chipperfield 03. The Lititz Watch Technicum, Rolex’s watchmacking school in Lititz, Pennsylvania, designed by Michael Graves 04. The International Architecture Exhibition, Venice Biennale, supported by Rolex
Chipperfield expressed this new momentum in architectural practice in a conversation with the protégés and the media. “As we look around our cities, or towns and countryside, it is clear that our attempts as architects to help create a more considered environment based on the need for quality of life find us struggling against other forces, forces that don’t place environmental or societal responsibilities at the front of their decision-making process. The urgent crises of climate change and social inequality provide architecture professionals with the incentive and the mandate to realign priorities in order to move more seriously to confront the role that we can play in creating better environments and better quality of life. This forces us to reconsider our conventional approach to practice today for current and future generations. In this shift, we architects must find opportunities to come together as a profession to make more significant contributions to the world around us.”
Speaking of his mentorship role in the Rolex initiative, he explained, “Architecture is a profoundly collaborative profession, and there is a vast community rich with talent eager to play a bigger role. Too often, the rivalrous nature of our profession puts us in competition with one another, rather than emphasising our common purpose and shared responsibility.
“Mentoring is an opportunity to revitalise our approach, to step outside our individual tasks, to share the lessons of our experience and to reflect on the nature of our practice. We must take this opportunity to consider the wider legacy that we are leaving to the next generation, connecting with the excitement, the energy, and the commitment that we find in the
The disciplinary synergy so evident in architecture, where artistic vision meets technical excellence, resonates with the precision and craftsmanship that underscore fine watchmaking. Rolex supports architecture through its Perpetual Arts Initiative, as the official partner of the International Architecture Exhibition of the Venice Biennale, and by embracing the world’s most innovative architects to design its own buildings.
protégés. This initiative is a unique opportunity to emphasise the importance of dialogue, exchange, and collaboration.”
Chipperfield also discussed the paradox inherent in the business of architecture. “It is an incredibly collaborative process, but over the past 30 years it has ended up being increasingly identified by singular things — singular buildings, singular architects. We know that, as we deal more and more with the issue of our built environment, the challenge is not necessarily the singular building. The crises we have are to do with the bits between the buildings: the gaps, the spaces, the public spaces, the gaps in terms of responsibilities, the gaps in terms of administrations, the gaps between ministries — because they don’t talk to each other, because they [don’t] see it as a shared problem. We are going to need to learn to work in very different ways. Therefore, my generation looks with great expectancy and wishes towards the next generation, not to imitate us at all but to learn from what we know, from where we sit and how we can transfer that.”
He continued, “Of course, the paradox is that, as a young architect, probably the only thing you want to do is to build something. We get our thrills as architects out of building physical things. That’s our reward, that’s our stuff… and it’s also our career, because we have to be noticed in this slightly rivalrous profession, where in order to be commissioned we have to be identified. As such, this accentuates the individual to the detriment of the collaborative and the collective thing that we can offer as architects to the next generation. But I’m very encouraged by how the next generation is thinking in different ways, and I think it’s very indicative that these practitioners have decided that they need to not only talk to us but also talk among themselves, and that is a really fascinating evolution, and probably the unexpected evolution of this programme — unexpected but very necessary.
“Through this extraordinary initiative, I feel more optimistic than ever that we have the mandate and the capacity to change the course of creative professions defined by a common sense of purpose, by a commitment to engage with each other across generations and across communities.”
melbourne
01. Rolex’s new office building in Dallas, Texas, designed by Kengo Kuma 02-05. Rolex’s Australian headquarters in Melbourne, restored and redeveloped by Woods Bagot
text Denis Droppa
A TOTAL ECLIPSE OF CAR ART
Rolls-Royce
Rolls - Royce is going to great lengths to ensure your luxury chariot doesn’t look just like your neighbour’s, and owners have a vast personalisation palette from which to create their own automotive jewellery.
From time to time, the British carmaker also creates limited-edition specials, the latest being the new Rolls-
Royce Black Badge Ghost Ékleipsis Private Collection.
The luxury sedan has been given an exterior and interior makeover inspired by a solar eclipse (ékleipsis is the ancient Greek word from which “eclipse” is derived) and is limited to 25 examples worldwide. Launched on 14 October to coincide with the annular solar eclipse visible in parts of the western hemisphere, the car explores the
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interplay of light and darkness during the moment when the moon obscures the sun.
“With Rolls-Royce Black Badge Ghost Ékleipsis we draw inspiration from a total solar eclipse: a seldom-seen and spellbinding phenomenon that reflects the rarity and beauty of Rolls-Royce Private Collections,” says Torsten Müller-Ötvös, CEO of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars.
Black Badge Ghost Ékleipsis lights up the dark
“In capturing the magic of this celestial alignment, our bespoke collective of designers, engineers, and craftspeople once again elevated contemporary craftsmanship with a landmark series of exquisite details that project the marque’s culture of ambition and excellence.”
The moody light cast by a total solar eclipse is captured in the car’s Lyrical Copper exterior, which appears dark until it catches the light to produce a dramatic iridescence. Mandarin-orange highlights adorn the pantheon grille, brake calipers, and pinstripes along the car’s flanks, inspired by “the pulses of sunlight witnessed as the eclipse progresses”.
Inside, the animated starlight headliner adds a sense of theatre. Upon closing the doors and starting the engine, the fibre-optic “stars” on the ceiling darken and a gleaming circle of lights appears to represent the bright corona around the lunar silhouette during an eclipse. The animation remains visible for seven minutes and 31 seconds — the longest possible duration of a total solar eclipse. Once this time has elapsed, the full constellation of stars in the night sky is restored.
That’s some attention to detail, and the special ceiling animation took Rolls-Royce a year to perfect.
Capturing an eclipse’s twilight effect, the bicolour leather seats have unique artworks made with over 200 000 perforations. The black mandarin leather is perforated to reveal a contrasting colour beneath. The illuminated fascia is also adorned with 1 846 laser-etched stars in a symbolic timeline of a total eclipse, while a bespoke timepiece incorporates a 0.5ct diamond that recalls the “diamond-ring” effect around the moon during an eclipse. It is the first time a gemstone has been integrated into the clock’s bezel in a Rolls-Royce, and the clock is finished with an etching on its dark aluminium surround, revealing the bright metal underneath.
Finishing touches include illuminated treadplates, umbrellas with mandarin piping concealed in the coach doors, and a unique car cover bearing the Private Collection’s wordmark.
Rolls-Royce doesn’t reveal the price of the Ékleipsis, but it should be a significant premium over the standard R14-million Black Badge Ghost. All 25 have been sold.
One of the many joys of a functional, successful, and patriotic national carrier must be the opportunity to showcase what your country is doing best and sharing it with travellers through the skies and across the world.
One airline doing a remarkable job is British Airways (BA). The national carrier of the United Kingdom has appointed master of wine Tim Jackson to oversee its wine programme, making it the first airline to take such a step. Jackson brings with him a veritable encyclopaedia of vinous knowledge, being one of only 416 masters of wine around the world, along with a passion to highlight the often-overlooked category of English sparkling wine while celebrating the wines of BA destinations — including South Africa.
When it comes to English fizz, the areas Jackson is looking at are Kent, Hampshire, and Sussex — all of which straddle the same geological seam of chalk found in Champagne, France. This seam is the source of the distinctive chalky soils for which the Champagne and Burgundy regions are renowned. The (increasingly) warmer temperatures of the south of England are proving well suited to grape ripening.
So, if, in France, the terroir can produce outstanding wine and the climate is suitable for grape ripening, why not in the UK too? At least, that’s what a handful of producers have bet on for the past 30-odd years, planting champagne-variety vineyards in these chalky soils.
For the expert, it’s a category that only really hit its stride in 2018. “That was the turning point for English sparkling wine. It was then that we began seeing the production of wines of both high quantity and quality,” says Jackson.
Five years on, the wine master has taken the reins at BA’s wine lists and is quite literally taking English sparkling wine to new heights. So successful has the move been that the most recent on-board offering was consumed well ahead of projections.
“Enjoying a glass of fine bubbles in the air is a quintessential part of the first- and business-class flying experience, and we’re proud to include these true British originals on our lists,” he adds.
In terms of on-board offerings, he notes that he tends to look for wine with a bit more fruit — in the air, your olfactory senses are dulled, so a bit more sweetness is needed to get the same sensation as on the ground.
As a result, he works closely with the wineries to ensure a product that tastes as good on board as it does on terra firma.
When it comes to Club World, the carrier’s longhaul luxury business-class offering, the menu will see a cycle of sparkling wines changing throughout the year. Where previously you’d find a second champagne on the list, now there’s an English sparkling.
The master of wine has tapped five wineries for these prestigious spots.
Hattingley Valley, in Hampshire, which produced a blanc de noir in collaboration with the airline for its centenary, is one British sparkle you can expect in first
A FIRSTCLASS WINE FLIGHT
BA now serves the best of British bubbly
text Steve Steinfeld
class. The 2018 vintage, golden in colour with a slightly pink hue and a delicate mousse, offers red apple skins and summer fruit on the nose, along with aromas of freshly baked pastry. These follow on to the palate, where the notes are accompanied by a racy acidity, brightness, and crystalline nature.
Digby Fine English Brut NV is the product of a négociant-style winery that sourced grapes from Hampshire and Sussex to create the first wine for Club World. Golden and with a delicate mousse, the wine is a racy yet sophisticated expression of English sparkling. On the nose you can expect honeysuckle, baked apples, red stone fruit, and a touch of flint, followed by a generous palate with that signature English sparkling acidity, superb tension, and glorious salinity.
Balfour Winery on Hush Heath Estate in Kent was the first to produce an English sparkling rosé and it’s this that is showcased on board, with the dosage tailored for optimum enjoyment. A beautiful pale onion-skin colour, the wine has a fine mousse with aromas of delicate florals, red berry fruits, and mineral notes. The palate is equally expressive, delivering an abundance of raspberries and strawberries with cream, along with more savoury umami notes, a steely acidity, and a lovely texture.
Simpsons Wine Estate’s Chalklands Classic Cuvée is a non-vintage grown on the chalky terroir of Kent’s North Downs. Pale gold with notes of rich ripe orchard fruit, apple blossoms, and baked apple pie, the nose leads to a rich and complex palate with a beautiful mouthfeel and fresh, racy acidity.
Wiston Estate, a vineyard on the South Down hills of Sussex, serves up a brut non-vintage. The beautiful estate (with South African roots by virtue of matriarch Pip Goring) has an elegant and expressive bubbly that mingles the freshness of green apple and ripe lemon with notes of freshly baked biscuits — a wonderful balance of zesty freshness and the complexity of maturity.
These are all stunning additions to the wine list, giving the world a taste of this emerging, proudly British wine category. So, next time you’re heading abroad with BA, raise a glass of the best of British.
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There are people who travel for sightseeing, those who seek adventure, and others who delve into history — and then there are those who get away simply for rest and relaxation. During a year in which I was lucky enough to travel my fair share, I discovered, perhaps unsurprisingly, that I travel for food and drinks. While others seek out hiking trails to waterfalls or book trips to museums or tour national monuments, I am constantly, chronically, looking for restaurants, bars, wineries, and breweries. For me, to have visited a place is to have tasted its food, familiarised myself with the local produce and flavours, met local chefs, and discovered the hidden speakeasies.
It’s about getting a literal taste of a city, village or town, from the hottest restaurants to those hidden gems. It’s about the underground drinkeries and the primmest bars, each one creating a gastronomic postcard that will live on long after the trip ends,, revisited time and time again through the thought of a dish, a conversation with a chef or a flavour first tasted overlooking a magnificent view. This, to me, is the beauty of travel — to taste the world one small part at a time. Here are a few of the most magnificent dining destinations I visited this year.
JAN Franschhoek
South Africa, Franschhoek
It’s dusk and, as the last rays of the spring sun disappear behind the Franschhoek Mountains, I find myself among the lavender fields on the La Motte wine estate, heading towards the picturesque, historic Veepos cottage. It is here that chef Jan Hendrik van der Westhuizen is once again bringing his seasonal food and wine experience to life in a one-of-a-kind dining experience that combines the conviviality of a dinner table with the chef’s fine technique and absolute eye for detail.
Underneath a ceiling hung with drying flowers, their scent permeating the air, a table is draped in white linen and set with crystal and silverware, illuminated by the flicker of candlelight. The room is abuzz as we take our seats and become acquainted with those on either side of us — our culinary companions for the evening, with whom we will share a table, break bread, and toast many a glass of wine.
What follows is a multi-course gastronomic experience drawing on nostalgic South African favourites, flavours, and ingredients and elevated by the chef’s Michelin-star technique and fine-dining finesse.
text Steve Steinfeld
This ranges from his signature frozen apple, tête de moine cheese, and kabeljou in haddock milk — a brilliant dish of contrasts across heat, flavour, and texture — to a hearty lamb shank, served to share, with waterblommetjies, a mielie-and-bean risotto, and a plethora of intriguing pickles.
Van der Westhuizen outdoes himself with the “kaas en konfyt” course — a table at the back of the cottage dressed as a still life of beautiful cheeses, freshly baked breads, fruit, and preserves. The artwork evolves as we dig in, indulging in the likes of Belnori’s Forest Phantom with fennel-and-ginger preserve, Forest Hill Manchego with brandy-stewed fruit, and Dalewood Lanquedoc with korrelkonfyt. Throughout, the team delivers a beautiful showcase of local produce, heritage dishes, and a reminder of the joys of a meal shared around a table.
Some dining destinations will stay with you forever
la-motte.com/pages/jan-franschhoek
A TASTE FOR TRAVEL
Dalla Gioconda
Italy, Gabicce Mare
The clang of a church bell echoes through the streets as locals and tourists alike venture out into the early evening, a gentle breeze providing relief from the heat of a blistering Italian summer’s day. Many have made their way up from the beach clubs, whose closed umbrellas create a pointillist patchwork of colour all the way along the Adriatic coastline, contrasting with the surreal aquamarine waters, now ablaze as the setting sun bathes both sea and town in gold.
Above it all sits Dalla Gioconda, the building once a 1950s disco-pizzeria that has now been reinvented by the brilliant Stefano Bizzarri, Allegra Tirotti Romanoff, and Davide di Fabio, creating a restaurant truly like no other. The design by Romanoff, drawing on Dalla Gioconda’s storied past in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, is somehow both understatedly elegant and breathtakingly showstopping, modern and retro, hyper-curated and exceptionally comfortable. Everything has been thought through, but it all feels effortlessly stylish.
The food is equally impressive, with each of the courses a
masterclass in technique, restraint, flavour, and texture. The dishes include mazzancolla in rosa (tiger prawns in pink), paccheri al sugo??? (a playful dish that has you guessing at the sauce ingredients), olive-stuffed cappelletti with orange and urchin, and La Zuppiera di paste e pesci dell’Adriatico, which sees seven types of seafood dressed with seven sauces and served with seven kinds of pasta.
The degustation menu is a testament to the genius of chef Di Fabio, with incredibly clever cooking that draws on classic Italian recipes, regional ingredients, and timehonoured traditions that here are recreated, revised, revisited, and transformed into something wholly and uniquely their own.
The experience is completed by the casually cool yet utterly impeccable service overseen by restaurateur Bizzarri and his stylishly kitted team. He has also put together a rather impressive wine menu with a cellar to match — make sure you take your time reading the veritable tome of a wine list, you’re bound to be impressed.
Dalla Gioconda is that restaurant that you simply cannot wait to return to, an immensely special place in a magnificent setting where a passionate, dedicated team, a family, come together to create something simply, sensationally, magical. dallagioconda.it/en/
KOL
London, United Kingdom
I respect chefs who put salt on their tables, and I respect chefs even more when you never reach for that salt. Such was the case on my visit to KOL, in the heart of Marylebone, where chef Santiago Lastra cooks up his magnificent take on modern Mexican cuisine underpinned by seasonal British ingredients.
The chef (in his early thirties) has already achieved what many others spend their entire careers striving for — a coveted spot on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list and a Michelin star to boot. The restaurant is also refreshingly different. The first thing you notice upon entering is the kitchen, where, in full view of guests, Santiago and his team create and plate all the dishes.
This is a restaurant that is fine in all the senses that we’ve come to enjoy in fine dining, without the frills we can often do without. Each delicious course, from the Cornish crab oblea (a twist on a Mexican wafer dessert) to the signature langoustine taco and the Mextlapique (trout cooked to sublime perfection in a corn husk and served with textures of kelp, cauliflower, and succulents), is a sensational display of the chef’s ethos and intention. It is an exemplary dining experience and a phenomenal demonstration that this is, indeed, a chef worth his salt.
kolrestaurant.com
We recently
sat
down to lunch at Tang with Dr Anne Brock, the master distiller of Sapphire,Bombay who is young, driven, and obsessed with gin. Her highly skilled scientific background, coupled with a few years spent behindworking the bar, has resulted in the kind of chemistry that expertly blends passion with a deep knowledge of her craft
about to take over his distillery and he’ll be the 12th or 13th generation. So, it’s practically in their blood. Which part of the gin-making process most delights you? What I love about Bombay is it’s such an approachable and versatile gin that bartenders can really play with because they’re not fighting against any of the flavours. I am always waxing lyrical about the distillation process because it’s quite unique, and I have made gins the other way. [Here] I have an extra level of control as a distiller using vapour infusion, which really helps me be a bit more creative.
We have a vapour chamber with copper perforated baskets. The spirit goes up into the base chambers and steams, so it’s just a slightly different way of extracting flavour. I’ve heard people say it’s a subtler, gentler process. You get the flavour extraction because you’re still using heat, it’s still hot vapour, but you get less of the cooking and the transformation. It’s unique — it’s not that heavy, oily note that you get when you’ve extracted everything that was added. It’s something I’m really proud of and you get to choose the way you use the botanicals — layering them in different ways will change the flavour and so there’s a lot you can play with as a distiller and get to grips with, which is good.
Have you encountered any gender bias in your work? Well, partly. My background is in science, which is quite male dominated as well. So, yes, I’m quite used to such an environment. However, the men have been incredibly supportive and a lot of it is because they say they just want a new generation of
text Aspasia Karras
good distillers coming through to take the category forward, rather than only their own brand. They believe a rising tide lifts all boats, I guess. They’ve been very good at accepting me into their friendship group, as it were. I sit on the board of the Gin Guild with them.
The guild focuses on the promotion
TRUE BLUE
of gin and excellence in the operation of gin, which is helping to support the industry as a whole and was set up by some of these older guys in the industry. And they invited me, which is amazing. I’m learning so much — they’ve got a wealth of knowledge, you know. One of the guys on the board, I think his son is
Does the global weather volatility affect your botanical supplies? Our main flavour comes from juniper, which grows wild. It’s foraged — nobody has a juniper farm. Our juniper comes from the Tuscan foothills, but it grows all over the world. I did a project once using juniper from a different source than Tuscany, and the soil, the temperature, the seasons all affect the way the gin tastes. We do have different harvests and you do see variations between them, but we smooth away all those inconsistencies by batch blending all the different botanicals. Obviously, global warming brings some challenges, but we work really closely with our suppliers of botanicals to ensure that they know what we’re looking for. They ensure that we get what we need and our relationships with them are vital, so they can warn us in advance [of any issues]. For example, the citrus comes from Spain, where there are lemon groves that have been maintained over many years — the lemons are hand peeled and dried in the Spanish sun, which is really lovely. Do you still drink gin, given your full-time immersion in it? I love drinking gin and often choose to have gin and tonic or go out for a martini. It’s probably still my favourite cocktail.
BLOTS & BEAUTIES ON
THE LANDSCAPE
Ioften pondered the state of Joburg’s built landscape with the late architect and historian Clive Chipkin. While lamenting the plague of shapeless, context-ignoring, motorcar-centric buildings encroaching on Rosebank — a once-pleasant shopping spot — Clive joked that Oxford Road should be renamed “Joburg’s Street of Architectural Shame”. He wasn’t wrong. Carefully designed structures such as the Louis Kahn-inspired Rosebank Hyatt Regency, a former landmark on the strip, have been overshadowed by new developments of decidedly less merit.
Unfortunate architecture is nothing new, but it’s easy to romanticise the past and gloss over architectural faux pas when casting a historical gaze. Scores of unexceptional, even offensive structures from Joburg’s 13 decades litter the city. The old Johannesburg General, now Charlotte Maxeke Academic Hospital, is a permanent scar on the Parktown Ridge. But, like broken robots, potholes, and now water shifting, Joburgers have learnt to avert their gaze from concrete carbuncles and rather focus on the surrounding moments of beauty. We just need to remember where to look.
The distinctive onion dome crowning Dolobran mansion — an enduring icon of old Joburg — nestles among enormous jacaranda trees at the top end of Oxford Road. The house, dreamed up by architect James Cope Christie in 1905, borrows architectural cues from exotic destinations visited by its original owner, financier Charles Llewellyn Andersson. Andersson passed up a demure design by renowned British architect Sir Herbert Baker in favour of Christie’s more playful creation. Parktown has no shortage of stellar Baker buildings and much of his best work is concentrated here. Baker’s own home, Stone House, constructed from locally quarried koppie stone, exudes a quiet dignity. At the beginning of the 20th century, the traditional designs of stately homes such as Glenshiel, Northwards, and Villa Arcadia, also penned by Baker, lent Parktown and Westcliff — then brand-new suburbs in an upstart mining town — a sense of permanence and respectability.
Between the first and second world wars, a new crop of architects inspired by modern ideals, socialist dogma, and l’esprit nouveau were eager to reshape the city’s landscape. Rex Martienssen, probably the most notable disciple, believed that modern architecture grew from the rich heritage of the past, a belief shared by Le Corbusier, a father of the movement in Europe. Crisp, linear, white boxes, “machines for living”, soon appeared in new suburbs such as Houghton, Greenside, and Northcliff. Architect Harold Le Roith designed a striking home in the International Style for his family in Sandhurst. The structure seemed to hover above the landscape, suspended on pilotis in a manner reminiscent of Paris’s
Moments of architectural inspiration in Joburg are few and far between
Villa Savoy. Fleeting views of Martienssen’s own home, a case study in considered composition, inject instant joy into any journey along Greenside’s Cruden Bay Road. In correspondence with Martienssen, Le Corbusier was impressed by the quality of the “new architecture” on the highveld. Lofty praise for a city barely 50 years old.
Artist Edoardo Villa commissioned Ian McLennan to create a home for him in Kew, on the city’s outskirts, in 1968. The building’s sinuous volumes and careful use of natural materials, textures, and sunlight blur the boundaries between the functional requirements of architecture and the spiritual qualities of art.
Downtown, structures such as the Ansteys Building, Astor Mansions, 44 Main Street, the Carlton Hotel, and the Rand Club still bear testament to the former lustre of a once golden city. Newer areas seem to lack authentic urban quality or architectural interest. But moments of inspiration do exist. Designed in the early 1980s by Margoles Dukes and Smith Architects, the Sandton Sun is probably the best example of an internal-atrium
building in SA, complete with glitzy glass-fronted lifts and marble waterfall. From a safe distance, poorly considered follies such as 15 Alice Lane and the inexplicably named The Leonardo and Michelangelo Towers lend the skyline a sense of elevated drama and gaudy excitement.
Even in Rosebank, BP’s new office acknowledges the street edge and pedestrian-centric nature of the area, with active ground-level restaurants, shops, and urban greenery. Circa Gallery is another standout, forming a carefully crafted bastion of good design.
Sure, Joburg has more than its share of abominable design, and lately the city seems to be disintegrating in real time, but there’s still such allure, sometimes hidden below the surface. Lester Burnham says it best in the Sam Mendes classic, American Beauty: “It’s hard to stay mad when there’s so much beauty. Sometimes I feel like I’m seeing it all at once, and it’s too much, my heart fills up like a balloon that’s about to burst... You have no idea what I’m talking about, I’m sure. But don’t worry... you will someday.”
01. Astor Mansions 02. Rand Club 03. House Stern, by Martienssen, Fassler & Cooke
SHORTHAND FOR SOPHIST ICATION
text Siphiwe Mpye
LCartier maintains a perfect balance between endless reinvention and timeless elegance
Cartier maintains a perfect balance between endless reinvention and timeless elegance
ate one Sunday afternoon at home — sometime in 2017 — while out in the garden with a spade in my hands, I found a Cartier Santos Galbée 32mm. It was lying on its side in a thicket I’d intended to clear for months. While the watch’s condition indicated a long and lonely time in that bush — through years of frosty mornings, irrigation, storms, mud, and scorching heat — I thought it was in relatively good nick and would be a good candidate for a not-too-invasive restoration. But what of its origins? How had it found its way into a bush in my garden? Had the previous homeowner lost it while weeding? Or had a guest had far too festive a time at a garden party? Crucially, was it the genuine article?
For whatever reason, I decided it was fake, placed it in a jewellery box, and all but forgot about it. Earlier this year, five years later, I found myself in Switzerland at the kind of place where all my questions could be answered and I wondered about my curious find, still lying in that box somewhere in the house.
A recent email from a reader noted: “Some time ago I bought my partner a watch and a piece of jewellery from Cartier; some years later she remarked: ‘Cartier is shorthand for sophistication.’”
For over 175 years, this shorthand has been studied by millions, adored by princesses — Meghan, Kate, and Diana, who had two Tanks — and gilded by Hollywood in iconic screen moments. Just recently, at the Venice Film Festival’s 80th anniversary, the brand with such strong and long-standing links with cinema threw a party that saw contemporary screen stars, among them Emma Corrin, Maude Apatow, and Paul Mescal, decked out in designer gear accessorised with Cartier watches and jewellery.
In parent company Richemont’s FY22 annual report, Cartier is one of the brands singled out for its outstanding performance and market leadership, coming off a difficult time at the height of the pandemic. In March 2023, as the watch world reemerged from the unprecedented global shutdown, Cartier hosted me at the biggest Watches and Wonders yet (and my first) at the Palexpo convention centre in Geneva. With a massive booth boasting romantic pastels, soft tones, thick carpets, elegant, considered furniture, and the customary bellboy upfront, the maison spared little in the theatre of presenting a full array of updates on classics such as the Santos Dumont, Tank (a new Normale was very buzzy on the expo floor), a new Cartier Privé CPCP collection, and a glittering moment for high jewellery with Clash [Un] limited. Other unexpected developments such as the resurgent popularity of the
Baignoire models underscore Cartier’s ability to keep reinventing interest in its brand.
“We respect our heritage and at the same time constantly enrich and push the boundaries of creativity and taste,” Arnaud Carrez, Cartier’s senior vice president and chief marketing officer, told the New York Times recently.
An integral part of Cartier’s consistent rise over the past several years has been its creative director of watches and jewels, the chic Marie-Laure Cérède. Having started her career at Cartier, she picked up some experience at Harry Winston before circling back home. In 2017 she was tapped as CD for Watches and, after much success, added the Jewellery portfolio. Cérède cuts a calm, focused figure, one with heritage and innovation top of mind — a necessity in a market demanding both.
“I am constantly thinking about how we can stretch ourselves,” she said, “and how best I can communicate that with our technical team.” This compulsion to look back while forging ahead is mirrored throughout the business.
Northeast of Geneva, past Lausanne, is the Cartier manufacture in La Chauxde-Fonds. It is one of five sites where Cartier’s crafting heritage is preserved. The quiet and pristine location (cleaned twice a day), set in a green valley, is where most processes unfold, from design to production. The gold and steel watches have been produced here for 23 years, where rigorous quality stress tests are performed and intricate restorations completed.
There are other sites that do more specialised work (as of 2021, the brand proudly declared, “Cartier Watchmaking Manufactures employ 1 200 staff, from more than 30 different nationalities, across 5 sites in 3 cantons”). This investment sits adjacent to an intentional focus on training the next generation of artisans. The Jewellery Institute, in the heart of Paris’ jewellery district, trains 150 crafters annually. Additionally, 50 interns and work-study students are taken in.
Some of these upstarts will end up at the Maison des Métiers d’Art, the renovated Bernese-style farmhouse next door to the manufacture in La Chaux-de-Fonds. Dating back to 1872, it houses a handful of highly skilled artisans who create limited-edition timepieces and experiment with intricate, innovative techniques. The sustainability of its process and workforce is as important as moves towards eco design, with the development and use of ethical leather alternatives, recycling, and reduction of emissions throughout the entire process a priority. Many brands’ stated commitments fail to manifest truthfully as they show up in the world and Cartier’s meticulous focus on multiple touchpoints continues to reinforce its mastery of this shorthand for sophistication.
And what of my “Santos Galbée”? They’ll fix it and bring it back to its former glory. That, of course, comes after the resolution of its authenticity. We will answer this question yet.
