Just over a week ago, we told you about a cool new automotive event that was taking place in Central London; the City Concours. With a number of gorgeous cars on display, not to mention the opportunity to handle some lovely watches from official timepiece sponsors, Glashütte Original and Breguet, we donned our sunglasses (a rare treat in London in and of itself) and headed down to check out the show.
With a great tagline comes great responsibility, and last night Tudor lived up to theirs by daring to launch their 2017 collection in the midst of Australia’s most controversial art festival, Dark Mofo, in Hobart. Talk about being #borntodare – this was a night with far fewer boundaries than usual for a luxury watch event. The guests tumbled from a fine dining experience at Franklin restaurant down a rabbit hole of scenes and settings that were, in as few words as possible, a David Lynch movie come to life. Whole buildings were converted into experiential art spaces that might include nude yoga, a blasting punk gig by Pussy Riot, a ‘real’ tennis exhibition match in an indoor court built in the mid-19th century, and a rave where people were encouraged to lie on a floor and have pebbles poured over them. 1. There was no real agenda or schedule Can you imagine? A Swiss watch event with no meticulous itinerary? Crazy. Town. This was not a tightly choreographed whistlestop tour of weirdness – guests were encouraged to disappear and do things by themselves. It was not a breath of fresh air as much as a gale force wind that left everyone…
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The concept of GTGs, or G2Gs, or get togethers in plain english, is a staple of the Instagram handled, Facebook-inhabiting individuals known collectively as ‘the watch fam’. For all that the growth of watch collecting and connoisseurship has been driven by digital platforms, there’s nothing quite like meeting like-minded people in person, calling them by their Instagram name and fondling the watch on their wrist. Typically GTGs are semi-regular affairs, based around fora, Facebook groups or, more recently, organisations like RedBar (started by this guy). Well, the GTG that took place in The Hour Glass’ freshly opened Sydney boutique will go down in the annals of watchnerd lore. I’m confident saying that never before has such a significant collection of independent watches been shown in Australia, courtesy of Group Managing Director Michael Tay’s personal collection. George Daniels. Roger Smith. Philippe Dufour. F.P. Journe. Richard Mille. Vianney Halter – and that’s not even half of it. Tay brought the heat in a big way. And while the rest of the attendees were queuing for an up close and personal inspection of some of watchmaking’s holiest of grails, I borrowed five minutes of Michael’s time to find out about his plans for Australia,…
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For as long as I can remember, watch brands, and a few in particular, have been involved in Formula 1 motor sport. This is not surprising of course, in the fast-paced world of Formula 1, timing is everything. In recent times, one relationship has proven particularly fruitful: Red Bull Racing and Tag Heuer. Last month we were invited to visit the Red Bull Racing factory in Milton Keynes, UK to see first-hand how a Formula 1 team operates and learn just how important its timing partner can really be.
If you’re going to be in London this week, put some time in your diary to check out the City Concours. The inaugural event gets underway on the 8th and 9th of June and is being held in the spectacular gardens of the Honourable Artillery Company, a remarkable five-acre open space surrounded by historic buildings in the heart of the Square Mile. On display will be a collection of 80 of the world’s most incredible cars, ranging from the latest supercars to legends of Formula One and Le Mans.
Co-presented by Belle magazine and Coco Republic, the leading name in furniture, property styling and interior design services, last week’s Belle Coco Republic Interior Design Awards brought together Australia’s best interior designers to celebrate the spectrum of their creativity working across residential, commercial and hospitality projects over the past year. The seventh industry awards night featured two new categories: the Rado Emerging Design Star and Best Work With Colour. The winner of the Rado Emerging Design Star award at the Belle Coco Republic Interior Design Awards 2017 was Yasmine Ghoniem (Amber Road Design, Sydney), who said of her accolade, “The talent [tonight] was absolutely immense, which makes our Emerging Design Star win even sweeter.” Rado has long championed rising design talent, so it was great to see the watch brand’s support of Australian design circles. The brand has a longstanding involvement with design events and the promotion of inventiveness through the Rado Star Prize France, Italy, US and Switzerland, which showcases the work of fledgling designers. Yasmine was also nominated in the category Best Work with Colour and was definitely one of the most vibrantly attired at the event. Green is her favourite colour but among her prizes was a chic Rado True Open…
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The entrance to the venue for last Friday’s Australian launch of Montblanc’s UNICEF collection was unassuming: commuters and shoppers on Melbourne’s busy Chapel street walked right past the narrow door wedged between two shopfronts. Blink and you’d miss it – we nearly did. A discreet sign was the only clue. But as soon as the door opened we knew we were in the right place. The narrow stairs of the Victorian terrace were littered with art – a Degas bronze on the landing and floor to ceiling canvases on the walls. As we reached the top of the stairs it was clear we had left Melbourne far behind, and were now in the Aladdin’s cave that is David Bromley’s personal studio. One of Australian’s best-known contemporary artists, Bromley’s work is instantly recognisable, full of bold colours and graphic lines. His painting and sculpture was everywhere in the studio: on walls and nestled in between displays of ethnographic artefacts, Venetian glass, giant Japanese bottles and art – everything from massive modernist oils, fine lithographs and pop culture prints was represented. In the middle of all this splendour – looking perfectly at home – was Montblanc. Lovingly displayed on long tables were leather goods,…
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A three course, thoroughly French menu paired with Premier Cru Burgundy? Tick. A white-gloved waiter per guest? Tick. And a venue that Zelda Fitzgerald would have felt at ease in? Tick. Van Cleef & Arpels’ inaugural High Jewellery lunch in Sydney last week, at the private home Barford House, was a lesson in femininity and Place Vendôme heritage. The celebratory cavalry was out for the arrival of more than 80 high jewellery pieces. It’s the first such visit since the legendary Paris maison established its Australian presence, opening its Melbourne boutique last October and its Sydney flagship in February. This notable occasion drew Nicolas Bos, CEO of Van Cleef & Arpels, along with Nicolas Luchsinger, International Retail Director/Director of Heritage Collection, and Catherine Renier, President of Asia-Pacific. A Parisian delegation in force. Set on the 5527-square metre estate, the mansion’s ground level salon housed a sparkling display including six women’s watches – canny distractions from the Bellevue Hill property that was valued at $60 million a few years ago, and has hosted Bono and Beyoncé. While the Lady Nuit des Papillons bracelet watch with sapphires and white diamonds was a dazzling competitor, the stand-out, unsurprisingly, was 2013’s Cadenas Pavée pink sapphire bracelet watch in rose gold.…
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We, watch journalists, are privileged, as we get to see all the novelties of the year to come at Baselworld. Of course, we try hard to cover these watches in this magazine, so you can have an instant and extensive view on the new watches that exhibitors have to show. However, nothing is worth a live view and a touch-and-feel experience. And that’s exactly what you’ll be able to do… Indeed, the Tourbillon Boutique in Amsterdam offer you the opportunity to discover a selection of Baselworld 2017 novelties from Blancpain, Breguet, Jaquet Droz, Glashütte Original and Omega, starting on Thursday May 4th.
Last week I had the privilege of attending the 60th anniversary festivities that Omega organized for the Speedmaster. The event, and everything around it, was nothing short of being absolutely awesome. Watches and anniversaries always stir up some emotions, and one could question whether the watches that are often discussed in this way, actually are …