People Of London, Get Ready For The Inaugural City Concours Happening This Week, With Glashütte Original and Breguet
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…
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,…
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.…