- PrivatAir

Transcription

- PrivatAir

THE MAGAZINE
SPRING 2011
SPRING 2011
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10,000 feet above
average.
“This makes me dizzy.”
Pilot’s Watch Chronograph. Ref. 3717: If you plan to rise above
the rest, even when you’re up in the air, you need the right companion.
Like the Pilot’s Watch Chronograph from IWC. With its soft-iron inner case
for protection against magnetic fields and glass secured against drops in
pressure, it’s the ultimate co-pilot. And even after you’ve landed, you’ll
never lose that feeling of floating above the rest. IWC. Engineered for men.
Mechanical chronograph movement | Self-winding |
Date and day display | Soft-iron inner case for
protection against magnetic fields (figure) | Antireflective sapphire glass, secured against drops
in pressure | Water-resistant 6 bar | Stainless steel
IWC Schaffhausen, Switzerland. www.iwc.com
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Cobalt-blue cotton
drill suit by Prada;
shocking-pink top
and necklace by
Moschino; pink
painted wooden
bangles by Pebble
London; red quilted
purse by Chanel;
vintage Aviator
sunglasses by
Cutler and Gross
IN THIS ISSUE
P R I VAT FA S H I O N
Colour blocking is all the rage this
season. See the hot new looks shot at
cool La Mamounia in Marrakech
COVERIMAGE©DREAMSTIME
66
Seven
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P R I VATA R T S
14
Rory Ross talks to producer Stephen
Evans about his latest film
P R I VAT D I A R Y
18
Traditional Chinese dance comes to Europe
P R I VAT D E S I G N
20
Mark C O’Flaherty on new ways with wood
P R I VAT D R I V E
24
Charles Armstrong-Wilson on what makes
the new Bentley so different
P R I VAT S E L E C T I O N
28
Keith W Strandberg contrasts established
watch brands with new arrivals
P R I VAT C O L L E C T O R
34
Catherine Sabino canvasses the opinion of
New York’s top art advisors
P R I VAT D I N I N G
38
Again in New York, Catherine Sabino
chooses the most fashionable eateries
P R I VAT P E R S O N
42
Sophy Roberts talks to Chris Blackwell
about his love of his native Jamaica
P R I VAT I S L A N D S
48
Julian Allason on the range of privately
owned islands to rent
P R I VAT E S C A P E
54
Teresa Levonian Cole revels in the restored
palaces of Hyderabad
P R I VAT T R AV E L
60
Ian Henderson visits Shanghai and the
PuLi hotel plus the new Aman resort
in ancient Hangzhou
P R I VATJ E W E L S
72
Vivienne Becker on jewels to mark life’s
memorable moments
P R I VATA I R
Top: classic wooden furniture
with a contemporary feel.
Above: Whale Cay, Bahamas.
Cover: Marrakech airport
79
News and developments from the world’s
most exclusive airline
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P R I VAT C O N T R I B U T O R S
FROMTHEEDITOR
Double figures
It is hard to believe, but the spring issue of PrivatAir the
Magazine marks 10 years since its launch. The first issue
saw the light of day in early 2001, and a glamorous
launch party in London in January that year was attended
by, among other luminaries, a very young Sienna Miller. I
wonder whatever happened to her?
I am delighted that a decade further into the 21st
century, the publication is thriving, as of course is
PrivatAir itself, although both have seen many changes.
As editor of the magazine from the outset, I have tried to
make sure that its standards and values matched those of
the airline. We have had some notable highs such as a
personal contribution by former President George Bush
Snr who reflected on his (and his dog’s) feelings on saying
farewell to Air Force One. We ran one of the first ever
interviews with a young Lewis Hamilton, just before he
became a household name in Formula One, wiping the eye
of some much larger publications who could not get near
him. We have had exclusive interviews with the great and
the good, including Queen Noor of Jordan, George Soros
and Mick Jagger, as well as Hollywood greats from
Elizabeth Taylor to Brad Pitt, a big fan of the airline.
Lows would have to include my giving the headline
‘Lucky Man’ to an interview with Michael Douglas just
before his recent illness was diagnosed, though the good
news of his current state of health shows I may have been
right all along. Let’s hope so.
Anniversaries can be overdone. Did you know that it
was 30 years since the start of the US’s Arena Football
League or 125 years since the Swedish Inventors
Association was formed, or even that it is 125 years since
the invention of the automobile? In this issue we look at
the new Bentley Mulsanne, whose heritage goes almost as
far back. Indeed, its hand-crafted elements would still
make absolute sense to early coach builders.
More private anniversaries such as weddings and
birthdays are still often marked by gifts of jewellery.
Vivienne Becker, the distinguished historian of jewellery,
who, I am happy to say, has written for PrivatAir from the
outset, has chosen some beautiful examples which we have
shot against vintage type – a great way, I hope, of marking
this first decade of the magazine.
SPRING
EDITOR
Celestria Noel
D E S I G N D I R E C T O R
Julia Murray
D E S I G N E R
Elin Svensson
P I C T U R E E D I T O R
Jamie Lau
SUB-EDITOR
Steve Handley
P R O D U C T I O N M A N AG E R
Antonia Ferraro
REPROGRAPHICS
KFR Reprographics
PRINTING
Taylor Bloxham
LOGISTIC S
www.goferslogistics.com
G R O U P P U B L I S H I N G
DIRECTOR
CELESTRIANOEL
Angus Urquhart
A DV E R T I S I N G SA L E S
Ian Woster
C R E A T I V E D I R E C T O R
Michael Keating
CONTRIBUTORS
P U B L I S H I N G D I R E C T O R
Simon Leslie
C H I E F O P E R A T I N G O F F I C E R
Hugh Godsal
CHIEFEXECUTIVE
Jeffrey O’Rourke
PUBLISHEDBY
Ink, www.ink-global.com
+44 (0)20 7613 8777
FOR
CATHERINESABINO
Catherine Sabino was editorial
director of Forbes Special Interest
Publications and Four Seasons
Magazine. After working in Italy for
Harper’s Bazaar, she wrote two books
on Italian architecture and design.
She now lives in New York where
she appreciates both the arts scene
and the huge and ever changing
variety of fashionable restaurants.
SOPHYROBERTS
Sophy Roberts writes regularly on
travel for the Financial Times and
the US edition of Departures, for
which she is also editor-at-large.
She is based in south-west England
but her recent travels have taken her
as far afield as Ethiopia, Kenya and
the Seychelles. Not normally a fan
of the Caribbean, her recent visit to
Jamaica has converted her.
© Ink. All material is strictly copyright and all
rights are reserved. Reproduction in whole or part
is prohibited without prior permission from the
publisher. Opinions expressed in PrivatAir the
Magazine are not necessarily those of PrivatAir
ILLUSTRATIONS©NICKHARDCASTLE
CHARLESARMSTRONG-WILSON
As a journalist and magazine editor
for two decades, Charles has viewed
the automobile from almost every
possible angle: as an instrument of
social change and a very fast, very
high-tech advertising hoarding. His
passion for engines is undimmed
and he contributes to a range of
titles: Octane and Classic & Sportscar,
the Daily Telegraph and TopGear.com
PrivatAir SA
Chemin des Papillons 18
PO Box 572, 1215 Geneva 15
Telephone +41 (0)22 929 6700
Fax +41 (0)22 929 6701
[email protected]
www.privatair.com
Te n
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AVIATIONCOLLECTION
Alpina Aviation Chronographs are offered as
Limited Editions in collaboration with
Cessna & PrivatAir.
ALPINA WATCH INTERNATIONAL SA www.alpina-watches.com
No.66671 Alpina Watches 1pp.indd 1
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HUGO BOSS UK LTD. Phone +44 207 5545700 www.hugoboss.com
HUGO
HUGO BOSS Store The Willett Building 35-38 Sloane Square London SW1W 8AQ
Phone: 0207 259 1240
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P R I VATA R T S
A night at the opera
Rory Ross talks to Stephen Evans about his latest film,
First Night, based on Mozart’s Così fan tutte
H
avana, Cuba, is where I interview Stephen Evans, the
movie producer. Evans is in town for the Havana
Cigar Festival. Martell, the cognac people, have
invited him to put on a private screening of First Night, his dazzling
new rom-com about a country-house production of Mozart’s Così fan
tutte. The movie, which stars Richard E Grant, Mia Maestro and
Sarah Brightman, comes out later this year.
After the private screening, held in the charmingly dilapidated
Riviera Theatre in Havana, I await Evans at the Terrace Bar of the
Nacional Hotel. Evans, now in his early sixties, once aspired to be a
professional football player. As he approaches, wearing his signature
trainers, I clock his footballer’s gait, a ruminative sideways shuffle, as if
readying to take a long-range free kick. With two Oscars and 11
Academy Award nominations to his name, Evans ranks among the
movie-making elite and is certainly the greatest movie producer ever to
have considered a career in football. Highlights of his career include
Henry V, The Wings of the Dove and The Madness of King George. He
takes further credit, or blame, for ‘discovering’ Kenneth Branagh.
‘First Night is Amadeus meets Gosford Park, right?’ says Evans,
flaming the first of several cigars. ‘Its genesis goes way back. I fell in
love with opera at 28. I saw The Magic Flute at Glyndebourne [the
opera house in Sussex, England]. Luckily my wife loved it too. Opera
was then elitist. Now it’s mainstream. In particular, the last 10 years
have seen a boom in country-house opera.’ As he talks, he looks at me
Fourteen
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Opposite:
Richard E Grant.
Below: Mia Maestro
and Emma Williams
in the grounds of
Manderston House in the
Scottish borders where
First Night was shot
with a shrewd narrowing of the eyes. It’s probably the same appraising
look he gives prospective film investors. ‘Then, I had this movie idea
about a guy [Richard E Grant] who puts on an opera in his own
house, and casts himself in the lead in order to seduce the conductor
[Sarah Brightman]. As the characters rehearse, they fall in and out of
love with each other, very like the characters in Così fan tutte. Così is
all about infidelity and dishonesty – perfect for a film.’
Evans shot First Night on location at Manderston, a rambling
house in the Scottish Borders. He deliberately chose actors who could
both act and sing. The result is a tightly plotted, beautifully shot
country-house romp with an all-Mozart sound track.
Evans’s life is worthy of an opera its own right. His yo-yoing rises
and falls depict the British meritocracy at its most resilient. After not
becoming a pro-footballer, Evans finagled his way into the City.
During a 20-year career in brokerage, he made several clients rich,
including actors Richard Harris, Stanley Baker and Robert Shaw.
But Evans, who always had an inner life, chafed at boggling
numbers on screens. After excursions into restaurant ownership and
garbage disposal, he considered becoming an MP, but says: ‘Thank
God I didn’t. I’d’ve been f***** by the expenses scandal!’
He then spotted Kenneth Branagh. ‘I couldn’t believe how good
he was,’ says Evans. ‘There was a magic in his persona.’ Branagh and
Evans teamed up to make Henry V, Shakespeare’s masterpiece. ‘Being
in the City, I had access to funds.’ After a whip-round, Evans raised
Fifteen
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P R I VATA R T S
Stephen Evans
savours a Havana
in Cuba
£4.5m. ‘I was on cloud nine,’ he says. ‘But fools rush
in... I got ripped off. I knew nothing about movie deals
and distribution.’ Still, Henry V won an Oscar. Not bad
for your debut. Other movies followed, including The
Wings of the Dove [four Oscar nominations] and Much
Ado about Nothing. Evans was hooked. ‘People from the
arts liked me for my money; people from the City
envied me because I did what I loved.’
Evans rode with his mid-life crisis. He left the
City to make movies full time. He has since forged a
reputation as a maverick London-based producer of
movies based on high art and classic literature. Evans,
however, is a living parable on the confusion of success
and financial security. He may have staked out his own
table at the Ivy, but he says: ‘The only reason I went
there was because I couldn’t afford a round at the local
pub, and the Ivy let me run up a tab.’ To pay for The
Wings of the Dove, Evans had to sell his vicarage in
Oxfordshire. When £1m failed to show up while he
was shooting First Night, Evans had to drag his wife
out of the hairdresser and say: ‘Get over to Harbottle
& Lewis in Mayfair in 30 minutes. We’ve got to put
our flat up as security or we’re bust!’
‘I don’t care if you’re Churchill or Joe Bloggs, you
have to wing it,’ says Evans. ‘First Night was as low as it
has got. In the end, everyone was simply thrilled that
the stupid film got made. Downfalls are endemic to my
career. So too are revivals. The way to recover from a
downfall is by lateral thinking. Were you and I both
made to fend for ourselves here in Cuba, I would
survive much better than you. You wouldn’t be as
successfully duplicitous as me. I’d have ducked and
dived. I am brilliant at judging people, but have been
useless when it comes to giving people the benefit of
the doubt. My soft side has been my undoing, but also
the joy of my life. But the point is that if you get on
with people, you stand a chance, right?’
Evans is fortified by a lucky-to-be-alive attitude
following his brother’s accidental death by carbon
monoxide poisoning 39 years ago. ‘That gave me a
‘Downfalls are endemic to my career.
So too are revivals. The way to recover
from a downfall is by lateral thinking’
power base,’ he says. ‘I’m just happy to walk on this
planet and breathe air. I have no ambition.
Nevertheless, I have an overdraft, a Volkswagen Golf
TDI, and I have to pay the rent. I’d like to be creatively
successful but I have no fear of failure.’ Evans’s only
real regret is his failure to buy, when offered it, the
Beatles’ entire back catalogue, which allowed Michael
Jackson to step in. ‘That would be worth £1bn now. I’m
chiefly interesting as work-in-progress.’
Ambitious or not, Evans has several big movie
projects slated: George Mallory, the Everest
mountaineer; the credit crunch; Iain Banks’s The Wasp
Factory and George Eliot’s Daniel Deronda.
Meanwhile, he looks forward to the launch of First
Night. ‘I hope that if there is a Mozart up there in
heaven, he’ll be saying: “The boy done well.”’
Seventeen
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©DIVINEPERFORMINGARTS
P R I VAT D I A R Y
Divine inspiration:
a classical Chinese
dance from Shen Yun
LAUSANNE
Shen Yun brings its brilliant
choreography to Switzerland
SHENYUNFEATURESone of the
most expressive and also one of the
most demanding art forms in the
world: classical Chinese dance. It is
a complete system of dance refined
through thousands of years. The
classically trained dancers,
musicians and singers of Shen Yun
dedicate themselves to reviving the
essence of humanity’s divinely
inspired culture. They believe that to
create true art, there must first be
inner purity, so they include study
and meditation in their rigorous
training regime, while their
choreographers find an
inexhaustible source of inspiration
in China’s many dynasties and
ethnic groups. They bring to life
tales of well-known legends and
time-honoured values, displaying
goodness and loyalty, courage and
tragedy. A performance by Shen
Yun is traditional Chinese culture
as it was meant to be: a profound
study in grace and wisdom distilled
from 5,000 years of civilisation. In
addition, its live orchestra features
rarely heard instruments. The dance
is physical and vigorous, and
although its essence is both Chinese
and traditional, it is also timeless
and international in its emotional
appeal, moving audiences to tears
and transcending language and
history. As Annette Hsiu-lien Lu,
former vice-president of Taiwan,
says: ‘Shen Yun is the finest of
shows and I hope that the best of
Chinese culture will be passed
around the world.’
In February 2011 the
European Parliament welcomed
this example of ancient Chinese
culture to Europe. Shen Yun is
following up its huge success in
America, where BroadwayWorld.com
described its work as ‘brilliant
choreography’ and ‘extravagantly
beautiful’. The brand-new show
will tour major European cities
and can be seen on 16 and 17
April at the Théâtre de Beaulieu
in Lausanne.
‘PrivatAir is proud to be Shen
Yun’s partner in Switzerland,
because we share the values of
perfection and a tradition of
excellence,’ says Greg Thomas,
CEO of PrivatAir.
Tickets and group tickets: +41 (0)78
859 5310 or +41 (0)78 859 2246,
www.webticketcenter.com/switzerland,
www.shenyunperformingarts.org
Eighteen
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HERITAGE COLLECTION
AVIATION BR 03-92 42 mm
VINTAGE BR 126 41 mm
Natural Leather strap
Information: Bell & Ross Europe +33 (0)1 73 73 93 00 . [email protected] . www.bellross.com
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Brave
new wood
Mark C O’Flaherty looks at the best contemporary
furniture in an age-old material
Tw e n t y
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S
ometimes you want something basic, but still the very best:
an exquisite portrait in oil rather than a piece of conceptual
neon, or the perfect vanilla ice cream instead of a
deconstructed dessert with strawberry foam. And so it is
with contemporary furniture. Why can’t a chair just be a
chair? Each season there are flights of fancy that employ futuristic
plastics, and shapes that would only be ergonomic to aliens. And yet
there’s also a fresh, commonsense artisanal movement in furniture right
now. Wood is back in fashion. It’s as practical as it is romantic. As
Sheridan Coakley, MD of influential directional retailer SCP, says:
‘Making furniture out of carbon fibre is ridiculous, it doesn’t need to
survive hitting a wall at 200 miles per hour.’
Much of the best contemporary carpentry is British. For some
years the award-winning London-based designer Matthew Hilton has
been working with heritage UK firm Ercol, as well known for its 1950s
design classics (championed by fashion designer Margaret Howell in
her stores in Europe and Japan) as it is for its more middle of the road,
definitively middle-class kitchen furniture. Their factory in
Buckinghamshire is dazzlingly state of the art, but steam-bending –
their grandstanding mid-century innovation – remains at the heart of
what they do, shaping and weaving solid table and chair elements in
seemingly impossible ways. Ercol and Hilton are unveiling a new
project with the distributor of Hilton’s high-end work, De La Espada.
The tri-branded, premium-market collection of chairs is partly
inspired by Hilton’s love of the Ercol archive. ‘They have such a great
story, and I was particularly interested in their Windsor chairs. I
wanted to use their skills rather than waste time on product
development.’ The result, mixing walnut, oak and beech chairs will
come to the market later this year. Ercol’s own classics range includes
the Butterfly chair, a British counterpart to splayed-legged and curved
Eames mid-century modernism. ‘We only produce a couple of hundred
a year,’ says Edward Tadros, grandson of Ercol’s founder, Lucian
Ercolani. ‘We now produce them in black, which makes for a very
graphic object.’ They have a slavish following among design aficionados.
Matthew Hilton’s own range, produced in conjunction with De La
Espada, also has several au courant mid-century modern and
Scandinavian stylings – most noticeable in the tapering of legs on
many pieces, and the minimal serifs-Z-shape on his Colombo chair
– but with evidence of a bolder, eminently contemporary hand. His
Light Oval Table has tapered crow’s-feet legs, an oval surface and a
heavy walnut grain. This is furniture formed by the same thinking
process as fine art. ‘It’s sculpture,’ says Hilton, ‘but the sculpting tools
are very limited – you either work in straight lines or circular motions.
With my Fin chair, the starting point for the design was an idea I had
about splitting the leg all the way up.’
This year he unveils his McQueen line of wood furniture, with a
Tw e n t y - O n e
08/03/2011 16:15
recurring motif of cast iron legs.
He’s also working with other
materials, such as the kitchen
surface material Corian, and
designing a carpet.
Hilton’s partners at De La
Espada have their own in-house
brand, featuring some strong
dining room sets as well as the
Atlantico line, which includes the
Atlantic Tall Sideboard in Danish
oiled oak or American black
walnut. It’s a masculine but elegant
credenza, with sparse and pleasing
use of rectangular shapes. De La
Espada also produces pieces for
Ilse Crawford’s StudioIlse and the
Turkish company Autoban.
StudioIlse’s Bench with Back
captures the eye with a row of very
fine, graphic, vertical lines, while
Autoban’s Starfish table in natural
timber has striking, geometric
starfish-crossed legs.
Fine wood furniture is
customarily made in small
numbers. Hilton’s chairs are
produced in batches of 20 by De
La Espada. One of the inherently
beautiful things about wood is
that as well as being an organic
material, the best pieces of work
made from it are still worked and
finished predominantly by hand.
Above: Bench
with Back by
StudioIlse.
Right: Atlantic
Tall Sideboard by
De La Espada.
Previous page:
Matthew Hilton’s
new chairs for Ercol
At Ercol, they have sets of
computer-driven cutting
machines that cost £180,000 a
piece, but when it comes to the
steam bending, it’s still a
hands-on procedure.
The London-based Pinch
design studio – run by husband
and wife team Russell and Oona
Pinch – continue to sell their
classic oak Avery chair (which has
just been reissued with slightly
tweaked dimensions), among
other very popular pieces through
SCP, but recently opened an
appointment-only studio.
‘We’re hard to come across and
we’ve built on our Savile Row
quality,’ says Oona. ‘Some of the
relationships with our clients are
almost patronage; it’s a very personal
service and we take a lot from that.
Small is definitely beautiful.’
Many of their customers like
a made-to-measure service, and a
one-off tailored approach, but the
DNA remains 100 per cent
Pinch. It’s something that runs
through the new lines they’ve
introduced, including the
stool-like Clyde three-legged side
table with a triangular shelf and
the Twig Wall Panelling, a
dynamic alternative to wallpaper
or plastering, made from
cross-sections of solid ash.
Their work – like all the best
contemporary wooden furniture –
is highly emotive. It feels modern
but takes its place in a room as if
it’s always been there. As SCP’s
Sheridan Coakley says: ‘Wood has
never really been away. It’s the only
material you can really restore if it’s
damaged, and it has such a long
life. People allow it to age and
reflect its use, and it looks good
with the patina that it picks up.’
Wood is warm, tactile and
wonderful, qualities that every
home, no matter what its governing
aesthetic, should boast.
autoban212.com, delaespada.com
ercol.com, matthewhilton.com
pinchdesign.com, scp.co.uk,
studioilse.com
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P R I VAT D R I V E
G R A N D
DEFTAUTO
Wood, leather, skill and time – Charles Armstrong-Wilson looks at the
ingredients that go into Bentley’s unique new Mulsanne
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S
tep into the veneer store at Bentley
Motors in Crewe, in the north west
of England, and take a deep breath.
It smells of tradition and
craftsmanship, like the smell of a
fine box of cigars or the cellar at an
exclusive vineyard. It’s the smell of
wood, but very special wood. You
know the experience will always be best in the first breath
and you don’t want to stop. So you keep filling your lungs
until they feel they might burst.
This is the smell of Bentley tradition, a quality that
owners have been buying into for generations. But that
same sense of permanence is also fragile and all too easily
lost in this age of efficiency and pragmatism. Bentley
Motors is very aware of this and when it came to replacing
the flagship model in its range, everyone knew it was a make
or break process. The Mulsanne had to embody all the
values the company’s devoted customers associate with the
marque. Get it wrong and everything Bentley depends on
for its success will be tainted. It was time for the company
to dig deep and produce its best work.
Bentley Motors has a large, multinational team of
designers under the direction of Dirk van Braekel. ‘The
opportunity to design a new flagship Bentley is something
afforded to very few designers,’ he says. ‘The team set out to
create a sculpted form that blended heritage cues with
modern lines.’ That meant the design team immersing
themselves in the company’s past and absorbing all its
styling cues, then reinterpreting them in a modern idiom.
But, most importantly, it meant retaining the craftsmanship
that gives Bentley’s cars their identity as being something
very special. That includes the veneer store and its wonderful
aroma. Bentley offers a basic range of eight different wood
finishes from burr oak and bird’s-eye maple to vavona and
sapelli pommele. Even more are available on special order,
but far and away the most popular is walnut.
It comes from the root of the walnut tree, grown in
California. When young plants are grafted onto a root, a
little infection inevitably gets in and, as the plant grows, the
irritation creates intricate grain patterns. Decades later,
when the plant reaches the end of its useful life, the root is
harvested, boiled for three days to soften it, then peeled in
much the same way you would sharpen a pencil. Laid out
flat, these shavings are the raw material for the spectacular
works of art in the interior of the Mulsanne and all Bentley
models. The wood is stored at exactly 17ºC and 66 per cent
humidity to ensure the flat sheets remain flexible.
Bentley’s experienced craftsmen will select the areas of
the stock with the best patterning. Then adjacent sheets are
matched together to give a symmetrical pattern, sometimes
with unexpected results. Once, a dashboard had to be
removed from a car on the production line because the
image in the veneer seemed too suggestive of a darkly gothic
devil’s head. From raw veneer to the finished wood trim
takes 15 days and is the longest part of the car’s
manufacture. It includes glueing the veneer onto the trim
parts, in the Mulsanne’s case hewn from solid wood, then it
is sanded, lacquered, dried for 72 hours, sanded again and
polished. Should any flaws show up, however small, the
parts are sent back for correction.
‘Over 170 hours – almost half the entire build process
– goes into crafting the interior of the Mulsanne,’ says
Robin Page, head of interior design. ‘At Crewe, Bentley’s
way of working is the opposite of mass production – we
start where others stop.’ The effect is impressive, with the
cabin encased in an unbroken ‘ring-of-wood’ waist rail
edged with cross-banded boxwood inlay.
Heroic amounts of leather also go into the cabin,
carefully hand finished by skilled craftsmen and women
who, fortunately, are in good supply in Crewe. Kev Brown
started training as a coach trimmer in 1963 at the railway
works in Derby. He joined Bentley in 1989 and hand sews
the leather steering wheels. It takes four hours to crossstitch the leather sections together and he can always tell his
work from one sewn by Kath across the bench from him.
Long service seems to be a feature of Bentley staff and
is almost regarded as a competitive sport. Coach trimmer
Paul joined the company in 1969 straight from school. It
took him five years to become fully trained and he has never
worked anywhere else. Long service is even celebrated by
the company and, once a year, employees who complete
their 25th and 40th year’s service are feted by their
employer. Collected from home in a Bentley, they are
entertained by a director in a five-star hotel.
For Bentley, in so many areas, there is little else that is
comparable out there to draw from, so the company is
reliant on the skills it has in house. So having the design
team and the craftsmen under one roof is a major advantage.
Should a designer come up with a challenging concept, they
can take a short walk to the factory floor to run their idea
past the person who will have to make it. Quickly they
know whether it will be possible and can explore the
possibilities with the expert on hand.
However, all this craftsmanship has to marry up to
engineering that meets the highest of modern standards
while retaining identifiable Bentley qualities. Look at the
dials in the Mulsanne and you will see that, instead of
starting at the normal seven o’clock position, the needles sit
idle at two as they have in Bentleys for generations.
Tw e n t y - F i v e
08/03/2011 16:20
P R I VAT D R I V E
THEBENTLEYMULSANNE
TECHNICALSPECIFICATION
From top: Bentley’s new
Mulsanne; the cabin of the
Bentley is encased in an
unbroken ring of wood; an
heroic amount of leather
goes into each car
Tackling the Mulsanne’s drivetrain, some
bold decisions were made to retain that
indefinable Bentley character. The company’s
Continental and its siblings have four-wheel
drive, so logic would dictate that the more
expensive flagship should have the same. But
the design team decided that the marque’s most
discerning customers have always had, and
would always expect, rear-wheel drive in the
true sporting tradition.
The engine, too, forced some tough choices.
For the Mulsanne, Bentley already had the
choice of its own W12 and pretty much
anything that its parent, Volkswagen, could
throw up. But nothing could quite match the
sheer grunt of the outgoing model’s elderly V8.
This engine dates back to 1959 and had been
dragged into the 21st century despite every
attempt of legislation to kill it.
The solution was to re-engineer the old
design from scratch to meet modern demands,
but retaining its unique character. ‘Using our
V8 guaranteed the immense power at low revs
and unstressed performance that are the
hallmarks of a flagship Bentley,’ says director of
engineering Dr Ulrich Eichhorn. ‘But we also
set our engineers the challenge of maintaining
high levels of refinement at any speed and,
equally important, improving efficiency.’ It is
rumoured that a diesel engine is planned next.
The resulting car seems to have somehow
slipped though the nets of corporate
conformity and retains a character distinct from
the norms of the automotive world. Bentley
may belong to the Volkswagen Group but this
remarkable achievement demonstrates how
being owned by a major multinational has
actually increased Bentley Motors’
independence, to the benefit of its cars.
ENGINE
Type: Twin-turbocharged V8
Installation: Front, longitudinal, rear-wheel drive
Construction: Alloy heads and block
Capacity: 6,750cc
Power: 512PS / 505bhp / 377kW at 4,200 rev/min
Torque: 10,20Nm / 752lb at 1,750 rev/min
PERFORMANCE & ECONOMY
0–60mph in 5.1s (0–100km/h in 5.3s)
0–100mph in 11.6s (0–160km/h in 11.5s)
Max speed: 184mph (296km/h)
Economy: 16.7mpg (16.9l/100km)
Combined EU Cycle
TRANSMISSION
Type: Rear-wheel-drive
Gearbox: ZF 8-Speed automatic
BODY & CHASSIS
Length: 5,575mm (219.49in)
Width (mirrors folded): 1,926mm (75.80in)
Height: 1,521mm (59.88in)
Wheelbase: 3,266mm (128.60in)
Front track: 1,615mm (63.58in)
Rear track: 1,652mm (65.03in)
Wheels / tyres (standard): 9J x 20in with 265/45
ZR 20 tyres
(option): 9J x 21in with 265/40 ZR 21 tyres
Kerb weight: 2,585kg (5,700lb)
THEBENTLEYSTORY
Bentley Motors was founded in 1919 by
British engineer WO Bentley, and financed
from the proceeds of his successful aero
engine design. For more than a decade, the
company prospered, building high-quality
performance cars that earned their
credentials with successes at Le Mans.
However, the launch of the Bentley’s
most expensive product, the Eight Litre,
coincided with the Great Depression and
the company slid into financial difficulties. It
was rescued by Rolls-Royce in 1931 and
moved from Cricklewood to Derby. Today,
that factory is the home of Rolls-Royce aero
engine production and, aer the war, the
car company moved to its current premises
in Crewe.
Bentley and Rolls-Royce models were very
similar up until 1998 when Volkswagen and
BMW fought a fierce bale for ownership of
the prestige company. When the dust
seled, VW was le owning the factory and
the Bentley marque while BMW took the
Rolls-Royce brand and set up a new factory
near Goodwood in Sussex. Since then, major
investment at Crewe has seen a remarkable
rejuvenation of Bentley with new models and
a bright future.
Tw e n t y - S i x
08/03/2011 16:20
WITH THE EXPLICIT
PERMISSION OF THE
RUSSIAN PRIME MINISTER
^LNSPKLKPU[V[OL(YJ[PJ^H[LYZVM7YV]PKLUP`H)H`[OLÄYZ[
non-Russian vessel to do so in 60 years. A converted army
truck carried us inland, where we shared a plate of bread,
hot from the oven. And though we hadn’t yet sampled the
vodka, we were intoxicated.
For while we had begun our journey aboard the yacht as
neighbors, we were now more than that. We had created
history together.
Three months later, Kate and I
Thr
stand on our apartment balcony,
stan
wat
watching the shoreline get closer,
recalling the surprising warmth of
reca
the locals, even the soldiers.
And we renew our pledge to
never forget that day. But the
nev
breeze coming off the water
bre
forces our heads back to a more literal warmth, the
kind you can only feel south of the equator…
Only 200 make the journey, which continues aboardtheworld.com | +1 954 874 3399
Residences at Sea
No.67138 The World 1pp.indd 1
15/03/2011 10:24
OLDT I M E R S
& NEWFAC E S
A long history and a proven track record
means a lot, but you shouldn’t ignore
exciting new blood. Keith W Strandberg
looks at heritage and innovation in the
watch industry
TODAY’SWATCHINDUSTRYINCLUDESRELATIVENEWCOMERS
like Franc Vila, Richard Mille, British Masters (Arnold and Son and
Graham), Louis Moinet, Badollet and Hautlence alongside established
brands with more than a hundred years of history like Vacheron Constantin, which is an amazing 255 years old, Jaeger-LeCoultre, which celebrates
the 80th anniversary of its iconic Reverso this year, Audemars Piguet and
Patek Philippe. The good news is that you don’t have to choose between
them – watch lovers embrace both the tried and true and the newcomers,
buying incredible timepieces from all.
Established high-end brands like Patek Philippe and Piaget have
a stellar track record, a known history and a reputation for unparalleled
quality. They have weathered so many storms, people feel that they can’t
go wrong buying from any of these established brands. Many focus on
traditional watches, to honour their legacy and satisfy their existing
customers, and such classical designs will stand the test of time and stay
wearable for years, even decades. These timepieces are heirloom pieces,
watches that fathers will pass on to sons, generation to generation.
However, they are committed to staying on top of technological
developments, as well. Patek Philippe has been one of the leaders in new
technologies, and Jaeger-LeCoultre has introduced more new, in-house
designed and manufactured movements per year than any other brand.
PRI_028_privat_selection_ES_2 SF.indd 28
08/03/2011 16:24
The Bovet Ottanta
Tourbillon by
Pininfarina transforms
from a wristwatch to a
pocket watch and, as seen
here, to a table clock
08/03/2011 16:24
Left: the Harry Winston
Histoire de Tourbillon No 2 is a
limited edition of 20 pieces. The
white-gold case features eight
sapphire crystals.
Below: the Louis Moinet
Astralis Tourbillon.
Bottom: the Badollet Tourbillon
Stellaire features a Cape York
meteorite baseplate and certified
extraterrestial olivines
Though limited by a need to keep their brand’s
DNA present in all their timepieces, these firms
innovate in other areas, whether it be in new
complications or new materials.
The younger independent watchmakers are
free of the tethers of tradition and history. They
don’t have an established clientele that expects a
certain kind of product, so they are free to develop
whatever they want. They can think of new ways
to do complications, new ways to read the time,
new materials, new shapes and all manner of new
concepts. As customers become more involved
in timepieces, they naturally tend to look beyond
established brands to see what other watchmakers
are doing, and many collectors have embraced
the new brands, snatching up every new model
that comes along. Urwerk has stood watchmaking
on its ear, with innovative time displays and
complications that include telescoping hands,
owner time regulation and more.
Franc Vila is another brand that has made
its mark with bold, anything-but-subtle designs
and complicated movements, like tourbillons
and minute repeaters. Franc Vila’s timepieces are
designed to be everyday watches, breaking all
the rules for expensive, complicated timepieces.
Other new brands have emphasised precision
and fantastic finishing. Greubel Forsey, run by
Englishman Stephen Forsey and French-born
Robert Greubel, focuses only on tourbillons and
has amazed the watch industry with incredibly
precise inventions. Hautlence, based in Neuchatel,
Switzerland, was conceived as an alternative to
mainstream brands, while still focusing on the
highest quality in watchmaking and materials.
Using interesting movements with levers and
Thirty
08/03/2011 16:25
ASTRALIS
ASTRALIS
ASTRALIS features an exclusive and
unprecedented alliance of complications:
an astral Tourbillon, a split-second
column-wheel Chronograph, as well as
a 24-hour Planetarium displaying four
meteorites boasting unique rarity.
LM27 movement is a blend of sophisticated
technology and aesthetic charm.
The 24-hour planetarium revolves once a
day and successively displays four planets,
embodied by fabulous meteorites.
© Guy LUCAS de PESLOUAN for LOUIS MOINET
Limited Edition of 12
PRIVATE ENQUIRIES - www.louismoinet.com - [email protected] - Tel. +41 (0)32 753 68 14
No.66967 - Louis Moinet.indd 1
14/03/2011 09:30
The best of the best
from around the world
Welcoming the visitor to an enhanced and expanded arena
in which to explore a myriad of delights, from fine and
decorative art to classic cars, contemporary design and fine
dining. More to find, more to enjoy. Reinvent with us the art
and entertainment of collecting at Masterpiece London.
30 june – 5 july 2011
preview: 29 june
Location
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:=<2=<AE!
Information ;/AB3@>73134/7@1=; j"" %"''%"%
No.00000 Masterpiece London 1pp.indd 1
15/03/2011 14:55
locomotive-like connections, Hautlence is out to
redefine how time is read on a watch.
Some new brands have come from inside the
industry. Hublot is a mainstream brand, but the firm,
in order to have the ability to push the envelope of
watchmaking, founded the Hublot Confrérie division.
The sky’s the limit for what the Confrérie, which
means ‘Brotherhood’, can do. Another industry insider
is Christophe Claret, who laboured for years in the
shadows, making incredible complications for wellknown brands. Now with his own Dual Tow, Claret
is showcasing his company’s phenomenal abilities and
innovating within classical watchmaking. Richard
Mille has turned heads for years with his incredible
machines that combine watchmaking with engines and
racing influences in cutting-edge designs. He has been
visibly successful: Rafael Nadal wears a Richard Mille
tourbillon while playing.
There are several brands that have recently been
reborn after breaks in their histories. One key example
is A Lange & Söhne, which was started in Glashütte,
Germany in 1844, but after the trials and tribulations
of wars and communism, lay dormant for decades.
Revived 20 years ago by the last remaining Lange and
the Richemont Group, the company is again a force
in high-end watchmaking. Among other significant
brand renaissances I would include Ulysse Nardin,
Louis Moinet, Officine Panerai and Perrelet.
So while you won’t go wrong with an established
brand, the exciting new breed of watchmakers can also
offer some totally original possibilities. In fact, with
such a fantastic choice available, there has never been a
better time to get into watches.
Clockwise from top:
the Christophe Claret
Night Eagle Dual Tow;
the Richard Mille RM027,
worn by tennis player Rafael
Nadal on court; the Urwerk
UR-202 redefines the way
time is read: incredibly, the
minute pointer telescopes as
the three-pronged hour wheel
turns; the Hautlence HLQ04
Thirty-Three
08/03/2011 16:25
C A N VA S S I N G
OPINION
Even when collectors are experienced connoisseurs they
seek professional guidance, while for entrants to the
international art market, advisors are essential.
Catherine Sabino talks to the experts
ARTADVISORSHAVEBEENAROUND as long as money has chased
art. The Medici had them. Kings and European courts relied on their
counsel. For centuries, advisors were simply well-connected dealers.
Auction houses also stepped into the role, giving guidance on what to
buy and when. But fuelled by the enormous valuations in contemporary
art in recent years, a powerful advisory class has emerged, ‘without
holding stock in inventory, solely giving advice,’ says Amy Cappellazzo,
deputy chairman of Christie’s Americas. ‘And that’s the model now.’
Capellazzo, a highly regarded consultant before taking the Christie’s
post, says the number of advisors has doubled in the last eight years.
Despite the recent economic downturn, many continue to enter the field.
‘The art world is so much bigger, more global. You sort of need someone
out there. Are you going to fly off to every fair?’
Art may be more global, but for elite advisors, New York is home
base. While contemporary markets have taken root in cities around the
world, the most important and influential sector remains in lower
Manhattan, its epicentre the Chelsea art district, which mushroomed
from a handful of galleries in the mid-90s to over 300 now. So despite a
far-flung clientele, and some fearsome globe-hopping to stay ahead of a
dynamic market, the top guns in art advisory maintain headquarters or at
least a prominent presence in the city. Philippe Segalot, whose GPS
(Giraud, Pissarro, Segalot) advises François Pinault, and other permanent
fixtures on the Forbes billionaire’s list, shuttles between offices on East
70th Street and the Avenue Matignon in Paris. Barbara Guggenheim
and Abigail Asher, consultants popular with the Hollywood set, work in
New York and Los Angeles. Sandy Heller, who helped build SAC
hedge-fund honcho Steve Cohen’s collection, is a Manhattan fixture and
the go-to man for the big-bonus Wall Street crowd.
During the last market run-up, art advisory was viewed
predominantly as a form of American consultancy. Yes, Segalot has
advised Pinault and LA’s Patricia Marshall, Bernard Arnault. But
Europeans building smaller collections tended to do so single-handedly,
relying on their own judgment or seeking advice informally from the
sources earlier art buyers called upon – dealers and auction houses.
Not any more. Cappellazzo sees more advisors in Europe and it’s
easy to understand why. Like Wall Street money flooding the Chelsea
galleries, newly minted fortunes made wherever capital markets flourish
consider contemporary art a natural resting place for excess cash –
besides the inherent cool, there’s the potential investment return. But
today’s art-world cool isn’t always easy to decipher and mistakes can be
costly. As Allan Schwartzman, a private curator to museums and
collectors, renowned for his work with the New Museum in Manhattan,
says: ‘Everything’s more complicated to navigate now, even for seasoned
collectors, if you’re not in that world on a day-to-day basis.’
‘We have clients in places we’ve never had before,’ says Ales Ortuzar,
director of the David Zwirner Gallery in Chelsea. ‘Korea, Singapore,
Thirty-Four
PRI_034_privat_collector_2_ES SF.indd 34
10/03/2011 14:00
©COURTESYVILMAGOLDLONDON
Left: Untitled,
2009 by William
Daniels. Oil on board
Brazil. These are collectors in the market only the last several years.’
Even with the recent down-drop fresh in mind, collectors saw that
well-chosen art could provide more stability than equities markets or real
estate. Artprice.com reported the price index of fine art (for pieces
selling more than once) averaged an 11 per cent return in the past
decade, outperforming the S&P’s 500 index for large cap stocks.
‘That’s a very radical shift from previous ebbs and flows,’ says Thea
Westreich, the doyenne of New York advisors, a front-row fixture, not at
Paris couture showings, but at their art-world equivalent. ‘Moneyed
people are seeing the stability and the margins, and managing art as they
would other parts of their portfolio.’ She cites a recent conversation with
a local real estate mogul, whose portfolio dropped off by 85 per cent after
the Lehman Brothers crash. It rebounded 120 per cent, but his art
valuations barely fluctuated. ‘That’s a big deal. What hasn’t happened
before is the acknowledgment that informed art acquisition represents a
stable place to put money.’ But Westreich is quick to point out that
investing and collecting are different only if you accept a rigid definition
of them both. ‘I know no one who is exclusively an investor, though
calculating market issues is part of the acquisition process for almost
every collector,’ she says. ‘There aren’t as many people exclusively
investing and trading as news reports about big money might suggest’.
Mark Fletcher, another top advisor, one of the few with an MBA,
says: ‘More and more collections are viewed as asset class. When the
valuations are so high, you can’t not think of it that way. Consider that
Warhols were selling for $3 or $4 million in the late 1990s. A little more
than a decade later, they’re trading at $100 million.’ (Warhol’s Orange
Marilyn sold in 1998 for $2.7 million, a larger version for $17.3 million.
Eight Elvises went for $100 million in 2009.) Such stratospheric
numbers are impacting advisors, not only by increasing the numbers of
clients, but also by the type and amount of advice being sought.
Cappellazzo explains: ‘Because many new buyers are putting real money
into the market, the culture has become more advisor dependent.’ There
is a need for more financial analysis, research and data checking.
The first stop for many new buyers is the auction house, as the price
of admittance is only the size of their chequebooks. Not so in the
primary market (art sold by galleries for the first time, or directly from
the artist), where fabulous wealth is no guarantee you’ll snare the latest
John Currin. For a beginning collector, an advisor is the only way in.
‘While the auction process is totally democratic, the gallery world
remains largely exclusionary,’ says Fletcher. ‘With a much sought-after
artist, who may create only eight works a year, a gallery will first try to
place with a museum, or collectors with foundations, someone like Broad
or the Rubells. A new-timer entering the market is really in economy
class. The role of advisor, then, is to be an advocate.’
It takes time to move up the ranks on waiting lists for prime pieces, a
process that Fletcher says needs to be managed with extreme finesse.
Thirty-Five
10/03/2011 14:01
‘Many advisors are compensated
by galleries but collectors don’t
know that. An advisor should be
paid exclusively by the client’
A new collector has to demonstrate a willingness to be ‘respectful of the
object and willing to conserve it well’. Buying lesser-known works from
a gallery also helps establish a relationship and sense of trust. Paying
quickly helps, too. From the gallery perspective, there’s little choice but
to be selective, to match a limited supply of art with the great demand.
‘One has to find a system,’ says Ales Ortuzar at David Zwirner, ‘so that
pieces go to good collections, where they’re not going to be sold a week
later. It’s about protecting the career of the artist as well.’
The primary market was plagued by speculative buying during the
frenzied boom from 2003 to early 2008, with young artists being scooped
up and sold for great multiples at auction. Many artists couldn’t sustain
the run-up and careers collapsed like pricked soufflés. The Great
Recession has had one upside in that it has cooled the buy-and-flip fever.
‘A lot of [the speculators] got burned,’ says Ortuzar. But with the art
market showing healthy resilience in 2010, speculation remains a lurking
danger for artists, gallerists and advisors.
Even though the doors to the best-known galleries open slowly, they
shut mighty fast if a new client comes across as more day trader than
collector. ‘At no time would I take on a client whose principal motivation
is investment,’ says Allan Schwartzman. Abigail Asher of Guggenheim
and Asher, says with some relief that many major pieces sold pre-recession
were bought by people with deep pockets, who have no need or desire to
sell quickly. ‘They understand these are value objects to hold.’ For many
long-view clients, it’s not just about the paintings on their walls, they’re
also buying into a cultural lifestyle, mixing and mingling with some of the
most intriguing people on the planet in pursuit of the most arresting and
intellectually provocative objects of our time. Asher describes today’s art
circuit as the 21st century’s answer to the Grand Tour.
While less speculation and ‘irrational exuberance’ plague the
post-recession markets, that’s not to say collectors aren’t looking for a
good deal. In the highly scrutinised arena of contemporary art, it might
seem as hard to discover an undervalued niche as a condo-free
neighbourhood in Manhattan. But Christie’s Amy Cappellazzo says
there are still opportunities and rattles off a list of them: ‘Minimalism,
late Rauschenberg, the Pictures Generation, Post-War Italian, Latin
Modernism from South America in the late 1950s and 1960s.’ David
Zwirner speaks of Minimalism, too, but notes that market awareness is
on the rise. He cites Richard Serra, John McCracken, Robert Morris,
Gordon Matta-Clark, Robert Smithson, and Micheal Heizer as artists
who need more attention. As for emerging artists, Cappellazzo says: ‘The
art world loves youth and beauty, and it’s a short window when an
emerging artist is really an opportunity. There’s no hot 32-year-old I can
say who isn’t trading at $150,000.’ Identifying the next Jeff Koons isn’t
any easier than predicting the next hot tech start-up or blockbuster film.
‘None of us has any certainty what will live on,’ says Mark Fletcher. He
feels if you’re prescient a third of the time, ‘you’re batting with Babe Ruth’.
Thirty-Six
10/03/2011 14:02
©DACS/ THEBRIDGEMANARTLIBRARYJURGENFRANK
Left: Bellini 3, 1989,
(intaglio printed in colour)
by Robert Rauschenberg,
Detroit Institute of Arts.
Below: Thea Westreich.
Opposite page:
Amy Cappellazzo and
Abigail Asher
No guarantees come with an investment in a new, young artist, but there
are a few yardsticks that can help gauge future success. ‘Find out if
they’re being written about and have a strong following,’ says Ales
Ortuzar, ‘if they’re being shown in museums.’ Ortuzar adds that you
should also monitor the critical response.
Whether an advisor is hired to help expand a collection of sevenfigure Modernists, or build a starter collection of fresh talent from
Manhattan’s Lower East Side, the fee structure is either by commission
(five to 10 per cent of art purchased) or retainer (by project, monthly or
yearly). Transparency is key. ‘Many advisors are compensated by galleries,’
says Thea Westreich, ‘and collectors don’t know that. An advisor should
be paid exclusively by the client.’ Schwartzman likes to work for a
predetermined fee, not dependent on what’s bought or sold. ‘My advice
should be meaningful on what not to buy as well as what to buy.’
Although the majority work with advisors, some prominent
collectors do not. Don and Mera Rubell created one of the world’s most
noted contemporary collections (now a public museum in Miami)
without a consultant. Becca Cason Thrash, a philanthropist in Houston,
and her husband John, founder and CEO of eCorp, a gas concern, travel
the art circuit on their own, working with galleries like Gagosian,
Thaddaeus Ropac in Paris and Robert McClain in their hometown. They
attend Art Basel, Frieze and Art Basel Miami every year and buy what
‘impacts them personally’.
But for collectors who think that the skills and savvy that brought
them success in business aren’t translating particularly well in the
fast-shifting arena of contemporary art, who don’t have the time, or don’t
know what to look at or how, partnering with an advisor can be a wise
move. Not just an advisor, corrects Thea Westreich, a good advisor.
Someone highly plugged in, who can provide information and plenty of it
– ‘historical, empirical, intuitive’. Allan Schwartzman recommends that
the new collector take it slow. ‘What you like now probably isn’t going to
sustain itself in the long run. What’s most lasting is harder to get to know.
Knowledge needs time to mature.’
ADVISORS’FAVOURITES
MARK FLETCHER: Warhol, John Currin, Mahew Barney, Urs Fischer, Dan
Colen, Nate Lowman, Terence Koh, Dash Snow. ‘Just when you thought
New York couldn’t produce artists any more, it did. As a collector I’ve never
been able to buy deeply into a school, but I’m doing that now with a group
of Lower East Side artists.’
THEA WESTREICH: Warhol, Koons, Jan de Cock, James Becke, Cheyney
Thompson, Martin Barré, Heimo Zobernig.
ALLAN SCHWARTZMAN: Will Daniels, Wade Guyton, Ricci Albenda,
Aleksandra Mir, Roger Hiorns, Kai Althoff, Andrew Wekua, Mark Grotjahn
and Magnus Plessen. ‘Keep in mind this is quick list not an exhaustive one
of artists who excite me.’
Thirty-Seven
10/03/2011 14:02
P R I VAT D I N I N G
To dine for
Catherine Sabino picks the most
exclusive new arrivals on Manhattan’s
fast-moving food scene. Now if only she
could help you get a reservation…
M
anhattan ‘scenester’ restaurants have turned
up in many flavours of buzzy cool: as
boisterous brasserie (Balthazar, Pastis),
high-end trattoria (Da Silvano) or fusion-colonial boîte
(Indochine) to name a few. Graydon Carter, editor of Vanity
Fair, added a new-old construct to the mix with his Waverly
Inn and Monkey Bar, blending hush-hush speakeasy style
(unlisted phone number or months-out reservations), darkwood decor in vintage locales, comfort foods last popular when
Eisenhower was president and a rigorously curated seating chart
for a super-power crowd.
E L E V E N M A D I S O N PA R K
Unlike a scenester boîte, Danny Meyer’s Eleven Madison Park
is all about the food. Although the restaurant attracts its fair
share of the city’s movers and shakers, it does so in a quiet way.
Eleven Madison Park has long been a haven for investment
bankers, not surprisingly since Credit Suisse First Boston is
housed at the same address. One of only seven New York City
restaurants receiving a four-star review from The New York
Times (in 2009), Eleven Madison Park did the unthinkable last
autumn. With Meyer’s blessing, chef Daniel Humm and
general manager Daniel Guidara tossed aside an outstanding
formula in the hopes of creating an even more spectacular one.
The award-winning menu was ditched and the restaurant
reconfigured to accommodate fewer diners. Humm and
Guidara, not content to rest on their accolades, wanted to take
Eleven Madison Park beyond its New York icon status and
onto the international stage as a super-rarified destination
restaurant. Humm and his team developed a highly interactive
tasting menu where they could bewitch with their creativity.
Grid-like and cryptic, the menu reads as terse code: Tomato,
Crab, Langoustine, Foie Gras are typical entries. You and the
chefs fill in the culinary blanks, crafting together the elements
over a multi-course lunch or dinner, where that langoustine or
crab, or whatever’s freshly sourced from the market, is tailored,
via Humm’s ingenuity, to a diner’s tastes. Always known for its
visual presentation (and wonderful breads), Eleven Madison
Park continues to plate with an artful eye worthy of a first-tier
Modernist. With reduced seating, the restaurant now offers
another rare New York dining experience: the ability to hear
your companions speak while enjoying a fine meal.
11 Madison Avenue, +1 212 889 0905
P U L I N O ’ S
Restaurateur Keith McNally creates hotspot eateries with
odds-defying consistency. He’s earned a cult-like following for
his culinary genius, as well as for his prescient real estate
moves, opening restaurants in once forlorn and forgotten
parts of the city, which then serve as catalysts for revival. His
restaurants along Madison Square Park, a dicey quarter not
long ago, helped transform the district, so much so that it now
houses some of the highest-priced condominiums in
Manhattan. (Chelsea Clinton resides in the neighbourhood.)
McNally’s latest venture, Pulino’s, took another pioneering
step, this time on the Lower East Side, a neighbourhood
being touted as the city’s next hot art district. Since the
restaurant opened last year, new galleries and condos have
sprouted in the area with recession-proof gusto. Although
compact, Pulino’s retains signature McNally design touches,
like tin ceilings, checkered floors and vintage wall tiles. Its
focus is pizza, still a New York obsession, served cracker
brittle and thin. There are pastas and roast chicken and
branzino, too, and a breakfast menu, serving – what else? –
pizza, although with spinach and egg toppings, among other
varieties. Pulino’s draws the local art crowd, along with actors
like Jude Law and Vogue editor Anna Wintour.
282 Bowery, +1 212 226 1966
Thirty-Eight
PRI_038_privat_dining_ES_2SF.indd 38
08/03/2011 16:39
Daniel Humm tailors
fresh lobster to suit
individual diners
Thirty-Nine
08/03/2011 16:39
T H E L I O N
Above: Pulino’s signature
design touches, like tin ceilings,
checkered floors and vintage
wall tiles, lure the art crowd.
Left: Eleven Madison Park
is a restaurant where you can
actually hear your dining
companions.
Below: at the Lion, banquettes
flank dark-panelled walls,
decorated with a mash-up of
memorabilia
M I N E T T A T AV E R N
McNally’s Minetta, which opened before
Pulino’s, remains one of the toughest
reservations in town (prime-time is almost
impossible to book for those without
connections). Part steakhouse, part brasserie,
and overwhelmingly clubby, Minetta wins
kudos for its steak, in particular the New
York strip and côte de boeuf, and for having
its own curing room. The megawatt Black
Label burger launched a thousand blogposts,
and fierce debates about whether it’s merely
the best in town or on the planet. As at the
Lion, the back room is the power spot.
Those slipping into the red leather
banquettes amid the vintage murals and
framed celebrity sketches include Hugh
Grant and Bill Clinton.
113 MacDougal Street, +1 212 475 3850
New York’s latest canteen drawing a
bold-faced clientele, the Lion, takes a page
from the Waverly playbook. And for good
reason: the rubric continues to work. John
DeLucie, the force behind the Lion, was
executive chef and part owner with Carter
at the Waverly Inn. In the heart of the
Village, the Lion is tucked in an ivyswathed brownstone, the site of a bar
decades ago where Barbra Streisand and
Bette Midler once sang. A bouncer out
front greets all comers, checking for
reservations. As you enter, there’s a densely
packed bar to navigate and a tavern, which
serves as a holding area until your table is
ready, or a final destination if you’re
stopping by for a casual bite. You pass an
open kitchen on the way to the rear dining
room, where the real action – people
watching – kicks into high gear. In recent
months, Calvin Klein, Leo DiCaprio, Karl
Lagerfeld and Daphne Guinness have all
stopped by. Even Google co-founder
Sergey Brin is said to have made an
appearance. It’s no small measure of the
restaurant’s ongoing pizzazz that Pierce
Brosnan and Sarah Jessica Parker filmed a
scene here for the upcoming movie based
on Allison Pearson’s best-selling novel, I
Don’t Know How She Does It. Banquettes
flank dark-panelled walls, decorated with a
mash-up of memorabilia: tabloid photos of
gangsters, Warhols and Basquiats, and
sober oil portraits (sourced at flea markets)
that look as if they might have been
borrowed from an Ivy League club’s reading
room. Triple A-listers can escape to a
mezzanine, overlooking the boisterous
main dining area, where table chatter can
boom to a deafening roar. Oh, yes, the food
– but then, that’s rarely the raison d’être of
a scenester spot. DeLucie, who resurrected
the potpie and macaroni cheese from
school grub oblivion at the Waverly Inn,
continues with what’s he’s termed ‘straightahead’ dishes for the Lion – roast chicken,
Delmonico steak, and an over-the-top
burger, served with smoked cheddar,
caramelised onion and pork belly. While
there is no macaroni, DeLucie offers a pot
pie 2.0, upgraded to include lobster and
brandy cream. The Lion is open for dinner
only. Late last autumn DeLucie took his
sizzling brand south to Miami and the hip
Raleigh hotel’s Royal restaurant, opening
just in time for Art Basel in December.
62 West 9th Street, +1 212 353 8400
Forty
08/03/2011 16:41
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No.00000 Hublot Filler.indd 1
02/12/2010 11:15
ISLANDMAN
Love of Jamaica has inspired Chris Blackwell
all his life, as he tells Sophy Roberts when
she meets him on his organic farm
WHENIHEADUPTOCHRISBLACKWELL’SHOMEinthe Cockpit
Mountains in Jamaica, it is late at night. I cannot see very much at all,
although I am aware we have gone off-road because of the humps and
bumps of the last 20 minutes in a four-wheel drive. For some time now
there have been no other cars or houses, only the heads of some white
Brahmin cattle illuminated by our headlamps. We pass by an imposing
great house, once the largest sugar plantation in Jamaica – and keep on
wending our way up through the mountains.
When I finally arrive, I am surprised at the modesty of the man’s style.
Chris Blackwell is universally regarded as one of the most influential men
to have entered the music business in the last 50 years; with his second
career in hotels, he has gone on to change the way the way the world views
Jamaica. Within three years of hearing the blind pianist Lance Hayward
– the first artist Blackwell ever recorded, with an LP of jazz standards
released in 1959 – Blackwell was in London, and the company he’d started,
Islands Records, was humming with the likes of Jimmy Cliff and Millie
Small introducing a whole new audience to the music of Jamaica. He
famously launched Bob Marley on the world, the list of artists he went on
to sign becoming a roll-call of all the musicians that have mattered in the
last 30 years, Steve Winwood, Cat Stevens and U2 among them.
The big time came when Blackwell sold Island Records for a reported
£272 million to PolyGram in 1989 – not that he hadn’t already had a taste
of the good life. Born in 1937, Blackwell enjoyed a high-society childhood
in Jamaica, hanging out with the likes of Bond author Ian Fleming, who
lived at Goldeneye, and Noël Coward; he was educated and expelled from
Harrow, while his mother’s family, the Lindos, were once among the
island’s biggest landowners. Yet Pantrepant, Blackwell’s home in the hills,
doesn’t betray any trait of some spoiled posh boy who got even richer on
these formidable successes; rather, it is a modest structure built from the
old Portland stone once used as ballast, the house comprising two floors
with a wide verandah positioned in the middle of a grassy plateau
punctuated with a few huge, wide-canopied trees.
What is overwhelmingly obvious is that Blackwell, or CB as he is
called by almost everyone, is so down-to-earth that you would miss him in
a crowd. He is dressed in T-shirt and jeans, which is about all he wears in
the three days I am with him. He is the one standing over the old range
oven, stirring a pan of chicken soup when I arrive. But for all his laid-back
style, he exudes enormous presence; more unusually, he achieves this
without going on about himself. ‘Most people in big business live in strata,’
he remarks. ‘The great thing about the record business up until the 1970s
was how people in music had very humble beginnings. I was working with
people from the street. Or rather, I was working for them.’
We sit down and talk, with Blackwell’s conversation rolling from big
concepts in education, governance and the internet (he admits being
addicted to TED Talks, which he watches on YouTube) to the anecdotal
(he talks a little about his late wife, and how it was the tree in front of the
house that they first fell in love with when they bought the farm in 1994).
He is defined by innovation, choosing to surround himself with creative
people. ‘If you are independent you have to be counter,’ he says. ‘A small
army can never beat a big army but a guerilla force can.’ We drink simple
red wine and make a plan for the next day. Even though I am here to see
Goldeneye, he suggests I take it easy and spend the morning riding around
Fo r t y - Tw o
PRI_042_privat_person_ES SF.indd 42
09/03/2011 08:39
CAMERAPRESS/EAMONNMCCABE
Chris Blackwell in
Jamaica, the island that
has shaped his existence
Forty-Three
09/03/2011 08:39
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Illustrations : Illusio.fr - Studio Marc Hertrich & Nicolas Adnet. Conception et réalisation :
Club Med Villas et Chalets: Simplified Joint Stock Company with capital of 150,000 €. 11 rue de Cambrai 75 019 Paris, France. N° 500 038 427 RCS Paris - Paris
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Club Med Villas et Chalets: Vereinfachte Aktiengesellschaft mit einem Kapital von 150 000 € - 11 rue de Cambrai 75019 Paris - Nr. 500 038 427
Handelsregister Paris. Berufsausweis Nr. T12238. Präfektur Paris - Sicherheit 30 000 €. BNP Paribas 16 bd des Italiens 75009 Paris. Dokument und
Illustrationen sind keine Bestandteile des Vertrags. Illustrationen: Illusio.fr - Studio Marc Hertrich & Nicolas Adnet. Design und Umsetzung:
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No.64690 - Club Med Villas & Chalets.indd 1
10/03/2011 13:52
GETTYIMAGES
‘I want to find the kids who
didn’t get lucky in the city and
show them an alternative’
the farm. ‘I have been very lucky in my life,’ he says, ‘but this
place is one of the luckiest parts of all.’
At six the next morning, I am standing atop Peter’s Hill,
a rise in the land that gives a sense of the fenceless expanse
of this old plantation. I find that I can ride for six hours
straight and still be on Blackwell’s land. We see herds of
red-poll cattle. We ride through dense vegetation rich with
flowers and wildlife – evidence that no chemical fertilisers
or pesticides have been used during the entire 17 years the
farm has been in Blackwell’s possession.
At Goldeneye, which is competing with the likes of the
Cotton House on Mustique or Eden Roc in St Barths, there
is a new airport, Ian Fleming International, opened in January
for private aircraft. It’s luxurious, but at the same time,
Blackwell encourages guests to turn off their air-conditioning
and open their windows. ‘I hate air-conditioning,’ he says.
‘You don’t feel the air, hear the birds.’ At his farm, he has
made a natural swimming pool from an 18th-century
molasses vault, the lichen-covered sides draped in the tiny
starry heads of pink and white flowers. ‘I love it here,’ he says,
‘but I prefer to swim in the river; there’s more danger to it.’
There is a reason for me being here beyond Blackwell’s
relaxed hospitality (entertaining comes easily to him; on
Sunday, another 20 people arrive for a lunch party in the
garden). He has plans to turn Pantrepant into a community of
80 private houses (the ground rent contributing to running
costs) and an 800-acre organic farm managed by Jamaicans
who will train here in new agricultural techniques. ‘I want to
find the kids who moved into the city and didn’t get lucky
and perhaps reverse them so they can find quality of life,’ says
Blackwell. ‘I want to show them an alternative.’
No construction plan has yet been drawn up for
Pantrepant, but already two interns from the Earth University
in Costa Rica, which Blackwell has visited, are on site doing
research. ‘I believe in the future – the near-future,’ says
Blackwell. ‘I believe it is now possible to live off the grid and
do anything. It used to be that if you did something like this,
you checked out of the world. Not any more.’ I worry about
mentioning ‘legacy’, concerned the word might imply he is on
his way out when he is more in tune with contemporary
culture than anyone I have ever met. ‘Pantrepant is in trust,’
he says. ‘My aim is to set it up so the place lasts.’
Blackwell does nothing in a hurry, which has helped give
his Island Outpost group of hotels much of their integrity.
Since 1988, when he first became involved in the industry,
development has been slowly and carefully considered, such
an approach being the very opposite of the quick-buck mass
tourism that afflicts other parts of the island.
At a Blackwell property, nothing is streamlined, which
means you can never talk about his hotels within some
generic Caribbean category of five-star resort. Instead the
Island Outpost vibe is all about authentic Jamaica, albeit for a
high-end traveller – a sort of Afro-Caribbean cool, shot
through with Etro and flip-flop glamour. At the restaurants,
local farmers provide the vegetables and meat; fishermen
provide the rest, with only the bare minimum of specialist
goods imported. And in terms of service, perfection has never
been the aim. ‘It is about hiring local people with personality.’
This can mean things get a bit slow around the dinner hour.
At Strawberry Hill in the Blue Mountains above Kingston,
Left: Pantrepant,
Blackwell’s home and farm
in the green hills of Jamaica.
Above: Bob Marley, the
iconic Jamaican musician,
was Island Records’ most
famous artist
Forty-Five
09/03/2011 08:40
Left: Ian Fleming at
Goldeneye, where he wrote
the James Bond books; the
beach at Goldeneye today.
Above: Fleming’s villa at
Goldeneye, which Blackwell
has owned since 1976
GETTYIMAGES
the lobster might take 50 minutes to arrive, but nobody
complains. The food is so damn good it doesn’t take long until
‘real zippy folk’, as Blackwell describes them, simply kick
back and listen to the barman, while soaking up one of the
finest views in the Caribbean. The same feeling pervades
other properties that make up the current Island Outpost
portfolio: the Caves in Negril, Jake’s in Treasure Beach and
Geejam in Port Antonio.
The new Goldeneye – several years in conception, the last
two in construction – is no different in sentiment to what has
come before. It is, however, the most ambitious resort
Blackwell has created to date. There is the original threebedroom Fleming Villa (sketched by the author on his desk
blotter), its cliff-top garden and private curl of beach, along
with two newly built one-bedroom guest cottages flanking the
Fleming Villa’s free-form pool. The 52-acre site has numerous
new cottages and suites, some of which are for sale, all of
which are made from wooden clapperboard in pale candy
colours. Some of the houses with private owners (the
properties sell for around a million dollars a piece) are put
back into the resort’s room inventory. There are two pools, a
bar, two restaurants, a watersports centre and a couple more
sandy swatches. But this is just the start – the first phase of a
big idea that will keep evolving as Blackwell, Goldeneye’s
owner since 1976, develops his master plan for the local town
of Oracabessa. It is only when out on a jet-ski with Blackwell
(his preferred method for keeping fit) that I learn he owns
another two miles of coastline adjoining Goldeneye’s site. He
envisions a community reinvigorated, a corniche and a marina.
When I ask when this will all be completed, he smiles. ‘The
record industry is a good way to learn patience,’ he says. ‘You
have to wait forever for someone to tune their guitar.’
The fact is the momentum is already building as
Blackwell makes yet another push in his career to put Jamaica
on the map. First it was with music, now tourism. Next it will
be in becoming an example of how we can all live more
responsibly by engaging with the land that provides – and
ensures – our survival. ‘When nobody cares about something,
you can feel it,’ says Blackwell. He knows this island
backwards; driving the backroads, local people shout: ‘Hey,
CB,’ and he asks after their families. It is as if he feels more
than mere affection but responsibility for a place that has not
only made him rich but has given him so much pride and
inspiration. ‘In the 1600s, Port Royal was more important to
the world than New York City,’ he explains. ‘Jamaica was the
sorting house for all the gold coming out of South America.
This island has deep history. The fact it is one of the bestknown countries in the world has got a lot to do with Marley,
but also a lot to do with the strength of Jamaican culture.’
This perspective puts in balance the rough image of the
Kingston ghettos, which is only one reality of a place often
maligned; as more of the world recognises this fact, you can
trace much of the swing back to Blackwell. This is his legacy,
but ask him, and it’s as if he is only just beginning.
Forty-Six
09/03/2011 08:40
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S P L E N D I D
I S O L AT I O N
Having an island to yourself is a perfect solution
for those in need of real privacy, but you need to
choose the right one. Julian Allason investigates
Forty-Eight
PRI_048_privat_islands_ES SF.indd 48
09/03/2011 08:40
T
It is the dream destination, a
secluded, secret world, populated
only by those we love. The private
island is as close to paradise on earth as most of
us can aspire – but it is a fantasy in need of
discernment. For islands are not created equal in
climate, size, comfort or accessibility. A few
weeks ago I was shown a private islet in the
making: the location off the coast of Cambodia
is sublime, the design harmonious, the weather
enticing – and rare hornbills land on your
balcony. However, getting to Song Saa Private
Island from Europe or North America is no
small undertaking, other than by private jet into
Sihanoukville, from which it is an exhilarating
30-minute boat ride. And there is the rub.
Today complete privacy demands that you be
hidden from paparazzi, or just the casual tourist
with camera and video. No accident then that
the most perfectly private islands have their own
landing strips. Visiting Little Whale Cay in the
Bahamas I was amused to see animals grazing
the airstrip. Not only does it keep the grass down
but acts as a deterrent to unexpected guests
dropping in. Other wildlife includes peacocks
and flamingos – nature at its most ostentatious.
The cay also has its own chapel, the most
romantic venue imaginable for a wedding.
However one does not have to be a Marlon
Brando or Malcolm Forbes and actually buy a
speck in the ocean to enjoy the private joys of
island life. Even so, prospective renters must
beware. Not every website offering private island
rental has a direct affiliation to the owners. Some
operators are unlikely to have even visited most
of their properties. Better then to rely upon one
of the handful of experts who know the strengths
and weaknesses of these little parcels of paradise.
‘It is very much about matching client to island,’
says John Steinle of specialists Sanctuare. ‘On
some we can lay on the most spectacular services,
on others simplicity is the whole point.’
At Musha Cay, another private haven in the
Exumas chain, 85 miles south east of Nassau,
simplicity is achieved by a largely invisible staff
of 30. With 150 immaculately tended tropical
acres surrounded by blue, blue sea, Musha is one
of the rare places where the famous can escape
constant public scrutiny and truly relax without
having to retreat to the wilderness. When I
stayed, the last signatures in the guest book read
‘Bill & Melinda’. Who needs surnames?
The owner, star magician David Copperfield,
has chosen to rename the small surrounding cays
(on one of which is the landing strip) after
himself, though this has yet to make it onto
official maps. But there is the glory of it: when
you are king of the castle your word is law. One
might command the entertainment of a party of
24 in colonial comfort in the hilltop plantation
house and five charming Bahamian cottages.
Sea-Doos and ski boats await, though I was as
happy walking the mile-long crescent of white
sand revealed at low water. Almost anything can
be arranged, including fireworks and lobster
barbecues on the beach. One renter demanded a
submarine to explore the reefs.
If Musha represents the tropical art of the
impossible then the rawness of nature is its polar
opposite, and on offer in the southern
hemisphere at Great Mercury, off the coast of
New Zealand’s North Island. With 5,000 acres
of forest and meadows, and 50 miles of coastline
including 12 long beaches of white sand, the
point of this ravishing island is exploration and
sport. Its owner is banker and America’s Cup
challenger Sir Michael Fay. Like the others
described here, the island is for sole rental for a
party of up to 16 guests. Once the home of 5,000
Maori tribesmen, Great Mercury was abandoned
two centuries ago; now it has two comfortable
guesthouses built of driftwood and rock by a
radical Sardinian architect. Some of the roofs are
planted over, allowing the buildings to vanish
into the landscape. From here, deep sea fishing
and, between October and April when the sea is
Forty-Nine
09/03/2011 08:40
Clockwise from left:
Little Whale Cay, Bahamas
offers privacy alongside great
amenities and service; two aspects
of Great Mercury Island, New
Zealand – still lovely but more
temperate; an aerial view of Song
Saa, Cambodia, which is being
developed into an island paradise
Fifty
10/03/2011 14:11
warm, scuba and waterskiing are on the
menu. John Dory, tuna, snapper, crayfish,
scallops and mussels abound, and a talented
chef prepares the catch in the open kitchen.
Food and drink is included with only the
cost of the helicopter tours to be added to
the bill. ‘This is Treasure Island,’ one client
wrote in her blog. And for children it is just
that, with adventure trails and a large heated
swimming pool should the sea fail to invite.
Perhaps surprisingly, island brokers
report an increase in enquiries for temperate
zones like New Zealand and even Scotland.
So familiar are jetsetters with the Maldives,
Mauritius and increasingly with the
Seychelles that it is the non-tropical
alternative that now piques client taste.
Hence the burgeoning interest in the
financial industry in Ronay in the middle of
Scotland’s Outer Hebrides. Simpler and
more remote than this it hardly gets on this,
one of the very smallest British Isles. It
offers a taste of how life once was.
Were one in search of sophisticated
island partying, Angra dos Reis – Bay of the
Kings – in Brazil is the place, with 365
islands and some 2,000 beaches. Football
hero Ronaldo and supermodel Gisele
Bündchen own private islets here. The bay is
beautiful, the architecture uninhibited and
guests sing for their supper – sometimes
literally as when the Rolling Stones’ yacht
mysteriously caught fire off the island of
pioneering plastic surgeon Ivo Pitanguy.
Many of the islands and promontories, like
the whimsically enchanting Toc Toc, are for
rent – through the right channels, notably
Cazenove+Loyd in London. ‘Rich
Brazilians view their beach houses very
much as they do their mistresses,’ remarks
my friend Stephen. ‘They are for all the
world to admire, regularly rebuilt,
occasionally abandoned and sometimes lent
to friends when the owners are away.’
No one does private island relaxation
better than the Greeks, though. After all,
they have had 3,000 years’ practice, and the
distillation of white walls and sunny
terraces against the shading blues of sea and
sky offers true balm to the soul. Among the
most special is Pegasus, commanding the
approach to the Cycladic islands. Its beauty,
serenity and proximity to Athens were
cherished by Pericles. Today the calm, clear
waters of the Inland Sea still lap sandy
beaches fringed with acacias, inviting
snorkelling and boating. An engaging
alternative is to ride bareback along the
beaches and through shallow bays.
The villa was built by a shipping
magnate in the 1920s and has now been
sensitively restored in the local style but
with subtle updating, each bedroom
enjoying en suite facilities and fast internet
connections. Such is the tradition of island
hospitality that the family built a taverna
close to the dock, entertaining such guests
as Onassis and Maria Callas, Garbo and
von Karajan. It is still one of four
atmospheric houses – and a chapel – with a
history dating back to the 18th century.
Today terrace living on Pegasus offers a
sense of timelessness – and the opportunity
for up to 14 guests to explore the treasures
of Attica and the Cyclades at a tranquil
pace. Not bad for a very private island less
than 25 minutes by helicopter from Athens
international airport.
Needless to say, extras are on call in all
the islands described, from painting tutors
to masseurs, with every sort of adventurous
expedition available upon request, often
with special access to sites. Candlelit dinner
at a ruined temple anyone? The most
Fifty-One
10/03/2011 14:11
Right: rush hour on the sand bar
at Musha Cay, Bahamas.
Below: the villa on the Greek
island of Pegasus has been
sensitively restored in the local
style but with subtle updating
popular requests are for motor yachts and
outdoor cinema screens. One island renter
regularly orders an entire spa. Others specify
rare vintages or import live entertainment.
For the most luxurious private islands
the ceiling is between 10 and 24 guests. For
celebration on a larger scale, party-givers
like retail king Sir Philip Green take over
small island resorts in their entirety. For
example North Island in the Seychelles,
Banyan Tree Madivaru and its six tented
villas in the Maldives, and for really big
events, Peter Island in the British Virgin
Islands can all be hired for exclusive use
through Elegant Resorts, along with
carefully coordinated party planning.
Sometimes, though, less truly is more.
My own choice would be Kia Ora Sauvage
on remote Rangiroa atoll in French
Polynesia. Islands do not get much smaller
or deserted than this motu. Just five
traditional Polynesian cabins in the shade of
cocoa palms, cooled by trade winds with the
distant roar of waves breaking on the reef.
Dress code? Sarong and a straw hat. Menu?
Freshly caught lobster and fish from the
lagoon barbecued against a backdrop of
primary yellow, green and blue. In fact you
can find a private dream island to take over
almost anywhere in the world and have it to
yourself to enjoy in peace.
ISLAND ESSENTIALS
MUSHA CAY, Exumas, Bahamas,
[email protected]
LITTLE WHALE CAY, Bahamas,
www.lilewhalecay.com
GREAT MERCURY ISLAND, North Island,
New Zealand, www.seasonz.co.nz
RONAY, Outer Hebrides, UK,
www.privateislandsonline.com
ANGRA DOS REIS, Brazil. Islands including
Toc Toc, www.cazloyd.com
PEGASUS, Cycladic Islands, Greece,
www.fivestargreece.com
KIA ORA SAUVAGE, Rangiroa, French
Polynesia, www.hotelkiaora.com
SONG SAA, Koh Rong, Cambodia,
www.songsaa.com
SANCTUARE ISLAND ADVICE,
www.sanctuare.com
ELEGANT RESORTS. Private rental of resort
islands, www.elegantresorts.co.uk
F i f t y - Tw o
10/03/2011 14:12
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No.54524 - Franc Vila 1pp.indd 1
12/11/2010 11:21
R E S T O R AT I O N
DRAMA
ALAMY
Hyderabad’s palaces, once ruled over by the fabulously rich
Nizams, fell on hard times but, as Teresa Levonian Cole
discovers, their glories are re-emerging
Fifty-Four
PRI_054_privat_escape_ES SF.indd 54
10/03/2011 14:03
AWOMANSITSATAFRAMELOOM, a silent harpist
plucking at the finest threads with her fingernail. Through these
threads, she weaves strands of gold and silks of red, pink and green
until, very slowly, a pattern of unimaginable intricacy begins to
emerge. She is weaving an exquisite sari border, identical on both
sides, in a 2,000-year-old technique called Paithani, brought to the
Deccan Plateau of southern India by its Moghul conquerors in the
17th century. The process is so painstaking that a master weaver
can make no more than 10 yards of this border in one year.
Suraiya Hasan, aged 80-and-a-bit, is soberly dressed in a black sari
with a gold border. She speaks softly and moves with feline grace.
All around her small workshop in the hills of Hyderabad are
swatches of antique Persian brocade that she has forensically
dissected to discover their internal logic and re-create their design.
Hasan may be credited for single-handedly reviving a lost
tradition, but her gorgeous fabrics are now mainly destined for
Dubai, America and Europe. The fabled wealth and lavish lifestyle
of the ruling Nizams who patronised the weavers is but a distant
memory. ‘By Independence, in 1947, these specialist weaving skills
had all but disappeared,’ she tells me, ‘but by training young
women from the villages, we are reviving the old skills and
re-creating fabrics that were popular 200 years ago.’
The last of the Moghuls’ viceroys in the Deccan – the title
Nizam means ‘Administrator of the Realm’ – Nizam-ul-Mulq
Qamaruddin Khan, declared his independence to form the Asaf
Jahi dynasty in 1724. By 1947, the Seventh and last Nizam of
India’s premier princely state, His Exalted Highness Osman Ali
Khan, ruled over 15 million subjects in an area roughly the size
of the United Kingdom. Poet, art collector, philanthropist,
prolific builder, moderniser and eccentric, he was the richest man
in the world, with a fortune estimated at $2 billion in the 1930s
and a legendary collection of jewels. In his various palaces,
diamonds, rubies and emeralds were secreted in tin trunks, and
lorries loaded with gold and gems stood ready for escape in the
The vast, gloriously restored
Chowmahalla Palace
Fifty-Five
08/03/2011 17:36
GETTYIMAGES
event of revolution. His staff included 38 servants to dust the
chandeliers, 28 water-bearers and a man to prepare his daily dose
of opium. His family numbered four wives, 86 concubines and
more than 100 children.
The Indian Army’s Operation Polo in 1948, which overthrew
the Nizam and introduced democracy to what, in 1956, became the
new state of Andhra Pradesh, brought a dramatic reversal of fortune.
The aristocracy lost both status and revenues, property was sold and,
by the time the Nizam’s grandson and heir, Mukarram Jah, acceded
to the title of Eighth Nizam in 1967, Hyderabad was unrecognisable.
Mired by chaotic finances and poor advice, the new Nizam found
himself forced into selling assets and taking austerity measures that
included reducing his grandfather’s household roll from 14,000
employees to a mere 2,000. Rival claims to his inheritance, bitter
litigation, family feuds, impregnable trust funds and exorbitant taxes
compounded his woes. The final straw came with Indira Gandhi’s
decision to abolish princely titles and the Privy Purse. The Eighth
Nizam called it a day. He left for Australia in 1973 to plough his
initial inheritance into an ill-fated sheep farm.
During the following three decades, the royal palaces were left
in mothballs, their treasures plundered. The Banqueting Hall of the
principal palace, Chowmahalla, was demolished by developers, as
was the Usman Mansion of the King Khoti complex, the home of
the last ruling Nizam, while its main building became a hospital.
The great Falaknuma Palace, which had been acquired by the Sixth
Nizam as his new home, and subsequently used as a royal
guesthouse, was sealed up in the 1950s, leaving its magnificent
interior to the ravages of time. Parts of the European-style,
18th-century Purani Haveli, with its huge Indian-style courtyards,
have been given over to educational establishments. Its west wing
forms a museum in which – although the civic buildings of Osman
Ali Khan’s reign still stand proud in Hyderabad – it is reassuring to
find many intricate, scale models in durable silver of his contribution
to the city’s architecture: the High Court, Jubilee Hall and railway
station, among them, the models being gifts to the Seventh Nizam
on the occasion of his Silver Jubilee.
The west wing – literally in mothballs – also provides a fascinating
Nizam’s valet’s-eye view into what is surely the most desirable
wardrobe in the world. Custom-built in teak for Mahboob Ali Khan,
Asaf Jah VI, 130 cupboards on two levels face each other for 240
feet, stacked with shoes, hats, trousers, silks, underwear and brocades
such as those Suraiya Hasan re-creates. It is said that the Sixth
Nizam never wore the same outfit twice, but the splendid contents of
these wardrobes, alas, have not fared well, despite the naphthalene.
Throughout the city, once-splendid historic and cultural
buildings offer a glimpse into a lost world. The Badshahi
Fifty-Six
08/03/2011 17:36
The lobby of the restored
Falaknuma Palace.
Opposite: its 33-metre
table seating 101 guests is
the longest in the world
Ashurkhana is one such, a 16th-century Shia hall from which
mourning gongs were sounded during Muharram. Although
severely damaged by flooding, it still dazzles with its Persian-style
ceramic tiles, for which the Ashurkhana is famed.
One of the most evocative buildings of Hyderabad is the
Residency. The Palladian-style mansion was built in 1803 for James
Achilles Kirkpatrick, the British Resident – an overseer position
forced on the Nizam by the British Government in 1795. Its
tattered rooms with peeling walls and broken windows lie empty.
Cobwebs festoon the fabulous formal reception room, with its
now-tarnished Regency gilt mirrors. A shattered chandelier, said to
have belonged to William IV, hangs above a sweeping double
staircase which threatens to collapse underfoot. Derelict buildings in
the overgrown gardens house the classrooms of a women’s college.
Most poignantly, there still hangs a black-and-white photograph of
two children, the issue of Kirkpatrick and his aristocratic Indian
bride, the subject of a tragic love story recounted by the India-based
British writer William Dalrymple in White Mughals.
Whereas the Residency has been mouldering for years,
untouched, on the World Monuments in Danger list, for the Royal
Palaces, at least, salvation has arrived in the intriguing form of
Princess Esra, the first of the current Nizam’s wives (the Nizam
being five times married and divorced, and now living modestly in
Turkey). Given General Power of Attorney in 2001 by her former
husband, the Princess succeeded, through her lawyer, in arranging
the sale of the Nizam’s Jewels to the government for $71 million
(well below their valuation of $300 million, since the Government
banned public auction), thereby resolving a 24-year impasse. She
also arranged settlement of the Nizam’s debts and outstanding court
cases, and returned to Hyderabad to save what was left of her two
children’s inheritance.
En route to the Chowmahalla Palace, whose restoration
Princess Esra spearheaded, I walked through Lad Bazaar, to the
place where Hyderabad was born. In striking contrast to the
high-rise IT district and the biotech hub of Hyderabad’s ‘Genome
Valley’, the Old City assails the senses with its thronging humanity,
its noise, colour and smells; a throwback to a pre-industrial world of
street vendors and makers of stone-studded glass bangles, clinking
away over small forges. Dodging the Exocet tuk-tuks, I crossed the
central roundabout to reach the Char Minar, the city’s imposing
landmark, rising above four giant pointed arches and topped by four
minarets. Built in 1592, it marks the centre of the city, founded
under the previous Qutb Shahi dynasty, which had outgrown its
massive hilltop fortress-capital of Golconda, 11km away. Golconda
had been fabled as a diamond cutting and trading centre since the
14th century, its mines yielding the Hope, Koh-i-Noor and
Fifty-Seven
08/03/2011 17:36
Above: weaver Suraiya Hasan
studies and reproduces ancient fabrics.
Here: the ancient ramparts
of Golconda Fort
Wittelsbach diamonds among others, and
furnishing the wealth of its rulers.
The 18th-century Chowmahalla Palace, last
used for the coronation of the Eighth Nizam
43 years ago, opened to the public in 2005 after
a massive restoration project. Although the
intervening years saw it shrink from 45 to 12
acres, it remains an astonishing complex – a
synthesis of Persian, Indian and Moghul
architectural styles – set around two remaining
courtyards with fountains, gardens and arcades.
Various buildings house portraits and
informative histories of the Nizams, along with
previously unseen gelatine silver prints of the
royal family and harem, armoury, ceramics,
inlaid Bidri ware and resplendent costumes. I
loved the 1912 yellow Rolls-Royce Silver
Ghost, with the family crown embossed on the
handles – one of the Seventh Nizam’s
collection of 57 cars. The pièce de résistance is the
Durbar Hall, with Italian grey marble floors
and throne, coffered ceiling, Belgian crystal
chandeliers and carved stucco walls covered in
gold leaf. On the upper level, screened recesses
provided the women of the household with a
bird’s-eye view of proceedings
It was almost as impressive as my hotel: no
ordinary hotel, but the Falaknuma Palace,
where I was one of the first guests since
Jawaharlal Nehru in 1951. Leased to the Taj
Group by Princess Esra, who acted as
consultant during the 10 long years of
restoration, the Falaknuma Palace has just
re-opened. Never mind the splendour – and
splendid it certainly is – it was the often-quirky
detail that captivated me; an eccentricity that
echoes the foibles of the Nizam who lived here,
a man who flung the 184-carat Jacob diamond
into a shoe and forgot about it: Mahboob Ali
Khan, Asaf Jah VI. There is the wood-panelled
library – a copy of the one in Windsor Castle
– in which rare manuscripts and ancient
Korans stand alongside such gems as the Girl’s
Own Annual, Headhunters of the Amazon and
Cold Storage and Ice-making. In the Begum
Suite you can see cupboards lined in silk ikats
to prevent snagging, and its Heath Robinson
bathtub with a canopy of tubes that sprayed jets
of rosewater. ‘The first en-suite bathroom in
India,’ said Prabhakar Mahindrakar, the
wonderful palace historian. There’s much else to
enjoy: in the smoking room, the Sixth Nizam’s
convivial hookah, sprouting dozens of pipes;
the exemplary acoustics of the dining room, so
that the Nizam could overhear plots being
hatched; the leather chaise longue on which he
breathed his last, in 1911. The list goes on.
The spectacular dining room, with its
33-metre table seating 101 guests, the longest
in the world, deserves special mention. The
Marchioness of Reading, the Viceroy’s wife,
who dined here in the 1920s, wrote of the
experience: ‘Everything was of gold: epergnes,
vases, cruets, table cutlery, forks, spoons, even to
the covers of the Champagne bottles and the
crumb scoop.’ The gold has long since
disappeared, as has the banqueting hall itself.
But perhaps the triumphant restoration of
these two royal palaces – and the financial
returns they generate – will inspire further
investment to save Hyderabad’s crumbling
heritage. The process has begun, with the most
challenging projects of all.
India specialists Quo Vadis Travel organise
individual, tailor-made itineraries with expert
guides, +44 (0)20 7581 0769, www.quovadis.in
TERESALEVONIANCOLE
Fifty-Eight
08/03/2011 17:36
…seventh heaven
FOR SALE
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PRI_060_privat_Travel_2_ES S.indd 60
09/03/2011 15:46
Shanghai dazzles
with light and life
B O O M O N
THEBUND
EYEVINE
The roaring economy of China’s
major port is getting louder every year.
Ian Henderson is Shanghaied
PRI_060_privat_Travel_2_ES SF.indd 61
READINGTHECHINADAILYover breakfast in
Shanghai’s super-cool PuLi hotel (maybe the best
eggs Benedict I’ve ever had, incidentally), it’s hard
not to feel you’re close to the heart of the world’s
economic powerhouse. Beyond the heavy doors
and green spaces surrounding this island of calm, a
vast metropolis is gearing up for yet another
frenetic day. In the paper, alongside the usual
triumphs and disasters, I read about the unveiling
of China’s new large commercial airliner, the C919;
Tiangong-1, a new Chinese space lab; and the
government’s relaxation of tightly regulated
airspace for private aircraft.
Even before these new rules were announced,
the number of private jets registered in China was
forecast to double in the next five years. The
economy is soon expected to be the world’s biggest
– a position it has held in every century except the
last one – and the Hurun Wealth Report suggests
the number of China’s home-grown billionaires is
growing fast. So the timing is good for a new
government-backed business terminal at Hongqiao
airport, which is hosting SIBAS, a major event to
promote private aviation in China, as part of the
2011 Shanghai Air Show in April.
The city of Shanghai is fabled in the rest of the
world thanks to its history as a financial centre and
free port – and it’s just as affluent, exciting and
cosmopolitan as ever. You’ll find some of the
world’s best hotels, bars, clubs, restaurants and
shops in this dazzling city. Don’t expect too much
in the way of tradition, though. The story of
Shanghai is one of the past being constantly
bulldozed to make way for the new; even the
iconic art deco buildings that line the Bund are
being remodelled and reinvented.
There’s the old Waldorf, favoured by European
expats since 1911, which has been lovingly restored
(though you no longer need to secure the votes of
five members to buy a drink); the art deco Peace
Hotel, also just renovated (although the ancient jazz
band is still in post); the Peninsula, its entrance
lined with shrines to the new retail gods of Prada
and Patek Philippe. Across the river tower the
Oriental Pearl Tower and the World Financial
Centre, one of the world’s tallest buildings, where
you can enjoy wagyu beef in the Park Hyatt’s
restaurant, or brave the glass floors of the
observation deck above. (For a truly bizarre
experience, try taking a silver pod through the
Sightseeing Tunnel back from Pudong under the
river to the Bund. If you like tacky lightshows,
inflatable figures and baffling sound effects, you
won’t be disappointed.)
Here and there you can still find traces of the old
Shanghai, in the tree-lined streets of the French
Concession where a few of the old mansions survive
(today’s Shanghai movers and shakers prefer
high-rise) or the lanes of Tianzifang, where what
were once small factories have been turned into a
centre for upcoming clothing, jewellery and interior
designers. You might want to seek out the tiny Café
Dan there – a former semiconductor engineer, Dan
now applies his considerable intellect and
idiosyncratic machinery to the search for perfect
coffee. Not far away there’s the new URBN
carbon-neutral boutique hotel and the new PuLi,
where I stayed. The first stand-alone venture by
10/03/2011 14:04
Foto: Raoul Iacometti © - Grafica: warning-studio comunicazione
Villa Crespi
A journey of the senses through art,
beauty, pleasure and sheer luxury
A period suite awaits you at Villa Crespi, a sumptuous 19th century country house overlooking Italy’s most romantic alpine lake, no more
than 40 minutes drive from Milan’s Malpensa airport.
The two Michelin starred restaurant in three uniquely exotic rooms will indulge your taste for world class gourmet dining with
Antonino Cannavacciuolo’s modern Mediterranean cuisine.
On request, we will organise a limousine shuttle, or for a special day out, our Maserati GT Turismo can be hired.
At Villa Crespi rest and relaxation take on new meaning.
Villa Crespi
VIA G. FAVA, 18 28016 ORTA SAN GIULIO (NO) - ITALIA - Tel +39 0322 911902 - Fax + 39 0322 911919 - [email protected] - www.villacrespi.it
No.60869 Villa Crespi 1pp (LHP).indd 1
08/09/2010 10:56
GETTYIMAGES
The pool of the PuLi Hotel
and Spa, Shanghai.
Below: traces of an older
Shanghai can still be found
Urban Resort Concepts and managed by
Martijn van der Valk, this is perhaps the ideal
city hotel; tucked away from the bustling
streets and overlooking Jing’An park (one of
Shanghai’s few green spaces), it has a relaxed
yet highly sophisticated feel that is at once
apart from yet very much part of the city.
The 209 rooms at the PuLi feature pale
silk panels and grey Shanghai bricks, dark
wood floors and white stone walls. Smart
design is everywhere, from the immaculate
lighting to thoughtful touches like universal
electrical sockets and automatic blackouts
and blinds. Stay in the Club suites and you
get your own personal guanjia (butler), who
will look after every detail of your stay.
Downstairs, the lobby is stylish but
welcoming – a long bar backed by windows
giving onto the park doubles as front desk,
bar and meeting area, while there is a
library tucked away for more discreet
conversation. The same smooth design
follows through to the superb pool and spa
area (the house speciality is massage using
different Chinese teas) and the Jing’An
restaurant where chef Dane Clouston is fast
winning a reputation among the best in the
city. The beef cheek is just perfect.
The PuLi isn’t far from the main
business district (and let’s be realistic, this is
a city where people mostly come to do
business) but also the Bund, the chic shops
of Shaanxi Road and the French
Concession. You can get to most of them on
foot with a bit of determination, but it’s a
big city and taxis are cheap. Head for the
just-rebuilt Xintiandi area for groovy
shopping (don’t miss Shanghai Tang, of
course) and around Yu Gardens (where if
you look very hard you’ll find the original
bridge scene depicted on traditional Willow
Pattern china plates). As a break from retail,
you might stop at Din Tai Fung for the
most amazing xaiolongbao (steamed
dumplings) in the world.
Then the evening begins, maybe with a
martini in the Waldorf ’s Long Bar, picking
up on the decadence and intrigue of the
Sixty-Three
10/03/2011 14:04
city’s past. Then dinner at Mesa, Shanghai
Tang Café or one of the city’s exclusive
members clubs like the gorgeous Kee Club.
Housed in a pair of antique villas in the
French Concession faithfully restored by
Alfred Dunhill, the setting and staff are
perfectly pitched to make you feel at home
– if you happen to be a Thirties grandee.
(As well as a superb restaurant, there’s even
a gent’s outfitters where you can order a suit
tailored in England and one of the world’s
most exclusive watch shops where you
might find the perfect Vacheron Constantin
to go with it.) Afterwards, on to a bar like
Glamour (join the erspatz set in Twenties
outfits learning the Charleston), Rouge at
Bund 18 or the more discreet Constellation 3
near the Grand Theatre.
You won’t get far counting threads in
the PuLi’s delicious sheets before falling
asleep at the end of the evening, and after a
couple of days you might find the pace of
life in Shanghai a little too much. Help is at
hand – just get on the new high-speed train
from Hongqaio station. To Shanghai as
Kyoto is to Tokyo, Hangzhou’s temples, lake,
forests and mountains are seen by many
Chinese as part of the country’s essence. The
train covers the 200km or so in just 40
minutes (by car it takes four hours), the
first-class seats are comfortable (costing just
£13 for the journey) and there’s even a VIP
carriage at the front of the train, where gold
cushions and the red shoulder flashes of
senior Party officials can be glimpsed
through the windows. (You may have to pull
a few strings to get a seat.)
You’re going to Hangzhou to get away
from the bustle of Shanghai but Hangzhou
is still a big city, so try the new Aman. Set
above the city among bamboo forests and
tea plantations, it’s right next to the famous
Longyin temple, dating from 378, and its
307 stone Buddhas carved into the
mountainside. Called Amanfayun, the resort
is a complete village abandoned by farmers a
decade ago which has been lovingly rebuilt,
using the original mud and stone walls and
timber frontages. Each room is different,
being one of the old houses, but shares the
Aman ethos of no TV (unless you ask for
it), subtle scents of wood and rushes,
subdued lighting and spare, elegant
furniture in bare elm wood. Of course the
modern world hasn’t been entirely forgotten
(there’s underfloor heating for chilly
evenings, wi-fi and a decent sound system).
But sitting on the front step of my
GETTYIMAGES
Above: tea is
still harvested by
hand, showing an
older China.
Left: the tranquil
new Amanfayun
Resort in Hangzhou
temporary home with a tiny porcelain cup
of green tea grown a few hundred yards
away, enchanted by birdsong, made my city
self seem insanely frantic.
That person wouldn’t have the time to
walk up a mountain before dawn to join
orange-clad monks in their chanting – an
experience so visceral that one of my
companions had to be carried from the
incense-wreathed temple. My city self
would grow impatient with the crowds of
Chinese strolling in the sunshine along the
causeway over the West Lake (it’s the most
popular destination for Chinese tourists).
That person wouldn’t visit the tea-makers
of the mountain villages, be taught
calligraphy in the Amanfayun library or
linger over perfect dimsum (the dauntingly
named hairy crab lives up to its reputation
as a gourmet delicacy) in the Steam Room.
But time seems more generous here –
spending a couple of days at Amanfayun
seems like a week’s respite.
Hangzhou was described as the world’s
most beautiful city by Marco Polo centuries ago;
it now has its complement of skyscrapers, malls
and streets selling the usual souvenirs, but if you
want a peek into the soul of China, it still comes
close. Best of all, the fast train from Hangzhou
takes you straight back to Hongqaio station, its
vast futuristic hall only a stone’s throw from the
airport’s business terminal where your jet is
warming up. So after you’ve done the deal, done
the city and done your chakras a favour at the
Amanfayun spa, you can get straight back on
board and head to your next port of call.
Tomorrow Shanghai will be roaring ahead
again, whether you’re there or not.
The PuLi Hotel and Spa in Shanghai
www.thepuli.com.
Amanfayun Resort in Hangzhou
www.amanresorts.com
Sixty-Four
10/03/2011 14:04
LONDON
TOWNCARS
2I1HZ<RUN
6LQFH
www.londontowncars.com
No.57425 LondonTown Cars 1pp.indd 1
08/06/2010 12:30
MARRAKECHEXPRESS
Bright blocks of colour daringly combined are the way forward this spring.
Photography by Catherine Harbour
PRI_066_privat_fashion_ES SF.indd 66
09/03/2011 15:49
Yellow halterneck chiffon
dress by paul&joe;
brown leather belt by
dior at Browns; blue
canvas bag by prada; resin
bangles and earrings by
pebblelondon; platform
heels by jimmychoo;
vintage aviators by
cutlerandgross
14/03/2011 08:50
P R I VAT F A S H I O N
above: pink silk poplin blouse by erdem at Browns; linen and silk skirt
by fendi at Browns; lime-green leather belt by burberryprorsum at
Browns; golden cuffs at pebblelondon; earrings by basiazarzycka;
sunglasses by chanel﹔purse by viviennewestwood at go-british.co.uk
opposite: yellow coon piquet jacket moschinocheap&chic; stretchcoon top by chanel; emerald-green coon-drill pencil skirt by prada;
rope belt by moschino; vintage resin sunglasses by cutlerandgross
Sixty-Eight
14/03/2011 08:50
oppositepage﹕
black feather gilet, silk
draped-front gown
and black suede
high-heeled spats by
armandbasi
thispage﹕
camel gown with
chiffon and velvet
panels by gianfranco
ferre; satin
flesh-coloured wedges
with diamanté bows
and details by
arunaseth
09/03/2011 15:49
Green stretch body by
dkny; red grosgrain skirt
by moschino; handembroidered crystal
buerflies, pinned on the
skirt, and red hair flower
by basiazarzycka;
gold platform heels by
alexandermcqueen; red
resin bracelets and loop
earrings by pebblelondon﹔
vintage aviator sunglasses
by cutlerandgross
09/03/2011 15:49
P R I VAT F A S H I O N
Cobalt-blue coon trousers by cacharel; ruffled red blouse by roberto
cavalli; earrings by fionaknapp; red patent shoes by nicholaskirkwood
at Start; golden cuffs by pebblelondon; skull ring by alexandermcqueen;
red silk flower by basiazarzycka
photographer Catherine Harbour at LHA Represents, stylingandart
direction Nino Bauti, hairandmake-up James Buerfield at LHA Represents,
model Adela Capova at Next, location La Mamounia Hotel in Marrakech,
www.mamounia.com, specialthanks to Travel Link in Marrakech, www.travellink.ma
Seventy-One
14/03/2011 12:29
MILESTONES
A subtle shift is taking jewellery back
to its roots and traditions, revisiting
its meanings and messages, especially
the age-old association of gems
and precious metals with eternity,
with lasting values: commitment,
continuity and constancy. For this
reason, a precious jewel has always
been the most meaningful and
eloquent of gifts, not only to seal a
pledge of love, or commemorate an
anniversary, but also to mark a rite of
passage, the birth of a child, an 18th
or 21st birthday. What gives this
return to tradition its modern edge
is the fact that jewels today celebrate
personal landmarks and relationships
of all kinds: marital, romantic, family,
friends, commitment, even our
relationship with ourselves, taking
pride in our achievements – just
because we’re worth it.
Traditionally, the eternity ring,
a band of diamonds, was the classic
anniversary gift, or the gift of
choice to mark the birth of a child.
It carried a double meaning, the
band itself a circle of stones with
no beginning or end, emblematic of
eternity, and the diamond, universal
symbol of everlasting love. Today,
when diamonds have also become
popular for wedding bands, the
concept of the eternity ring has
evolved into something altogether
more decorative, with a broader
scope and new depth of meaning: the
celebration ring.
Tiffany & Co, who pride
themselves on being the jeweller
at the very centre of life’s special
moments, have created a collection of
celebration rings for every occasion,
dedicated not only to anniversaries,
but to dreams or triumphs. Designed
to be worn alone, or stacked, in tune
with today’s hottest jewellery look,
the bands are slender and delicate or
wide and dramatic, in a huge range of
styles, entwined ribbons or bouncing
diamond platinum encircled bubbles;
the imposing Tiffany Garden, with
its cobblestone garden path of mixed
rose and brilliant cuts, or the Jean
Schlumberger band alternating white
diamonds and pink or blue sapphires
with signature gold criss-cross motif.
De Beers Diamond Jewellers
mines the rich, age-old associations
of the diamond with love, constancy
and continuity, intensifying the
stone’s celebratory sparkle by
selecting only those diamonds that
meet their exacting criteria of the
most perfect cut and proportions,
unleashing maximum fire, life and
brilliance. At De Beers, the eternity
ring is transformed into the slender,
stackable contemporary MatchBand,
micropavé set with white, pink
or yellow diamonds, the Reverie
collection of celebration rings, in
a variety of ornamental openwork
designs of stylised butterflies, swans
or petals, or the lilting Adonis rose,
composed of twisting leaves and
a soft petalled rose, now in soft,
romantic pink gold. This year, their
best-selling and now iconic Talisman
collection, the hammered gold
organic shapes studded with crusty,
sugary, rough diamonds, appears in a
new, softer guise, still presenting the
rugged raw diamond as a timeless
talisman, the ideal gift to mark an
18th or 21st birthday, a precious
guardian spirit to see the wearer
through life.
At Chaumet, the Liens de
Chaumet collection, sleek, modern,
linear jewels simply sewn together
with a joyful cross stitch, has a
Clockwise from left:
full pavé white gold and
diamond wedding band
pendant from Les Liens
collection by Chaumet;
18-ct white and rose-gold
ring with pear-shaped
rubellite and diamonds
by Tom McEwan at
Talisman Gallery;
32-inch silver-lipped
South-Sea pearl strand
with diamond clasp
by Mikimoto;
18-ct white gold, pavé
ruby and diamond large key
pendant, with 18-ct white
gold small oval belcher
chain and 18-ct white gold,
pavé diamond medium key
pendant, with 18-ct white
gold and diamond long
chain, all by Theo Fennell;
yellow gold and diamond
ring from Les Liens
collection by Chaumet;
gold and silver-lipped
South-Sea pearl and
diamond ring by Mikimoto;
talisman medal in white
gold and diamond by
De Beers
STYLINGBYHELENESIVILIA
Jewellery is all about celebrating anniversaries and achievements,
says Vivienne Becker. Photographs Chris Turner
S e v e n t y - Tw o
PRI_072_privat_jewels_ESF.indd 72
10/03/2011 14:05
Seventy-Three
10/03/2011 14:05
youthful zest to its reference to ties, relationships or memorable
moments. Les Liens come in a variety of permutations, bangles,
rings and pendants, including the new, more generous wide
band rings, some in pink gold, accented with diamonds or
totally pavé set with diamonds.
Theo Fennell’s new Tryst rings, with their superb sculpted
and engraved details, birds, flowers, leaves, in recherché
coloured golds, demonstrate a new approach to celebrating
special personal occasions and expressing emotions. Fennell’s
aim was to create a more individual celebratory ring, a
modern narrative take on the classic three-stone ring, that
could be tailored to a personal story or taste, with a choice of
coloured centre stone, for example a rich cherry-red rubellite,
perfect for a ruby wedding or a superb golden chrysoberyl
for a golden wedding. Theo Fennell’s classic bejewelled keys,
the key to your heart and worn close to it, ideal for a 21st
birthday, might also be a perfect romantic gesture for an
anniversary, and they now come in finely detailed silver – for
a silver wedding gift – in his new Alias collection. Fennell
works a great deal to commission, particularly, he explains, for
anniversaries or special occasions. ‘I’ve also made some rather
strange objects in gold for golden-wedding anniversaries
for people who at that age should have known better,’ he
quips. ‘One of my favourites was a ruby-wedding anniversary
present for two of the sweetest people that ever lived: I made
a cat brooch with ruby eyes for her and dog cufflinks with
ruby eyes for him. They gave them to each other in the shop
and burst into tears, as indeed we all did.’
Mikimoto, the pearl kings, find that more and more
clients are turning to pearls, associated with the Moon and
femininity, and heavy with romantic significance, to make
a meaningful emotional gesture for a special occasion. A
strand of superlative South-Sea pearls for example, or in
one recent purchase, a diamond ring set with two pearls to
celebrate the birth of twins. Historically, pearls mark the
passage of a young girl into womanhood, making them the
classic gift for a debutante, a ritual that is being revived, as
Mikimoto, sponsors of the revitalised Queen Charlotte’s
Ball (traditionally the occasion when young English girls
made their debut into society), have created a new Debutante
necklace, a simple chain scattered with Akoya pearls and
fastened with a gold and diamond clasp in a knot design
representing infinity.
Tom McEwan, a leading British designer-jeweller, with
a distinct, strong contemporary style and an elite clientele
searching for a super-luxury alternative to conventional
jewels, is known for special commissions, which he designs
and hand-crafts himself. Anniversaries, he explains, are
lavishly honoured with precious jewels: for one glamorous
client in New York, celebrating a 30th wedding anniversary,
he is not only remodelling a whole collection of her jewellery,
but also creating a ring set with a three-carat diamond – one
carat for each decade of married life. The ring is a wide band
with a swirl of small diamonds around the centre stone and
will come with a matching diamond-strewn swirl necklace
with a detachable morganite and diamond pendant. McEwan
is also making a 22-carat gold toggle for a gold bracelet he
created for the 30th anniversary last year.
Leviev, based in London and New York, with boutiques
in Moscow, Dubai and Singapore, boast some of the world’s
most extraordinary and valuable diamonds. They say that for
anniversaries, clients often have jewels re-set or remodelled,
or they upgrade or add to an existing wedding band or ring.
Here too counting carats for anniversaries is clearly a growing
trend, although Leviev clients like to celebrate with a carat
for every year – rather than every decade – of marriage. For
a 10th anniversary, Leviev suggests a pair of exceptional
diamond drop earrings, each earring suspending 10 carats of
diamonds, the petal-shaped trail of stones hung with a single
square-cut diamond of superb quality. Happy anniversary!
Above, from top: 18-ct
white and pink gold, pink
tourmaline and diamond
three-stone Blossom Leaf
ring by Theo Fennell;
diamond Victoria band
ring, set in platinum, by
Tiffany; diamond & pink
sapphire 16-stone ring
set in platinum by Jean
Schlumberger, exclusively
for Tiffany & Co; butterfly
ring in white gold and
diamond by De Beers;
diamond full-circle band
ring with milgrain edge set
in platinum by Tiffany;
swan band in pavé diamond
and white gold by De Beers
Seventy-Four
10/03/2011 14:06
From top: silver, 18-ct
yellow and rose-gold bracelet
with marquise citrine by
Tom McEwan at Talisman
Gallery; silver Mamba cuff by
Theo Fennell; pink gold and
diamond bangle from Les
Liens collection by Chaumet;
Garden Orange citrine &
diamond flower brooch set in
18-ct yellow gold by Tiffany
Seventy-Five
10/03/2011 14:06
R E P E T I T I O N M I N U T E S This Badollet timepiece contains Calibre BAD1655, a manually-wound mechanical movement with a Swiss
tourbillon-type lever escapement. Featuring rhodium-plated bridges and mainplate and gold coloured gear trains, this movement is enriched with a
minute repeater mechanism that is activated by a slide at 9 o'clock. Once the slide is activated, the time is told by the sound of the hammers chiming in
different tones. The hours are chimed on a low tone, the quarter-hours by alternating low and high tones, and the minutes by the high tone.
T +44 (0)207 493 6767
No.61008 Unterrassner DPS.indd 2
T +41 22 731 16 51
T +377 99 99 96 50
09/09/2010 10:29
R
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W W W . B A D O L L E T . C O M
No.61008 Unterrassner DPS.indd 3
09/09/2010 10:29
No.00000 Piaget.indd 1
07/12/2010 13:04
P R I VA T A I R
AIR TIME
Alpina Genève has joined forces with Cessna Aircraft and PrivatAir for
the promotion of the Startimer Pilot Collection
WHAT KIND OF WATCH do you think the pilot of your plane is
wearing? Considering the possibilities in our technology- and gadgetfilled world, he might well be sporting a timepiece with enough
functions to rival the craft itself – a watch with built-in emergency
beacon and average readings for temperature, humidity and rainfall,
and able to tell the time in 27 different parts of the world. He could
press a button and know that the average temperature in Sudan on 23
May over the last 10 years was 97ºF, with 88 per cent humidity. Then
again, his plane isn’t even heading for Sudan…
Probably all the pilot really wants and needs is simplicity, strength,
reliability and a bit of style. When you look back in time, original
pilots’ wristwatches met just those requirements. A black face and
large white or luminescent Arabic numerals ensured easy readability.
A large diamond-shape crown made for quick adjustments, even
when wearing thick gloves. The distinctive triangle marker at 12
o’clock was an essential element, used to determine the upward
orientation of the dial during a night flight. It could also serve as
a solar compass to find the earth’s true north in conjunction with
sextants, compass and data charts. The casing had to be shockresistant and antimagnetic, so as to withstand the changes in air
pressure, vibrations and magnetic fields created by the aircraft. To this
day, all these elements remain relevant.
Swiss Watch Manufacturer Alpina Genève has paid homage to
these vintage aspects with its new Startimer Pilot collection, inspired
by its own items from the 1920s and 30s, when the company was
known as a specialist manufacturer and official supplier of military
watches, worn by pilots. The clean design of this collection of four
timepieces – the generous 44mm, anti-reflective stainless steel case,
the matte-black dial with oversized white luminous numerals – clearly
illustrate the company’s rich aviation heritage. Then there are features
that make these four watches stand out, such as the original solution
for securing the leather strap on the front side of the wrist (though a
metal bracelet that fits on all versions is available) and the signature
red Alpina triangle on the second hand.
It makes perfect sense for such an aviation-inspired collection to
be launched with the help of two companies, both specialists in the
field. Now Alpina Genève has joined forces with Cessna Aircraft
and PrivatAir for the promotion of the Startimer Pilot Collection.
Over the coming three years, the partners will work closely together
to promote their high-quality products and services, through crossmarketing activities in Europe and North America.
Alpina Startimer Pilot timepieces will be limited to 8,888 pieces
and come in a dedicated, luxurious packaging, alongside a Cessna
Citation Mustang scale model in PrivatAir livery. This collection is
clearly for anyone with a passion for aviation. You don’t have to be the
one flying the plane, but you could be wearing the same watch.
Seventy-Nine
PRI_079_Privat_air_ES SF.indd 79
09/03/2011 08:41
P R I VA T A I R
PREPARE FOR TAKE-OFF
Far from being a luxury toy, a business jet can
be an essential and efficient business tool, and good
value in a buyer’s market
Eighty
08/03/2011 17:37
GETTYIMAGES
YOU MAY BE THINKING that this article is not for you.
The concept of a business or private jet might conjure up
the notion of an exclusive club, one you had not necessarily
thought of joining.
Then your plane misses its slot for take-off and you pass
the time, sitting in your first-class seat, by adding up the hours
you’ve spent travelling this year, and the figure is well into
the hundreds. Or you’re too late for another crucial meeting
because of delays at the airport and the client isn’t taking your
call. The cost is immeasurable. Or you don’t get those few
hours to prepare the business case you’ll be presenting because
the passenger next to you is the chatty, inquisitive type and
you can’t risk him reading the contents of your screen. Or you
land at an international airport amid the chaos of a security
incident. You can only thank your lucky stars that you’re
walking by unscathed. The trouble is, it does happen.
At some point, when you consider how thinly the
top few key people in your organisation have to spread
themselves in order to be successful, you will start to think
that the purchase or charter of a business jet represents, quite
simply, a sound business decision. As with most business
decisions, the starting point is gut instinct, the recognition
of a need that has not yet been formulated. Maybe your gut
instinct moment has just happened. Then you look into the
facts and figures. The good news is that it’s a buyer’s marker
for used aircraft but it may not last. For now, in terms of
prices and inventories, the timing is ideal. Prices have been
falling since 2008, with significant declines putting them
50 per cent below their 2008 highs. A Gulfstream GV, for
example, that sold at $45 million in 2008 can be purchased
today for around $20 million, according to JETNET
data. The recession is of course largely to blame, forcing
companies and institutions to put their aircraft up for sale
and pushing down demand. UBS Global Equity Research
indicates that prices are continuing to fall month on month,
but the rate of decline is stalling.
Inventories for used aircraft, on the other hand, have been
steadily rising overall since October 2007 and still are, but also at
a slower rate than in the recent past (according to JETNET and
Amstat data tracking). Availability is higher among the small,
mid and super mid-size segments, whereas large cabin models
are in short supply and the momentum there seems to be on the
increase. The market is beginning to see more completed deals.
So with prices still falling and inventories still rising, the
time is right to act. Private jets are a tool for corporations, when
business results allow it. JP Morgan estimates that corporate
demand for private aircraft trails the cycle of corporate earnings
by about two years so the expectation is for corporate buyers to
start re-entering the private aircraft market over the next 12 to
18 months, putting pressure on supply and pushing prices up.
Then you have to take into account growing demand
from private buyers and its impact on prices. In today’s world
of strong emerging markets, the numbers of those who can
purchase a private jet with cash are growing. China alone
(according to Forbes Asia) has 128 billionaires and more than
900,000 millionaires. Bombardier, Gulfstream and Dassault
are betting on the delivery of more than 600 aircraft to China
in the next 10 years. Brazil, Russia, India and Turkey are all
generating their own pool of individual private jet buyers. The
Asian market currently has one of the smallest fleets of private
aircraft (just under 370), but according to Honeywell, it could
represent more than six per cent of global demand over the
next 10 years. So it’s a good time to get into the market,
before it gets crowded.
As for financing, interest rates are beginning to rise
slowly. Today, a borrower with an excellent credit rating can
lock down an aircraft loan at about 2.3 per cent. The lending
market remains cautious however and the loans tend to be
evaluated more on the borrower’s balance sheet rather than
just on the asset value of the aircraft. Down payments are
also a reflection of lenders’ lack of vigour – you can expect to
be asked for anything from 20 per cent to 40 per cent of the
overall price. These low rates are another element which make
this a good time to buy, although it won’t be an easy deal.
All this may make you want to take the idea more seriously
but you will need a serious partner to help you implement it. Look
no further. PrivatAir has been at the forefront of private aviation
for over 30 years. With experience in operation, management
and trading of aircraft, as well as new PrivateJetFuel and
insurance services, the company is perfectly positioned to
bring on board the industry knowledge and experience
necessary in undertaking the purchase of a private jet.
Christian Hatje, senior vice-president business aviation,
is passionate about PrivatAir’s exclusive range of services. ‘We
have the advantage of a team with broad industry skills and a
solid reputation – we are close to the manufacturers, the clients
and the financial institutions. We can offer a tailored business
solution, ensuring we find the right aircraft for the client at the
right price. The financial institutions gain the reassurance they
need to know the client is getting a good deal. We make the
deal happen. Such broad ability spells our difference and we are
proud to be different.’
So with PrivatAir you could have the partner you need in
this venture and the purchase of a private aircraft could be a
sound business decision, taking into account the productive
time of your top people, their security and the extra business
opportunities that may be gained. Current market conditions
are favourable but prices are likely to increase so now is a good
time to buy. Private aviation is no longer a luxury for the super
rich but a great tool for the super smart.
Eighty-One
08/03/2011 17:38
P R I VATA I R
P R I VA T A I R
Offering jet charter and private airline services, PrivatAir has been a
leader in the f ield of luxury aviation for more than three decades
PrivatAir
– for high flyers
PRIVATAIRHASBEEN at
the forefront of private aviation
for over 30 years, providing
the world’s most demanding
travellers with a comprehensive
range of capabilities, delivered
to the very highest standards of
safety and personal service.
Since its creation in 1977,
the company has grown from
being the corporate aircraft
fleet of the Latsis Group,
a global conglomerate, to a
world-renowned full-service
commercial aviation operator.
Today, PrivatAir is one
of the private aviation
industry’s longest-standing
and most prestigious operators.
Its global operations include
both jet charter and private
airline services.
50-seat VIP-configured airliner
for a three-week, round-the-world
trip, PrivatAir offers unrivalled
international coverage, sourcing
the best aircraft to match each
passenger’s individual requirements.
As such, our services are regularly
sought by governments, royalty,
celebrities and business executives
the world over.
P R I VAT E C H A R T E R
PrivatAir’s charter services enable
you to travel in total privacy,
into and out of more than 5,000
airports around the world. For
over 30 years, the company has set
the industry standard in operating
aircraft of the highest quality and
providing outstanding levels of
service to our customers.
Whether it’s chartering a
Beechcraft 200 for a weekend
family shopping break, or a
P R I VAT E A I R L I N E S E RV I C E S
After pioneering the all-businessclass concept in 2002, PrivatAir
now operates flights on behalf of a
select number of commercial airlines
who wish to offer their customers
an exclusive service on key routes.
PrivatAir also provides regularly
scheduled corporate shuttle flights
for companies that frequently need
to send their employees or clients to
specific destinations.
S U P E R I O R SA F E T Y
AND SECURITY
We operate to the most stringent
standards of safety and security, far
exceeding industry requirements.
In 1998, PrivatAir became Europe’s
first airline whose quality system
fulfilled the IS0 9002 certification
standards for all its services; six
years later we were the first business
aviation company awarded the
prestigious IOSA certification, the
first internationally recognised audit
standards for safety. The company
has also been awarded ETOPS 180
minutes and FAA 129 Foreign Carrier
approval, allowing us to offer the
most direct routes across the Atlantic
and Pacific Oceans, and unlimited
operations to the US. PrivatAir is
still one of only a handful of ad hoc
commercial charter operators in the
world with all these approvals.
E i g h t y - Tw o
PRI_082_privatair_page_ES F.indd 82
09/03/2011 08:42
Photo : G. Dussart / Rapho
No.56001 Lancel.indd 1
F R E N C H
L É G È R E T É
11/03/2011 11:07
A RACING MACHINE ON THE WRIST
TOURBILLON RM 027
Rafael Nadal
This watch was created with 3 specific criteria
extreme lightness, shock resistance and ultimate comfort.
Titanium baseplate with bridges of aluminum lithium
Weight of the movement: 3.83 g
Resistance to G forces: 800 G
Variable inertia, free sprung balance
Fast rotating barrel (6 hours per revolution instead of 7.5)
Barrel pawl with progressive recoil
Winding barrel teeth and third-wheel pinion with central involute profile
Spline screws in grade 5 titanium for the bridges and case
Monobloc case composed of a composite containing large amount of carbon
Weight of the watch without strap: circa 13 g
www.richardmille.com
No.60956 Richard Mille 1pp.indd 1
© Ella Ling for Richard Mille
25/02/2011 11:57

- PrivatAir

Transcription

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