Watches & Wonders 2022: Bravery of conquering the time

As the "keepers of time", mechanical watches have an experienced elegance that stands peacefully beyond the flamboyant race of smart watches. Elegant and humble. Not turbulent, yet nevertheless persisting throughout time to triumph over time.

That is why the luxury watch exhibition Watches & Wonders 2022, which will take place at Palexpo Exhibition Center from March 30 to April 5, has piqued the interest of collectors all over the world. The event is a tour back in time from the past to the future, revealing an eye-catching, emotional feast of the mechanical and craftsmanship miracles of approximately 40 notable watch brands.

 

Geneva - The inception of mechanical watch drive your spiritual journey

 

Lake Geneva, the crystal sky, and the bustling city, with an overhead perspective of the Rhone River port and the snow-capped Alps. All images are from the Watches & Wonders 2022 teaser, a charming high-end watch industry expo in Geneva: Mechanical wristwatches have a tremendous appeal and are filled with pride for enthusiasts.

This year, Watches & Wonders is organized in two formats: in gallery and online, to exhibit extraordinary timepieces from 38 companies such as Patek Philippe, Rolex, Chopard, Hublot, TAG Heuer, Tudor and Chanel, Sinn, Louis Erard…

Not only with the presence of famous brands, Watches & Wonders 2022 is an opportunity to validate the skill of enthusiastic emerging businesses.

 

No limit for perfect handiwork to unleash creativity

 

Patek Philippe is stirring up worldwide collectors as the heart of the show. For the first time, two seemingly incompatible functionalities coexist on the same timepiece: Annual Calendar and Second Time Zone in Annual Calendar Travel Time. With up to 8 patents, this timepiece is a great demonstration of the art of craftsmanship. Another significant distinction is that Travel Time readily mimics complicated moves to show the precise time in local time rather than "home time."

An iPhone with the latest version might excite you, but that sensation will pass and be replaced by something else.  With Patek Philippe watches,you possess the passion and love that remains constant and accurate despite life's ups and downs. This is exactly how the tourbillon works smoothly, virtually totally eliminating faults caused by gravity's impact.

 

Similarly, it is unusual to find a brand that deviates from the standard to manufacture watches as timeless as Hermès watchmaking artisans. The Hermès Arceau Le Temps Voyageur dial watch, inspired by the desire to see the world, is a fantasy voyage with the convenience of getting anywhere in a few steps. The beauty of time shows itself in hypnotic clarity when viewed through the orbit of the watch.

 

The Immortality of an opulent wristwatches

A masterpiece of art never goes out of vogue. That is why the Vacheron Constantin Historiques 222 watch was chosen as the winner of this year's Watches & Wonders by foreign journalists.

The Vacheron Constantin Historiques 222 is regarded as the masterwork of spirits seeking new experiences. The case, dial, and strap are all constructed of pure gold, and the bezel with engraved grooves is all delicate and careful, deserving of the title "wonder of marvels."

Historiques 222 was inspired by the original 222, which debuted in the 1970s. This year is also regarded as the "end of the era" of mechanical watches due to the quartz crisis and the debut of the low-cost battery-powered quartz movement. In just 13 years (from 1970 to 1983), approximately 1000 watch brands disappeared, including several well-known names. Nonetheless, Vacheron Constantin, the world's oldest watchmaker (more than 280 years), survived the crisis and has been revived in splendor till this day.

If the Historiques 222 was born in a time of crisis, the Chopard Alpine Eagle was born during the "recovery period" of mechanical watches. St. Moritz was founded in the 1980s, when Sir Karl-Friedrich Scheufele was only 22 years old.

The Alpine Eagle is a sports watch with a highly polished body and bezel that epitomizes Chopard's distinct style. The hour hands and indexes inside the dial are all constructed of rose gold plated with Rhodium and coated with Super-Luminova material for easy viewing in low light circumstances. The second hand is particularly created to be aesthetic while emulating the majestic "snow eagle" plume.

 

As the time goes on people become more impatient. However the ticking sounds like regular breathing, reminding us of our interests, aspirations, and ideals.

Is it for this reason that, despite all of the hard laws of elimination, mechanical watches continue to be revered by collectors?

Light and shadow have been “materialized” into Hermès latest high jewelry collection

Hermès has launched recently the high jewelry collection Les Jeux de l’Ombre, designed by Pierre Hardy, creative director of Hermès jewelry, featuring the movement of shadow and its relationship with light, and the contrasts that connect them.

The luxury house Hermès has exploited the human perspective about the dichotomy between light and dark to create its latest high jewelry collection Les Jeux de l’Ombre – or “The Game of Shadow”. Mysterious and graceful, this collection celebrates the relationship between light and shadow through the beauty of material – germs in different variations of shade.

The collection of 53 pieces, each more illuminating than the other, showcases the deep relationship between steadfast darkness and gentle light through the art of craftsmanship. When exposing under the light, the jewels seem to be released from the darkness to shine in multicolored radiance. The abstract relationship between light and darkness is clearly depicted.

Featuring the craftsmanship of excellence, these designs by Hermès capture an abstract concept with eye-catching pieces.

 

Me, Myself and My Happy Hearts!

Jewels like caresses, expressing the love we feel for one another. Chopard presents a brand-new collection with My Happy Hearts: jewellery nestling against the skin like intimate and subtle lingerie. A constellation of dainty hearts to be worn alone or stacked as stylish accessories. They are discreet emblems of an emancipated generation, and the hallmark of a reinvented relationship with oneself. My Happy Hearts is a gift that we give ourselves, kind and nurturing, like a gentle bubble. The collection borrows its most famous design codes – the heart and the dancing diamonds – from the Maison’s legendary creations, played out in new proportions.

A jewel for yourself

My Happy Hearts is a sign of a love of self, embodied in dainty jewellery that you can acquire on a whim. To congratulate, thank, encourage yourself or simply to feel alive: treating yourself to a piece of jewellery is a testimony of the respect and love that you have for yourself. And a declaration of independence: giving oneself the means to blossom. Such is the vocation of My Happy Hearts, a collection in which jewellery is cultivated on the body like a fashion accessory. Hearts like points of light punctuating a look with their versatile magnetism.

Tailor-made style

Worn alone, in a minimalist version on strategic points, each piece of jewellery in the My Happy Hearts collection becomes the embodiment of less is more. The space around each one creates density and magnifies its own aura. It thus accentuates a radical stylistic direction, that of chic minimalism; while its small size enables it to play the game of mix and match in different models and colours, opening up an infinite range of combinations to suit our moods, outfits, emotions or the whims of the seasons. The discretion and delicacy of My Happy Hearts leaves scope for infinite combinations. To accumulate them is to build the thread of an intimate narrative, each jewel becoming the object of a symbolic investment to which we treat ourselves: a link from self to self.

Precious skin lingerie

Jewellery used as a fashion accessory to enhance the figure, like a designer handbag or a pair of luxury pumps? That is exactly how women can use their My Happy Hearts jewellery. An element that gives density to even the simplest outfit. Slender, discreet, "kawaii" jewellery that you can barely feel, and which becomes like skin lingerie, a sensual link between you and yourself. Faithful companions that accompany women from Pilates sessions to flamboyant parties.

A sheltering heart

Picking up the symbolism of the heart, an undisputed Chopard icon present in all its collections – from Haute Joaillerie to watches and accessories – My Happy Hearts is a manifesto dedicated to tenderness, to gentleness captured and nurtured amid a sometimes rough world.

Tender, playful, generous, mischievous, and so very happy, the heart is the symbol of vitality and peace. This popular emblem in tune with the zeitgeist has been adopted by the fashion, design and beauty worlds as a must-have element in contemporary graphic language. The street loves its electricity, its humour, its congenial tenderness and the way it immediately arouses collective support, uniting minds and communities - including digital ones.

My Happy Hearts is a collection that embodies a way of loving oneself in a sunny, generous and benevolent manner, in order to radiate the light cultivated within.

Cute collectibles

My Happy Hearts is available as necklaces, chain bracelets, rings and earrings based on the principle of a single heart. Whether in ethical 18-carat rose or white gold, the heart of each piece of jewellery come in carnelian, mother-of-pearl or diamond-set versions. The collection’s rings and earrings are also available with a dancing diamond.

The heart, a free-spinning diamond and ornamental stone are all iconic Chopard codes, staging a vibrant and powerful show. Carnelian conjures up a passionate and incandescent symbolic field, while pure, silky, iridescent mother-of-pearl wraps the spirit in a comforting presence. The heart, an essential symbol of the Maison that has reinvented it by capturing its peerless formal quintessence, has been redesigned in miniature format as My Happy Hearts, while retaining the formal perfection of its curves. A symbol that is both soothing and sends a peaceful message, filled with tenderness, providing scope for unlimited creativity in the way the various jewels in the collection can be worn. Solo, or stacked? This is all about a mood, an attitude or a witty thought encapsulated in jewellery.

The earrings can be acquired individually for greater flexibility and creativity: to be worn alone, in groups on one ear or asymmetrically. Whether a woman is in sneakers or stilettos, at the office or on the beach, My Happy Hearts lends itself to every transformation. In each and every situation they accompany bursts of life, allowing each individual to invent free-spirited moves in arranging and wearing them. These are hearts in every state and in all directions, stacked head to tail or majestically solo, with the tip of the heart pointing inward... like an endless reminder of the power emanating from our own gentle sweetness.

Find out more about Chopard  here 

Saint Laurent
Spring Summer 23
by Anthony Vaccarello

From the moment Yves Saint Laurent discovered Marrakech in 1966, the city became the designer’s intimate refuge, where he enjoyed a calmer, easier rhythm of life in contrast to his busy Parisian work schedule.

The eminent personal significance of Marrakech for the house founder is the evocative backdrop for Anthony Vaccarello’s thoroughly forward-looking Men’s Spring Summer 2023 collection for Saint Laurent. If there ever was a line between what constitutes a ‘masculine’ wardrobe and what makes clothes ‘feminine,’ it elegantly dissolves here.

The tuxedo, perhaps the most seminal element of the Saint Laurent vocabulary, once again gets reinterpreted, refined and imbued with possibility, a continuation of the variations Vaccarello explored in the brand’s Autumn Winter 2022 collection for women. Exciting choices encompass new collar and shoulder solutions, single and double-breasted options, as well as a debonair yet modern cream iteration of the tuxedo in lightweight silk faille.

A predominant high waist and wide leg create an elongated shape occasionally interrupted with narrow or boxy accents. The silhouettes are globally more relaxed, reflecting an ease of life typical of Marrakech. Outer pieces are looser, fluid, less constructed: gathered satin coats envelop the body almost to the ground while tailored jackets have a graphic sharpness. Grain de poudre, a finely tactile wool fabric with a long association at the house – Yves Saint Laurent loved using it – makes a strong showing, recurring in multiple looks.

The show’s setting honors the majestic beauty of Morocco : inspired by Paul Bowles’ 1949 novel The Sheltering Sky, Vaccarello, in collaboration with the London-based artist and stage designer Es Devlin, conceived an awe-inspiring set in the middle of Agafay desert – a ring-shaped luminous oasis amid the vast, arid unknown. Hope and mystery juxtaposed as a metaphor for life’s fascinating complexity.

In Bowles’ timeless words :

“We think of life as an inexhaustible well. Yet everything happens a certain number of times, and a very small number, really. How many more times will you remember a certain afternoon of your childhood, some afternoon that’s so deeply a part of your being that you can’t even conceive of your life without it? Perhaps four or five times more. Perhaps not even. How many more times will you watch the full moon rise? Perhaps twenty. And yet it all seems limitless.”

Find more information about Saint Laurent at here 

Hermès opens a new expanded store in HCMC's Union Square

Hermès is delighted to announce the opening of a new duplex store within the Union Square in Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam, on the 16th September 2022. The dual-aspect unit spans on two floors, a significant expansion from its former location in an adjacent unit, allowing visitors to explore all 16 Hermès métiers - including, for the first time, the beauty offering. The new store occupies a noteworthy corner spot in Ho Chi Minh city's vibrant District 1, overlooking both the city's grand 19th-century opera house and the tranquil Lam Son Square. 

Conceived by the Parisian architecture agency RDAI, the store opens directly onto the historic Dong Khoi Road. Its distinctive façade integrates woven wooden panels which offer a subtle nod to Vietnam's artisanal weaving tradition and ensure light filters into the store. Inside, the space is characterized by a bold use of colour, which pays homage to local craftsmanship as well as the house's enduring savoir-faire. The palette draws on the classical French architecture of the city as much as the vibrant shades of the local landscape. 

Stepping into the store from the Dong Khoi Street entrance, guests are greeted with a striking display of women's silks, followed by the jewellery and perfume collections leading to leather goods beyond. A bright mosaic floor set with the emblematic Hermès ex-libris creates a cheerful atmosphere, inviting to discover the equestrian and homeware collections to the right. To the left, a sweeping staircase in tobacco-coloured stone with rusty-red metal railings and a leather-wrapped double handrail dissipates light through the space and leads to the second floor. 

Ascending the stairs, visitors discover a wooden version of the carré "Pégase Paysage" by Christian Renonciat, lacquered by local craftsmen, before being embraced by the rosy-toned environment that houses the women's ready-to-wear collections. Progressing to the airy jewellery and watches department leads to the men's ready-to-wear and the shoe collections. A warm ambiance is created by brightly hued carpets in patterns inspired by undulating rice terraces, with marmorino walls in terracotta shades for women and copper-yellow shades for men. Intimate spaces allow for surprises: the women's spacious fitting room, for instance, is lined in embroidered azure-blue fabric with dots of bronze, giving the impression of sparkling water. 

A series of custom windows by the Vietnamese sculptor Thai Nhat Minh have been commissioned to inaugurate the new store. Born in Vinh Phuc province, north of Hanoi, Thai Nhat Minh's work typically explores the simplification of form to capture emotion and spirit. For Hermès, the artist has created a typically animated work incorporating traditional paper flowers from Thanh Tien village in Phu Mau commune, which is renowned for making paper flower offerings, in particular lotus flowers. Featuring a "flower horse", a three- dimensional model of a horse made of paper, and submerged in a magical, surreal, and romantic world, the vitrines perfectly encapsulate the meeting of Hermès's equestrian heritage with Vietnam's traditional craft. 

An unabashed impulse for colour informed by the local landscape and an equally enthusiastic embrace of traditional craftsmanship ensures that this Hermès store will enchant both local clients and new guests alike. 

Since 1837, Hermès has remained faithful to its artisan model and its humanist values. The freedom to create, the spirit of innovation, the constant search for beautiful materials, the transmission of savoir-faire of excellence, and the aesthetic of functionality all forge the singularity of Hermès, a house of objects created to last. An independent, family-owned company which encompasses 16 métiers, Hermès is dedicated to keeping the majority of its production in France through its 52 workshops and production sites and to developing its network more than 300 stores in 45 countries. The group employs more than 18,400 people worldwide, including more than 11,500 in France, among whom more than 6,000 are craftsmen*. Axel Dumas, a sixth-generation family member, has been Hermès CEO since 2013. 

Founded in 2008, the Fondation d'entreprise Hermès supports projects in the areas of artistic creation, training and the transmission of savoir-faire, biodiversity, and the preservation of the environment. 

* As of 30th June 2022 

Find out more about Hermes here 

The Art Exhibition of Post Opulence by Rolls-Royce HCMC

“Post Opulence” is a distinct expression of luxury in the new age of Rolls-Royce. This design philosophy removes the external glamor in favor of the owner's inner calm and quiet. 

“Post Opulence is the latest trend of design as well as lifestyle in general, this will be the beginning of a new design style in the future.” 

 

What Is Post Opulence’s Design Language? 

The modern world is witnessing a significant shift in the lifestyles of High Net Worth (HNWI) and Ultra High Net Worth (UHNWI) individuals. The age of collectors and owners, especially of the Rolls-Royce brand, is getting younger daily. It is accompanied by a change in perspective, life perspective, and aesthetic gout. The current view of beauty focuses on experiences that are personal, less flashy, and highly applicable in life. Minimalism is becoming increasingly popular after the historical changes in the world, not only in the car industry but also in many other fields of art.  

Post Opulence is a distinct expression of luxury in the new age of Rolls-Royce. This design philosophy removes the external glamor in favor of the owner's inner calm and quiet. "Post Opulence is the latest trend of design as well as lifestyle in general; this will be the beginning of a new design style in the future." - Alex Innes, Head of Coachbuild at Rolls-Royce.  

 

 

But minimalism at the hands of Rolls-Royce design engineers is not simply omitting details but a long research process so that the perceiver can understand to achieve a refined beauty. Economical and pure – no frills, no frills. Minimalism is consistently expressed from the form of the exterior to the interior, smoothly combining a modern technological trend with centuries-old heritage values. Those are pure, elegant, and sophisticated works of art but still have a unique personal impression.  

When designer Henry Cloke came up with the idea for the New Ghost project, the team had to revise the definition of "Post Opulence" countless times. Cloke recalls: "As a designer, I envisioned the New Ghost to be like London's The Shard against the classical Baroque buildings opposite. It is absolute minimalism, created by the skillful light application, not flashy or ostentatious. This is also what our designers want."  

To do that, Rolls-Royce had to make significant changes, such as manual welding of the aluminum body. Each beam of light reflected on the shell will become parallel bright fringes, running along the length of the Ghost. This is also the premise for creating the unique visual effect of Ghost with a slim, no-frills body. 

 

“Post Opulence” Through The Eyes Of Young Artists 

On July 29, Rolls-Royce Ho Chi Minh City held an intimate event that also involved fashion, photo art and culinary art. 

Empathizing with the Post Opulence design language on Rolls-Royce New Ghost, talented young designer Nguyen Hoang Tu created the Purity collection. The ten samples in purity are ten poetic perspectives honoring the beauty of Vietnamese women: Queen, Zero-Waste Symmetry, Grace, Breeze, Grace, Corner & Line, Mirror Mirror, Still, Substance and Outlier. Honoring the purity of the material, instead of sophisticated decoration, designer Nguyen Hoang Tu has approached in the direction of "simplifying" every detail, from the cut to the seam. His designs are no less attractive because of that; on the contrary, he skillfully combines the extremes of hard and soft, curved and straight, simple and complex. To achieve simplicity in look, the designer had to think a lot to reduce the number of cuts and seams and put them in the right place. The purity collection created by designer Nguyen Hoang Tu is an extension of Post Opulence thinking in fashion.  

 

 

"When looking at the style towards purity - Post Opulence that Rolls-Royce designers put on the New Ghost logo, Tu came up with inspirations to create the "Purity" collection. The simplicity here is not the usual, but the complexity is refined even more, leaving out what is unnecessary to honor expensive details and design techniques. Shining forth." – Designer Nguyen Hoang Tu. 

Photographer Harry Vu captured the moments between Nguyen Hoang Tu's Purity and Rolls Royce New Ghost in the photo series of the same name - Purity. Arranged as pure moments flashed by in the blink of an eye, the series has "movement in stillness" no matter what you look at it - coming together to deliver visual arts gifts, from fashion to photography. The idea to develop the concept of this photoshoot was inspired by the "blinks of eyes" when standing in front of surprising beauties, as well as to feel the beauty of minimalism that sometimes requires very sharp eyes and details, and it is also the intention that young photographer Harry Vu sent.

Find out more about Rolls-Royce Motor Cars here.