Global Citizen 41

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2018 JANUARY / FEBRUARY

BUSINESS CRYPTOCURRENCIES AND THE RIPPLE IN THE POND

TRAVEL SPOTLIGHT ON NEW YORK AUTO THE LAMBORGHINI URUS SUPER SUV

CULTURE LOUVRE ABU DHABI: THE UNIVERSAL MUSEUM

6 297000 388007

JEFF BEZOS

FOREVER CHANGING THE FA C E O F R E TA I L

PHILANTHROPY PROJECT AIMS TO SAVE THE GIANT REDWOOD TREES

CALIBER RM 67-01 EXTRAFLAT

While at Raffles, why not visit Dubai?

EDITOR’S LETTER GLOBAL CITIZEN EDITOR IN CHIEF Sunaz Sharaf ART DIRECTOR Nujoomi Denjypady CONTRIBUTORS Shama Tholot, Sameer Denzi, Amber Nellisen, Mehdi Mabrouk, Matt Levalle www.global-citizen.com www.issuu.com/global-citizen www.facebook.com/GlobalCitizenMag www.instagram.com/GlobalCitizenMagazine

W

e kickstart the new year by joining in on the global debate on cryptocurrencies. The meteoric rise of blockchains posterchild Bitcoin has experts divided on the future of an unregulated global currency. What’s the underlying value? We discuss a blockchain token alternative Ripple (p12).

Jeff Bezos moves to the top of the rich list with a net worth of $106 billion.

How did he get there and where did he come from? Our cover story (p16) outlines the story of this creative genius, once written off as an online bookstore and a fad. While it may seem like the Amazon story has peaked, its radical transformation of the retail economy has only just begun.

‘What does it mean to be Universal?’, asks the Louvre Abu Dhabi. Step inside the Jean Nouvel-designed museum to discover stories that transcend individual cultures or civilizations, times or places. ‘From One Louvre to Another’ (p22) highlights what makes the Louvre Abu Dhabi one of the greatest museums of our time.

In our lifestyle section, we bring you a selection of objects and experiences to kickstart your year. Once again Emirates Airlines (p52) sets the benchmark for what it means to fly in style with its state of the art First Class suites. The much-awaited Super-SUV by Lamborghini is finally here! The Lamborghini Urus (p56) is an unmistakable raging bull. A lucky few will know what it means to go off-road in a supercar in spring of 2018.

We wander through the city that never sleeps, New York, to bring you some of the highlights (p82). Closer to home we look at some of the best hotel properties in the region (p70) and the latest local culinary experiences (p66). Enjoy the read!

MEDIA REPRESENTATIVE Fierce International Dubai Internet City Business Central Tower A - Office 2803 T: +971 4 421 5455 - F: +971 4 421 0208 tarek@fierce-international.com

FIERCE INTERNATIONAL FZ LLC Dubai Internet City Business Central Tower A - Office 2803 T: +971 4 421 5455 - F: +971 4 421 0208 tarek@fierce-international.com Copyright 2018 Fierce International FZ LLC. All rights reserved.

Neither this publication nor any part of it may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the permission of Fierce International FZ LLC. Where opinion is expressed it is that of the author and does not necessarily reflect the editorial views of the publisher or Global Citizen.

All information in Global Citizen is checked and verified to the best of the publisher’s ability, however the publisher cannot be held responsible for any mistake or omission enclosed in the publication.

Sunaz Sunaz Sharaf

January 2018

CONTENTS BUSINESS

12 BUSINESS

26 SNAPSHOT

40 PROFILE

14 SUSTAINABILITY

28 PASSION

42 PHILANTHROPY

16 COVER

30 CULTURE

44 BUSINESS

20 REAL ESTATE

36 ENVIRONMENT

46 GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP

22 CULTURE

38 ENTREPRENEUR

48 PHILANTHROPY

Cryptographic Currency Ripple Steelcase

Jeff Bezos

Chateau Louis XIV Louvre Abu Dhabi

Chopard

Institut Francais de la Mode Bill Gates Reading List Santa Ana Winds George Bousis

Sir James Dyson One Million Redwoods Nike

Bulgaria

The Amal Project

22

30

40

18

36

46

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LIFESTYLE 50

78

80

50 GADGETS

64 HANDMADE

80 HIGH JEWELLERY

52 AVIATION

66 DINING

82 TRAVEL

54 HOROLOGY

70 HOTELS

86 SELECTIONS

56 AUTO

74 CULINARY

88 HOROLOGY

60 AUTO

76 ART

89 HOROLOGY

62 AUTO

78 SELECTIONS

93 HOROLOGY

Hot Accessories Emirates Airlines Rado

Lamborghini Urus Aston Martin Vanquish Lincoln Navigator

Cajune Boats

Dubai Hotspots Regional Highlights Joel Robuchon Tashkeel Writing Instruments

Harry Winston New York

Fragrances Hublot

Roger Dubuis MB&F

52

66

82

56

70

93

How powerful is your passport?

Discover the world of passports, sorted, compared and ranked.

Learn how you can improve your Global Mobility Score by investing in a second citizenship.

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EMPOWERING GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP®

BUSINESS

RIPPLES TO GIANT WAVES

Cryptocurrencies have hit new records, and look set to climb even further.

O

n the morning of January 4, 2018, Chris Larsen, a name few had heard of until then, climbed to fifth place on Forbes list of the world’s richest people.

Although short-lived, the events surrounding it caused jaws to drop. The cause was that Larson reportedly held 5.19 billion ‘Ripple’ tokens, and a 17 percent stake in Ripple Labs, Inc. This meteoritic rise of cryptocurrencies from seemingly nowhere has confounded lawmakers and bankers, and polarized opinions. Some have heralded them as the future of currency, while others have dismissed as an elaborate e-Ponzi scheme.

Simply put, cryptocurrencies are digital assets similar to any currency held in e-wallets, but unlike them, cryptocurrencies are not issued or controlled by any central bank or organization.

Their value is derived from the belief that others will also value them. Cryptocurrencies or crypto coins are neither new nor few.

The first attempt at creating a cryptocurrency goes back to the early 1980s with e-cash, but it was in the 1990s that researchers began to make key advancements which led to the launch of ‘b-money’ and ‘bit gold.’ Then in late 2008, the bitcoin.org domain was registered, and the paper titled ‘Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System.’ was published by the 12

JAN / FEB 2018

pseudonymous ‘Satoshi Nakamoto.’ Then in January 2009, Nakamoto published bitcoin’s open source software, and the bitcoin network came into existence. In the process, Nakamoto was the first to solve the problem of double-spending in digital currencies. What made bitcoin unique was that it was the first decentralized digital currency, where the transaction took place directly between the users using the ‘peer to peer’ model with no centralized intermediary. It also used the ‘trustless verification’ model to secure these transactions. The Bitcoin model is the foundation on which other cryptocurrencies have been built on including Ripple.

In the bitcoin model, a transaction consists of an input (receipt) or an output (payment). A group of these transactions are recorded in a public ledger known as a ‘block’. For a transaction to be valid, one cannot spend more than one has, and each transaction must have an encrypted digital signature attached to it. In addition, each block must also have its own ‘hash’ or ‘proof of work,’ plus the hash of the previous block. A series of these blocks in a sequential order determined by the hash link is called a blockchain. What this means is that any alteration to a transaction, or to the block sequence is practically impossible

BUSINESS

unless one possesses more than 50 percent of the entire network’s computing power. Therefore, the longer a blockchain, the more trustworthy the transaction becomes.

‘Proof of work’ is how new cryptocurrencies are earned or ‘mined.’ In order to add more currency to the network individuals use high end computer processors to sift through millions of mathematical combinations, a process known as mining, find new blocks of bitcoin and attach it to the existing blockchain.

Mining is required because the system periodically changes the key number attached to each hash, thus requiring fresh decryption every time. In the bitcoin system, it takes an average of 10 minutes for a new block to be found by a miner. As more and more miners join, it gets that much harder for a miner to find a new block. The average time to find a new block varies between cryptocurrencies. For example, Litecoin is 2.5 minutes, Ethereum is 15 Seconds and Ripple 3.5 seconds. The faster a new block can be found and added to the blockchain, the faster a transaction can be verified.

There are now well over 12,000 cryptocurrencies, and the number is growing. 40 of them have market capitalization post-

peak exceeding $1 billion, and the top ten have a combined capitalization exceeding $500 billion. Ripple (XRP) is generally in the top three competing with bitcoin and Ethereum. Released in 2012, it was developed by Ripple Labs, Inc. as part of their Ripple Transaction Protocol (RTXP), which is a financial payment and exchange network that facilitates real-time financial gross settlements (RTGS). At its peak on January 4, it was the second largest cryptocurrency with a market capitalization of around $115 billion. What sets ripple apart from the other decentralized cryptocurrencies is that there is a corporate entity in the background managing things, and therefore seems more likely to find acceptance with traditional financial institutions.

Cuallix, the Mexican financial services firm has announced it will use Ripples for cross-border money transfers.

So, to invest, or not to invest in cryptocurrency? In reality, they are just series of ones and zeros in a computer network.

Their real value as a medium of exchange will depend on their real-world usability, on their recognition by established financial institutions, and on them remaining legal. These are three simple yardsticks one should use if investing in cryptocurrencies.

2018 JAN / FEB

13

SUSTAINABILITY

SOLID LEGACY

Steelcase gives back to the community

F

ounded as the Metal Office Furniture Company in 1912

by Peter M. Wege in Grand Rapids, Michigan; Steelcase is a furniture company. It is the largest office furniture manufacturer in the world with facilities, offices, and factories in the Americas, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Australia, and Africa. The company produces office furniture, architectural and technology products for office environments and the education, healthcare and retail industries.

Wege was a veteran of the sheet metal and fireproofing industry and had filed approximately 25 patents before starting the company. The Metal Office Furniture Company’s first products included fireproof metal safes and four-drawer filing cabinets, which he invented and manufactured for the Macey Company.

In 1914, the company received its first product patent for “The Victor,” a fireproof steel wastebasket. The Victor gained popularity due to its light weight—achieved through a patented process of bending flat steel at right angles to create boxes—and its ability to prevent fires at a time when smoking was prevalent indoors, particularly in the workplace.

A year later, the company began manufacturing and distributing steel desks after designing and producing 200 for Boston’s first skyscraper, the Custom House Tower. In 1937, the group collaborated with Frank Lloyd Wright on office furniture for

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the Johnson Wax Headquarters. The partnership lasted two years and resulted in some of the first modern workstations.

The name Steelcase was a result of an advertising campaign to promote metal office furniture over wood and was trademarked in 1921. The company officially changed its name to Steelcase, Inc. in 1954. The company became known as the leader of the furniture industry in the late 1960s due to the volume of its sales.

Steelcase expanded into new markets during the 1970s, including Asia, Europe, and North Africa.

Steelcase is one of the brands, which pays a grand deal of attention to its Corporate Social Responsibility programs.

This year, the company made continued progress on its environmental 2020 goals, set a record for employee volunteerism and received recognition for its leadership and innovation in circular economy principles.

In 2017 the brand remained focused on reducing its global environmental footprint by 25 percent by the year 2020. Since the 2010 baseline, Steelcase has diminished VOC (Volatile Organic Compound) emissions by 79 percent, water use by 8 percent and Waste output by 45 percent.

Steelcase employees around the world volunteered a record total of 46,000 hours; an 18 percent increase compared to last year and saving partner organizations an estimated $1 million.

SUSTAINABILITY

End-of-use and performance management services saved clients more than $4.4 million through reuse of existing furniture assets; Resold, donated and recycled thousands of pieces of furniture.

Steelcase and the Steelcase Foundation together donated more than $5.3 million to charities and organizations focused on human service, health, education, community development, the arts, disaster response and the environment.

“Being a sustainable, community-minded organization is central to who we are. We continue to improve upon our sustainability goals, and I applaud our employees at every level of the organization who passionately drive these efforts for meaningful change on a global scale,� said Jim Keane, president and chief executive officer of Steelcase.

2018 JAN / FEB

15

COVER STORY

AMAZON RISING

A look into the life of Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos

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n July 27, 2017, Jeff Bezos, the man who founded Amazon.com, became the wealthiest man in the world for the first time. By December 2017, his net worth had crossed $100 billion. Like several other Goliaths of the IT world, Bezos and his brainchild had humble beginnings but rose rapidly to become game changers on a global scale.

The Jeff Bezos story began on January 12, 1964, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, U.S.A. Born Jeffrey Preston Jorgensen to a 17-year-old mother who was a high school student at the time.

His biological parents Jacklyn (née Gise) and Theodore “Ted” John Jorgensen, divorced shortly after Jeff was born. In 1968, when Bezos was just four years old, his mother married Miguel “Mike” Bezos, a Cuban immigrant engineer working with the oil giant Exxon. Mike Bezos adopted little Jeff and gave him his name.

Jeff Bezos’ maternal grandfather owned a 25,000-acre ranch in southern Texas ranch where the young Bezos spent his summers. By an interesting coincidence, his then retired grandfather had once worked for the Department of Defense’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). In 1970, DARPA’s engineers created ARPAnet, a communication system designed to function even after a nuclear attack had destroyed conventional communication lines. ARPAnet expanded into what would later be called the internet. It is not known what part Bezos’ grandfather played in the

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development of the fledgling Internet, but it is likely that he may have seeded an interest in his grandson for this emerging communication technology that few had heard of at that time.

It is not surprising that Bezos, a self-confessed science geek, had a peculiar fascination for all things computing.

The Personal Computer had not been invented yet. So his first encounter with a computer came at high-school where there was a keyboard and modem interface with a mainframe computer whose spare capacity was donated by a Government agency. No one at their school knew how to use it, so Bezos and some friends spent their after-school hours teaching themselves to code using available manuals. He also notoriously turned his family garage into his tinker shop.

His efforts were not in vain either. He became a high school valedictorian and a National Merit Scholar. He was also awarded a Silver Knight Award in 1982. His interest in computers and all things mechanical took him to Princeton University, from where he graduated summa cum laude in 1986 with a degree in computer science and electrical engineering.

After graduation, Bezos moved to Wall Street, but he was not far from the tech world. At Fitel he was part of the team that developed a network for international trade. At D.E. Shaw & Co., a hedge fund management company, he focused on Internet-enabled businesses.

COVER STORY

2018 JAN / FEB

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COVER STORY

It was at D.E. Shaw & Co that he met his future wife MacKenzie Tuttle whom he married in 1993. This was also the place where he came across research material that shed light on where information technology was headed. There was one report, according to Bezos, that claimed that the Internet was growing at 2,300% a year. Given his lifelong fascination with Information Technology and now convinced of its potential, it did not take long for Bezos to become convinced that this is where the future was.

So convinced was he that he set off to start his own e-commerce company without even finalizing the business model, or what he was going to sell, or even what city he was going to base it in. After the movers had already left, he called them to tell them that Seattle was the destination. On the way to Seattle, in their car, he typed out his business plan on a laptop.

As for the product, Bezos initially created a list of 20 products that he could market online. He then narrowed them down further to five products: computer hardware and software, CDs, videos tapes, and books. He finally settled on books as the product he would sell; because books were the only product that was extensively cataloged, constituted millions of different items, had a low price point, and were universally known. Another key contributing factor was his discussions with John Ingram of the erstwhile Ingram Books, who agreed to supply books to Bezos at wholesale rates. His parents agreed to make an initial capital investment of $300,000 taken out of their retirement fund.

Thus was born Amazon.com on July 1995, and headquartered in the garage of Bezos’ two bedroom house in Seattle. So worried was Bezos that potential future programmers would not take him seriously because of his business address, that he arranged to interview them, ironically, at the downtown Barnes & Noble bookstore. After putting a team of programmers together, and after successful beta tests, the website that would one day turn the world of commerce on its head, was unleashed on the public, unnoticed by the media. The first book ever sold on Amazon.com was Douglas Hofstadter’s Fluid Concepts and Creative Analogies: Computer Models of the Fundamental Mechanisms of Thought.

The growth potential that Bezos had read about while on Wall

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Street proved true right from the kick off. Even without any media publicity, the company had sold books to customers in every U.S. state, and to 45 countries within the first month. By the end of the second month, sales had reached $20,000 a week, outperforming internal growth projections. The relentless pace of growth meant that by May 1997, less than two years after the first book was sold, Amazon.com was big enough, and had the brand recognition to go public with an IPO. Its shares started trading on NASDAQ at a price of $18.00 per share. By October 2017, that share price had crossed $1,000 and seems set on an upward trend, and on whose back Bezos would go on to become the richest man in the world.

In those initial days, analysts were not convinced by Amazon’s meteoric rise as real or sustainable. They were not convinced because they felt that Amazon would not be able to hold out against the traditional big-boys of the book-retailing world once they decided to go online. They were not convinced because of Bezos’ strategy of focusing on long-term sustained growth, rather than short-term profitability. They were not convinced because they felt Amazon was merely another tech company riding the IT bubble of the 1990s.

Amazon survived the tech bubble burst better than most because it was a real commercial enterprise rather a venture capital hype. Although Amazon has now started to report profits with some consistency, it is still minuscule when compared to its astronomical revenue growth. This apparent capital market unorthodoxy is managed by focusing on cash-flows rather than profits; by channeling excess revenues into growth, expansion, and diversification rather than into dividends; by focusing on capital growth rather than on returns on capital.

So when the big boys of the book-retailing world finally woke up to the realities of the new world and decided to go online, Amazon had already moved on. It had by then diversified to become a retailer of many other things and thus had positioned itself as a competitor to the brick-and-mortar retailing giants like Wall Mart and Sears Roebuck. By the time these retail giants had a chance to recognize the threat posed by Amazon and figure out

COVER STORY

how to counter it, Amazon had already moved on, to one of the most significant growth and diversification drives seen in history; to the point that Amazon has now become difficult to categorize.

The core business of being an online retailer has grown horizontally in terms of web domains and products, and also vertically along the supply chain. The horizontal expansion began as early as 1998 with the acquisition of Bookpages.co.uk and telebuch.de which became Amazon UK and Germany respectively. Amazon now also has independent domains in China, India, Japan, Singapore, France, Spain, Italy, Netherlands, Canada, Mexico, Australia, and Brazil. There is also Amazon Global for other international customers.

Its product range now covers not only books, but also movies, music, games, recreational equipment, consumer electronics, computers and accessories, automotive accessories, home and garden furniture and equipment, food and beverage, cosmetics, health, toys, baby products, and so on.

In addition, Amazon has launched or acquired several other domains that compliment its core business. Some examples are Amazon Music and Amazon Video Direct for streaming entertainment audio and video. IMDb and Box Office Mojo for information and reviews of the entertainment industry.

Audible, AudiobookStand, ComiXology for audio books and digital comics. Goodreads for book reviews. AbeBooks for fine art collectibles. ACX, CreateSpace, and Kindle Direct Publishing facilitate print and digital indie publishing. 6pm, Shopbop, Zappos and East Dane for clothing and accessories. Amazon Inspire, Amazon Rapids, and TenMarks provide educational resources for children. AmazonFresh for groceries.

To reduce its operating costs, and to reduce its dependency on external service providers, Amazon has also set its expansion gaze on the vertical integration of its inward and outward supply chains. Amazon’s logistical costs have risen to over 5% of Net Sales in recent years. There is an additional motive. The global freight industry is worth more than $ 1 trillion. On the inbound side, Amazon’s Chinese subsidiary is registered to operate as an ocean freight forwarder in the United States enabling Amazon to manage its shipments from China into the United States, and also to provide shipping services to other businesses. On the delivery side, Amazon is positioning itself to become a competitor with established players such as FedEx and UPS, and going as far as toying with the idea of using drones to make deliveries.

Expansion has also taken Amazon into some new territory.

Amazon Drive and Prime Photos provide cloud-based storage.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) offers a broad set of global compute, storage, database, analytics, application, and deployment services that help organizations move faster, lower IT costs, and scale applications. Amazon Business is Amazon’s e-commerce services customised for businesses with analytics. Alexa provides web business marketing and analytics tools. Home Services provides “hand-picked” professional services for homes.

In 2017, Amazon reached an agreement to purchase Whole Foods Market which was seen as a win-win for both parties.

Whole Foods would be able to tap into the growing online food retail, while Amazon is getting access to a valuable source for its AmazonFresh. 2017 also witnessed the $580 million purchase of Souq.com, the Dubai based e-commerce marketplace serving the Middle-East region. Souq.com was commonly referred to as the “Amazon of the Middle East” long before the deal was ever envisioned. This falls in line with some of Amazon’s earliest horizontal acquisitions.

Jeff Bezos and Amazon are so synonymous with each other that they almost seem interchangeable. There is no doubt that Amazon is Bezos’ baby, but he has not put all his eggs in the Amazon basket. In 1998, he invested $250,000 on Google shares to become one of its first investors. In 2000, Bezos funded Blue Origin, a private spaceflight company that reflects his childhood fascination with outer space. In 2013 he spent $250 million to purchase the Washington Post. Bezos has made most of his investment through his Bezos Expeditions venture capital vehicle whose notable investment include Twitter, Google, Business Insider, General Fusion, Uber, Stack Exchange, Nextdoor, Rethink Robotics, Airbnb, and so on. Bezos Expeditions also funds non-profit ventures and charities. Bezos’ greatest obsession these days seems to be Artificial Intelligence, or as he puts it “Machine Learning;” a tool that he believes will take computing efficiencies to a whole new level.

The young boy who was obsessed with all things computers, the young man who quit his lucrative job on Wall Street to get on the internet bandwagon, was named Time magazine’s ‘Person of the Year’ in 1999. Many other accolades have followed, but few can match that of being one of the game changers of the twenty-first century.

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REAL ESTATE

THE KING’S HOUSE

GC tells you about the world’s most expensive home ever to be acquired by an individual, The Chateau Louis XIV.

B

uilt between 2008 and 2011 in the small commune of Louvecienne, The Chateau Louis XIV, was imagined

by Emad Khashoggi’s real estate company COGEMAD. Khashoggi had previously restored the Palais Rose in Le Vésinet and the Château du Verduron in Marly-le-Roi. The Chateau Louis XIV was built on the site of the former Chateau du Camp in Louveciennes, with the aim of developing a modern house, with hi-tech controls incorporated within a 17th-century aspect, layout, and materials.

“The idea is tacky, and then once you visit, it isn’t,” said Marianne Merlino, who was the town’s deputy mayor during construction. “Like in Versailles, that was way over the top, too, and like Louis XIV, he achieved something really quite incredible.”

His idea was to build a castle using traditional techniques and make sure that the highest standards of luxury were met inside the property. The Chateau was built on a 23-hectare walled plot and is surrounded by nature; it has a constructed surface area of 7,000 sqm with 5,000 sqm used for living space. The chateau pays several tributes, in its name and design, to Louis XIV and stands on land that used to be part of the Versailles estate.

From outside the property appears to have been built in the 17th century, the time of Versailles, but from inside nothing was left to chance. The property boasts fountains, sound systems, lights, and whisper-silent air conditioning controlled remotely by iPhone.

This top of the line property also houses a wine cellar, a movie theatre and a rotunda featuring an exquisite fresco on the ceiling while the moat includes a transparent underwater chamber 20

JAN / FEB 2018

with sturgeon and koi swimming overhead. A statue of Louis XIV made of Carrara marble stands watch over the grounds.

The Chateau’s park is home to a labyrinth with rare plants and trees; it also has a farm and a summer kitchen reproducing the iconic work of André Le Nôtre. It even hosts a reproduction of Versailles’ Apollo’s chariot. The monumental entrance door of the castle has been hand-carved in solid oak gilded with gold leaves. This massive door, inspired by the Hall of Mirrors, depicts the Sun King on horseback as a Roman Emperor.

The trompe-l’oeil frescoes on the ceilings imitate works by Charles Le Brun.

The ceilings, 5.2 meters high, house a totally silent air conditioning system and the first floor hosts a 300 square meters master apartment, with 4 bedrooms and 4 marble bathrooms.

The basement houses an indoor pool and heated outdoor pool.

The Château Louis XIV, dubbed the most expensive house in the world, had been acquired in 2015 for a princely sum of USD 300 million by a Saudi company. The French luxury real estate company Daniel Féau, a member of the Christie’s network, sold the luxury property in September 2015. Nothing at the time indicated the name of the new owner, except that it was “Middle Eastern,” stated a source close to the sale.

The property was purchased through private companies in 2015, and for two years the mystery remained around the actual owner of the house. The New York Times has recently claimed that the current owner is “MBS,” the young Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman who is fighting hard against corruption while advocating austerity. The French news site Mediapart had since July revealed the prince as the purchaser.

REAL ESTATE

2018 JAN / FEB

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CULTURE

FROM ONE LOUVRE TO ANOTHER

The Louvre Abu Dhabi has finally opened its doors to the public. We look into what’s on offer and the historical significance of the Louvre name.

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aris on the river Seine, for so long a muse to the artist, whether bourgeois or nonconformist, is also home to the Musée du Louvre. Better known as the Louvre, the name is synonymous with the finest of human artistic achievements. The most significant art museum in the world began life as a fortress and then as a palace, and then as a storage of royal artifacts, then as a salon for the intellectual elite, before going on to becoming what it is today; the largest and comprehensive treasure trove of visual art in the world.

It was the French Revolution that gave birth to the Louvre in its present incarnation when the Nation Assembly decreed that it should be used as a museum to display the nation’s scientific and artistic treasures which until then was the exclusive preserve of the aristocracy. On August 10, 1793, the museum opened to the public and showcased 537 paintings and 184 objects of art, most of which were confiscated from the royals and the church.

Napoleon added the northern wing, renamed it Musée Napoléon, added many looted artifacts from conquered lands, many of which were returned, but his most important contribution has to be the addition of Ancient Egyptian artifacts. The Restoration period gave the museum a separate Egyptian department. During the Paris Commune of 1871 it was nearly burned, but by 1874, the Louvre had achieved its current ‘rectangular’ structure. During World War II it was emptied of its treasures, which were restored

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afterward. The iconic glass Pyramids were added, thanks to President François Mitterrand’s ‘the Grand Louvre plan’, between 1989 and 1993.

Today the Musée du Louvre is the most visited museum in the world with an average attendance of around 15,000. It possesses more than 380,000 artifacts and displays about 35,000 of them spread across 60,600 square meters. All the artifacts are divided into eight curatorial departments.

The Egyptian Antiquities: housed in more than 20 rooms, and comprising over 50,000 pieces, it is one of the most extensive collections of Nile Valley artifacts, starting with Ancient Egypt (4,000 BCE) and going up to the Byzantine era (4 CE). The collection includes art, papyrus scrolls, mummies, tools, clothing, jewelry, musical instruments, and weapons.

The Near Eastern Antiquities: begun around 1881, it contains pre-Islamic artifacts from the Levant, Mesopotamia, and Persia.

Prominent displays include artifacts from Sumer, Akkad, and Persepolis, as well as the Code of Hammurabi.

Greek, Etruscan and Roman Antiquities: one of the oldest departments, it displays artifacts from the Mediterranean Basin, beginning with the Early Bronze Age, and up to the decline of the Roman Empire. It comprises jewelry, pottery, art, and sculpture.

Islamic Art: opened to the public in 2012, it is the newest department covering 3,000 sq. meters across two floors and

CULTURE

2018 JAN / FEB

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CULTURE

covered by a distinctive golden, undulating steel roof. It consists of more than 5,000 artifacts comprising ceramics, glass, metalware, wood, ivory, carpet, textiles, and miniatures spanning thirteen centuries, and from three continents.

Sculpture: consists of sculptures that were created before 1850 and those that do not belong in the Etruscan, Greek, and Roman department. This department possesses some classics from the Renaissance such as Michelangelo’s Dying Slave and Rebellious Slave, and up to the works of French sculptor Alfred Barye.

Decorative Arts: covering roughly the same time period as the sculpture department, it is a collection of objets d’art such as coronation crowns, scepters, vases, stained glass works, and so on.

Painting: begun with paintings belonging to Francis I and Louis XIV, the collection now exceeds 7,500. It includes works

by Renaissance masters such as Raphael, Michelangelo and of course Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, Virgin and Child with St. Anne, St. John the Baptist, and Madonna of the Rocks.

In a bid to relieve some of the pressures being put on the Louvre because of space constraints and viewing demand, the French government decided to open a satellite in the northern city of Lens. The new facility was designed to hold about 600 works of art and to attract nearly 500,000 visitors annually. Another constraint placed on the Louvre, this time by the French government, is that the museum must raise its own funds to finance growth, refurbishments, and acquisitions. The museum’s administrators had to innovate in order to raise the funds. In addition to ticket sales and private contributions, the museum also charges fees for curating other museums’ exhibitions. It raised $2.5 million from the on-location filming rights to ‘The Da Vinci Code.’

It is in lieu of this changing dynamic, that the Louvre Abu Dhabi became a reality. Abu Dhabi, one of the fastest developing cities in the world, identified cultural development as one of the cornerstones of the future of this capital city.

Saadiyat Island was earmarked for this purpose. Projected as a destination for the global jet-set class, it is going to house the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, Zayed National Museum, Maritime Museum, New York University Abu Dhabi, and an Arts Centre with five theatres, an opera house and several arenas for musical concerts. In the midst of all this lies the Louvre Abu Dhabi. The product of a 30-year agreement between the

French government and Abu Dhabi, by which the Louvre gets additional development funds in excess of $1 billion.

In return, Abu Dhabi gets the prestige of the Louvre name; access to some of the finest works from a variety of French museums such as Musée d’Orsay, Centre Georges Pompidou, Palace of Versailles, and of course the Louvre; and they also get advice from an institute with 200 plus years of pioneering expertise in the field.

To acquire the rights to use a prestigious name is one thing, to live up to it is quite another. The Louvre Abu Dhabi seems to have stepped up to the plate in some style. Declaring itself as a bridge between the east and the west, it stays true to this objective in its architecture, and in the layout of its displays.

Designed by French architect Jean Nouvel, the museum is visually stunning while incorporating inspirations from Arabian and modern-European structures. Minimalist white walls seem to float in the surrounding waterscape. The iconic overarching dome made of steel is designed to imitate the way light plays with the date palm fronds.

The permanent galleries, according to the Museum, “tell the story of humanity in twelve inspiring chapters. Each chapter focuses on shared themes and ideas that reveal common connections throughout humanity.” In addition, there will be “four temporary exhibitions per year... organised and created by thirteen French museum partners,” and they will “follow the same thematic approach as the permanent collections in the Museum Galleries, highlighting comparisons, influences and ideas shared across civilisations and cultures.”

Some notable displays include Leonardo da Vinci’s ‘La Belle Ferronnière,’ and the ‘Madonna and Child’ by Giovanni Bellini from the renaissance period. ‘The Saint-Lazare Station’ by Claude Monet and Vincent Van Gogh’s self-portrait from the impressionist period. The gallery devoted to Modern art features works by Picasso, Magritte and Miró.

The pièce de résistance has to be the 2017 acquisition of the ‘Salvador Mundi’ by Leonardo da Vinci for an eyepopping $400 million plus, which will have its permanent home at the Louvre Abu Dhabi. This acquisition not only stunned the art world but also put the Louvre Abu Dhabi on the world stage.

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SUSTAINABILITY

Snapshot

Australian actress Katherine Langford, nominated for Best Performance by an Actress in a TV Series – Drama for her role in 13 Reasons Why, selected cuff earrings in 18ct white ethical gold certified ‘Fairmined’ featuring four pear-shaped diamonds (9.7cts) and set with brilliant-cut (5.2cts), pear-shaped (4.7cts), oval-cut and marquise-cut diamonds from the High Jewelry Collection, a ring in 18ct white gold set with diamonds (1.5cts), red spinels (1.5cts), blue sapphires (1ct), yellow diamonds, tsavorites and pink spinels from the High Jewelry Collection, a ring in 18ct white gold set with emerald cut diamond (5.2cts) and diamonds (1.4cts) also from the High Jewelry Collection and a ring in 18ct white gold set with diamonds (6cts) from the L’Heure Du Diamant Collection.

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SUSTAINABILITY

Come for the property.

Leave as a citizen.

Mount Cinnamon is the first and most successful governmentapproved development qualified for Grenada's Citizenship by Investment program. Grenada is a US E-2 visa treaty country and enjoys visa-free travel to China, Brazil and many others.

Become a Global Citizen® MONTREAL | PARIS | LONDON | BUDAPEST | PODGORICA | SOFIA | ISTANBUL | LIMASSOL | BEIRUT | DUBAI | CAPE TOWN | SINGAPORE | BEIJING | ARTONCAPITAL.COM

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Arton is an exclusive marketing agent and a strategic advisor to Mount Cinnamon as well as an authorized marketing agent for Grenada's Citizenship by Investment program.

EMPOWERING GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP®

2018 JAN / FEB

27

PASSION

FRENCH EXCELLENCE

The Institut Français de la Mode is a state-recognized institution of higher education, but also a center for continuing education and expertise for the textile, fashion, luxury and design industries. GC tells you more about one of France’s creative talent hive.

Founded in 1986 by professionals such as Pierre Bergé with the support of the Ministry of Industry, and placed under its supervision, the Institut Français de la Mode welcomes 180 students and 2,000 professionals every year.

“Pierre Bergé knew that the fashion world was about to change, that education and knowledge would play a much more significant role, but also that fashion could never be run like a classical business,” says Pascal Morand, executive president of the Fédération de la haute couture et de la Mode, which Bergé worked with in establishing the college in 1986. “Since that time, [courses relating to] the creative industries, and notably fashion, have been more and more attractive for business schools and other academic institutions.”

The Institute is a member of the Conférence des grandes écoles and the International Foundation of Fashion Technology Institutes (IFFTI). In 2016, the IFM announced its strategic rapprochement with the Ecole de la Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne.

“Brands and companies have always been at the core of IFM,” says Morand. “Since the ‘80s, brands and companies have quickly moved towards recruiting more and more talented and educated people. Beyond answering the needs of the industry, the intense and supportive dialogue with brands and companies has enabled [us] to be in the position to anticipate their wishes and expectations prospectively.”

The Institute allows graduates of higher education to follow professional programs of high level in the field of management, with a program in French and a program in English, and creation.

After one year of study at the IFM, students join companies where creation is a major source of added value, but also develop their business project. The purpose is to separate management and 28

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creation in an industry that combines products, brands, culture, and design.

The links with the professionals are close. They are widely present in the governing bodies of the Institute. A circle of corporate sponsors funds a scholarship scheme, guaranteeing the diversity of recruitment.

Research, in association with the Economic Observatory and Studies, occupies an essential place in the life of the Institute. The IFM thus offers numerous publications in the field of economics but also social sciences and humanities applied to fashion and design, as well as support for professionals in deciphering cyclical and structural developments in the sector regarding supply strategies, consumer behavior, and distribution strategies.

This expertise is at the service of the industry, which relies heavily on the teaching staff of the Institute, enriches the content offered to students and professionals in continuing education. Also, the IFM offers an Executive MBA program that is compatible with professional life and open to international applicants. “[IFM] immerses you in the reality of the luxury goods industry and helps [you] to apply your vision to a wider audience and enables you to work with different players within the business,” says Vanhée-Cybulski from Hermès. “It gives you a sense of how a creative mind needs to constantly shift between the motto, ‘The sky is the limit’ and the pragmatism of the profession.”

The alumni network is also actively involved with the careers department at the school, which Sylvie Ebel, executive director at IFM says helps graduates find jobs in the Parisian market. “90 percent of our graduates are in the sector,” she says, confirming the school’s status as a pathway to the beating heart of the industry.

“You find quite a lot of them in the best companies.”

PASSION

2018 JAN / FEB

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CULTURE

BILL GATE’S BEST FIVE READS OF 2017

At the end of each year, Bill Gates announces the best five books he has read that year.

We take a brief look at his selections for 2017 and the reasons for them.

“

Reading is my favorite way to indulge my curiosity,” writes Bill Gates on his blog. “Although I’m lucky that I get to meet with a lot of interesting people and visit fascinating places through my work, I still think books are the best way to explore new topics that interest you.” A selfconfessed bookworm, the billionaire co-founder of Microsoft, and co-chair of the philanthropic Gates Foundation, he claims he has read about one book a week since he was a child, and these days it’s about 50 books a year. In the past few years, he has taken the trouble to select the best 5 books he has read in a year and lists it on his blog: www.gatesnotes.com. Here are his picks for 2017.

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CULTURE

Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City Published in 2016 and written by Matthew Desmond, a sociologist at Princeton University. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for non-fiction in 2017, as well as the “genius” grant from the MacArthur Foundation for this book. A recipient of grants from the Gates’ foundation, Desmond spent 18 months in two highpoverty neighborhoods in Milwaukee, Wisconsin; one predominantly white, the other black. He was there to document the lives of people living on less than $3 a day after paying their rent, that is if they manage to pay at all.

He also dwells into the causes of poverty and how they are intertwined.

This book was one of the ‘New York Times Critics’ Top Books of 2016,’ and about which Jennifer Senior wrote: “After reading Evicted, you’ll realize you cannot have a serious conversation about poverty without talking about housing.... The book is that good, and it’s that unignorable.” For Bill Gates, however, “Evicted’s biggest contribution isn’t the focus on housing. It’s the dramatic illustration of the ways in which issues of poverty are intertwined.” and called it a “searing portrait of American poverty.”

The Best We Could Do Written by Thi Bui and published in 2017, this debut autobiographical graphic-novel is illustrated in black, white, and shades of rust. The story begins in the delivery room of the hospital where the author gave birth to her first child. This life-changing experience prompts the author to dwell in the life experiences of her parents as Vietnamese; first under the French and later American occupation; then as refugees fleeing to America in 1978 after the fall of Saigon; then as immigrants in an unfamiliar culture. This is a deeply personal memoir which “feels not just created but also deeply lived,” according to Michael Cavna of The Washington Post. Publishers Weekly reports that the author “does not spare her loved one’s criticism or linger needlessly on their flaws. Likewise, she refuses to flatten the twists and turns of their histories into neat, linear narratives... In this mélange of comedy and tragedy, family love and brokenness, she finds beauty.”

Gates calls the book “gorgeous” and states that for Americans “it’s hard to escape the Good Morning, Vietnam view of the war... It was a completely horrific situation for the people who lived there, many of whom weren’t combatants on either side.” He also highlights the long-term effects that such traumatic and disruptive events can have on people: “It’s clear that a lot of the dysfunction surrounding her childhood is a direct result of what happened in Vietnam.”

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CULTURE

The Sympathizer A debut novel by Viet Thanh Nguyen published in 2015.

It is a historical fiction novel that has won a Pulitzer and numerous other awards in the prose and fiction categories.

It is “a layered immigrant tale told in the wry, confessional voice of a ‘man of two minds’—and two countries, Vietnam and the United States,” according to the Pulitzer Prize Citation. It tells the story of a North Vietnamese communist embedded in the South Vietnamese army.

When Saigon falls, he immigrates with the South Vietnamese refugees to California where he spies on them and sends secret reports back to his handlers in Vietnam.

“Nguyen’s skill in portraying this sort of ambivalent personality compares favorably with masters like Conrad, Greene, and le Carré. . . . Both thriller and social satire. . . .

In its final chapters, The Sympathizer becomes an absurdist tour de force that might have been written by a Kafka or Genet.” High praise indeed from Philip Caputo of the New York Times Book Review. The New Yorker states: “The novel’s best parts are painful, hilarious exposures of white tone-deafness . . . [the] satire is delicious.” Gates appreciates this book because “Nguyen doesn’t shy away from how traumatic the Vietnam War was for everyone involved. Nor does he pass judgment about where his narrator’s loyalties should lie... Despite how dark it is, The Sympathizer is still a fast-paced, entertaining read . . . a much-needed Vietnamese perspective on the war.”

Believe Me: A Memoir of Love, Death, and Jazz Chickens A 2017 memoir by Eddie Izzard, the world-renowned British comedian, transgender actor, writer, activist, escape artist, unicyclist, ultra-marathoner, and pilot. Stardom did not come easy for Izzard. He had to work through his childhood struggles after the traumatic loss of his mother to cancer. He then had to work hard to overcome his self-proclaimed lack of talent, and spending years as a street performer in London before success came calling.

Strangely enough, Gates connection with the book was on a personal level. He writes: “If you’re a huge fan of him like I am, you’ll love this book. His written voice is very similar to his stage voice, and I found myself laughing out loud several times while reading it.” Gates also cautions that the book may not be to everyone’s liking, especially if you are not familiar with Izzard’s brand of comedy. As “there are some comedians, such as David Sedaris and George Carlin, whose books would make perfect sense even if you haven’t seen their act. That’s not the case here.

You have to witness his brand of surreal, intellectual, self-deprecating humor. Otherwise, it will be like you’re walking into the middle of a conversation.”

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CULTURE

Energy and Civilization: A History The last book on the list may not win many plaudits or even make it the best-seller list, but the author Vaclav Smil, a long time Czech Canadian energy professor, is a favorite of Bill Gates. He confesses: “I wait for new Smil books the way some people wait for the next Star Wars movie,.” He also claims that he has read nearly all of Smil’s 37 books, and of those, “this is his masterpiece.’

This book is an expanded and updated 2017 version of his 1994 book, Energy in World History. It “lays out how our need for energy has shaped human history—from the era of donkey-powered mills to today’s quest for renewable energy.... Yes, our history has a lot to do with kings and queens and games of thrones, Smil shows that it has, even more, to do with energy innovation,” according to Gates.

He also admits that this book “is not easy reading, but at the end, you’ll feel smarter and better informed about how energy innovation alters the course of civilizations.”

Bill Gates also gave an honorable mention to three books that did not make the list. ‘Black Flags: The Rise of ISIS’ by Joby Warrick, because it is a “compelling history lesson on how ISIS managed to seize power in Iraq.” John Green’s new novel ‘Turtles All the Way Down’, and ‘The Color of Law’ by Richard Rothstein which highlights “the role federal policies have played in creating racial segregation in American cities.”

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THE AMAL PROJECT TOGETHER, LET’S BRING AMAL TO KIDS IN NEED!

Play is an essential part of every child’s life and is vital to their development. Through play, children explore the world around them and develop skills to build a strong foundation for future success. 90% of brain development happens in the first five years of a child’s life, but 219 million children globally fail to meet their full developmental potential.

The Amal Project was established in 2014 with the aim to fill that gap by investing in the development of children ages 2-5 who are disregarded by Global Initiatives.

THE GAP IN CHILD DEVELOPMENT The Amal Project with the support of Global Citizen Foundation, started building Recreational Centres for traumatized children in Refugee camps. These centers provided the children with a safe place to play, develop and grow. Realizing the global need, we expanded our initiative to reach children beyond conflict zones and impact the lives of children in underdeveloped countries.

ONGOING PROJECTS JORDAN

• Al Azraq Refugee Camp - Aug 2015 • Al Zaatari Refugee Camp - Nov 2015 • White Hands Villa School - Oct 2016

JORDAN UGANDA

INDIA

• Ajabgarh School Rajahstan - Feb 2017 - Partnership with Aman Resorts INDIA

UPCOMING PROJECTS CAMBODIA

• UGANDA - Partnership with Global Citizen Foundation

• CAMBODIA

ZAATARI REFUGEE CAMP JORDAN

AL AZRAQ REFUGEE CAMP JORDAN

www.theamalproject.net lboualwan@global-citizen.org

ZAATARI REFUGEE CAMP JORDAN

The AMAL Project

ENVIRONMENT

THE EMBERS OF CALIFORNIA

December of 2017 witnessed one of the worst Californian firestorms for over 15 years.

We take a closer look at its causes and impact.

F

ires in California are as expected seasonally, as are the tornados in the flatlands of Kansas, or as the snowstorms in Wisconsin. The 2017 fire season, however, has been anything but routine. It started back in August, following an exceptionally hot and dry June, with many towns recording record-breaking highs. The largest of these early fires, the Detwiler, began on July 16 and finally declared controlled on Aug 24, by which time it had consumed over 80,000 acres.

The warning signs were there: a record-setting 2016-17 wet season which spurred the growth of new vegetation in areas that were formerly barren. This was followed by a parched hot summer which dried the vegetation; making it the perfect fodder for the rampaging flames to come. In the background to all this is the fact that this decade, starting in 2011, has bestowed on California its driest run of drought in recorded history.

A glance at the list of the worst 20 fires in California’s history puts the damage done into perspective. Seven of the top ten fires have ravaged the Golden State after the year 2000; 14 if you consider the top twenty. California has witnessed a top 20 fire every year since 2012. However, the draught is expected to relent with forecasts of better wet seasons to come. In fact, the draught has been officially declared “over” by Governor Brown following last season’s record-breaking wet season. It could not come soon enough.

The worst of the fires of this decade and a strong contender for the worst ever is the so-named Thomas fire which has charred just over 270 thousand acres of land across Ventura and Santa Barbara counties. The tide was eventually turned against its rampage with a combination of manmade, and more importantly, natural factors. The firefighting crew managed to extend the ‘safety buffer’ lines around its perimeter by clearing, or by ‘controlled-burning’ the dried vegetation. This was helped in no small part by the winds weakening, the temperatures cooling, and the humidity levels rising.

By this time, however, more than a thousand built-up structures were destroyed, more than 100,000 people had to abandon their homes, and at least two people had died as a direct result of the Thomas fires. At its peak, nearly 9,000 firefighting personnel were assigned to combat it at a cost of more than $167 million according 36

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to The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

The Thomas fire was the biggest one in a series of 28 wildfires across southern California that began around early December bringing the total area destroyed to nearly 300,000 acres. They caused evacuations; disruptions to traffic, commerce, and power supply; and caused hazardous air pollution. The overall private and public cost of damages for the season may approach as high as a billion dollars.

Scholars from various fields have studied this phenomenon and have identified the key factors that cause this hellish scenario to occur. It is a perfect storm whose ingredients consist of atmospheric pressure, the terrain, the vegetation, a howling hot wind, and a spark; quite often man-made.

The story begins in the desert to the north-east of Los Angeles, in a region known as the Great Basin. High-pressure forms over this region and begins to circulate clockwise, thus pushing the air westward towards the coast. In its path are the Sierra Nevada and Santa Anna mountains. To cross them, the westerly winds have to rise over the mountains and then plummet to near sea level. This sudden fall in altitude causes the air pressure to increase rapidly, resulting in an increase in its temperature and a decrease in its relative humidity. This wind, now hot and dry, picks up velocity as it is forced to through narrow valleys and gorges of the lower hills, where it can often reach 40 to 60 mph or higher.

This wind, dry hot wind, further dehydrates the already drying vegetation. All it takes then is something to ignite a fire. Once the fire starts, the winds provide it with extra oxygen to combust, but more importantly, the wind’s velocity carries the embers to other places where it then ignites new flames. This process then repeats and multiplies exponentially.

What is the ‘something’ that ignites the fires? According to official findings, ‘human causes’ is the single biggest contributor to the ignition of wildfires in the densely populated southern California region. Human activity like intentional arson, sparks from machines, illegal campfires, fallen power-lines, cigarette butts, and so on.

The California fires: a seasonal fire-storm caused when a perfect combination of natural ingredients are ignited and turned to embers by human folly.

ENVIRONMENT

2018 JAN / FEB

37

ENTREPREUNER

THE DIGITAL ENTREPRENEUR

GC Looks at the rise of George Bousis, the entrepreneur behind the silicon valley success, the Raise Marketplace.

S

ince his childhood, George Bousis was groomed to take over the family business, a grocery store his parents started in 1987 after immigrating to the United States.

His father spent his days and nights in the store while George and his siblings would bag groceries and work the cash register on weekends.

When he turned 18, George joined the family business, which was flourishing, as a technology and innovation manager. His primary task was to develop gift cards and loyalty programs for the family business. While researching, he found out that more than 10 percent of gift cards go unused every year, amounting to millions of dollars. He saw an opportunity and set himself a goal, finding a better to make sure this money does not go to waste.

In 2013 he launched the Raise Marketplace, a platform to help people with gift cards to make money out of their unwanted gifts. The concept was simple; Raise was originally an online marketplace where people could buy and sell gift cards with Raise getting a 15 percent cut of every transaction. It was a quick success, but it hit some rough spot along the way.

The gift card industry has attracted, for a long time, money laundering and fraud activities, which forced the company to improve its technology, and tweaks its business model.

“The company has experienced growing pains, with layoffs following hyper-growth. A year ago, Raise dismissed 15 percent of its staff, which now totals about 220. There has been turnover, as well. CFO Jillian Sheehan left for Aquilon Energy Services, and Maureen Calabrese, chief people officer, departed for Sprout Social. Both were at the company less than a year,” explained Bousis in an interview.

Since its inception, the company migrated from a marketplace into a retail payments business raising $147 million from notable investors like Accel, NEA, and PayPal, generated more than $1 billion in card sales and saved its members more than $140 million to date.

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“They are the best minds in payments,” Bousis says of PayPal. “We have been talking to them for a while about a commercial partnership, about retail and payments, what we wanted to do around wallet. They had a similar philosophy about prepaid being the largest opportunity in the world.”

The company recently launched a mobile application that works as a digital wallet. It allows users to shop using their gift cards or their credit cards while supporting the digital wallets like Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay or Paypal. By linking their credit cards to these services, users can pay with their smartphones instead of typing their private details.

“We feel like we’ve turned this corner, and we’re in the next major growth phase of our business,” Bousis says. That involves a major push to partner more closely with retailers, which provide discounted cards in much the same way they provide coupons to customers to entice them to shop. Bousis says the company has signed up nearly 400 retail partners, including Subway, hotels. com, Dell, ToysRUs, Barnes & Noble and Overstock. “We hadn’t spent much on marketing because we had a finite card (inventory),” Bousis said. “We’ve solved a lot of it.”

One of the advantages of this method is the opportunity for companies to offer customised offers to their customers, deep discounts for reluctant customers or rewards for heavy spenders.

The adoption process is slow, but companies like Starbucks are starting to adopt this model.

George Bousis has always wanted to take Raise to the next level and change the customer perception. He wanted his brand to be a big player in the mobile payment game instead of a gift card shop.

About $90 billion was loaded onto gift cards issued by private retailers and brands in the U.S. last year, according to Mercator Advisory Group, of Shrewsbury, Mass. Mobile payments doubled last year to about $62 billion and are poised to top $300 billion by 2020, according to eMarketer, a New York-based research firm.

ENTREPREUNER

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39

PROFILE

THE RE-IMAGINATION OF SIR JAMES DYSON

Sir James Dyson is a British inventor, billionaire businessman, and a patron of education and innovation. We take a closer look at this unusual personality.

T

he loss of one’s parents at a young age and repeated failures can break most individuals, but Sir James Dyson is not like most individuals. He does not see failure as a defeat but as a vital ingredient in the learning curve. Things that have flaws in them cause the wheels in his inventive brain to start churning. He owns more real estate than the Queen of England, yet he vacuums the floors in his mansions. He has a deep dislike of mobiles phones and social media, yet is rumoured to be investing heavily in artificial intelligence. His business interests span the globe, yet he is a staunch supporter of Brexit. Sir James Dyson is a billionaire, who is unlike most billionaires.

Born in Norfolk in 1947, his father was a master at Gresham’s School where he was educated. His father died when he was 9, and his mother followed soon after. He went on to study furniture and interior design at the Royal College of Art as well as engineering. However, the childhood experience that would have the most significant impact on his future life would be the household chore of vacuuming. He loathed having to clean the bag and having to pick up things with his hands when the suction power declined.

This irritation would stay with him into his adulthood and eventually morph into an obsession to re-engineer the vacuum cleaner; to remove its flaws. 15 years later, with multiple mortgages on his home, and with over 5,000 failed prototypes, he had reinvented the vacuum cleaner; bag-less and more efficient. The world of vacuum cleaner manufacturers, however, was not ready for a revolution. He had to go all the way to Japan to find one that would manufacture it, but the experience proved less-thansatisfactory.

So he decided to manufacture it himself, and the Dyson company was born. He first managed to secure a $1 million loan from Lloyds bank to begin the manufacturing process. Then he managed to get a mail-order catalog to list this product, soon followed by another. Then retailer John Lewis Depart Store started to sell it. By the end of the second year, it was the best selling vacuum cleaner in Britain.

The next hurdle was taking it abroad where his product and brand was unknown. But he knew that in the world of business, there is always someone willing to take a chance. In America, it was Best Buy, where a staff member actually tried the vacuum for two weeks and then highly recommended it. The ‘USP’ of this 40

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product was that it actually delivered what it had promised; this has been the cornerstone of every Dyson product since.

They backed this up with being the first manufacturer to give a five-year guarantee on their products.

The Dyson brand is an embodiment of the philosophy of its founder: “We start with a problem. Then we figure out how to make it work better.” The focus, therefore, is not necessary to invent something entirely new, but rather to reimagine an existing product in a way that makes it more aesthetically pleasing, more practical and devoid of the drawbacks of its predecessor. For example, they have reimagined the fan, but without the fan-blades. This allowed them to produce a range of revolutionary products like the ‘Supersonic’ hair-dryer, ‘Hot+Cool’ fans and heaters, air purifiers and humidifiers.

To ensure continuity of this philosophy, Sir Dyson has a policy of hiring the brightest graduates fresh out of school because he wants clear minds that are not afraid to think or to make mistakes. While once James Dyson worked alone in his garage, sometimes helped by his sons, today he commands an army of over 8,000 employees worldwide, one-third of whom are engineers.

Sir Dyson has always been obsessed with developing young minds especially in the field of Engineering, where he feels Britain is sadly lacking. It’s not just lip ser vice either. He has spent millions of pounds to encourage young minds to take up engineering. The next logical step was to establish his own Dyson Institute of Engineering and Technology. Here too, nothing is as usual. The first batch comprises of just 33 students selected from 950 applicants. They do not pay tuition but instead are given an allowance of £16,000 a year. Their education is predominately practical, and hold official posts in the Dyson company. However, the students are under no obligation to stay at Dyson once they graduate.

This generosity comes on the back of impressive growth and profits, which is good according to Sir Dyson. Not because he can buy a bigger yacht or mansion, but because he can put it to good use, for future growth. Where is he setting his sights? He won’t divulge, but rumors are that electric cars and artificial intelligence are the next areas that may experience the Dyson re-imagination and reinvention.

PROFILE

2018 JAN / FEB

41

PHILANTROPY

AMBASSADORS FROM ANOTHER TIME

H

idden in the dense forests of California and Oregon, the giant Redwoods are a sight to behold. Having witnessed the passage of time far longer than anyone else, they are now in danger of becoming a thing of the past. We take a closer look at these giants, and one of the efforts being made to save them from eventual extinction.

The 1962 Nobel Prize winner for Literature, John Steinbeck, in his bestselling travelogue ‘Travels with Charley: In Search of America’ wrote: “The redwoods, once seen, leave a mark or create a vision that stays with you always. No one has ever successfully painted or photographed a redwood tree. The feeling they produce is not transferable. From them comes silence and awe. It’s not only their unbelievable stature, nor the color which seems to shift and vary under your eyes, no, they are not like any trees we know, they are ambassadors from another time.”

Steinbeck is not alone in his sentiments about the giant Redwoods, for it is impossible to be in the presence of these silent giants and not be moved by what one is witnessing. Having the ability to grow as high as 300 feet, as wide as 60 feet, and weighing as much as 200 tons, the giant Redwoods are the largest and tallest trees in the world. The most remarkable thing about them is their lifespan. They have been known to live for 42

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as long as 3,000 years, which is why Steinbeck called them “ambassadors from another time.” To put this into perspective, a 1,000-year-old Redwood of today would have been germinating around the time when Abd ar-Rahman IV became the Caliph of Córdoba, Spain.

The Redwoods are distinguished into three subgroups. One of them, the Metasequoia glyptostroboides is found only in Hubei province of China, and is the least tallest of the three.

Growing on mountain slopes, they are so rare that they were thought to be extinct until they were rediscovered in 1943. The other two are confined to the woodlands of Northern California and Oregon. The Sequoia sempervirens, better known as Coast Redwood, are generally found in the coastal forest. The Sequoiadendron giganteum, or Sierra Redwood or, simply ‘Big Tree,’ are found only on the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada range of California. The American varieties were also discovered accidentally by miners and missionaries who chanced upon the Redwood groves. Although they have been reared in botanical gardens in Europe, and even as far as Australia and New Zealand, their specific reproductive ecological requirements mean that they have not proliferated much outside their natural regions.

These giants may stand tall and unchallenged by anything

PHILANTROPY

in the forest, but they are defenseless against human greed and folly. In the past, it was the greed of the timber industry that threatened them, but nowadays climate change, pollution, intensive agriculture, and even tourism have added to the list. In the past decade, however, a series of record-breaking forest fires in the Redwoods’ habitat has proven especially damaging. In fact, all three of the sub-groups mentioned above are listed as ‘Endangered’ by ‘The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.’ The ‘Endangered’ group is just two steps away from ‘Extinct in the Wild’ category.

Several organizations have been working diligently to protect the Redwoods’ present and future. One of these is the Not-for-profit organization ‘For The Wild’ which “preserves and strengthens the integrity of Earth’s natural communities through land conservation and ecological restoration.

Powered by community efforts and bioregional native plants nurseries, its work centers around the reforestation and diversification of degraded landscapes.” One of their current projects is the ‘1 Million Redwoods Project.’ It aims to start a Redwood nursery, which according to their website “will function as a living library and laboratory that will help to safeguard rare and endangered plant and fungal genetics of the redwood range.” These nurseries will also “act as a model for replication by communities that have experienced

severe biodiversity loss.” To safeguard the genetic data of the Redwoods “a seed bank will be established on site.” There will also be “a fungal spore and culture bank.”

They have also come up with an innovative way to raise funds for the project. They have teamed up with crowdfunding facilitator kickstarter.com to raise funds for their project. Dubbed “the people’s NEA” by the New York Times, and as one of the “Best Inventions of 2010” and “Best Websites of 2011” by Time magazine, they have raised over $3.4 billion in pledges. They have collected donations from over 14 million backers, who have successfully funded over 137,000 projects. Kickstarter is a Public-benefit corporation which “are for-profit companies that are obligated to consider the impact of their decisions on society, not only shareholders.” They help budding creative individuals to raise funds from the public as an alternative to the traditional sources of funds.

The ‘1 Million Redwoods Project’ has set itself a target of $100,000 to be raised through Kickstarter, of which over $99,000 has been collected. We wish them all the best, for environmental conversation is one of the most pressing collective needs of our planet. All the endangered species of this world have a claim, and a right to be saved. But none of them can claim to be “ambassadors from another time.”

2018 JAN / FEB

43

BUSINESS

SNEAKERHEADS

GC looks at the rise of the sneaker culture and the impact of Nike on the industry

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dopted by all generations, the Sneaker has never been as attractive and as present as today; a reality, which naturally arouses certain curiosities.

The Sneaker phenomenon was born in the United States, but that’s no secret. Initially designed for sports, sneakers have long been the allies of top athletes. The basketball players were the precursors of the sneaker and have played a vital role in the democratization of the Sneaker. However, the art movement Neo-pop is undoubtedly the trigger of this phenomenon. Indeed, this art movement combining graffiti and Hip-Hop played a vital role. At that time, it was the rap groups who made the sneaker what it is today, a proclamation of identity.

Today mainstream fashion has inevitably adapted the sneaker making it a real everyday accessory. Brands have been quick to realize that the Sneaker culture revolves around more and more indulgence. And it is in this context that big brand names have been conceiving hype through targeted marketing. Indeed, brands have not hesitated to create a sense of belonging using muses.

Nike started off the trend with the brilliant idea to collaborate with Michael Jordan. The Swoosh brand has managed to perpetuate its place by bringing an avant-garde vision to the market. The American firm innovates by creating new pairs very regularly. One of the game changers Nike created is the iconic Nike Air Max, designed by Tinker Hatfield. The American designer captured the public attention by introducing a bubble of air in the sole of the sneakers. In the 80s, this air bubble revolutionized the sneaker industry, and 30 years later these models still seduce all lovers of kicks.

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More recently, the artist Virgil Abloh, who is also an artistic director, DJ, designer and best known for being the founder of the OFF-WHITE brand, announced his collaboration with Nike in a brand-new collection called The Ten. A series that includes 10 pairs, revisited for the occasion, among which we can count the shoes Air Jordan I, Nike Air Max 90, Nike Air Presto, Nike Air VaporMax and Nike Blazer Mid for the first theme, as well as the pairs, Converse Chuck Taylor, Nike Zoom Fly SP, Nike Air Force 1 Low, Nike React Hyperdunk 2017 and Nike Air Max 97 for the second theme.

This unique collection, born from the collaboration between the American designer and the Swoosh brand, is divided into two themes. The first is called “REVEALING” and has been designed to appear accessible: hand-cut, total opening, and rebuilding.

The second is called “GHOSTING” and was designed with translucent uppers to reinforce the idea of revelation and unite the second series of models with the same material.

The collaboration was such a success that the brand had to postpone several launches due to technical issues on its website.

At the moment, Nike Inc. is the largest supplier and manufacturer of athletic shoes, apparel, and other sports equipment in the world. The company employed about 74,400 people worldwide in 2017, and its global revenue surpassed more than 34 billion U.S. dollars. The North American region of Nike generated the largest portion of the company’s revenue that year; over 15 billion U.S. dollars, with the Oregon based company’s athletic footwear segment generating approximately 9.7 billion U.S. dollars of that.

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GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP

UNITED WE STAND STRONG

Bulgaria’s opportunity to create a strong and united future for the EU

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hat challenges does Bulgaria face with the European Union’s unpredictable future, and can we expect to witness a diverse approach to power, with the country’s distinct socio-economic position?

As Bulgarian prime minister, Boyko Borissov, takes over the rotating six-month position as President of the Council of the EU, the dynamics of change are globally substantiated.

Historically overshadowed by internal political challenges, it is finally Bulgaria’s reigning opportunity to restore their global distinction.

Bulgaria’s EU presidency slogan, “United We Stand Strong,” which is also the Bulgarian national motto, accurately depicts their impressive electoral agenda. During Bulgaria’s presidency, their primary focus is to maintain the stability and unity of the European bloc, establish a coordinated position on migration, and allocate the new EU budget towards a brighter future for the youth. In the face of Brexit, however, reaching political consensus while maintaining the unity of the EU, requires more than proper delegation. Following Britain’s decision to leave the EU on June 23, 2016, Borissov admitted that the Union could not possibly afford the drastic split, following with claims that ‘Britain is headed for a hard Brexit.’

Although Bulgaria was among 27 other member states with the same sentiment, the complexity of the EU’s disunited position on Brexit has lead the Bulgarian council to take on a more mediating

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role, rather than engaging in bold leadership. Since their role as President of the Council of the European Union, they have adopted a more positive assessment on Brexit, stating that it is a chance for the European Union to expand and welcome Western Balkan countries as members of the bloc. The challenges to solidify the unity amongst the European nations, was only the start of Bulgaria’s inspiring vision towards creating a stronger, and more harmonious European Union.

Along with discussions of economic growth, and the prospect of Western Balkan states joining the bloc, the primary focus remains on seeking a united defense policy, and tackling unresolved migration issues.

One occurrence that held a paramount value to the competence of the Bulgarian government, was during the European refugee crisis when Bulgaria experienced a substantial number of migrants from surrounding countries. Although this had significantly impacted their image; in less than a year in 2017, Bulgaria was able to decrease that number by 80 percent, according to The Sofia Globe. This was a pivotal step to establish confidence within state members, and to transcend an imminent focus on global policy.

Enhanced cooperation in the field of the Common Foreign and Security Policy, is an important visionary step for Bulgaria, as President Rumen Radev reinforces that Bulgarian institutions will work actively to ensure they leave the European Union stronger than it has ever been.

GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP

The integrity, focus, and vision of Bulgaria, one of EU’s youngest member states, illustrates prodigious opportunity for Global Citizens. Bulgaria’s ideal location in Southeast Europe offers the contingency for establishment, rapid economic growth, and the access to many desired EU benefits. With Bulgaria’s responsibility and dedication to empower the European Union during its most fragile time, it is no wonder that investors from around the globe are discovering the outstanding opportunity and benefits involved with investing in the country.

One of the ways these individuals have embraced these new possibilities, is through the Investor Program for Residence and Citizenship in Bulgaria, which has become the ideal gateway into the European economy and way of life. Along

with enforcing a promising future, Bulgaria’s commitment to enrich their nation’s prospect and fortune, continues to be an inspiration for Global Citizens.

Bulgaria is diverse, culturally rich, and perfectly placed for working and traveling in and around the continent. Their inspiring landscapes, renowned natural variety, and flourishing hospitality add color and hope to a nation that had been overshadowed for years. With their role as President of the Council of the European Union, Bulgaria’s recognition and commitment will extend far beyond this generation.

In our next issue, we will continue to document Bulgaria’s journey as President of Council of the European Union. Until then, you can follow their agenda for updates at www.eu2018bg.bg 2018 JAN / FEB

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PHILANTROPY

RAISING AMAL

The Amal Project provides play areas for children in Refugee camps

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efugees are helpless civilian by-products of conflict, of which most of them had little to do with. Among these refugees are the displaced and distraught children; whose carefree and abundant smiles have been smothered by the violence they have witnessed, or by anxiety over an uncertain future, or both.

While government agencies and NGOs often do commendable jobs providing nutrition, clothing, and shelter to the refugees, there is one area of critical need that is often overlooked. There is a need to reverse or minimize the psychological trauma suffered by children, which if not addressed, may have a lifelong impact.

Therefore, their psychological rehabilitation and development are vital in ensuring that they can one day grow up to become constructive citizens of a global community. This is the stated objective of The Amal Project.

Nadine Arton, the German-born and Dubai-based founder of The Amal Project, says “We want the kids there [at the refugee camps] to have a place where they can just be kids.” Nadine’s ambition was to become an investigative journalist focusing on foreign aid and diplomacy. But by a twist of fate, she got into the fashion industry, where she successfully established two brands: GlamOnYou and a second named after herself. Her success, however, did not quench her thirst to be involved in the world of foreign aid, and with helping refugees. Thus, in collaboration with Muna Harib’s ‘Breathing Numbers’ initiative, The Amal Project was born, which now has the backing of the Global Citizen Foundation.

“Over 90% of brain development happens in the first five years of a child’s life. Early childhood is the most important time in the human life. Through play, children engage and interact; a critical time for them to make sense of this world and to understand where they fit in.” says the project on their website: www.theamalproject.net.

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The idea is as simple, as it is beautiful. The objective of the project is to provide ‘Recreational Centres’ where children are provided with tools for their physical, cognitive, social and emotional development. Each recreational center is set up in a ‘caravan’ or portable building. The outside of these caravans are decorated with colorful murals depicting scenes from an oasis, a green village, the underwater and so on; to give them a childfriendly and inviting feel. The logos of the donor organizations that contributed to the fruition of that particular caravan are embedded into the mural.

Inside, each caravan is furnished with playschool furniture: tables, chairs, and storage. For the physiological development of children, the typical tools provided include drawing and coloring sets, chalkboard, string beads, etc. For their cognitive development, the children are provided board and jigsaw puzzles, shape sorters, stackers, building blocks and memory games.

For their social and emotional development, they are provided books, puppets, toys, musical instruments, and play balls.

The estimated cost of setting up a typical caravan is between $18,000 and $19,000, which may vary depending on the geographical, socio-political and other factors. To raise funds for the procurement and maintenance of these caravans the project uses the traditional modes of funding. In addition, they also sell t-shirts and ‘Amal’ dolls through partner retailers.

The project now focuses most of its efforts in two refugee camps in Jordan: the 50,000 capacity Al Azraq camp, and the 80,000 capacity Al Zaatari camp. The population of children below 12 years at both camps is above 40%. The project recently announced plans to open solar-powered facilities in far-flung countries such as India (to rehabilitate an existing school), Uganda (for Sudanese refugees), Dominica, Bermuda, Cambodia, Bhutan, Nepal, Botswana and Bangladesh. The plan is simple: to “Let Kids be Kids Again!”

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2018 JAN / FEB

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GADGETS

LIFESTYLE GIZMOS & GADGETS

PORSCHE DESIGN HUAWEI MATE 10

The limited edition model boasts intelligent speed, intelligent power, and an intelligent camera. The Porsche Design HUAWEI Mate 10 is the most powerful Mate Series smartphone, with a 6GB RAM + 256GB ROM storage solution that maximizes performance. Also the world’s most powerful Artificial Intelligence (AI) smartphone, the best in class model features a customized User Interface that complements the overall design to showcase the speed heritage and customization of Porsche Design.

USD 1,800 www.huawei.com

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GADGETS

GIVENCHY AR & VR GOGGLES BY PDF HAUS

Here are the Givenchy VR Goggles, a superb concept of glasses dedicated to virtual reality and augmented reality.

Designed by designer Jae Hyeon of Korean studio PDF Haus for the brand Givenchy, these glasses express the desire of the world of fashion to seize new AR and VR technologies, increasingly present in our daily lives. With a deliciously retro look, the Givenchy VR Goggles imagine what the future of fashion will be, removing the notion of a gadget reserved for high-tech fans. www.pdfhaus.com

PORSCHE DESIGN CARBON WEEKENDER BAG

The high-end, high-tech Weekender features real carbon material with extreme durability and stylish design aesthetics. Accented with black Nappa leather, the Weekender has a new look. The large zipper opening on top can be attached to the sides of the duffle with snap buttons. Perfect for a weekend getaway or a business trip.

USD 1,800 www.porsche-design.com

MANTA5 HYDROFOIL BIKE

This handmade bicycle was created by Montante for Maserati to celebrate the 70th anniversary of Maserati’s victory in Indianapolis.

Completely handmade, its frame is made of chrome and painted with the original colors of the Maserati 8CTF. The chrome Trident is in a very 1930s style, while a ‘chassis plate’ and a silver ‘Boyle Special’ logo are featured on the cross-bar. All 200 editions will be individually numbered and will show the first owner’s name. This limited-edition bicycle is the perfect memorabilia for racing enthusiasts and aficionados of the Italian manufacturer.

USD 5,500 www.maserati.com

2018 JAN / FEB

51

AVIATION

LUXURY WITH ZERO GRAVITY Emirates Airlines unveiled its new state of the art First Class suites on their brand new Boeing 777-300ERs, and with it, has pushed the benchmark for a luxurious appointment in the sky.

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n its inaugural flight from Dubai to Brussels, the new first class suites of Emirates Airlines’ brand new Boeing 777-300ER was sold out because luxury travellers were eager to experience what has been dubbed a ‘game changer.’

It raises the bar on two fronts - luxury and technology. To begin with, features available on previous first-class offerings have been given an upgrade. To them, new and unique features have been added.

Each flight offers only six fully enclosed private suites in a spacious 1-1-1 configuration. Each suite offers 40 square feet of cabin space, fully enclosed by a floor to ceiling sliding door, providing the guest complete privacy. The suite is finished in hues of beige, and light grey tones to create an airy and spacious environment.

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The suites were created in collaboration with some of the finest brands in their fields. Mercedes-Benz collaborated on the designing of the all-new “buttery” soft leather seat manufactured

by Rockwell Collins. Its pièce de résistance is a setting known as ‘zero-gravity.’ Based on research done by NASA, it imparts a sense of weightlessness by alleviating pressure on the elbows, back, and neck. The guests also have complete control over the choice of lighting intensity and color, as well as temperature, via a touch screen console.

For those suites in the middle which do not have a window to look out of, Emirates has teamed up with Boeing to offer something truly unique: “Virtual Windows.” These are real-time projections of the exterior on flat-screen displays set behind mock windows to create the illusion of actually looking out of the aircraft window.

AVIATION

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53

HOROLOGY

SWISS AVANT-GARDE

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ado is one of the most innovative watchmakers in the market today, combining cutting-edge elements with contemporary design. On the sidelines of the Dubai Design Week, GC had the opportunity to speak with Mr. Matthais Breschan, CEO of Rado and discuss its presence at the Dubai Design Week.

We don’t very often see watch brands at exhibitions like the Dubai Design Week; what is Rado’s relationship with the design field?

I think already in comparison to most of the other watch brands, Rado is a very young brand in the watch market. Most of the brands, they have their origins in the 18th and 19th century, but Rado only exists since 1957. I think Rado did something very correct from the beginning; Rather than going into competition with two or three hundred years old watch brands and competing on functions or complications of the movements, Rado concentrated on the second part of the watch which is the housing. When you speak housing, you speak immediately about materials and design, and here Rado clearly became the market leader by bringing innovative designs and innovative materials to the watch market.

It is clear that design was a differentiating factor for Rado in the past sixty years and we will keep it that way to be different from the other watch brands in the coming sixty years. I think it’s essential when you get in any type of event to ensure that your participation is credible. Our attendance at the Dubai Design Week is natural since everybody associates us with creative designs.

How did the brand migrate from a traditional brand it was to the one it is today?

When I go back now about seven, eight years ago, we clearly had a problem in Rado. The brand was extremely strong and attractive for the current customers, but our clientele became older and older. So, we had to do some changes in the line in order to become more attractive to younger people. And, now by introducing new technologies like for example the monobloc construction or our collaborations with famous designers, we managed to make the brand extremely attractive for millennials.

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Being avant-garde is quite risky how do you balance the need to get new customers while satisfying existing ones?

Thanks to new technologies like for example the monobloc construction, we are today able to make watches like the Hyperchrome or the Thinline, which clearly helped us a lot to attract a younger clientele in the past five years. We are going to reinforce, in the coming years, our line-up to retain our loyal customers but we are also creating new ones to tap into other segments. It is very important for the development of the brand.

You described the Rado as a young and innovative brand when it comes to design, but with pieces like the Captain Cook, the brand is taking a vintage direction. Is it something we will see more or was it a one-off?

Vintage watches are today extremely attractive for young people, they are going back to the roots, and this is why I say there is a very strong market now for vintage looking watches. But, when we bring out vintage watches like this year, the Captain Cook, we always bring out at the same time, contemporary models as well. This is definitely something we are going to continue to do next year, and we are going to present another vintage watch this year in Basel.

Worldwide, which are the best-performing markets for Rado?

Of course, China remains our number one market, but the Middle East for Rado and not only since few years, since many years was always a very strong region. Rado was present in the Middle East when most of the other brands were focusing on Europe and the United States. That clearly gave Rado a big advantage because this made the brand very strong here and I think the reason why the brand became so popular here is that gifting is extremely important in the Middle East. And of course, if you gift a watch with the material that makes the watch look like brand new even after five, ten, fifteen or twenty years because its scratch resistant material like ceramic it gives a very strong and emotional message. This certainly contributed a lot to Rado’s success in this area and Rado still this year is, not only the area but even worldwide, one of the strongest growing brands in the Swiss watch industry.

HOROLOGY

2018 JAN / FEB

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AUTO

RAGING BULL

Lamborghini presents its first SUV, the Urus

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utomobili Lamborghini launches its third model: the Lamborghini Urus, the first Super Sports Utility Vehicle, and creates a new niche in the luxury segment by setting new standards in power, performance and dynamic behavior with design, luxury and unparalleled ease of use on a daily basis.

The Urus is equipped with a 4.0-liter, twin-turbo V8 engine developing 650 hp (478 kW) at 6,000 rpm, with peak rpm at 6,800 rpm, and peak torque of 850 Nm at 2,250 rpm. It has an automatic eight-speed gearbox. At 162.7 hp/l, the Urus boasts one of the highest power ratings in its class and the best power-to-weight ratio at 3.38 kg/hp.

The Urus accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in 3.6 seconds, from 0 to 200 km/h in 12.8 seconds and reaches a top speed of 305 km/h. It’s the fastest SUV on the market. The fourwheel drive system of the Lamborghini Urus offers a safe and responsive driving dynamics on all roads and surfaces in all weathers.

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The Lamborghini Urus, the most powerful luxury SUV, with a dynamic sports car feel that appeals to both the driver and passengers.

Its chunky cut style and its dominant presence on the road are accompanied by a very comfortable ride, a higher ground clearance, and a luxurious interior space housing the latest technologies. The Urus offers ease of driving in the city, maximum comfort during long journeys, an exciting dynamism on the road and track, and versatile off-road capabilities in a variety of environments. Lamborghini Urus has a dual personality: it is multidimensional. It can be as sporty or as stylish as the owner wishes and can be used as a luxury vehicle every day or provide an exhilarating supersport experience.

The Lamborghini Urus is technologically advanced but intuitively usable. The driver and passengers all benefit from the low but extremely comfortable position of the super sports seats, firmly integrated into the cockpit. In the cockpit, every order is within reach of the driver. Oriented around it, the elegant Y-shaped design

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AUTO

of the dashboard, materialized by the double silver wings and the rising center console, is inspired by the LM002 as well as the current Lamborghini lines.

A fully digital TFT screen displays the main Urus information in an animated 3D representation. It is customizable by the driver.

The Lamborghini Urus infotainment system reflects luxury and ease of use on a daily basis. It comes with advanced connectivity features. The infotainment touch interface is standard on two fully integrated displays aboard the Urus above the Tamburo. The top screen is the key interface for entertainment, managing features 58

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such as media information, navigation, telephony and car settings.

The lower screen provides a handwriting compatible keyboard and screen for entering information and controlling functions such as temperature and seat heating.

The Lamborghini Urus has a keyless start via the “Start� button on the center console, as long as the key is present in the passenger compartment. Access to the Urus is also possible without the key by touching sensor-equipped surfaces in the doors and tailgate.

The first customers will receive the new Lamborghini Urus in the spring of 2018.

AUTO

PRECISELY YOUR MOMENT DS ACTION DIVER AUTOMATIC MOVEMENT DIVER’S WATCH 300 M ISO 6425 WWW.CERTINA.COM

2018 JAN / FEB

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AUTO

CELEBRATION OF AN ICON

The mighty Aston Martin Vanquish S is back in a Coupe and convertible Volante versions.

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imited to just 175 cars worldwide, the Ultimate edition is available in Coupe or Volante form and is available in a choice of three exterior color schemes which have been thoughtfully crafted by the Aston Martin design team.

In addition to the specially created color and trim packages, there is a suite of details that are also unique to the Vanquish S Ultimate. These include carbon fiber side strakes featuring rose gold ‘Ultimate‘ decals, carbon fiber treadplates and an ‘Ultimate’ sill plaque, a special stitched quilting design on the seats, plus ‘Ultimate’ headrest embroidery.

“With the Ultimate Edition, we have accentuated the Vanquish S’s unique blend of tradition, technology, and craftsmanship with a selection of three bold exterior paint schemes and hugely appealing interior packages that make creative use of exciting materials. Our design team has created three unique themes which unite an exterior and interior package, but we have been careful to ensure each exterior color and interior theme work well together to offer our customers maximum choice,” said Marek Reichman, Aston Martin Chief Creative Officer.

It will offer a choice of three outer skins. The first features Ultimate Black paint with Copper Bronze graphics around the front air intake, rocker panels, and rear diffuser. Exhaust

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tips, brake calipers, and black wheels, as well as carbon fiber trim, were added to enhance the grille and side air intakes. In the cabin, we put on Obsidian Black leather with Chestnut Tan accents and stitching.

The third features White Gold paint with Bronze graphics, arranged with gleaming black trim and carbon fiber. In the cabin, there are Chestnut Tan leather seats and Obsidian Black trim.

Under the hood, the car boasts a 6.0-liter V12 engine that develops 580hp and 465lb-ft of torque, paired with an eightspeed Touchtronic III automatic transmission. According to the manufacturer, the 0-100 km/h is looped in 3.5 seconds, and the maximum speed is 323 km/h.

“Since the Vanquish was first introduced it immediately established itself as the pinnacle of our series production range. It has since evolved into a truly formidable machine. As the much-loved and highly acclaimed Vanquish S nears the end of production, we wanted to celebrate its success with a limited run of exceptional cars. The Ultimate edition perfectly captures the spirit of Vanquish and is sure to be sought after by collectors around the world,” Aston Martin VP & Chief Sales Officer, Christian Marti said of the Vanquish S Ultimate Edition.

Orders are open for the Vanquish S Ultimate and delivery will start in Spring 2018.

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2018 JAN / FEB

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AUTO

BEST IN CLASS

GC tells you more about the new Lincoln Navigator.

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he Lincoln Navigator helped define the full-size luxury SUV segment. First shown as a concept in sketch form at the 1996 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, Lincoln Navigator made its debut at the 1997 North American International Auto Show.

Navigator’s combination of space, power, and versatility complemented by luxury and comfort was enthusiastically embraced by customers. More than 40,000 were sold the first year, and it remains one of Lincoln’s best-known nameplates.

The next generation of Lincoln Navigator arrives this year with a host of customer-focused technologies, a robust twinturbocharged EcoBoost® engine, updated exterior design and new interior amenities.

After last year’s spectacular prototype, Lincoln today launches its all-new 2018 Navigator and promises North American families an ultra modern and spacious environment combined with stateof-the-art luxury technologies for first-class road travel.

As might be expected, the gullwing rear doors and cockpit access stairs have not been retained.

Lincoln, on the other hand, promises unparalleled cargo space in the full-size SUV category, enough to carry a mountain of luggage. Optional wireless charging and standard Wi-Fi service will keep everyone connected (not to mention the 6 USB ports, four 12-volt outlets and the 100-volt power outlet), while Advanced technology will allow the driver to adjust vehicle settings by merely turning a knob to make driving more comfortable and enjoyable.

“Discreet luxury is both a style and a sensation,” says Kumar Galhotra, president of Lincoln. “The new Navigator embodies these two elements. The sleek look, spacious interior and advanced vehicle technology are designed to make travel easier. “ 62

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Other highlights of the 2018 Lincoln Navigator include the ambient lighting of the passenger compartment gradually illuminates each of the three rows of the SUV, while during the day, the panoramic roof lets in natural light inside. An adjustable shelf behind the rear seats allows passengers to adjust the cargo area to their needs.

The high-strength aluminum alloy body helps lighten the vehicle by up to 90 kilos; the weight saved was reinvested in features such as towing and soundproofing. The “Perfect Position” front seats are heated and cooled, with a massage function, and can be adjusted in 30 different ways.

Finally, there are amenities such as SYNC 3 (compatible with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto), the rear-facing audio system with 2 x 10-inch screens (each capable of delivering different content) and the 20-speaker Revel Ultima sound system that transforms the cockpit in a personal amphitheatre.

“The all-new Navigator Concept reinforces our commitment to give every Lincoln client what we call quiet luxury – vehicles and experiences that are elegant, effortlessly powerful and serene,” said Kumar Galhotra, president of Lincoln. “This kind of quiet luxury sets Lincoln apart. Now, we’re showing fans of large SUVs how we can exceed their expectations, without being the loudest statement on the road.”

Lincoln invented the large luxury SUV in 1997, and now is reimagining Navigator for modern clients interested in better performance, more space and further refinement.

Lincoln’s design team drew inspiration from luxury sailboats and yachts when designing the new concept. This influenced everything from the clean, modern lines and Storm Blue paint on the exterior that mimics the grays and blues of sea and sky, to the teak finishes, custom gear and wardrobe management system found inside.

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63

HANDMADE

FROM PASSION TO CREATION

Meet America’s most iconic boat, a boat made entirely by hand.

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ly-fishing is a very serious topic in Montana; this timeless hobby has driven the state’s economy for decades. In the midst of all this folklore, a local boat maker is making a name for himself beyond the borders of its state and has now become a reference for fly-fishing enthusiasts around the world. Located in Paradise Valley, few miles outside of Livingston, Jason Cajune, founder of Cajune Boats, is building boats the traditional way, out of wood.

Jason spent the majority of his childhood in Glacier National Park where he accompanied his step-father as they cruised the region’s various lakes aboard wooden boats. The first fly-fishing ships were initially built in the 1920s. After a degree in architecture, Cajune moved to the state of Washington to work on fiberglass and epoxy boats. After a while he realized that this was not the type of boats he wanted to work on, he moved back to Montana with one idea in mind, making fly-fishing boats.

“I was guiding fly fishing for a while and thought that most of the boats I saw on the rivers were complete junk. So I built my first boat on the porch under a tarp in the rain, and it sold immediately. I built a second one in 1995, which coincided with the start of the internet nicely. I put a website up, and the boat sold before it was even finished,” said Cajune in an interview.

The first boats had tremendous success and led Cajune to work on his boats full-time, Cajune Boats was born. After a while, clients from Montana and out of state were lining up to get their hands on these traditional boats for traditional fly-fishermen.

“I guess I just made the product that people wanted,” Jason humbly states. Often starting from napkin sketches, and the occasional model for a new hull design, each boat is built from scratch using a combination of African mahogany, white ash, white oak, and various fir woods. On average, each boat takes about 300-400 hours of labor. They are all unique, shaped by the customer’s taste and needs. “The boats I’ve been doing lately take close to 400 hours, because I’m doing a lot more customization, and making most of the hardware out of bronze. I’m casting, welding, and really pushing the designs further than I ever have, “ he added.

Using his architectural background, Cajune places a certain emphasis on shapes and lines, but his main focus is the usability of his boats. “In the end, it’s a boat and has to function in the water.

But if you can combine that with beautiful form and style, then it can be really interesting. Sure I’m building boats for clients, but to be honest, I’m really building it for the guy who will be repairing it 50 years later, and he’s gonna say that it was done correctly.”

The company is now 20 years old and still has bright days ahead. It is rare to see such a niche company doing so well in a market where competition is quite fierce. Cajune Boats stands out by using the best materials but also by offering one of the most versatile fly-fishing boats on the market.

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HANDMADE

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DINING

BON APPÉTIT

GC’s round-up of Dubai’s latest culinary sensations.

BHAR RENAISSANCE DOWNTOWN DUBAI From fattoush and falafel to labneh and lamb chops, Chef Mohanad has added his signature flair to every item on the menu.

With modern techniques infused into traditional classics and contemporary twists on Middle Eastern family recipes, BHAR takes you on a culinary journey across the region and across time. BHAR, the Arabic word for ‘spice’, is designed to awaken

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the senses, evoking a feeling of tradition in a contemporary Middle Eastern style brasserie. It’s a place where the dishes on the tables are just as playful as the restaurant’s color palette, and guests are encouraged to come as they are.

Bhar, Renaissance Downtown, Tel: +9714-5125511

DINING

LARTE D3 Following the flagship concept in Milan, LARTE D3 offers an all-day dining experience combining a counter service ‘caffé’ and full-service ‘trattoria’. Living by the philosophy of ‘bello, buono e ben fatto,’ meaning ‘the beautiful, the good and the well-made,’ the concept is a model example of simple, honest Italian excellence and hospitality. The menu at LARTE D3 is impressively curated, featuring both traditional Italian dishes

and lighter Mediterranean flavors. Serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner, guests can choose from a selection of small Antipasti plates perfect for sharing or more substantial main courses.

The menu offers a wide variety of vegetarian, vegan, seafood and meat options.

LARTE, Dubai Design District , Tel: +9714-2400441

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DINING

LUIGIA RISTORANTE Set out in a friendly and stylish atmosphere, Luigia prides itself on serving ‘The Best Pizza in Town‘. The awardwinning restaurant places emphasis on simplicity and quality attracting individuals with different tastes. From a family reunion to business lunches, friendly outings or firstdate dinners, this destination conjoins the attractions of JBR into an authentic Italian dining experience. Luigia’s

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success lies in its commitment to providing the finest quality food at affordable prices. The menu includes a wide and creative choice of signature pastas, salads, meats, fish and traditional specialties along with a variety of quintessential Italian desserts.

Luigia Ristorante, Rixos Premium Dubai, Tel: +9714-5200000

DINING

MASTI COCKTAILS & CUISINE From the mind of award-winning chef Hari Nayak, the Masti menu offers a reinterpretation of Indian cuisine, designed to share. From small plates to entire culinary journeys for two. Dishes such as The Black Bass Ceviche, a Masti take on a Peruvian classic with lime, jalapeno, and crispy Plantain, offering a mouthwatering

combination OR the Bhatti Merguez delivers a heady mix of African and Indian flavors with succulent lamb, caramelized onion, and a chili garlic masala.

Masti, La Mer, Tel: +9714-3444384

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HOTELS

GLOBETROTTERS

GC takes you on a journey from through the GCC.

Shangri-La Al Husn Nestled on the shores of Muscat, the resort comprises three hotels Al Bandar, Al Waha and Al Husn. We opted for Al Husn because of its many advantages. This luxury hotel offers the best facilities in the resort; it boasts a private beach, a breathtaking infinity pool and amazing food offerings in a quiet and adult-only setting. With 180 rooms and suites Al Husn Hotel offers ShangriLa’s highest level of service, amenities, and privileges to the most discerning of travelers.These are amongst the largest and

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most luxurious in Oman, with an inviting décor inspired by royal Arabian palaces and accented by authentic Omani artworks.

Guests can enjoy access to the private 100-meter beach, as well as enjoy complimentary mini-bar, daily complimentary afternoon tea and pre-dinner cocktails and canapés service.

Rates starting from USD 300 per night. www.shangri-la.com

HOTELS

ASSILA HOTEL The new Assila Hotel combines the warmth of Arabian hospitality with Rocco Forte Hotels’ distinct service style, in the center of Jeddah’s most fashionable business and shopping district.

Designed by Martin Brudnizki and Olga Polizzi, Assila’s bold and contemporary interiors celebrate European sophistication and Arabian craftsmanship. The five-star hotel is also a gallery for almost 2,000 pieces of original works by Saudi Arabian artists and home to five exciting new restaurants with flavors from around the world.

The hotel sits on Prince Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Street, known as Tahlia Street, in the heart of Jeddah’s Central Business and Shopping District. Perfectly located, it’s a mere 20-minute drive from the international airport and the Corniche, and 40 minutes from the Holy City of Makkah.

Rates starting from USD 300 per night. www.roccofortehotels.com

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HOTELS

FOUR SEASONS BAHRAIN BAY Located in Manama, Four Seasons Bahrain Bay offers elegant accommodation with views of the Arabian Gulf. It has a gym, 5 swimming pools, 7 restaurants and free Wi-Fi. The rooms are elegantly furnished. Suites add separate living rooms with Blu-ray players, flat-screen TVs, and iPod docks. The marble bathrooms come with a shower, bathtub and free toiletries.

Guests can enjoy international dishes at CUT by Wolfgang Puck

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and oriental dishes at Re Asian Cuisine. Bahrain Bay Kitchen has an open kitchen. Featuring a terrace with panoramic views of Manama City, Bayview Lounge serves drinks and snacks throughout the day.

Rates starting from USD 400 per night. www.fourseasons.com

HOTELS

THE RITZ-CARLTON DOHA, SHARQ VILLAGE Sharq Village & Spa at Ritz-Carlton Hotel is a luxurious beachfront property with views of Doha Bay. It presents authentic Arabic architecture combining comfort and stateof-the-art equipment. Over 350 meters along the coastline, this secluded hotel offers 174 rooms, a 1400 m² infinity pool and a large wellness center. Featuring Oriental decor with wood paneling and four-poster beds, rooms at Sharq Village have private balconies overlooking the resort or Doha Bay. The marble

bathrooms have a deep soaking tub and a rain shower. Its Six Senses Spa, spanning over 6,500 m², offers a wide range of massages and skin treatments. You can relax in comfortable armchairs by the lanterns of the relaxation area or enjoy the steam room and sauna.

Rates starting from USD 300 per night. www.ritzcarlton.com

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CULINARY

STAR AMONG STARS

Meet the most starred chef in the world, Joël Robuchon

H

e wanted to be a priest and then an architect; eventually, he would end up becoming a chef. For this young man who only liked steaks and fries, and who knew nothing about food, the bet was a little daring. With 28 Michelin stars, distributed among his 17 workshops and other restaurants, Joël Robuchon is the most starred chef in the world and undoubtedly the most publicized.

Born in 1945, this Poitevin, learned in several establishments in France before settling in Paris at the Hotel Nikko then at Concorde Lafayette. In 1981, Joël Robuchon decided to stand on his own and opened the restaurant Le Jamin, in the 16th arrondissement of Paris. The highlights at the time were lamb chops with thyme flower, truffle pie, ravioli with langoustines with vegetable broth and fresh foie gras, along with the chef’s famous mashed potatoes.

In 1982, Joël Robuchon got his first Michelin star; the second was awarded the following year; and the third the year after, making it three stars in 3 years. He was crowned “Chef of the Year” in 1987 by the magazine Le Chef and “Cook of the Century” in 1990 by the Gault Millau. In 1994, he moved to Avenue Raymond Poincaré in a restaurant bearing his name, which was dubbed by the International Herald Tribune as “Best Restaurant in the World.”

Two years later, at the age of 51, Joël Robuchon left the kitchen, he wanted to devote himself to the transmission of his knowledge.

Far from the pressure of stars, he puts on his apron to host the famous TV show “Bon appétit, Bien Sur” on France 3; a daily appointment to make cooking accessible to all with recipes, tips, and tricks.

In 2003, after seven years of absence, he returned to the front of the stage with a new concept based on conviviality, inspired

by Spanish tapas bars and Japanese sushi bars: l’Atelier. It was a small revolution in the world of gastronomy.

With Japanese decor in shades of red and black and chefs cooking, facing customers, the formula pleased and the chef opened his concept all over the world: London, Las Vegas, Hong Kong, Taipei, Singapore.

In each of his restaurants around the world, Joël Robuchon remains faithful to his principles, which have made him French gastronomy’s best ambassador. Using exceptional products and simplicity of execution Robuchon was able to change the culinary world.

Since September 2011 Joël Robuchon hosts a new weekly culinary magazine “Planète Gourmande,” produced and directed

by Guy Job, in which he shares with us his recipes and tips.

In 2014, Joël Robuchon opened Joël Robuchon’s Workshop in Bangkok. In 2016, Joël Robuchon’s workshop opened in Shanghai.

At the end of 2016, Joël Robuchon’s workshop also opened in Montreal and then restaurants in New York, Miami, and Geneva.

Having created a traditional, sumptuous and technical cuisine and then moving on to healthy and clean French cuisine, Joël Robuchon has left his mark in the national and international culinary collective memory.

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CULINARY

2018 JAN / FEB

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ART

ART IN THE CITY

Tashkeel welcomes two designers for residencies.

F

The first designers to have residencies at Tashkeel, a Dubaibased art gallery, will display their work in an exhibition titled In Residence.

Christine Müller, from Austria, and Briton Fay McCaul spent three months utilizing the center’s well-equipped studios, exploring Dubai and engaging with the emirate’s residents through a series of workshops and talks.

Lisa Ball Lechgar, Deputy Director of Tashkeel, said: “For many practitioners, residencies offer time and space away from their usual surroundings and obligations, enabling them to develop new areas of creative practice and find fresh inspiration. As Dubai Design District and events such as Dubai Design Week raise the profile of design in the UAE, the integration of designers into the longstanding Artist-in-Residence programme represents a logical progression for Tashkeel. We are extremely keen to share the results of Christine and Fay’s design work here with a wider audience through the In Residence exhibition,” said, Lisa Ball Lechgar, Deputy Director of Tashkeel.

In Residence marks the culmination of each artist’s journey in the UAE, where they were encouraged to push the boundaries of their chosen disciplines and explore new techniques, materials and methods of working while responding to their experiences of living and working in the Gulf. The residencies ran from late 76

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September to December and were the first such residencies either designer had undertaken.

While based at Tashkeel, they gave workshops some of the emirate’s other creative hubs, including jewelry academy L’École Van Cleef & Arpels, based in Dubai Design District, and Youth xHub, a facility for young people founded by the UAE government.

McCaul studied at the Royal College of Art, in London, and has produced works for the city’s acclaimed Saatchi Gallery. During her time at Tashkeel, she ran three community workshops, including a class in geometric jewelry design, and a ‘Make-your-own-T-shirt’ session for children.

“My time at Tashkeel has enabled me to experiment and explore new techniques and methods to create my textile work,” she said. “By using the heat press, I have developed my idea of heat-bonding materials within the fabric, achieving three diverse outcomes based on this process-driven principle.”

McCaul will exhibit three new pieces created during the programme alongside existing works. Tashkeel Tiles is a 25-piece modular wall covering for which hundreds of shapes were cut from a variety of materials and enmeshed between layers of cotton and netting. While making Grid Surface, she experimented with combinations of felt and three-dimensional forms, creating a series of tiles that she embossed by hand in the studio.

ART

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PENS

THE ART OF WRITING

GC presents some of the latest writing instruments on the market.

Montblanc M - Great Characters The Beatles Special Edition The Beatles are one of the most legendary rock bands. With its members John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, the group is renowned for being the most famous and influential of the great rock era. In the early 1960s, their popularity gave birth to ‘Beatlemania’ and, as their music grew in sophistication under the influence of leading authors, Lennon and McCartney, the four boys were considered the

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counterparts. The button of the mixer of the famous Abbey Road studio inspired the cone of the pen, while the top of the cap evokes the microphone. The staple symbolizes the Beatles’ iconic mustache on their portrait. The multicolored stripes on the body and the lacquered cap pay tribute to the costumes they wore on the cover of their albums’ Sgt. Pepper ‘s Lonely Hearts Club Band’ and ‘Love Me Do.’

PENS

Montegrappa Reminiscence 105th Anniversary Limited Edition This new, celebratory edition was released to mark 105 years since the founding of Montegrappa. Very few design details have been changed since the pen’s creation, which speaks volumes about real and timeless designs. The dimensions are slightly larger than those of the vintage models, but the pen’s looks remain constant. Like almost all Montegrappa products, the Montegrappa Reminiscence 105th Anniversary is characterized by its octagonal barrel

and cap shape. Made entirely of polished Sterling Silver, the Reminiscence is adorned with hand-engraved Liberty designs. Reminiscence 105th Anniversary Pens will be offered as fountain pens only, in a limited edition of just 105 examples, to commensurate with the years that have passed since the formation of the brand. The fountain pen is piston-fed, with 18k gold nib and ebonite feeder, available in the grades Extra Fine, Fine, Medium and Broad.

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HIGH JEWELLERY

THE JEWELLER OF THE STARS

A look at the history of Harry Winston

F

ew brands have a history as prestigious as the House of Harry Winston. Harry Winston, Inc. was founded in 1932 in New York by Harry Winston, an outstanding gemmologist, intuitive businessman and dedicated philanthropist. This year marks the beginning of a great legacy that would continue to be honored for years to come.

In 1935, Harry Winston bought his first major diamond, the Jonker, a 726-carat untreated, rough diamond. After much debate about the surest way to ship the stone to New York, Winston decides to send the rough diamond himself by registered mail for 64 cents. The cleavage of the Jonker gives 12 individual stones, the largest of which, an emerald cut diamond weighing a total of 125.35 carats.

He understood the value of showing off his jewelry through the glamorous Hollywood industry, for example by donating earrings to Jennifer Jones for the 1944 Oscars and diamonds to Ingrid Bergman for Alfred Hitchcock’s movie. Now well known to the American public, he always was the jeweler of Hollywood stars at ceremonies such as the Oscars.

In 1949, Harry Winston acquired the entire jeweler collection of American socialite Ms. Evalyn Walsh McLean. It included the 94.80-carat diamond, the “Star of the East,” and the famous diamond “Hope,” an exceptional blue diamond of 45.52 carats, which was once the property of Louis XIV, Marie Antoinette, and Lord Henry Phillip Hope.

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Harry Winston crisscrossed the country to present a collection of the most critical and valuable diamonds and stones as part of a nationwide exhibition entitled The Court of Jewels, whose profits were donated to major local charities. The exhibition lasted four years and ended in 1953.

From the acquisition of some of the world’s most famous gemstones, including the Jonker and Hope diamonds, as well as the Winston Legacy diamond, to the finest Hollywood legends and politicians around the world, for more than eight decades, the Harry Winston’s name has gradually become synonymous with excellence.

Today, Harry Winston House continues its tradition of creativity, exception, and quality in its salons around the world, including New York, London, Paris, Geneva, Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Shanghai.

Over the course of years, Harry Winston has provided jewelry to most of the members of the international high society, from the Duchess of Windsor to the Maharani of Jaipur, to Elizabeth Taylor, Katharine Hepburn, Audrey Hepburn and many American billionaires such as the Rockefellers.

Today, Harry Winston House continues its tradition of creating refined jewelry and watches with an incomparable style. Known throughout his life as the “King of Diamonds” and the “Jeweler of the Stars”; Winston’s thought that gemstones dictate the design of every jewel and not the mount - has contributed to revolutionizing jewelry creation, and remains the spearhead of this timeless aesthetic that still inspires all Harry Winston models today.

HIGH JEWELLERY

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TRAVEL

NEW YORK STATE OF MIND

GC takes you to the city that never sleeps.

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ew York. Those who have never been there already know it, through cinema, TV series, music, literature.

New York is a dream machine. Diverse, frenetic, electric, magnetic, magical, vertiginous, inventive, intensive the adjectives jostle to describe it. It is the city of extremes and superlatives.

New York remains the most populated megacity in the United States, the most visited. Times Square, a vibrant New York neighborhood, is the most visited tourist attraction in the world and never fails to fascinate with its impressive neon lights. Central Park is nearby and attracts joggers, walkers, and picnickers from around the globe seeking a break from New York City’s frenetic pace. Its museums are among the richest in the world. And from its mythical skyline, on the site of the Twin Towers, emerges the faceted silhouette of One World Trade Center, now the tallest skyscraper in North America.

New York is the city of cities. Too small to be a country and too big to be a mere city; every borough, every neighborhood has its own identity, but nothing is fixed. Not so long ago, a trip to New York was a visit to the heart of Manhattan. Few 82

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tourists dared to venture to Harlem, whereas today it is a must for its easy-going atmosphere and hectic nightlife.

Even the Bronx became a tourist attraction; as for Brooklyn, it’s “the Manhattan of the twentieth century.” The bio-ecological wave that swept the Big Apple has given New Yorkers a taste for good products. Like Brooklyn, farmers markets flourish, and urban farms grow on the roofs of buildings. A new generation of chefs has turned upside down culinary traditions.

The incredible city of New York is full of iconic architectural landmarks, cultural venues, and breath-taking views. So why not explore the Big Apple by going to a Broadway show, attending a game at Yankee Stadium or taking a ferry ride to admire the Statue of Liberty.

New York displays a permanent creative buzz, fuelled by inexhaustible energy. And while some dark episodes have left indelible traces, New York is still standing, ready for new challenges.

John F. Kennedy and LaGuardia airports are conveniently located for easy access to the city center and taking a train to Grand Central Station is also something not to be missed.

TRAVEL

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TRAVEL

WHAT TO DO

9/11 MEMORIAL

WATCH THE NEW YORK KNICKS

The 9/11 Memorial was built at Ground Zero in tribute to the victims of the tragic attacks of September 11, 2001. These are two huge pools constructed in place of the former twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York They represent the footprint of the twin towers and are actually a little smaller than the old towers: 69% of their original size. The 9/11 Memorial is, therefore, a place loaded with emotions, accessible for free.

The Knicks are New York’s historic NBA team. They live at Madison Square Garden in the heart of Manhattan. They have been living together since 2012 with the Brooklyn Nets, which as their name suggests, evolve in Brooklyn. Easily accessible, the MSG is located at 4 Pennsylvania Plaza, just off Penn Station. You will not be able to miss it thanks to its cylindrical shape and its lights in the colors of the Knicks on game night.

MUSEUM OF MODERN ART

CENTRAL PARK

The MoMA is New York’s largest museum of modern and contemporary art and one of the most renowned in the world. It is a must-see even for those who are not great lovers of modern art.

You will be surprised to discover works that you know! For lovers of modern and contemporary art, the question does not even arise so much; this museum is rich in works of great masters.

Central Park will amaze you with its ability to cut you off from the perpetual noise that characterizes New York. Located in Manhattan, this park stretches for 4 km between 5th Avenue and Central Park West. Nicknamed the green lung of New York, it is a haven of peace full of hidden stories. You can imagine that by its size and diversity, there are a thousand ways to have a good time in Central Park.

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TRAVEL

WHERE TO STAY

THE WESTIN NEW YORK AT TIMES SQUARE The Westin New York at Times Square is a hotel well known for its architecture. It is one of the most modern and colorful buildings in Midtown. Its location 100m from Times Square makes it one of the most popular hotels in New York. The Westin is a massive hotel (83 rooms) of very good quality, with a very refined decoration and very modern. You enter the street level and reach the spacious and beautiful lobby via an escalator. The first important thing to say, and that we all seek as tourists to New York City is that the rooms of the Westin Times Square offer an extraordinary view of Manhattan. The rooms are very comfortable (king size beds), spacious, the bathroom very stylish and practical.

The Westin New York at Times Square Starting USD 300 per night, www.westin.com

BRYANT PARK HOTEL Bryant Park Hotel is a boutique hotel in midtown Manhattan, across from Bryant Park Public Park and 160 meters from the New York Public Library. It offers free Wi-Fi and a gym. Decorated with parquet floors, handmade Tibetan rugs, and leather accents, all rooms at Hotel Bryant Park include a 32-inch TV and a Bose, CD player. The marble bathrooms come with bathrobes and toiletries. The lobby at Bryant Park Hotel has red furnishings and black marble floors. On-site amenities include a concierge desk, a gym with personal trainers, a movie theater, and event space. The on-site Koi Restaurant serves Asian fusion cuisine. The metro station is 320 meters away, while Grand Central Terminal, Times Square, and the Empire State Building are 700 meters from Bryant Park Hotel.

Bryant Park Hotel, New York Starting USD 200 per night, www.bryantparkhotel.com

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FASHION

SPRING VIBES GC’s selection of the must have fragrances this season.

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Noir Anthracite, Tom Ford

Obsessed, Calvin Klein

HWYL, Aesop

Pure XS, Paco Rabanne

FASHION

Dark Light, Prada

Concrete, Comme Des Garçons

L’Homme Idéal Sport, Guerlain

Sauvage, Dior

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HOROLOGY

ROGER DUBUIS AVENTADOR EXCALIBUR Automotive and watchmaking are industries that share common values and regularly work together. After striking a five-year deal with Lamborghini, the Geneva-based watchmaker Roger Dubuis presents the first result of this collaboration, the Excalibur Aventador S. Made of carbon fiber with two escapements, a deadbeat seconds display, and a movement inspired by the Aventador engine, the

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watch is truly a piece of high watchmaking. Roger Dubuis and Lamborghini each make about 3,500 units annually, and in the case of Lamborghini, every single car is pre-sold and customized.

The watch is available in two versions; both are limited editions, one in 88 pieces and the other in just eight. Roger Dubuis has expressed an interest in offering bespoke watch customization to Lamborghini buyers.

HOROLOGY

HUBLOT ORLINKSKI WATCH Collaboration is a concept deeply rooted in Hublot’s DNA, the Art Of Fusion has seen the Swiss brand working with chefs, musicians and athletes. The brand’s latest collaborator is the world-renowned French artist Richard Orlinksi who worked together with Hublot to create The Classic Fusion Aerofusion Chronograph Orlinski.

This brand-new design brings Orlinkski’s graphic universe to life. The dial is cast in sapphire crystal, while the case, crown, bezel and push buttons feature the facets too. The watch is available in two brand-new models, titanium, and blue ceramic, and both have been produced in a limited-run of 200 pieces only.

Richard Orlinksi joins names such as Pelé and Usain Bolt in the Hublot family.

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HOROLOGY

MB&F KELYS & CHIRP AUTOMATON MB&F is one of the most unpredictable brands of the watchmaking industry. From desk clocks to motorcycle you never know what to expect next. The brand’s latest creation, the MB&F Kelys & Chirp Automaton, is a proof of the above statement.

Made of 480 components in the movements, many of which are an ode to Pierre Jaquet-Droz’s original singing bird automaton from

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the 1780s, the clock was designed, developed by Reuge, a music box maker, with help from automaton specialist Nicolas Court.

It is made of 18k white gold and steel, with sapphire eyes; it walks along a table or a desk in the same manner as an actual tortoise and Kelys travels around about the same speed as a real tortoise at around 0.03 meters per second.

HOROLOGY

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Arton Capital is the leading global financial advisory firm providing custom-tailored services for immigrant investor programs to government agencies, certified partners and high net-worth individuals and families around 2018 JAN from / FEB 91the world. Become a Global Citizen速 and Empowering Global Citizenship速 are registered trademarks of Arton Capital.

THE NEW 2018

LUXURY IS BETTER SHARED

Everyone riding in the new QX80 can now have it all: bold exterior lines and sophisticated luxurious interior, a 400hp, 5.6-litre V8 engine as well as advanced safety technologies.

2018 JANUARY / FEBRUARY

INFINITI 800 46346484

Infiniti-dubai.com

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