Category: Collectibles

Keep Walking: Johnnie Walker Blue Label pays tribute to Hong Kong’s spirit

 

You may have heard about the genie in a bottle, but have you heard about a city in a bottle? That’s exactly what Johnnie Walker Blue Label has sought to achieve with its Pioneering Cities edition, in which the premium blended whisky-maker has collaborated with local artists from the world’s most thriving cities to depict each city’s true essence through artwork on limited-edition Johnnie Walker Blue Label bottles.

For the Hong Kong edition of the Pioneering Cities collection, Johnnie Walker has partnered with Hong Kong-raised illustrator Victo Ngai, a Forbes Art & Style 30-under-30 honouree and a two-time gold medallist at New York Society of Illustrators.
Victo’s artwork on the Johnnie Walker Blue Label bottles depict vibrant snippets of Hong Kong culture, including a Cantonese opera performer who takes centre-stage with her opulent blue costume, patterned with suggestions from the city’s iconic skyline, colonial architecture and neon lights.

To further underline the Chinese influence, an Oriental-themed tassel hangs decoratively from the bottle’s golden cap, making the bottles a prized possession for any art lover.

 

 

Each bottle also has its own unique serial number starting with Hong Kong’s area code ‘852’, followed by a four-digit number.
Talking about the special tribute to Hong Kong, Johnnie Walker Blue Label brand ambassador, Martin Newell, says, “As a progressive city with a never-say-die attitude, Hong Kong deeply resonates the ‘Keep Walking’ spirit of Johnnie Walker.” He further urges whisky lovers to try the limited edition, not just for the artwork, but also for the unique whisky that is blended from one in a 1000 casks, chosen meticulously from all corners of Scotland.

Priced at HK$2300 per 70cl bottle, the Johnnie Walker Blue Label Pioneering Cities Limited Edition is now available at major retailers and specialised stores across Hong Kong.

 
Text: Suchetana Mukhopadhyay

Opulence Revealed: Rémy Martin’s newest X.O. cognac unveiled in Hong Kong

 

Iconic French cognac house Rémy Martin has just unveiled the prestigious Rémy Martin X.O. Cannes 2017 Limited Edition in Hong Kong in an exclusive event titled ‘Opulence Revealed’.

Originally launched as a tribute to the 70th anniversary of the Cannes Film Festival, the cognac went on to become a runaway success in France, the US, the UK, China and Taiwan before being released in Hong Kong.

Limited to just 300 bottles in the Hong Kong market, the Rémy Martin X.O. Cannes 2017 cognac is strictly elite. Justifying the letters X.O. – extra old – the cognac has been aged for three decades using only the best-quality grapes from the Fine Champagne region of France.

Blended from up to 400 aged eaux-de-vie, the cognac creates a perfect balance of exquisite and refined notes. The rich amber colour, together with the fragrant aromas of jasmine, plum, figs, candied orange, cinnamon and hazelnuts, create a beautiful anticipation even before the first sip. Surprisingly, the Rémy Martin X.O. cognac is quite light on the palate and can be paired with any kind of protein.

The decanter is equally delightful to behold – a beauty in black and gold, reminiscent of film reels and with a gift box that also includes a film on the cellar masters and the craft of cognac-making.

Text: Suchetana Mukhopadhyay

Get a taste of Louis XIII’s royal history with limited-edition cognac  

Premium cognac brand Louis XIII, from the house of Rémy Martin, has just launched a limited-edition collection as a tribute to history.

In 1874, Paul-Émile Rémy Martin bought an ancient royal flask unearthed by a farmer near a historic battlefield. Inspired by its striking shape and regal fleur-de-lys medallions, he created a similar decanter for storing a special cognac made with only the oldest and rarest eaux-de-vie from his cellars.

More than 100 years later, the legacy of the unique decanter still lives on. The recently launched collection, titled The Origin – 1874, recreates the exclusive decanter. It contains a rare cognac made from a blend of up to 1,200 eaux-de-vie drawn from Louis XIII’s signature Grande Champagne.

Speaking about the new collection, Louis XIII’s global executive director, Ludovic du Plessis, says, “The greatest stories often have humble beginnings and ours is no exception. It was 1874 and a new, yet very old cognac was born. The Origin – 1874 marks one of the landmark moments in Louis XIII’s fascinating story, and it will become part of your own personal legacy and tale.”

Divine Duo: Diamonds inspired by the gods

Apollo and Artemis aren’t just Greek gods; they’re also the most valuable earrings ever sold at auction. Or at least that’s what they were called before they were auctioned off. The anonymous buyer who made off with these dazzling dangle earrings gave them new monikers – “The Memory of Autumn Leaves” and “The Dream of Autumn Leaves”. Although, considering that the pair sold for a combined total of US$57.4 million (HK$447.7 million), you wouldn’t want to go frolicking around in a pile of leaves while wearing them.

The more valuable of the two is the 14.54-carat internally flawless fancy vivid blue diamond, which went for US$42 million alone. In recent years, only the Cullinan mine in South Africa has produced blue diamonds with any regularity, but the stones are still exceptionally rare. Less than 0.1 percent of the diamonds have a blue hue, and even fewer are graded a fancy vivid blue diamond. The fancy intense pink diamond earring is slightly larger at 16 carats, but it’s less rare than its periwinkle partner.

The earrings were the “stars” of the auction, according to Sotheby’s representative David Bennett. “These exquisite coloured diamonds are enormously rare and each is a wonderful stone in its own right,” he says. “Together, as a pair of earrings, they are breathtaking.”

Basquiat painting sells for HK$861.6 million at auction

A painting by late artist Jean-Michel Basquiat sold for a staggering US$110.5 million (HK$861.6 million) at a Sotheby’s auction in New York. The sale of the untitled painting set a number of records, including the highest price ever paid for a post-1980 artwork and the most expensive American artwork ever sold at auction.

Although Basquiat is lesser known than Pablo Picasso, Francis Bacon and Andy Warhol, he has joined their ranks in the $100 million-plus club. Basquiat’s Untitled painting (1982) depicts a grimacing skull on canvas. It’s rich with imagery that is now synonymous with Basquiat, such as the graffiti-like typography sprawling across the canvas. The Brooklyn-born artist was 21 when he painted it, but the haunting skull foreshadowed darker things to come: just six years later, he died of a heroin overdose.

The painting was purchased by collector Yusaku Maezawa, who plans to house it in a museum in his hometown of Chiba, Japan. “When I saw this painting, I was struck with so much excitement and gratitude for my love of art,” Maezawa says. “I want to share that experience with as many people as possible around the world.” Maezawa is clearly a big fan of Basquiat, as he helped set a previous auction record for the artist in May 2016 when he purchased another untitled work for US$57.3 million.

Footballer pays HK$9.9 million for custom-made car keys

Emperor open copy_effWhen you’re ranked among the world’s best and most bankable footballers, skimping on gifts for friends and teammates simply isn’t an option. David Luiz, who plays for English club Chelsea, treated his teammates to custom-made car keys worth a combined total of £1million (HK$9.9 million) after they won the Premier League. Far from ordinary, these diamond-encrusted supercar keys can be worn like bracelets, and they sync up with a number of luxury car brands such as Lamborghini, Ferrari and Bugatti.David_Luiz_-_PSG
The UK-based company, Senturion, claims to be “the world’s first and only creator of ultra-luxury wristwear pieces” that synchronise with supercars. One of its models, the Emperor, features handcrafted rose gold, black diamonds, leather and titanium. It’s limited to just seven pieces in the world, practically guaranteeing that you won’t bump into anyone else with the same one. In fact, the brand calculates that only one in a billion people is a Senturion owner. Most impressively, pieces from the brand’s Meteorite Edition are forged from a 4-billion-year-old meteorite, and no two pieces in the collection are the same. It was one of these models that Luiz gifted to Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich – a surefire way to get on the boss’s good side.

Emperor’s Old Watch: Royal Rolex breaks record

Rolex Reference 6062 _Bao Dai_eff2

Rolex is a name synonymous with luxury, but that reputation didn’t make it any less surprising when the brand’s Bao Dai wristwatch sold for US$5 million (HK$39 million). The recent sale cemented the rare Rolex’s position as the most expensive watch ever sold, and for good reason: it had a royal owner. Emperor Bao Dai, whose name means “keeper of greatness”, was the last emperor of Vietnam. In 1954, during talks in Switzerland with world leaders to negotiate with the Viet Minh over Vietnam’s future, Emperor Bao Dai broke away from the meeting and popped into a Rolex shop.

Geneve salesroom_higher res
He wasn’t willing to accept any old watch from the showroom, though. Instead, he asked staff members to fetch the rarest and most precious Rolex ever made. A clerk was dispatched from Rolex’s workshops on the outskirts of Geneva, bringing with him a rare timepiece: the Rolex reference 6062 in yellow gold. Only three models of this watch are known to exist, but the Bao Dai is the only one with diamond markers on the even hours. The watch is so sought after that it prompted an eight minute bidding war between 13 bidders at a recent Phillips auction. The lucky buyer probably doesn’t boast any royal blood, but he still gets to become a “keeper of greatness” in his own right.

Sculpture by Roy Lichtenstein sells for HK$80.5 million at auction

Lichtenstein, Sunlight & Moonlight (recto and verso)_eff

American artist Roy Lichtenstein’s work is widely recognised for its characteristic pop art style and comic strip-inspired motifs.

During his hey-day in the 1960s, he used tiny dots – similar to the Ben Day dots that were once used in comics, but more exaggerated – to give his characters shading and dimension. The technique quickly became one of his hallmarks, and those iconic red dots can be seen in one of the latest Lichtenstein pieces to head to the auction block. The sculpture, Woman: Sunlight, Moonlight, sold for US$10.3 million (HK$80.5 million) at Phillips auction house in New York on 18 May.

Woman: Sunlight, Moonlight was created in 1996, just a year before Lichtenstein died of pneumonia in New York City. It is also considered to be one of the finest works of his career. At more than three feet tall (nearly one metre), the bust is quite the head-turner, especially when placed in an otherwise drab room. It’s double-sided and shows a unique image of a woman on each side.

Lichtenstein frequently portrayed – and parodied – stereotypically masculine and feminine roles as they were depicted in comics.

The artist once said, “I’m interested in what would normally be considered the worst aspects of commercial art.” Indeed, that is the stuff that good art is made of.

French Belle Epoque exhibition held in Hong Kong

As part of the ongoing Le French May celebrations, an exhibition titled French Belle Epoque was held in Hong Kong recently, where French masterpieces from the 19th century were put on display. The La Belle Epoque period, which literally means “a beautiful era”, was a period of peace and culture in France between the Prussian War of 1871 and World War I in 1914.

Renowned collector Sandrine Souchon displayed her private collection of rare 19th-century decorative masterpieces by famous French maisons. One notable feature is that most of the artefacts are studded with malachite, crystal or lapis lazuli, which seem to have been the favoured gems of the Belle Epoque period.

Souchon has been an avid art collector and aficionado for over three decades. Her collection boasts monumental sculptures, rare furniture and unique artworks from across the world.

The exhibition was visited by art connoisseurs like Diana Zhang, William and Priscilla Chak, Robert and Sally Lo, French designer Zhor Tiber, Hong Kong Cancer Fund founder Peter Matthewson and Le French May organisers Julian-Loic Garin and Andrew Yuen.

Text: Suchetana Mukhopadhyay

Deco-dent Gems

Jewels - An emerald, diamond and platinum plaque clip brooch, French, $20,000-30,000

Photo courtesy of Bonhams

Jackie Collins, the late British-American romance author and sister of silver screen starlet Joan Collins, knew a thing or two about style. Dubbed the “queen of the ‘bonkbuster’” for her steamy and sometimes salacious novels, she was famed not only for her page-turning plots, but also for her flashy taste in fashion. Her go-to get-up often comprised leopard-print pieces, chunky jewellery and a blazer.

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Photo courtesy of Bonhams

She also had a penchant for all things Art Deco. Many of her vintage 1920s and 30s pieces – artworks and jewellery alike – were sold as part of a Bonhams’ auction on 16 May. Three pieces of Art Deco jewellery, including a bracelet, brooch and necklace, were plucked up for US$161,250 (HK$1.26 million). One of the three pieces, a diamond emerald and platinum necklace, sold for US$56,250 alone. The jagged, geometric pattern of the necklace is softened by a dazzling array of diamonds – 44 carats in total. The brooch, which is French in origin, boasts a Colombian emerald surrounded by round, half-moon, square step and baguette-cut diamonds, and some more square calibré-cut emeralds. After Jackie’s death from breast cancer in 2015, her sister said in a tribute, “Wherever you are, my darling sister, you deserve a red carpet and a throne.” We hope she’s right and imagine that it’s a leopard-print throne, encrusted with jewels.