Vincent, Sylvie and Pascal de Sarthe, Image courtesy of Pascal de Sarthe
In 2012, after a long and successful run in first Paris then America as gallerists, Pascal and Sylvie de Sarthe opened a gallery in Hong Kong in Central, motivated by the time they were already spending in Asia for their business. Earlier this year, they moved to a bigger space at Wong Chuk Hang, attracted, as with other galleries which have opened in the area, by the lower rents and the easier access with the opening of the MTR South Island Line at the end of 2016.
De Sarthe Gallery has, in the past 6 years, solidified their place in the Hong Kong art scene with headlining exhibitions, beginning with ‘Zao Wou-Ki Paintings: 1950s-1960s’, following up with the sophomore show of American artist David LaChapelle, and continuing with other well-received solo as well as group shows, such as ‘Gutai’ and ‘Pioneers of Chinese Modern Paintings in Paris’.
Le Pho, ‘Elegant Lady Pouring Tea’, image courtesy of De Sarthe Gallery
The latest exhibition, ‘Departures: Intersecting Modern Vietnamese Art with R. Streitmatter-Tran’, in collaboration with Singapore-based art agency Art Agenda, S.E.A., continues in the gallery’s pioneering trajectory in presenting trendsetting curatorial ideas and content. For the show, which opened in late May, the Vietnamese contemporary artist Streitmatter-Tran created new works in response to the oeuvres of Vietnamese art masters such as Le Pho and Vu Cao Dam.
De Sarthe Gallery has, through the years, been active in both the secondary and primary market, dealing in works by international modern masters as well as supporting emerging contemporary artists. Pascal’s son, Vincent, has taken up the mantle for the latter in Beijing, running a separate De Sarthe Gallery at Caochangdi, set up in 2014 as a platform for emerging Chinese artists. The current exhibition, ‘Bu Qian’, which runs till end June, presents the new work of Zhou Wendou, who has devoted his practice to installations built around the camera as the subject.
When money is no obstacle, and the world is your pearl-studded oyster, wealthy travelers are more apt to jet off to Italy than any other destination. That’s according to the luxury travel agency network Virtuoso, which looked at the most popular destinations sought by their wealthiest clients in the US at member agencies around the world. For the list, experts looked at bookings made for this summer through their network which, so far, total more than $39.7 billion USD in transactions.
The list of the 10 most popular destinations is dominated by Europe, with the quartet of traditional favourites Italy, the UK, France and Spain topping the ranking.
Along with offering natural and cultural attractions—among the most important priorities for affluent globetrotters—the strength of the US dollar against the Euro and the British pound are making Europe a particularly appealing destination for 2017.
South Africa is also a favourite for travellers looking to strike off bucket-list dreams, notably safaris and wilderness retreats. This year, Canada has also become top of mind as the country celebrates its 150th anniversary with a slew of events planned coast to coast. Canada Day is July 1. Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands are also popular, particularly for ocean and river cruisers.
Here’s where wealthy American travellers are most likely to jet off to this summer, according to Virtuoso:
The Nest thermostat adapts to the user’s lifestyle
Smart home technology has come a long way from clunky automated blinds and motion detecting lights. We now have smart ovens like the Tovala, which reads barcodes and adjusts its steam and temperature settings to best cook the food you place inside it. There are devices like the Netatmo Weather Station, which measures pollution levels, temperatures and lets you know if you need to water your garden. There’s even the Nightingale, a customised smart sleep system that immerses your bedroom with comfortable ambient noises known as “sound blankets”.
Perhaps one of the best-known innovations is Nest, a thermostat that monitors inhabitants’ activity, learns their schedules and temperature preferences and heats or cools the residence as it deems appropriate. But despite a flood of products that promise to make homes “smarter”, a barrier to mass adoption has been the technological fragmentation of the smart home ecosystem, in which consumers need multiple networking devices, apps and more to build and run their smart home.
A number of companies are working to address this. Google has (unsurprisingly) developed its own smart home system that makes use of its vast search capabilities. Google Home functions as a control point for a variety of smart systems, including Nest, Chromecast, Samsung SmartThings, Philips and IFTTT-friendly devices. You can also ask it to play songs via Google Play Music, and it can give out alerts about travel disruptions, such as flight cancellations.
DigitalSTROM’s platform orchestrates the interaction of everything from lighting to temperature to sound
Going a step further, Zurich-based company digitalSTROM specialises in the complete digital transformation of the home. Through the company’s platform, analogue devices are made digital and then connected to each other via software that orchestrates their interaction. “We can make sure the music stops when someone rings the doorbell”, explains CEO Martin Vesper. “We also give the devices additional abilities. We can set up a kettle that responds to voice command and allows you to select the temperature of the water”.
Retrofitting analogue systems to digital is done via the home’s electrical system, which means digitalSTROM is currently limited to countries that use 220-240 volts (this includes Europe and most of Asia.) But otherwise, the transition is relatively seamless. Existing smart home technologies such as audio-visual systems that are already installed in the home can also be incorporated into the platform.
digitalSTROM keeps a close eye on new technologies that can benefit their system. Recent developments like voice and image recognition have already been incorporated. Hold your hands under the tap and a camera linked to Microsoft’s cloud service for image recognition allows the sink to see your hands and give you water at a pleasant, hand-washing temperature. Hold a cup under the sink and it will fill with cold water, stopping automatically when it’s full. Martin Vesper’s own home has undergone a complete digital transformation and he says can easily make things happen by simply “talking to” his house. “When I make tea, I don’t have to get up twice”, he says.
The Netatmo Weather Station measures temperatures and pollution levels in a space
Property developers are also starting to work more closely with tech companies to integrate smart home features into projects from the start. In Singapore, the newly launched 6 Derbyshire project by Fantasia Investment includes “LifeUp”, an app that allows residents to book facilities, make payments, as well as control appliances like air-conditioners and audio-visual systems inside the home. The project, which bills itself as a “smart condominium”, also includes facial recognition devices for residents to access common facilities like the gym, as well as car plate recognition systems.
Philip Tang & Sons have also created an integrated platform for Corals at Keppel Bay that combines smart home control, condo management and lifestyle offerings. Dubbed Habitap, the app allows residents to set their home temperature, unlock their door remotely or book condominium facilities through a few taps in a single app on their smartphone. “You can have all these devices, but if you have to use an app for every device, you’re not going to find it convenient”, said Philip Tang & Sons CEO Franklin Tang. Habitap’s streamlined service is integrated into 366 units at the new waterfront development from Keppel Land and the platform also includes state-of-the-art bank-grade security features developed in collaboration with Swedish security company Keypasco.
Safety and security are central to most of today’s smart home platforms. In digitalSTROM’s system, facial recognition can be used to identify houseguests. The system is also able to detect abnormalities such as water or gas leaks in the home, and users can also program extra features such as instructions for children in the event of a fire that sound over the home speakers when the alarm goes off. “A smart home is safer than a non-smart home”, Martin Vesper says.
The DigitalSTROM chip can connect various devices
Not everyone likes the idea of a digitised home, however. Some fear being hacked or spied on— reasonable anxieties given the penetrability of some devices. Smart home products are sometimes vulnerable due to poor programming or because they come with easy-to-guess usernames and passwords. Tech experts urge consumers to change the default passwords and update software regularly.
Martin Vesper believes the response to smart home technologies is largely a matter of presentation. At CES 2017, the world’s largest consumer electronics show, digitalSTROM unveiled a robot for the home that provides cognitive services through customer interaction. “People think the robot is cute”, says Vesper. But, he says, if you take the same functionality, basically two web cams and a microphone, and put them in a room, people will feel uneasy.
“When we feel we are losing control, then we get scared. That’s totally normal”, Vesper says. At the same time, he points out, people like to feel understood and enjoy pre-selected services that cater to their needs. “Previously there was the corner store where the owner knew what you wanted. Now it’s algorithms that predict our desires”. Ironically with today’s flood of information and seemingly endless product diversity, algorithms may ultimately have the power to reduce complexity and make our homes stress-free.
The 114-metre luxury motor yacht Luna, built by Lloyd Werft in 2010
U-Boat Worx submarine
The Wider 165, project “Cecilia”, ready for fitting out
The Genting Group, a Malaysia-based entertainment conglomerate, has recently upped its ownership stake in the Italian shipyard Wider to a full 100% through its cruise line arm, Genting Hong Kong. The group’s expanding interests in the industry comes hot on the heels of numerous Asian corporations entering the market, such as the Chinese conglomerate Weichai, which acquired a controlling stake in the Ferretti Group in January 2012; the Wanda Group, which acquired Sunseeker in 2013; and the Lai Sun Group in 2016 with a near half acquisition of Camper & Nicholsons International.
Established by Tilli Antonelli, the former CEO of Pershing (now a member of the Ferretti Group), Wider Yachts was established in 2010 with a 13-metre model, the Wider 42, whose prime selling point became its extendable platform located amidst ship. The shipyard’s plans to build larger yachts were only introduced in 2011 with the announcement of the Wider 150, last sold in May 2013 for nearly 22 million euros.
Genting’s involvement with Wider began in December 2012 when the group gained a 50% stake in the company following an investment made in the Italian shipyard. “I decided to back Wider as I was impressed both with its course of development and its ability to establish itself on the international market”, commented Genting’s chairman, Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay at the time of investment.
Wider Yachts aside, the Malaysian group also owns a 24.85% stake in Grand Banks Yachts as of December 2014, as well as a 15% stake in the luxury submarine manufacturer U-Boat Worx. Speaking of the investment in December 2013, Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay said, “this is an innovative product that offers the unique experience of deep-sea exploration and ocean diving without getting into scuba gear”. In 2015, Genting Hong Kong also acquired a majority stake in Lloyd Werft, a German shipyard known for its Crystal Cruises line, as well as its 114-metre explorer Luna, now owned by Russian businessman Farkhad Akhmedov.
Caviar farming began in China in the 1970s. Before that, in Imperial China, wild sturgeon were caught and harvested for caviar in the Heilongjiang or Black Dragon River in the frigid northeast of China, bordering Russia. Sturgeon is rigorously protected in China under the CITES convention since the 1980s, and is cherished and regarded as the “panda of the seas”. There are farms all across China producing caviar of varying qualities, but the global fine dining elite unanimously consider high-quality Chinese caviar to be the best in the world at this point in time, and its quality is only set to improve further.
Many renowned caviar brands actually get 100 percent of their caviar supply from China. Bijoux Caviar, one of the rising stars in caviar suppliers to high-end restaurants, hotels and other establishments in Europe and the Middle East, harvests its sturgeon in four enchanting locations in western China: Pengzhou, Xinjiang, Xichang and Dujiangyan. The first three farms are new and use large lakes to rear the sturgeon in semi-wild conditions. Dujiangyan is a protected compound due to its historical importance. Here, 2,500 years ago, the world’s oldest continuously used irrigation system was created and is set amidst ancient architecture. The sturgeon farmed are from the Kaluga and Amur breeds and a small amount from Almas Beluga. Almas Imperial, which means “diamond” in Persian, comes from the Beluga Sturgeon and is by far the most exclusive breed.
It can cost twice as much as gold and almost all of it goes to Middle Eastern royals. Bijoux Caviar typically attains one to two kilograms of this per year. Both Kaluga and Amur caviar from Bijoux Caviar are of extremely high quality and can be considered the best in the world. The main reason for the difference in price lies in the greater rarity and demand for Kaluga caviar, the longer maturation period for Kaluga sturgeon as compared to Amur, and the larger size of the Kaluga pearls and slightly richer.
Both Kaluga and Amur caviar from Bijoux Caviar are of extremely high quality and can be considered the best in the world. The main reason for the difference in price lies in the greater rarity and demand for Kaluga caviar, the longer maturation period for Kaluga sturgeon as compared to Amur, and the larger size of the Kaluga pearls and slightly richer flavour, which can best be appreciated when tasted alongside the brand’s Amur caviar. Kaluga is the exemplar of Chinese caviar and produces the largest pearls available, due to Beluga becoming extinct and illegal to source. The Amur breed is similar in flavour to Kaluga and is named after the Russian name for the Black Dragon Lake where they originate from. Both offer a rich and full taste and are excellent to pair with gourmet chocolate and Champagne.
What makes Bijoux Caviar unique is the pearl’s colour being of a glistening emerald shade and the shape being large and well rounded. They have a rich, multi-layered and multifaceted aroma while being tight and pert which means they burst open, rather than inferior caviar which is soggy, wrinkly and indistinct in shape and semi-watery. Finally compared to many inferior types of caviar currently available, Bijoux Caviar has a buttery taste and is not too salty due to being 100 per cent malossol. The processing facilities where the caviar is extracted from the sturgeon is of a standard of cleanliness that rivals surgical theaters and watchmaking facilities. Add to this the fact that they are raised in unparalleled terroir, in unspoilt nature away from any hint of pollution, and you get the high-quality pearls and sturgeon meat that can be eaten raw after they are harvested.
When eating this fine delicacy one should use a mother-of-pearl or horn spoon as you do not want the metals leaving a metallic taste in your mouth. Bijoux Caviar commissioned the French Haute orfèvrerier Christofle to produce a sterling silver Caviar Server and horn spoon with silver handle, with the Bijoux Caviar seal engraved by hand on them, specifically for their clients to fully enjoy the caviar at home. The brand’s caviar also has to be kept between negative three degrees and three degrees Celsius, and thus should be served in a crystal bowl atop ice. One then takes the spoon and scoops it onto the outer palm of their hand to eat, essential for getting the full flavour. You can also eat it accompanied by bread, crackers, and truffles.
For those of you who need more of a reason to consume this fine food, it is also said to be great for your skin, as well as lowering one’s heart rate and with just one serving you’ll have all the vitamin B12 needed for an entire day. However, you must consume caviar regularly for these benefits, so talk to the guys at Bijoux Caviar to get your daily fix started today.
Brandishing their javelins and letting out a bloodcurdling war cry, the Ottoman horsemen charge at a thunderous gallop. Suddenly one is hit and thrown from his horse—making dozens of children gasp as they film the scene on their smartphones. It may be 2017, but Istanbul rolled back the years last weekend with the Ethnic Sports Cultural Festival (EKF), which aims to promote the sports practised by modern Turks’ ancestors—from the nomadic horsemen of Central Asia to the Janissaries, the elite troops of the Ottoman empire.
More than 800 athletes took part in traditional sports from Anatolia and Central Asia which President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government wants to develop to celebrate the glory days of Turkey’s past. The cavalry were taking part in “cirit”, a riding sport created in Central Asia in which riders throw wooden javelins at the opposing team’s horsemen. “This is the king of sports, it embodies the Turkish spirit,” said Erdem, 32, after dismounting.
The festival is part of Erdogan’s efforts to revive Turkey’s Ottoman roots after decades of Westernisation drive following the collapse of the empire. The modern Turkish republic was founded in 1923 after over 600 years of Ottoman rule.
“We want to revive our traditional values, beginning with our sports, in order to move forward with these values,” Bilal Erdogan, one of the president’s sons and an archery fan who is also EKF’s sponsor, told AFP.
Art of war
A huge area on the European side of Istanbul usually used for political rallies was transformed into an Ottoman encampment for the four-day event.
Wrestlers, archers and riders showed off their skills in between traditional cooking workshops, Central Asian dancing and carpet-weaving. In front of a yurt, Adnan Balavan takes part in a “sword and shield game” consisting of simulating duels to produce a melody by rattling weapons. “I started at the age of eight. Today, I am 57 but my hair still stands on end like the first day,” said Balavan, originally from the northwestern province of Bursa, which was the first Ottoman capital.
Born of the wars that shaped Ottoman life and forged an empire that stretched from the Balkans to the Gulf, most of these traditional sports died when the old order fell after World War I. Their survival today is due in large part to families passing the traditions on from one generation to the next.
Turkish Sports Minister Akif Cagatay Kilic promised the government would provide further financial support to develop such activities and suggested it would encourage clubs to show more interest in traditional sports.
Power of the Turks
Traditional Turkish wrestling champion Sadi Bakir—bare-chested and covered in oil—said “interest in the sport has increased in recent times and the state is investing more effort in this field”. As a result, he said, “at the last European (wrestling) championships, we won five gold medals. The past power of the Turks is re-emerging.”
Yakup, a traditional archery instructor, also said interest in the discipline has exploded. “We have over 1,000 members” in his archery club, he said as he put arrows in a leather quiver. For the master archer, young people’s enthusiasm comes mainly from television series about the Ottoman sultans which have multiplied in the past few years.
Organisers said 800,000 people came to the festival, voicing hope that it would spark a passion for the sports in schoolchildren visiting with their classes. They even dream of one day organising a “Turkish Olympics” bringing together sportsmen and women from Central Asia, the Caucasus and the Balkans.
“Some people may not realise the importance of what we are doing here today, but we will reap the fruits one day,” Bilal Erdogan said during his opening speech. “And God willing, the 21st century will be ours.”
