Sohei Nishino’s dazzling Diorama Maps return to the Michael Hoppen Gallery October 28, 2014 The ancient art of map-making is hardly an art at all; minute precision and scientific attention to detail are the sacred virtues of the cartographer. But imagine a map of a different kind, one that reveals not the brute fact of a city’s physical landscape but the energy of its bustling streets. These are [...]
Smartest phone October 28, 2014 Vertu, the original and best luxury phonemaker, does it again with the Aster You need to hold the new Vertu Aster to appreciate its quality. Constructed in the UK from titanium and a choice of calf, karung (sea snake) or ostrich leather, it’s a stunning piece of manufacturing. A single 117 carat sheet of solid [...]
Beautiful things: Stanforth’s Kibo bike and Vertu’s titantium and snake skin smartphone October 28, 2014 New bike company Stanforth aims to combine the rugged performance of a mountain bike with the style and accessibility of its city sibling; a cycle that can tackle the daily commute and also tour the world. The product of this philosophy is the lightweight Kibo, which boasts a rigid steel frame (hand built from [...]
The Australian food revolution: Heston Blumenthal and Jamie Oliver are joining a new wave of top antipodean chefs October 28, 2014 A grizzled miner in grubby, cement-splattered overalls clutches the stem of a wine glass with blackened fingertips, sipping chardonnay while recounting a recent dining experience at one of the city’s top tables. “It was the worst pizza I’ve ever tasted. The base was too limp and the feta too salty; it totally overpowered the [...]
The art of theft: Why do thieves steal famous paintings when they’re so hard to sell? October 28, 2014 On a freezing Stockholm evening just before Christmas 2000, a group of six to eight Middle Eastern men put into action a plan they’d been working on for months. The group parked cars in the middle of the three central roads leading to the Swedish National Museum and set them ablaze. As fire engines [...]
The black tie dress watch: From classic Omega to definitive Cartier October 28, 2014 I suspect I’m not alone in greeting invitations advising a black tie dress code – the season being just about to kick off – with a weary groan. It’s not that I particularly object to it as a style, so much as the imposition: on the few occasions one wheels out the tux, it feels [...]
In the Salon October 28, 2014 Beauty and rarity at the Salon QP fine watch exhibition Jaeger-LeCoultre’s (deep breath) Master Ultra Thin Minute Repeater Flying Tourbillon is one of the most extraordinary wristwatches ever created, and also one of the rarest. It’ll be on show at the Saatchi Gallery next week as part of the SalonQP fine watch exhibition. Running from [...]
What should you wear this winter? The classic British tailors embracing modern branding October 28, 2014 Compared to the world’s superbrands, the majority of London’s tailors aren’t exactly household names. Savile Row outfits have always had the product, but they tend to lack the branding. Compare this to the big American and Italian designers, who took the Savile Row template, sexed it up a bit and created some of the biggest [...]
Premier League: Redknapp: A fit Taarabt can still have QPR future October 27, 2014 QUEENS PARK RANGERS 2 ASTON VILLA 0 QPR manager Harry Redknapp pledged to recall out-of-favour Adel Taarabt after an agricultural yet vital win wrenched them off the foot of the Premier League last night. Clinical finishes in each half from Charlie Austin inflicted Aston Villa’s fifth straight defeat, earned only Rangers’ second win of the [...]
10,000m must wait as Alistair Brownlee shelves plans to ditch triathlon October 27, 2014 British triathlon star Alistair Brownlee insists his desire to conquer another Olympic discipline continues to burn brightly despite the immediate focus remaining firmly on multistage competition. The 26-year-old is the reigning Olympic triathlon champion but flirted with an audacious ploy to contest the 10,000m on the track at Hampden Park during this summer’s Commonwealth [...]