Indholdsfortegnelse for November 2022 i Robb Report Singapore

OUR ISSUE THIS month is dedicated to one of Robb Report’s signature themes and the fundamental tenet that drives the magazine. Best of the Best is exactly what it is. In a field of superstars, we select award winners that have shown how an unrelenting quest for superlative achievement has enabled them to hit heady heights - recorded for posterity as the nonpareil of their respective segments. Numerous figures in history have sought to discern what separates the good from the great. French writer Voltaire postulated that it would take a lot more effort to become great than merely good, but as this issue shows, sometimes that effort is what makes it all worthwhile. It’s just as the late Steve Jobs noted: “We don’t get a chance to do that…

The Four Seasons brand is conquering another market with its new yacht cruise line: Four Seasons Yachts. This new venture is bringing together the best of ultra-luxury vessel experts, including the venerated Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri as well as Tillberg Design of Sweden and Martin Brudnizki Design Studio. Anticipating its inaugural voyage in late 2025, Four Seasons’ first yacht will span 207m and boast 14 decks. Its 95 suites will offer nearly double the living space currently available on the market. Each suite costs US$4.2 million to build, with indoor and outdoor living areas ranging from 54sqm to 76sqm.…

Aston Martin DB5 replica stunt car Auctioned by Christie’s in London for £2.9 million. One of three special Aston Martin models featured in the multi-million-pound Sixty Years of James Bond charity auction, this replica DB5 - donated by Aston Martin Lagonda - was swiftly snapped up by a telephone bidder after accelerating beyond the auctioneer’s top estimate of £2 million. It is one of eight exclusively built and engineered by Aston Martin for No Time To Die and appeared in the film’s thrilling opening chase sequence through Matera, Italy. Uniquely modified for its individual role on screen, this model boasts operational gadgets including a rotating digital number-plate, retractable headlights, pop-out machine guns and firing prop bomblets. Huanghuali folding horseshoe-back armchair Auctioned by Sotheby’s in Hong Kong for HK$124.6 million Receiving…

THE BEST OF THE BEST ISSUE TAILORING Edward Sexton These days, wearing a suit is less of a given and more a matter of individual style. As such, when one chooses to suit up, it had better be in something with personality - precisely what Edward Sexton has specialised in since the 1970s. “There is this sense of play,” says Dominic Sebag-Montefiore, Sexton’s creative director, of the commissions he has received over the past year. “It feels like the suit can be reborn and reimagined because it’s been dying as a symbol of the corporate uniform. The suit is dead; long live the suit.” Sexton’s signature swaggering lapels and full-cut trousers give structured English tailoring a dash of sex appeal. And at the other end of the spectrum, the brand…

THE BEST OF THE BEST ISSUE WINE OF THE YEAR Salon 2012 Cuvee S, Le Mesnil Blanc de Blancs Brut, France This is one of the rarer champagnes, with just 5,000 cases produced. It’s also one of the most prized, and not just for its scarcity. It’s always hand-picked and always a Blanc de Blancs, meaning it’s made with 100 per cent Chardonnay (considered by many connoisseurs to be the highest expression of champagne). As happens at most of the other premium houses, Salon’s president, Didier Depond, decides to make Salon Le Mesnil only in years with superlative conditions. This wine comes from one tiny grand cru, Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, claiming the region’s highest concentration of limestone beneath its white-chalk soils. The 2012 growing season was one of extremes in Champagne.…

The Resource | ART & DESIGN IN THE WORLD of modern design, Charles and Ray Eames - two of the most influential designers of the 20th century - have become household names for their cogent take on purposeful, functional design, which nonetheless carries a certain outlandish charm. It’s fitting, then, that Herman Miller - which has, in the past, collaborated with the Eameses on some of their most iconic designs - enlist the help of Danish design house Hay (founded by husband-and-wife duo Rolf and Mette Hay) on a contemporary reinterpretation of eight classic Eames designs. “I do what I do because of the work of Charles and Ray Eames. You cannot believe how honoured I am to work on this project with Herman Miller,” reflects Rolf. “(The Eameses) were…

YUKIHYO HOKKAIDO, JAPAN Built in 2019, this five-bedroom villa sits on a 0.20-hectare lot and boasts 3,220 sq ft of interior space. It has three full baths and one partial bath as well as a media room/ home cinema and a garage for one car. Designed by award-winning Hikokonishi Architecture, the villa is named after the Japanese word for ‘snow leopard’, befitting its location in Niseko, which is renowned for having the world’s best powder snow. Residents can look forward to a ski dry room, deep-soaking Japanese bathtub and scenic views of a forest and mountains. Price: ¥350 million via H2 Christie’s International Real Estate MILLENIA RESIDENCES KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA These luxurious freehold strata villas are by GCI Group, which clinched two awards this year: the Best Boutique Developer Award…

The Resource | TRAVEL WESTERN AUSTRALIA DOESN’T get much coverage. Taking up one-third of the size of Australia and about six times as big as California, it has the reputation of being ‘boring’, which begs the question of why it deserves that much real estate. But for most of its locals, that’s fine with them. In Perth, there’s a gorgeous botanic garden that’s bigger than Central Park, and a short drive from the city can land them several glasses of wine in Swan Valley. If their hearts desire, up north there’s Lake Argyle, where harmless freshwater crocodiles invite the brave in for a dip. Western Australia has plenty to brag about, and yet it gets on with life. The beautifully laidback, idyllic nature of the state is what makes its…

OBJECTIFIED The FIFA World Cup is back and so is Louis Vuitton’s collection for the tournament. Available on its online store and in select boutiques, the collection features five items in black Taurillon leather with the maison’s emblematic Damier motif - a pattern that draws inspiration from how a net moves when a goal is scored. Look out for the trendy yet timeless travel companions like the City Keepall and Keepall 50, a spacious bag with cleat-like protective studs fixed to the bottom. A Discovery backpack, Dopp Kit and a handy Pocket Organiser complete the set.…

THE BEST OF THE BEST ISSUE TABLE CLOCK Van Cleef & Arpels Fontaine aux Oiseaux Rarely do you see craftsmanship as extraordinary as Van Cleef & Arpels’ Fonatine aux Oiseaux automaton (price upon request). The huge clock features a retrograde time display via an ebony base with 18-carat white-gold indicators on a 12-hour scale, topped off with eggshell marquetry protected by eight layers of vegetal lacquer. Time, of course, is secondary in this aweinducing animation. The stage belongs to two 18-carat yellow-gold and white-gold bejewelled birds. When activated, the companions turn their heads, sing a song (via bellows and a clicking box), flutter their wings and raise their legs as they draw closer together in a display of courtship around a basin of rippling water made of chalcedony, rock crystal…

MUSÉE ATELIER AUDEMARS PIGUET was completed and open to the public in 2020, but COVID restrictions meant that it was only truly accessible this year. As a result, it was booked solid throughout the summer. Tours are by appointment only, up to three months in advance, and numbers are kept low to allow the manufacture’s hospitality team to ensure a fuss-free, comfortable experience. Located in Le Brassus, a village in Vallee de Joux, its architecture is itself a highlight. A project designed by Bjarke Ingles Group (BIG) and implemented by Swiss architecture office CCHE, the museum peeks out of the hillside as a grass-topped spiral of glass and warm lighting. It connects to the manufacture’s oldest building, where Jules Louis Audemar and Edward Auguste Piguet set up their workshop in…

The Resource | TRAVEL Andaz Bali The overview A tropical haven nestled in drowsy Sanur. The design Past the large central Village Square - one of the many references to a traditional Balinese village, from which the resort takes its cue - you’ll find lowrise buildings clad in Javanese marble, bamboo and teak. Peaceful courtyards and lagoons, hemmed in by scaling canopies and lush greenery, make this an Eden-like sanctuary. The room you want Perfect for larger families, the two-bedroom Beach Villa with two twin beds in each room accommodates up to four adults and two children. Located just steps away from Sanur Beach, this expansive villa features plenty of communal spaces, from an oversized living room with indoor and outdoor dining areas to a private pool flanked by sunbeds.…

IN A TIME when wellness resorts are a dime a dozen, Joali Being is bold to call itself “the first of its kind in the Maldives”. Except, the property on the secluded island of Bodufushi on Raa Atoll isn’t simply a wellness resort, but a “nature immersive well-being retreat”. Semantics, shemantics, one may say. Admittedly, a well-being retreat doesn’t sound all that different from a wellness resort, if it’s even different at all. But what sets the property apart could lie in how well it lives up to the first part of its description - and Joali Being certainly takes nature and immersion seriously. Built following biophilic principles, the architecture of the 68-villa resort was designed to integrate seamlessly with the natural landscape, including a forest that has been left…

The Balvenie is not a distillery that aggressively markets itself. But a mere mention of the name among connoisseurs is likely to evoke pleasant memories of previous encounters, and for a good reason. It produces unassuming single-malt whiskies that delight aspiring enthusiasts and seasoned connoisseurs alike. The respect extends further than just the quality of the spirit. The Balvenie is one of precious few distilleries in Scotland that can claim with merit that it is a craft operation - short of bottling operations, the distillery grows some of its barley and maintains a working floor maltings. It also has its own cooperage to build and repair casks. Even when the distillery releases high-value whiskies to market, there is an unmistakable modesty about them. ‘Seemingly simple, incredibly complex’; this is how…

Objectified When not creating ultra-masculine, over-engineered and supremely tough watches, Richard Mille has proven to have a whimsical streak. Case in point is the new RM 88 Automatic Tourbillon Smiley, which has a playfulness that belies its technical sophistication. Three years in development and equipped with an in-house automatic tourbillon calibre, the timepiece features a myriad of symbols on the dial, all of which are hand-sculpted and scrupulously detailed. Different materials and finishing methods are paired as needed - the yellow gold smiley face is hand-painted in yellow gold, while the pineapple has a microblasted and polished surface with green PVD-coated leaves. The case is white ceramic, with a caseband of red gold. The watch is limited to 50 pieces.…

THE BEST OF THE BEST ISSUE FLYING FUTURE Bentley combines timeless coachbuilding luxury with a forward-thinking, sustainable approach in its Flying Spur Hybrid. Words: Wei-Yu Wang Photography: Mark Fagelson AS BENTLEY’S ONLY four-door remaining on the line-up, the Flying Spur is the ideal model with which to explore the illustrious marque’s sumptuous interiors. When it comes to a Bentley as a vehicle of uniqueness and expression, then one looks to Mulliner. Mulliner is an established name in British craft and quality, one that transitioned from saddlemaking in the 1500s to carriage-making (of the horse-drawn variety) for Royal Mail in 1760. Mulliner as a coachbuilding company began in 1860, but in the early 20th century made a bold transition to the new-fangled transportation technology of the automobile. At the time, cars…

THE BEST OF THE BEST ISSUE RULE-BREAKING ID FIRM Prestige Global Designs At once audacious, classic, irreverent and sophisticated, Prestige Global Designs’ greatest strength lies in its agile versatility. Founders Michael Ong and Jeremy Tay refuse to be bound by design conventions; the awardwinning firm is more interested in adapting to its clients’ needs. Its customer-forward philosophy means taking a chameleon-like approach to each project - every need is acknowledged, every whim considered. One thing the design firm remains absolutely uncompromising on is its signature touch of luxury in every property it works on. ISLAND RESORT Waldorf Astoria Maldives Ithaafushi Maldives Upon arrival in one of the resort’s seven Princess yachts, it’ll quickly become apparent why Ithaafushi - The Private Island occupies a separate category of its own. The largest…

The Resource | TRAVEL I’M NOT READY for this. I am on a rocky outcrop located at the south end of Lamai Bay on Koh Samui and I’m in flip-flops. The ground is slippery and full of cracks; one wrong step will definitely send me flying to my grave. I could die from the fall or from embarrassment, but death is the last thing on my mind. I am here for the same reason everyone else is: Hin Ta (Grandfather Rock) and Hin Yai (Grandmother Rock), two rock formations that pay tribute to a man’s and woman’s genitalia. It’s amusing for a second or two and the cracks make sense. Of course, there is more to Samui than giant depictions of sexual organs. Just a quick twohour flight on Bangkok…

Lil' Tiger Fun and dance are the order of the day at Lil’ Tiger, a hidden gem tucked away at Robertson Walk. Revellers are swept into the spirit of the 1970s, an era that unleashed the magic of disco and the jubilance and freedom that came along with it. Sip playful cocktails under a disco ball in good company; while you can’t go wrong with a classic espresso martini or negroni, order from the disco-inspired menu. Ring My Bell is easy to like if you love gin, amaro, Suze and egg white, and the very boozy Last Dance (whisky, cherry liqueur, vermouth and absinthe) is perfect especially if you’ve had a long, hard day. Equally delicious is the food, which although is executed with restaurant flair, reflects the easy-going nature…