Indholdsfortegnelse for January 2024 i Robb Report Singapore

NOW THAT THE confetti has settled and we wade into 2024, still dizzy from the festivities and felicitations, the inevitable question beckons: what’s next? For those who allow themselves to be seduced by the illusion that the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve is akin to flicking a switch that makes all things new, the hopeful reality is that it can sort of happen. The passing of one day to the next will not wipe the slate clean, but it helps draw a line in the sand. Reflections of the previous year are now fuel for renewed optimism. Whether celebrated achievements or missed opportunities, both serve as a catalyst to move us towards new challenges and experiences. In this issue dedicated to celebrating all things new, we dive into…

Montblanc has immortalised the life of Muhammad Ali with a Great Characters collection of special-edition writing instruments. Comprising three editions, a reference to Ali’s stature as the only three-time lineal world heavyweight boxing champion, the most collectible piece is the Limited Edition 98 (S$56,500). A reference to the year that Ali was named Messenger of Peace of the United Nations, the extravagant writing instrument evokes his influence outside boxing. While boxing motifs like a punchbag-shaped cap and bandage-like texture on the barrel are expected, elsewhere on the writing instrument, one finds other elements. These include a colour-block boxing figure on the barrel inspired by the coloured windows on the Muhammad Ali Center in Louisville, Kentucky, and his core values of confidence, conviction, dedication, giving, respect and spirituality that are engraved…

Cover Story Whisky. In the pantheon of spirits, no other liquid is as universally regarded as the most exquisite shorthand for celebration. So, as we step across the door into 2024, we are breaking out the whisky, but not just any whisky. This year, our liquid of choice is the Johnnie Walker Blue Label Lunar New Year limited edition, designed in collaboration with acclaimed visual artist James Jean. The reasons for that are profound and obvious. The tenor of our celebrations is richer and deeper, the volume of revelry louder in 2024, which marks four years since COVID-19 obliterated the momentum of time’s march. And at last, we can welcome the new year of the wood dragon—the most formidable of all the animals in the Chinese lunisolar calendar—in full festive…

Dream Machines | WHEELS AT A DEAD STOP under a cloudy sky, I reposition my hands on the steering wheel and ensure the proper bend of the elbows, oblivious to whether or not I’m breathing. Focus, instead, is on projecting a confident nonchalance to the engineer in the passenger seat, but it’s a struggle. Tom Petty was right—the waiting is the hardest part. “All clear,” crackles the walkie-talkie communique from the spotter ahead, and with Pavlovian response, my right foot meets the floor and the all-electric, 1,900hp Pininfarina Battista feels like it might warp physics in its attempt to cover zero to 100km/h in 1.86 seconds. The rollout of Pininfarina’s first solo production vehicle in its 93-year history, however, has been quite a bit slower. After Battista ‘Pinin’ Farina launched…

TEST-DRIVING A CAR is one thing, but finding the right watercraft is altogether more challenging. This cheat sheet is here to help, the result of first runs on a handful of new releases ranging from Dominator’s 35ft Midi Ilumen M35 to the 171ft Baglietto T52. Each was selected not just for being new to market but also for helping to advance the industry in some description, whether through cuttingedge propulsion, more-efficient hull shapes or forwardlooking interior design. Anchors aweigh. Baglietto T52 After stepping aboard Baglietto’s newest T52 at its yard in La Spezia, Italy, we were instantly taken with the 1,400-sq-ft flybridge, reportedly the largest on any 171-footer, connected to the foredeck lounge via a retractable staircase. Also noteworthy: five generously sized social areas across the exterior of the Francesco…

The Resource | MONEY THE SCENE IS the invitation-only preview of the European Fine Art Fair, colloquially known as TEFAF, in New York last May. A savvy American collector who has known his way around the art world for decades is admiring a headless torso, gracefully chiselled in marble. All that’s left of the statue’s arms is a rough chunk above the right buttock, believed to be the remnant of a hand. The dealer, an elegant Parisian, carefully rotates the millennia-old figure on its turntable pedestal. “We have photographs of it before 1970,” he rushes to tell the collector—a claim that might sound like a non sequitur to the uninitiated but has become (faulty) shorthand in the antiquities trade for ‘legal to sell’. After a recent barrage of headlines about…

Hashida In a shophouse along Amoy Street, chef Kenjiro Hashida has managed to create an omakase experience that’s as delicious as it is fun—a word that’s not usually synonymous with most omakase restaurants. Hatch, as he’s better known, is a master of the craft, upholding tradition with artistic sensibility. Rules are off the table at Hashida, only nextlevel Japanese cuisine (progressive, to be exact) that narrates his identity, growth and memories. He hits it out of the park with a slice of monkfish liver, sprinkled with sugar and torched to a crust. Delicate chawanmushi gets a hit of funk from blue cheese, and make no mistake—you will end your meal with eggplant in your dessert. Eggplant (and only the Japanese variety) is simmered with honey and lemon before being layered…

LONG OVERSHADOWED BY its more famous neighbours to the north and south, Gevrey-Chambertin and ChambolleMusigny, respectively, Morey-Saint-Denis was discreetly turning out exceptional red Burgundy before the thirst for pinot noir thrust the quaint village into the global spotlight. It’s home to the highest concentration of grand cru vines in the region, all located within five designated vineyards: Clos Saint-Denis, Clos de la Roche, Bonnes-Mares, Clos de Tart and Clos des Lambrays. The last is an undulating, 8.7-hectare plot at the heart of Domaines des Lambrays. Enclosed by a stone fence built by Cistercian monks in the 14th century, the walled vineyard (the very definition of a clos) was split among 74 owners during the French Revolution. Reassembled at the end of the 19th century by the Rodier family, it was…

How much would you pay for nothing? To sleep outside, with no electricity or refrigeration, in the middle of nowhere, sipping plain water under the tropical sun? Turns out, that sort of nothing has a price, and it’s US$10,000 per night. That’s the cost of entry for unburdening yourself via the R.O.C.S. Island Experience, an adventure as experimental as its name is inscrutable. I was dropped off on what I was told was Alfuros Island—which, It turns out, doesn’t exist on any map— byAlexa, a traditional Indonesian phinisi transformed into a high-design pleasure yacht, which tendered me through a thick ring of mangroves and onto this remote patch on the outskirts of Komodo National Park. The landscape was scrubby grass, small trees and loose rock; lodging was a two-bed open-air…

A. Lange & Söhne’s Zeitwerk Minute Repeater ranks among the most beautifully sonorous and captivating examples to be produced in recent memory. First introduced in 2015, the watch’s digital-style display is as unique as they come. Its minute repeater mechanism, which sounds the time on demand, is just as unusual. Instead of sounding out the hours, quarter hours and remaining minutes in three sets of distinctly pitched chimes as regular minute repeaters do, the Zeitwerk Minute Repeater chimes the time in hours, the 10-minute intervals and remaining minutes—just as it appears on its dial. Limited to just 30 pieces, this latest iteration (price upon request) is housed in A. Lange & Söhne’s proprietary alloy, honey gold. The precious metal not only stands out with its pale gold sheen, but also…

The last two years have been a period of transition and readjustment for the ever-buzzing world of fashion. The birth of the metaverse, the heightened pressures of virality, the horizon-expanding breakthroughs in innovation as well as the onset of noteworthy trends have all impacted the landscape indelibly. But those variables would be inconsequential if they were not tackled by capable leadership. Here, we coronate the new creative and commercial decision-makers in luxury fashion. SABATO DE SARNO Creative director, Gucci A simple unvarnished message heralding a new beginning: “I’m proud, honoured, touched and excited. #Gucci.” That was how Sabato De Sarno announced in May 2023 that he was replacing Alessandro Michelle, whose sudden departure from his seven-year reign there is still no official world on. Gucci, however, does not seem to…

Dream Machines | WINGS AFTER DELTA, UNITED and American Airlines recently announced that they were hiking salaries, private aviation’s pilot shortage suddenly became even more acute, in no way aided by the fact that some commercial airlines now pay six-figure signing bonuses. According to industry surveys, corporate pilots sometimes earn just 60 per cent of their commercial-airline peers’ salaries during a 30-year career. “The lure of a much bigger salary can be hard to fight,” says Sheryl Barden, CEO of Aviation Personnel International, who has seen veteran pilots from Fortune 500 flight departments—long viewed as the job to retire from—leave for the airlines. The outflow is also a lasting side effect from the pandemic. “COVID exacerbated the shortage when the airlines retired so many pilots early,” says Dondi Pangalangan, senior…

The Goods | JEWELLERY ON A DECEMBER night in 1944, jewellery designer Harry Winston paused in front of his Scarsdale, New York, estate to admire the holly wreath, glistening with snow, hanging on his door. Noticing how its intertwining leaves disappeared beneath the wintry dusting, he had a light-bulb moment. The gemstones, rather than their metallic settings, should shape the piece. Created in partnership with Harry Winston’s head designer, Nevdon Koumrouyan, the house’s famous Cluster style was born. Mimicking the contours of a wreath’s leaves, it features a mixture of stones in various cuts and at various angles, placed so tightly together that the platinum setting is nearly invisible. It’s a signature that has graced everything from pendants to rings and bracelets, but it’s the over-the-top Cluster necklace, like a…

As the Tyrannosaurus rex once hunted its prey, so controversy now stalks the trade in its bones. Private collectors of scientifically important dinosaur fossils must tread carefully. Auction houses have achieved eye-popping prices, most spectacularly in 2020 with the US$31.8 million sale of Stan, an 11m-tall T rex that outperformed his Christie’s auction mates Picasso, Renoir and Cezanne and smashed the previous US$8.4 million record price for the sale of a fossil at auction, set in 1997 by Sue, a fellow T rex from South Dakota. Skulls and artful skeletal arrangements are also popping up at art fairs, completing the makeover from dusty museum diorama to fashionable art installation. “Recent years have seen a dramatic increase in interest,” says lacopo Briano, a paleontology expert at Giquello auction house. The appeal…

THE NEW EL PALACE, on Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes, started life 104 years ago as Ritz Barcelona, making it one of the earliest Ritz properties in the world and the oldest fivestar hotel in the historic capital of Spanish Catalonia. Come for the history, sure, but stay for—and in—the Ronnie Wood Suite. The legendary Rolling Stones guitarist once called the sixth floor here home and helped design the elegantly appointed 1,600-sq-ft space, which comes with a restored Wurlitzer 1900 jukebox stocked with his favourite albums, plus exclusive access to the nearby Hispano Suiza luxuryautomotive museum and factory. Then head downstairs, through the soaring mirrored lobby to the former ballroom, where renowned chef Rafa Zafra has opened his decadent new restaurant, Amar Barcelona, as a celebration of the city,…

MENTION CLUB MED and conversations invariably turn to wholesome family fun in beach or snow-capped resorts from Cherating to Kiroro in Japan. Founded in 1950 by Gérard Blitz, Club Med evolved from being a postwar holiday concept to an active fun-in-the-sun getaways idea for singles in the 1970s. The company pioneered the all-inclusive holiday that included everything from water sports activities to themed parties and cocktails. Presently owned by Chinese conglomerate Fosun Tourism Group, Club Med is banking on its Exclusive Collection properties (and a ship) to attract a new, globally diverse demographic. Riffing off the all-inclusive idea, Club Med 2 is the world’s largest yacht with five majestic sails, and is quite literally a holiday resort on sea. (In case you’re wondering what happened to Club Med 1, the…

Objectified The Bowers & Wilkins’ Zeppelin McLaren Edition wireless speaker (S$1,499) is a hybrid canvas of McLaren design and Bowers & Wilkins best-inclass sound. Measuring 21cm × 65cm × 19cm, weighing 6.5kg and finished in grey and orange (a homage to the earliest cars Bruce McLaren raced in), the speaker is stacked with a formidable array of features. Able to function as a complete stereo system and a wireless smart speaker, it delivers upper-echelon sound from dedicated left and right speaker configurations that flank a central subwoofer, powered by 240W of amplification. Combined with double Dome tweeters and FST mid-range drive units, the speaker delivers an exquisite 24-bit high-resolution stereo sound experience. The accompanying Bowers & Wilkins music app allows users to access streaming platforms including Apple AirPlay 2, Bluetooth…

AS WITH A child’s first steps, the automotive industry’s halting and at times bumpy adoption of electrification is to be celebrated—but more is expected. To maximise initial momentum, automakers have latched on to lithium-ion, the battery technology that’s currently most cost-effective for production. But they’ll soon need to let go if real advancement is to be made. “We started, as an industry, with electric cars less than 10 years ago. There’s so much that we need to learn,” says Pablo Di Si, president and CEO, Volkswagen Group of America. “Remember cell phones 30 years ago?” Today’s rechargeable lithium-ion setup relies on minerals—nickel, magnesium, cobalt and graphite—that require extensive mining, and the liquid electrolyte is highly flammable. “There will be a lot of change,” says Dr Uwe Keller, head of battery…

GET OUT THE best glassware. Polish up the silver. After we’ve convened in smaller groups for several years, this season calls for friends and family and celebrations aplenty—the perfect excuse then to pour from the biggest bottles and make a splash (though not literally; that would be a waste). Wine served in large-format bottles makes an outsized impression, and the ability to pour 10 to 12 glasses from a single magnum takes a multicourse-pairing dinner to the next level. Besides the wow factor, large formats have a particular advantage. The liquid ages more slowly thanks to the greater ratio between the wine in the bottle and the air that can enter via the cork closure. Put simply, high-quality bottles will last longer. But since this is the holiday season, not…

WHEN A MIDDLE EASTERN royal recently let it be known that he was looking to invest upwards of US$100 million in gemstones, word spread quickly and soon more than one wellconnected dealer was jetting to the region with heavily insured valises. What might be most intriguing about this royal’s request is not the nine figures at play or even that all that cash was to be stashed in diamonds, rubies and the like, but rather that this kind of high-dollar venture is not uncommon; in fact, it’s a growing trend. Top brokers say that since the start of last year, which was marked by chaotic global events, more and more clients have been looking to invest in hard assets—namely jewellery and loose stones. Jewellery, after all, has long been a…

MASERATI IS CONTINUING its venture into the mainstream with the new Grecale, a mid-sized, premium SUV that falls below the weight class of the Levante, but counts the likes of Porsche’s Macan, Alfa Romeo Stelvio, Audi Q5 and BMW X4 (you get the idea) as its sparring partners. Fun fact: like many a Maserati, the new Grecale derives its name from a Mediterranean wind, so you can expect it to drive, well, like a breeze. The new Grecale is available in three distinct trims: the base model GT, mid-tier Modena and top-of-the-line Trofeo. Imbuing the performance SUV with supercar-like status, the new Grecale Trofeo incorporates a detuned version of the MC20’s 3.0-litre twin-turbo Nettuno V6, sharing the same Formula 1-derived twin combustion system at the heart of the super sports…

WHAT DO AN extended wildlife safari through Asia and Africa, chasing a solar eclipse across both American continents, and a worldwide whiskytasting tour have in common? The rarefied air of a curated private-jet charter, the newest form of immersive, globe-trotting escape—local experts and insider access very much included— from a handful of exclusive providers. Aman Southeast Asia Departing 10 November, this 11-day journey (from US$74,888 per person) explores Southeast Asia with stays at Aman Resorts enclaves in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Thailand. The trip begins at the Amanoi hotel and beach resort, set against the natural beauty of Vietnam’s Vinh Hy Bay and Nui Chua National Park. All flights are aboard an Airbus ACJ 319 fitted with two cocktail lounges and just 19 seats (rather than the 130-passenger commercial configuration).…

The Goods | TIME HERE IS A tip if you are in the market for a watch from a tasteful independent brand: head to the new SHH boutique in Pavilion Kuala Lumpur. Opulent and cavernous, the 5,000 sq ft store stocks hotly coveted timepieces from 17 top-drawer indie brands at current count. By our estimate, SHH Kuala Lumpur is possibly the largest horological retail concept store of its kind in Southeast Asia. Taking almost a year to come to fruition, this boutique is SHH’s latest outpost following the opening of similar concept stores in Singapore, Thailand and Taiwan. Rebranded from Sincere Haute Horlogerie, a retail concept that Sincere Fine Watches started in 2005 to champion independent watch brands, SHH carries niche but reputable and desirable names such as Christiaan Van…

FOR THE BETTER part of human history, men’s jewellery has been unequivocally in. That’s because power has long been synonymous with bejewelled adornment, from ancient Sumerian rulers buried in their gold chains to Indian maharajas festooned with garlands of rubies and diamonds. But the French Revolution marked a change, ushering in an era when men began to favour more utilitarian forms of dress. It wasn’t until the 1970s that men in America were encouraged to show their more ornamental sides again, from colourful suiting to long hair to necklaces. But if watching male celebrities on the red carpet or National Basketball Association tunnel walks is your thing, you’ll know that men’s jewellery is in the swing of a fullblown renaissance. If you need a refresher, recall Game 2 of the…

SAVYAVASA JAKARTA, INDONESIA This joint project by Jakarta Setiabudi Internasional and Swire Properties sees three residential towers set amid three hectares of lush landscaping. Its location in the sought-after Dharmawangsa neighbourhood puts it in a prime area of South Jakarta with premium shopping, healthcare and educational institutions within easy reach. Savyavasa is the first residential project in Jakarta to be built according to the Green Mark Gold standard and comes with energy-efficient lights and home appliances as well as electric vehicle charging stations. Prominent names involved in this project include Singaporebased SCDA Architects and international design studio Yabu Pushelberg. Homeowners have a choice of two-, threeand four-bedroom apartments, which all come with adaptable layouts to suit the varied needs of residents. Each apartment is equipped with smart home features by…

EVERY DISCIPLINE IS elevated by nuance and sophistication. In the canvas of architecture, one truth has been crucial to its essence as a globally impactful multi-faceted, multispeciality industry: the inside matters as much as the outside. For the duration of his career as an architect and expert on high-rise structures, Tim Johnson, a partner and commercial market leader at the award-winning architecture firm NBBJ, has purposefully employed design to maximise the welfare of the people who engage with the spaces his firm creates. After signing off on The Sail @ Marina Bay in 2008, his next project in Singapore is the 33-storey next-generation smart building Keppel South Central, slated for completion in the fourth quarter of this year. What about the power of urban design has been the most revelatory…

The Resource | SAVOUR NESTLED IN THE quaint countryside of SaintEmilion, Bordeaux, lies a renowned Premier Grand Cru Classe wine estate called Chateau Troplong Mondot. While well-versed in its wine, the estate has added a chef’s table at its Michelin-starred Les Belles Perdrix restaurant. Each Thursday, diners will embark on a culinary journey with chef David Charrier, who will host an intimate private dinner in Les Belles Perdrix’s kitchen. Capped at six guests, this closed setting allows for a personal encounter in the preparation of a Michelin-starred meal. Diners will savour ingredients from the land. Guided by a slow food ethos, the chef has maintained relationships with local producers, ensuring that only the finest seasonal ingredients grace the plates. Many of these are sourced sustainably from Troplong Mondot’s ‘permaculture’ vegetable…