Sapphires, rubies and Paraiba tourmalines have made their way on to watch dials – but there are times only a diamond will do October 3, 2016 I’m not going to quote Carol Channing or Marilyn Monroe (or Nicole Kidman, depending on your age) because we are all well aware of a woman’s relationship with her diamonds. There really isn’t a stone out there that has allegedly captured the female imagination so much as this metastable allotrope of carbon. However, as desirous [...]
Wempe’s observatory celebrates its tenth birthday with three stunning new wristwatches October 3, 2016 Ten years ago, luxury watch and jewellery boutique Wempe acquired the legendary observatory in Glashütte, the German Mecca for watchmakers. It is there that Wempe produces its outstanding chronometers, and in celebration it has announced three stunning new wristwatches – two of which are limited edition – and its first in-house self-winding calibre. The new [...]
Simon Stålenhag’s haunting painted stories in Things From the Flood are science fiction at its most beautiful October 3, 2016 Dystopian science fiction is often filled with explosions and sirens, chaos and pain. But the Swedish illustrator Simon Stålenhag’s work captures a different face of the future. His work is characterised by stillness and melancholy, a sense of good things having passed. His astonishingly good Tales From the Loop, published last year, imagined an alternate [...]
Back in Black: Make a statement with these stylish, laid-back and all-black wristwatches October 3, 2016 Sometimes you need something with a bit more impact. In wristwatch terms, that doesn’t have to mean bringing the bling – it can simply mean going all-black. It’s less formal than a straight steel watch, and rarely works with a suit; but in an increasingly casual working world, a black watch can make a pretty [...]
These are quite possibly the eight best bottles of cognac in the world October 3, 2016 All cognac is brandy, but not all brandy is cognac. The real stuff is distilled in a small and highly protected wine-growing region around the town of Cognac in the south west of France and, like many wines and cheeses, it must meet the strict requirements of the ‘appellation d’origine controlee’ before it can be [...]
The Machine at Barbican is a darkly funny immersive theatre experience with added circus tricks October 3, 2016 Immersive theatre often promises more than it can deliver, held back not by the imagination of the production but the temperament of the audience. The most effective ones – Secret Cinema, Punch Drunk Theatre – tend to be hours long, giving the audience time to let their guard down. The Machine instead attempts to turn [...]
Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children review: Tim Burton returns to form with this surprisingly visceral adventure September 30, 2016 Tim Burton returns to big budget studio films with this Narnia-esque story. Asa Butterfield plays a young man who discovers a school of supernatural children whom he must protect from a vicious evil. Visually sumptuous and surprisingly grisly, the film’s flourishes gloss over a story that doesn’t go anywhere unexpected. Eva Green’s ornate, pipe-smoking title [...]
Long Weekend review: How to get some rest and relaxation on Europe’s most notorious party island September 30, 2016 The weekend: For many years, Ibiza was defined by its drugs and decadent party scene, the capital of banging clubs and, well, banging. While its hedonistic days are far from over, pockets of the island are settling down with a degree of refined elegance. Decent restaurants and the arrival of all the big name hotel [...]
The Free State of Jones review: This overly long and indecisive war flick goes nowhere and amounts to little September 30, 2016 Matthew McConaughey’s Free State of Jones was one of the surprise disappointments of the summer over in the US. The Oscar winner plays Newton Knight, a disillusioned Confederate soldier in the American Civil War who returns home and rebels against his former comrades, creating a “Free State”. Coming in at a two hours and 20 [...]
New homes on sale this weekend at one of the tallest residential towers in Europe and a historic mansion in Hampstead September 30, 2016 South Quay Plaza, Canary Wharf From £695,000 The arrival of Crossrail trains at the latticed Foster + Partner-designed train station in Canary Wharf will be a “gamechanger” for the area, according to Berkeley Homes. That’s why the developer has chosen the business hub– and the station’s Sterling Prize winning architects – to create its tallest [...]
