The most enduring cinematic formula produced and replicated thousands of times to cheering audiences is the road movie. The reason is simplicity: take any number of individuals, place them in an odd vehicle, send them across the country, any country, see what happens. Swiss Style found two artists working the same formula.

Hélène Sutin and Qian Chong – two artists, one brush

Jerry Rubin’s exhortation for the Yippie generation, “Do It!,” was meant to be a form of political and social subversion, but ultimately, it seems, those two words have become the motto for those seeking to break into the public eye. Or into business, as Rubin himself did. If the audience can just suspend critical judgment and focus on the real or perceived genius of the act itself, then the deal is sealed and success is guaranteed. It’s what keeps the kerosene-burning “jetman” Yves Rossy in the news, or even the likes of Takeru Kobayashi, whose claim to fame is speed-eating hotdogs. Perhaps there is a similarity in the odd collaboration between Swissbased artists Hélène Sutin and Qian Chong. They met four years ago in a recording studio. Chong was a bassist for the house band Make it Pink, but painting was his deep calling. Sutin, a pianist by training, was juggling family (three daughters), music production work and her own artistic aspirations (she studied at the Beaux Arts in Geneva). It was the painting they had in common, they found out soon enough, and teaming up was just an easy step away. This led to joint efforts at her place, a one storey house with garden that hosts the studio, and then, quickly, to the first exhibitions.

A family affair

Their initial spate of paintings consists mostly of portraits in oil and acrylic on canvas. The mood is a hint dark, at times even a touch threatening. Chong himself is the subject of several paintings, in one he appears with red eyes, werewolf-like, and red lips, giving him a definite androgynous look. Sutin appears, too, but she is caught by a casual eyed, smiling and relaxed. La Cadette (The Youngest) shows a girl crouching, very dark eyes (or behind sunglasses?), on a reddish backdrop, while L’ainée is clowning around, lips painted an oversized red, and her fingers imitating spectacles. A f lash of humour runs through many of their works, often in excessively done lips, but always with a hint of darkness, like the Filliniesque Tofu, a young Asian person reclining on an anonymous background.

The brush strokes are bold, almost casual, seemingly done with the energy of a street artist, the colours dominated by shades of grey. Occasionally, they indulged in more abstract sorties, painting small circles on a transparent green background (Bijoux), or a crazy kaleidoscope that refuses to form a pattern, Les Bonbons. The f lights of quirky humour continued evolving as the two explored different styles, with occasional forays into the fantastical. Sutin, her hair collected into a bulky tapered hood, or Chong virtually unrecognisable in a bluish cap. A series of trees without leaves, the branches striking a surrealistic pose that could be the tentacles of a hydra, recall some dark vision of a desolate planet. And there are even some Magritte-cum-Dali-like absurdities, for instance the Apple Head or a Pinocchio with a kinship to a kiwi.

Tofu Acrylic on canvas, 100 x 120 cm

Where does Sutin begin, where does Chong take over? It is difficult to say. These two painters are not related by blood, nor are they lovers, yet their bond appears as strong as that of siblings and as rich and rewarding as that of lovers. In conversation, they are as complementary as Huey and Dewey. “She wiped out my selfishness,” says Chong, “I’m a changed person because of her. In our work I crave for Hélène’s touch, I demand her opinion”. To which she seamlessly replies: “He stormed into my life with a different culture, opposing views, and alien traditions, but we found balance. There is no debate, work f lows naturally. Painting with him is like painting with my other self.”

Spontaneous birth

For the interview we sit outside, on a cosy terrace f looded by a generous sun. The adjacent garden is tempting our drowsiness with its coolness. On a wooden chair nearby, a palette of mixed oils and acrylics is drying in the sun, apparently forgotten. Qian Chong is from Beijing. He was working on a musical project in a Swiss studio when he met Hélène, who also happened to be studying Chinese. Exploring their tangencies with regards to music, painting and languages, they soon found themselves in front of Hélène’s paintings. He did what would normally be complete anathema: instinctively, he picked up a brush and added a stroke here and there. It was then, facing her canvases, he had a f lashback to a long time ago, when he stopped painting at his parents’ insistence to pursue a more serious occupation.

Fang Fang Acrylic on canvas, 60 x 80 cm

Chong is 34 and soon to be a father. He talks volubly about his promising beginnings as a talented boy who had made his first drawing at the age of four – a fish in chalk on a stone that took him 30 minutes. Five years later he won three international painting awards and as a teenager rebelled against the traditional art institutions, who in his opinion favoured custom above creative freedom. He left China for Switzerland, where he studied hotel management and music. He had a stint with Europe’s underground scene where he played in a couple of rock bands. The tattoos peeking from underneath his wide neck T-shirt suggest an extravagant past that he labels as his experience of total freedom. At 31, he met Sutin, who, he says, “helped me find a meaning in life, express myself by remembering the past, live the present and believe in the future”.

Sutin, 38, traces her passion for arts to her grandfather who was a painter and a sculptor and to her greatuncle, Auguste Baillet, a violinist, who conducted the Orchestre Symphonique de Lyon, France, for over 20 years.

She started learning the piano at the age of seven and at 24 she graduated from the Geneva Conservatoire. While studying political science at the University of Lausanne, she took courses in sculpture, specialising in animal figures and busts. Her interest in drawing was spurred by her encounter as a ten-year old child with a family friend and neighbour who happened to also be an artist. Since then painting had accompanied her throughout life. She welcomed Qian Chong invading her work as a “revelatory experience”.

The conversation, like their work, apparently, flows naturally. One comes up with an idea. They don’t debate it, merely add or remove elements deemed excessive. It does not matter to them who puts the first strokes as long as both contribute to the work. The active one takes the time it needs to finetune an idea. The other will take over to edit or re-create. Often they both work together from start to finish. It’s a lot of fun they say: “I look at what she is doing, I try to grasp her thought through strokes, patterns and colours she employs and then I follow it,” says Chong.

In the public eye

The subjects were closer to home at the start. Family and friends appeared on the canvasses, self-portraits as well, trees and then odd, abstract tableaux, bold, sunny, almost naive at times. The Bonbons of 2009 evolved to a suite of Sweets, rows of buttons, some organised, others aleatory. The recent production wave washed up a series of “celebrities,” with high-minded humanists and artists like Albert Einstein, Charlie Chaplin and Picasso sharing space on the easel with the likes of Lenin and Mao. And oddly, dissonantly perhaps, too, it was precisely the Mao portrait that sold for CHF 20,000 at a charity event benef iting the Swiss Red Cross in December last year. Celebrity has its notoriety and its price.

In March of this year, the duo held an exhibition in the Mines d’Art Gallery in Carouge. Guests, acquaintances and curious visitors crowded the sidewalk, f lowing in and out of the gallery. It was an intimate affair, just the right size for the duo. They continue to work at a pace dictated by inspiration as it comes. Hélène Sutin and Qian Chong are in no rush. Their work is private in many ways, a fun parlour game they share with the public, it pleases without shattering barriers, w ithout becoming involved in debates and political controversies, without signing petitions. In October, they will be exhibiting in China, where a gentle view of Chairman Mao might well be appreciated, and by that time, they may even have moved on to different subjects already. Their paintings mirror their experiences, some are short, some are longer, each has its ups and downs, joys and sorrows. Their projects, says Sutin, are driven by what life throws at them in a particular moment and the emotions stirred in its aftermath. “Our work represents our emotions and the greatest wish we have is to be able to share them with as many spectators a s possible.”

Article by Rodica Miron and Marton Radkai

Not only does art serve to “wipe the dust off one’s soul” but so does its counterpart, nature. Hence the garden in our lives, where we relax and find peace and solace. Whether grand and resplendent or hidden behind walls and secretly enchanting, they are often the expression of the owner’s love of nature. And each has a story to tell.

Natural ponds – no chemical substances needed

Cities without water are strange places, incomplete, temporary in some ways, dry and dusty. A garden without some form of water is akin to a wasteland as well. Water is not merely a potential optional feature, in any natural garden it is an absolute must. But water, as we know from the world round, is a fickle and difficult product. It is crucial for life, and is quite promiscuous and indiscriminate, slaking the thirst of high-powered athletes, diluting hard liquor, or, in the case of your pool, carrying around nutrients that feed all that green stuff that accumulates in the corners and then ion the floor.

Chlorine has been one of the standard means of killing off the algae and mosses, but for health and aesthetic reasons many people have expressed an interest in alternatives. In recent years a great deal has been done in this sector of garden design. Fortunately so, because some of today’s natural pools are veritable oases for both man and wildlife. It is now possible, with an ingenious system, such as the one developed by Hans Graf of Bionova, to create swimming ponds or natural ponds (biotopes) in any shape or size to suit any possible type of garden – and all this without chemical substances that might damage essential organisms and in turn, our own health.

Starvation diet

Although Graf’s natural filtering system involves quite complicated, tried and tested technology, the concept itself is relatively simple. It’s all a matter of taking the nutrients out of the water to make sure that unwanted algae are unable to survive. Literally, taking away the life-line. The owner of the pool avoids having to struggle against algae already settled in the pool, or spend weekends painstakingly skimming or clean-ing it off the floors and sides. The Bionova system ensures that the algae don’t have the least chance to thrive in the first place. As mentioned above, it is a relatively simple idea, but the implementation is more difficult. The pool is divided into two areas. One is called the regenerative area and this is where a gravel (usually lime-based) filtering system is installed. Phosphate levels in the water are lowered so that the bacteria that cause green scum and algae are immediately eradicated as they cannot survive in phosphate- free zones. This water is circulated throughout both areas of the pool and is thus the most effective and healthy way of keeping a natural swimming pool clean and its water clear.

What’s important to know, however, is that in water of this quality only certain plants can grow. These are mainly papyrus, yellow Iris, water-mint, carex or sedges, reeds and purple loosestrife. It is however possible, using specially designed capped pots to have about thirty other types of plants growing in your natural pond, including Monet’s fabulous water lilies, assuming an original isn’t hanging in your dining room.

Article by Frances Vetter

Beauty, luxury and timelessness are the three defining qualities of the British prolific designer Clive Christian. Plus the boldness to try out visual shock therapy. When he started designing kitchens with chandeliers in the late 1970s, it was primarily a passion-driven operation. An eccentric venture and one that would lead to success and advances in the most unlikely sections of the market.

Clive Christian, the man for interiors

Looking back at his beginnings, Clive Christian, who was born in Dundee in 1951, mentions Hardy Amies of Savile Row, who like himself was a self-taught man. The designs and styles produced by Amies were also pushing the boundaries at the time.

He was a man who was known for what he said as well as what he created – a man who was an amazing contradiction of establishment and anti-establishment and a good example of how innovation can lead to openings in many different sectors of the market for luxury articles. He, too, was like a zebra with spots or as Christian prefers to call it, a striped leopard. One can sense his admiration for Amies coupled with his own innate and complete trust in the face of those who advised that acquiring a 5-year degree, studying the classic order and the history of design was a prerequisite for a career in interior design.

But Clive Christian knew his target group already and was ready to go straight to the top.

The heart of the matter

Revolutionary at the time, he started in the kitchen, celebrating it as the relaxing and entertaining hub of the home it should be. By breaking down walls, opening up the space, retrieving the kitchen from the basement, taking it up into the light and giving it a touch of grandeur – hence incorporating chandeliers – he started to break down the established order. “Cooking was becoming more attractive, people were beginning to enjoy it as an experience and generally, houses were too small for a social kitchen,” Christian explains. With this objective in mind, he bought Lancashire Fine Wood Inc. Owning his own furniture company enabled him full control of the design, manufacture and distribution, from the purchase of raw materials, even the bare logs, to all aspects of production. He then extended his reach to the other rooms in the home, moving from kitchen to bedroom and bathroom design with his in-house architectural panelling division and exclusive design schemes for wallpaper and fabrics. A natural progression.

However, having effectively dealt with the whole home, he realised he had to address other disciplines. By now, however, he already had brand fame for design and furniture, so Christian was aware that whichever route he chose to pursue it would be vital that he take carefully measured steps. With his down-to-earth wit, he describes his caution as being “a bit like a moon-shoot – you only need the tiniest little thing to go wrong and you have an Apollo 13!”

The Empire dining-room strikes back

A Christian dressing room for people with lots of dress;

The smell of success

The smell of success

Having decided on luxury as the path to take, Christian had to decide whether he wanted to enter the world of jewellery, leather, fashion, luxury accessories or perfume. As it happened, the Crown perfumery became available and he seized the opportunity. He reasoned that it was a completely different discipline, poles apart from interior design. “Leather and luggage would have offered a more straightforward transfer,” he suggests casually, “but the idea was, if we could make perfume work, from that position we could go anywhere.”

As far as Christian is concerned, high quality perfume is the absolute luxury. One might wear luxury underwear next to one’s skin but perfume on the other hand, is applied directly onto the skin. In his eyes, it was completely underrated. It had lost its identity as a quality product.

Single-mindedly, he waded into the perfume business with the same zeal he had applied to interior design. Picking Crown may not have been entirely by accident maybe. As the Fates would have it, while doing renovation work on his Cheshire home many years before, his daughter unearthed a tiny bottle of Crown perfume. “It was one of those charming co-incidences – we now owned the company that produced that little bottle which my daughter Victoria found 20 years ago,” he says with a broad smile.

The moral of the story

Nothing has changed in Clive Christian’s original approach. He has maintained a crystal-clear vision of creating brand icons, ones that are generic with British luxury much like Rolls Royce. That has enabled him to move gracefully from one discipline to the next. All of his products are made without a reference to cost; his goals have never been commercial. Aspiring to a brand that will survive the sandpapering of time, he offers only articles of utmost quality that possess those reputed “classical” characteristics that simply do not date.

Speaking with Clive Christian, one is aware of his uncompromising commitment to excellence, bordering almost on intolerance for anything that is not “the best” – be that the highest quality ingredients possible for perfumes, the most suitable design for building condominiums, gated communities of about a dozen luxury domiciles, or in his selection of a possible partner with whom to collaborate in the development of a timepiece. The objectives are clear. And he will make sure he was complete control over every aspect of production. He sums up his philosophy in a few words: “Only deal with people and objects you love; handle them with due respect and the rewards will be without compare.” Of course, having talent helps, if not a touch of genius.

A Christian kitchen

Architectural kitchen with the Clive Christian’s signature chandelierswith lots of dress; below: toned-down ivory and oak for restful nights

It is a bright day, late winter as Boris Jeannet, Clive Christian’s associate in Switzerland, meets me at the threshold to the Aladdin’s cave of their showrooms in Zürich. A January sun hits the cut glass of a chandelier that plays its magic, creating shards of light that lead my eye across the sumptuously papered walls. Kept in warm raspberries and creams, the wallpaper, depicting romantic miniatures of country scenes, is signed by the master himself. Details, that make it clear right from the welcoming moment, that this is indeed all about exclusivity. Moving from room to room, a natural passage, a line of design held faithfully, from the entrance through to the study, where most men’s heart miss a beat.

Beneath the limed oak dresser, a grand Westminster desk awaits, with golden rimmed inlaid black leather, an inkwell – one can almost smell the sweet mingling scents of peppermint and pipe tobacco (if it is politically correct today to even mention the word pipe). The associations are without a doubt, of a gentleman’s domain. This is a place to sit back and relish one’s accomplishments, to feel at home with one’s life, to know deep down – this is my very own individual space. A study. Perhaps an old-fashioned concept but one that still holds great nostalgic charm, I realise, as my hand strokes the leather of the table, for a woman too! Leading from the study, the kitchen beckons. A bright airy atmosphere, in creams and ivory marble tones. Above the cooking island, the infamous kitchen chandelier. Being labelled as “eccentric” some 20 years ago, it is now the most copied classic design in the industry.

What’s more – it works! The chandelier is the shining centre-piece of the room and assumes the former welcoming function of a hearth. A good thing, because this room is all about social activity. This is where people meet and chat – drinks are served and the scent of freshly cut fresia in a crystal vase creates the impression of a nearby kitchen garden. It is often said that the kitchen is the heart of the home. A Clive Christian kitchen is, most definitely. From the kitchen through to the bedroom, the senses are addressed once again. Surrounded by materials and textures that appeal and comfort, this is the place to relax. A television built into the foot of the bed is readily hidden at the click of a switch. The en-suite, its traditional fittings, built-in closets and a wall coverings which echo the design of the bed linen, all enhance the inherent charm and validate meticulous attention to detail. The scent here is of course that of the world’s most expensive perfume. Three flacons are displayed nonchalantly beside the lavabo and add a touch of worldly luxury to this intimate space. Boris Jeannet explains that since the official opening in 2009 with Victoria Christian, the company is enjoying a growing reputation here in Switzerland and receiving a lot of attention also in Eastern Europe and Asia, which goes to prove that not only an English man’s home is his castle.

Article by Frances Vetter

… the making of dream chocolate

“Charlie looked down at the candy bar. He ran his fingers slowly back and forth
along the length of it, stroking it lovingly, and the shiny paper wrapper
made little sharp crackly noises in the quiet room.”

This is probably the most intimate description of a chocolate experience that I ever read. It belongs to the poor boy, Charlie Bucket, the protagonist of Roald Dahl’s famous children’s story Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

Favarger’s shop in Geneva’s Quai des Etuves, now Quai des Bergues had to move outside the town, to Versoix in 1875 but at the turn of the millennium, new investments helped bring it back to its original location.

I love chocolate and I assume lots of people do as well, but Charlie’s admiration of this fine delicacy melts anyone’s heart: “Only once a year, on his birthday, did Charlie ever get to taste a bit of chocolate.… each time he received it, he would place it carefully in a small wooden box … and treasure it as though it were a bar of solid gold … he would allow himself only to look at it but never to touch it. Then at last … he would take a tiny nibble – just enough to allow the lovely sweet taste to spread out slowly over his tongue.”

It came as no surprise that when I first got a taste of Favarger’s hazelnut cream Nougalines, I felt like I was in Charlie’s place, anxious with anticipation

of the sweet treasure hidden inside the red wrapping, eye-savouring the treat before taking small bites just to let the taste slowly unfold itself in a fiery delight and joy. I only tasted the Nougalines once, along with the crunchy Avelines, but that’s the thing with great chocolate: the taste never leaves you, it gets stored in a “box”, just like Charlie’s, among thousands of other memories, always there to savour and remember.

From fairy-tale beginnings to world renown

The Favarger chocolate saga goes back to 1826 and it begins much like a fairy tale. Once upon a time, in a small, flourishing town by the lake there lived a young girl named Suzanne. She was the daughter of Jacques Foulquier, known in the area for his talent of making delicious chocolate. His devotion and passion towards this trade was so contagious that even Suzanne’s fiancé, who was a watchmaker, joined the family endeavour and went on to develop the company alongside Jacques. The shop in Geneva’s Quai des Etuves, now Quai des Bergues, thrived through the years, going on to delight the Genevois with its finest chocolate. In 1875, Favarger moved its premises to Versoix, just outside Geneva, and in the same year, Jacques Favarger launched the first of its milk chocolate tablets, “Les Trois Suisses”, which preceded the creation of the Avelines in 1922 and the Nougalines in the 1930s.

At the turn of the millennium, the house of Favarger witnessed the arrival of Luka Radjic, a Croatian entrepreneur, and now a major shareholder, whose investment revitalized the chocolate house, brought the company flagship boutique back to its original location and pledged to preserve Favarger’s historical links with Geneva and its tradition of quality and craftsmanship, where the new assortment of “fresh” Favarger chocolates, pralines, truffles and ganaches are finalized and presented in the most refined wrappings. A must stop for Christmas shopping. In 2004, the chocolate masters reinvented the fondue and other traditional recipes, and, in 2005, the company, in partnership with the town hall of Versoix, put together an entire chocolate festival that now attracts thousands of tourists and chocolate lovers every spring.

Favarger the real “Chocolate Factory”

A world ruled by tastes

pralines, truffles and ganaches...

Favarger distinguishes itself not only through the superior quality of its treats, but also by the fact that all the chocolate is produced in Switzerland and the process is completely in-house. Besides the Madagascar and Bali cacao beans, the company tends to use local ingredients as much as possible, like Swiss milk and sugar.

Jean-Baptiste Maugars, Favarger’s Managing Director of Manufacture, takes pride in the company’s control over the supply process that, as he notes, starts early on with roasting the cacao beans rather than just acquiring them already prepared.

Although Favarger doesn’t mix its chocolate by waterfall like Willy Wonka did in his “Chocolate Factory”, the taste and quality of its chocolates take you back to a world ruled by tastes and dream chocolate flavours.

And if you still have doubts, see and taste for yourself at Boutique Favarger at 19 Quai des Bergues in Geneva – you might just become like Charlie Bucket, enraptured and enchanted.

Article by Helen Rocci

… the road to a good day at the office

It is said that clothes make the man. What we put on speaks more about our character and personality than one would imagine. Appearance can turn people away or, on the contrary, open doors. By the same token, furniture characterizes one’s dwelling as well as it does one’s working place. You can tell a fine company, for instance, by its office furnishing. A statement conference table, comfortable chairs and cosy couches not only encourage interaction among the working staff but also strengthen a company’s brand and image in the eyes of clients while also facilitating attainment of the company’s goals.

Making the difference

“The benefit of ergonomics is much more than just good desks and chairs. It’s about looking after the whole person.” Henry Jarlsson, Kinnarps’ CEO

For those who decide on a pleasant, proactive and image-building ambiance that top-class quality furniture can provide, the choice is not an easy one. In cash-strapped times like today’s, business models for furnishings tend to become cost-savvy, thereby allowing room for patchiness. Fortunately, some prioritize quality, respecting their tradition of offering the best possible for their clients. Among these “pillars” that refuse to give in to the double-dip scenarios and pessimistic outlooks is Kinnarps, the Swedish family-owned enterprise, which, in true Nordic style, specializes in interior workspace solutions for offices and public environments.

A statement conference table, comfortable chairs and cosy couches...strengthen a company’s brand and image in the eyes of clients

Like any successful endeavour, it all began with an idea, back in 1942: to transform Sweden’s abundance of excellent raw materials into the most exquisite cabinets and furnishings of the time. Kinnarps’ founders, Evy and Jarl Andersson, pursued this goal with not only their hands but their hearts as well. Their efforts soon bore fruit and the company began delivering tambour cabinets to the Swedish government, followed a few years with the signing of its first contract with the government. Little did they know at the time that such a humble start of a family business would later translate into Europe’s second largest provider of workspace interior solutions.

Today, Kinnarps employs around 2,500 people, gathering several trademarks under its umbrella, including its own Kinnarps brand as well as Materia, Skandiform, NC Nordic Care, Drabert, Martin Stoll, Fortschritt and MBT och Schärf, all of which are sold in 40 different countries around the world.

Solutions rather than products

Kinnarps’ success recipe lies in their thoughtful design, which seeks to help their clients become better at work. Solutions are what is offered rather than mere products. With over 60 years of experience, the company sees it as a given to harness its knowledge and expertise order to provide compatible answers to the multiple demands of the modern working place.

...office design is a strategy in itself rather than just aesthetics

The road to a good day at the office – Kinnarps’ way – starts with a careful ergonomic analysis of the client’s needs in the working environment. Based on research and surveys on the advantages of effective workplaces, the Kinnarps design team then creates solutions that increase employees’ motivation to work efficiently and also reduce the risk of repetitive office injuries, such as strains.

Henry Jarlsson, Kinnarps’ CEO, couldn’t have put it better: “The benefit of ergonomics is much more than just good desks and chairs. It’s about looking after the whole person.” Customer relations at Kinnarps clearly go beyond simple shop assistance: once the product is ready, tested and approved, assembly teams finish the process by delivering and installing it to ensure the client’s total satisfaction.

Strategic design – and aesthetics

The idea that office design is a strategy in itself rather than just aesthetics is increasingly winning ground against traditional norms. Google, for example, is as renowned for its services as it is for its working environment, which resembles a high-tech interactive ground for adults rather than an office.

Luckily, for the rest of us, there is Kinnarps.

Article by Linda Ferg

Propaganda at its best

Swiss Style recently had the great pleasure to sit down with Ruben Igielko-Herrlich and Anders Granath, the founders of Propaganda GEM, a leading entertainment marketing agency specializing in product placement.

Daniel Ybarra (lower left) and his two chums decide to set things right

The puppet masters

“We are workers of the shadows. Our finest work is when people don’t even know what we did,” says Ruben with a smile. Immediately, they had our attention. The next hour and a half proved to be a fascinating encounter with two of today’s finest members of the world of product placement, where the best go undetected.
The more we talked to these gentlemen, the more we realized how passionate they are about their work. “The privilege to be involved in something that you love is clearly a luxury,” Anders says with undeniable enthusiasm.
Firms like Propaganda are in a sweet spot right now. TV audiences are fragmenting and more and more viewers are skipping through commercials and heading to the Web. Advertisers see product placement as one of the most efficient ways to put their brands and products in front of large numbers of people. Blockbuster movies are particularly attractive because they reach an international audience of hundreds of millions. And blockbusters just happen to be Propaganda’s specialty.

Joining forces

Ruben Igielko-Herrlich and Anders Granath founded Propaganda GEM (Global Entertainment Marketing) in 1991. They specialize in product placement and promotions for film, television, music videos and video games. Headquartered in Geneva and Los Angeles, Propaganda has offices across the globe and their clients include Panasonic, the BMW Group, Lacoste, Lamborghini and Nokia, to name but a few.

“Before founding Propaganda I had worked in investment banking and the luxury business, mostly in New York,” Ruben explains. “When I came to Europe I was looking for a change. I joined Enigma, a company started by Gianni Bulgari. While working there, I received a call from MGM, who wanted to use one of our products for a movie.”

Ruben Igielko-Herrlich and Anders Granath founded Propaganda GEM (Global Entertainment Marketing) in 1991.

Around the same time a mutual friend introduced Ruben to Anders. “We were both in a period of transition and decided to do something entrepreneurial. We knew what we did not want to do,” says Anders. “Basically we were done with the corporate shell, with its preconceived notions of how things should be done.”
“Professionally we both had accelerated careers,” intervenes Ruben. “When we met we were at the point that, in order to move ahead in our respective fields, we would have to wait for the guy above us to die. This was not an option for either of us”.

Frustrated with this situation, they decided to join forces. “The fact that we channelled all this energy and ambition into our own project is what has brought us to the point where we find ourselves today. I was 28 at the time I met Ruben and had seven to eight years of professional experience in marketing. This was 20 years ago, so most of my professional life has been spent with Propaganda.” “Tempus fugit,” quips Ruben laughing.
Having worked together for 20 years, the two entrepreneurs claim to have never had an argument. “This is one of the secrets of our success. We are very different people but we agree on the fundamental points,” Ruben adds. “In terms of ethics and dedication we are both on the same page.”
“When we started out and told people we work in entertainment out of Geneva,” Anders goes on to tell us, “the reaction would be: ‘You must either be stupid or on drugs. You should be somewhere else.’ They all laughed at us. Now the same people are calling us back for advice.”

Hollywood for the whole world

The two maintain that their success is also a product of their education. The son of a Slavic Jewish mother and a Cuban father, Ruben was born in Cuba. He came to Switzerland as a refugee after the 1959 revolution. “Here I grew up in an international environment,” he says. Anders on the other hand is of Swedish and British origin but born in France.
Hailing from such a multicultural background, “We applied what our upbringing had taught us to advertising,” Ruben explains. “In the past nationality and language defined how a brand would communicate in a given territory. Twenty years ago we predicted that the tribal aspect of our existence was going to dominate. Rather than focus on the differences, we decided to concentrate on what unites people worldwide.”

They identified the common denominator in the storytelling ability of Hollywood. “At the time the only thing that everybody across the globe watched, were Hollywood movies and television productions,” Ruben relates. “When we started, the idea was to get stars associated with our clients’ products. In this manner we worked on the subjective level of what makes a product cool or not.”

They admit that “it had a lot to do with luck and connections in the beginning.” Nowadays it is no longer a matter of luck but of resources. “Movies are expensive to shoot and advertisers want to get their message across. The trick is to not turn the movie into a two-hour long commercial.” The old days of product placement where products are presented in an unnatural and forced fashion are over. “The audience is too sophisticated to fall for it,” says Anders. “We are in the storytelling business; our job is to help tell the story. If the placement is so blatant that the audience wonders, ‘Wow! I wonder how much they paid to get that product in the movie?’, then we made a mistake. Not only that, but we spoiled the viewing pleasure.”
“The idea is to give people the impression that the thought process is theirs and not ours, but in reality we are the puppet masters,” Ruben adds with a slightly mischievous smile.

“In terms of the budgets we command, we are a marginal activity for most companies,” Anders goes on to explain. “For the past 18 years product placement has been perceived as something fun and entertaining to do, but something that takes place on the sideline.”
In recent years, however, this perception has started to shift. “With such products as Tivo,” Ruben comments, ”you can record and watch your programme whenever you please. A little button lets you fast-forward, meaning: you no longer have to watch the ads. Research shows that 98% of people no longer watch commercials. This is where we come into the picture.”

Enter a new era

Propaganda’s breakthrough came in the 1999 movie “The Matrix”, which established the company as capable of sniffing out a blockbuster. At the time, Nokia was introducing a Web-surfing phone, one of the first. Ruben and Anders persuaded directors Andy and Larry Wachowski to use a version of it in the movie as a portal through which the star, Keanu Reeves, entered the digital world of the film’s title. The Matrix became a huge hit – and so did Nokia’s 7110 phone. Since then Propaganda has been involved in numerous blockbusters: The Dark Knight, Transformers, Hitch, just to name a few.
“In the movie ‘Hitch’ with Will Smith, we placed a bright green Lacoste polo shirt. When the movie came out, there was a rush to the stores with people asking for exactly that polo,” Anders tells us. “So what we do is not only about image building, but can sometimes have a direct effect on sales. It was a landmark in Lacoste’s marketing history.”

“Jack Nicholson even walked into a Lacoste shop in New York and asked for a polo like the one his friend Will Smith wore in Hitch!,” adds Ruben. “These are the kind of stories that build brands.”

Professional passion

For the past 20 years Ruben Igielko-Herrlich and Anders Granath have had the privilege of doing what they love.

For the past 20 years Ruben Igielko-Herrlich and Anders Granath have had the privilege of doing what they love. “This is clearly a luxury, one that the majority of people don’t experience,” Anders states. “But there are two sides to that,” Ruben admits. “I wanted to get into entertainment when I wasn’t in entertainment. I used to love going to the movies. What has happened is that I am no longer a spectator but a participant. So, yes, I am involved in the universe that I am most passionate about, but this universe has also shifted on me. Clearly, I have no regrets, but you have to take the good with the bad.”

So what are these two gentlemen passionate about outside their profession? “People are my passion,” Anders reveals. “My family has taken a big portion of my extra-professional life. I don’t have a big family, but I have an intense family! I no longer golf or sail because I have too much work to do. I love art. I need it to evolve in life, but I am not a collector of art. I could leave for the other side of the earth tomorrow with nothing. I could replace everything I have, except the people in my life. I would say that I am a collector of magic instances, not of objects.”

Ruben on the other hand is an adrenaline junky. “I need the intensity of real life to balance out the virtual world that we work in, which is all numbers and theories. I love being in contact with the elements and living the moment. Two great passions of mine are extreme skiing and motorcycling”. As well, Ruben is also a family man. “I am proud of my kids! However, since I am hardly ever around, the credit for raising them goes to my wife!”

The satisfaction of a job well done

Although Ruben and Anders both need to get away from their work sometimes, their love for what they do is undeniable. “We travel around the globe about three times a year,” Ruben explains. “When I go to Beijing and am driving through downtown, I see the flickering blue light of a television screen out of people’s windows and I say to myself: ‘My work is here’. I go to Cape Town and I see a poster for a movie we just worked on. No matter where we go, we see the result of our work and it gives us immense satisfaction.”

Slow down – take the time to enjoy

In a culture of haste, slow has almost been regarded as taboo but the concept is leisurely gaining pace

"Anything worth doing is worth doing slowly" - Mae West

Sex icon, actress and epitomizer of risqué in the early days of movies, Mae West certainly gathered an attractive entourage of followers and her fair share of muscular men, one being a fellow thespian named Archie Leach– who later became better known as Cary Grant. Her secret lay in the combination of subtle flirting, elegant sultriness, bawdy double entendres and gentle teasing.

Such provocative yet measured mannerisms are best appreciated through a state of composure and cunningness.

This can really only be achieved when one allows oneself enough time to find the slower rhythm of life and focus on the finer details of the present.

By always seeking the destination and never enjoying the journey, we deceive our minds there is always something better the other end.

Mae West – lady of pleasure by unhurriedly enjoying the pleasures along the way – showed how slow can be seductive.

Time – our best friend or worst enemy?

The paradox of our society where we idolize time is that life has become a race against the clock. We humans have an insecure relationship with time. By living fast and speeding through life multitasking, we deceive ourselves that we have gained the upper hand of time. We craftily try to fit in more activities than time actually allows us. But we cannot change the number of hours in a day or the number of minutes in an hour.

We can control our time but we cannot control time in itself. It is this power struggle with time that has placed the modern man in a culture of haste, speed and hyperscheduling.
We treat time as a commodity, something to be toyed with, polished and perfected. In due course such fussing over time puts us in an estranged relationship with it. “Time is precious” is our modern cliché and is largely held accountable for the cult of speed. We make the mistake of saying that because time is so valuable we must do everything fast so as not to waste it. In an age of efficiency, steep competition and rigorous work attitude, unstructured time is seen as a vice. This warped attitude to time is predicated on the legacy of Benjamin Franklin’s infamous “Time is money”.

Fiscal devotion

The irony though is that the full-fledging spirit of capitalism that we are so entwined in hasn’t allowed us to realize that we are locked into a 19th century framework when it comes to our beliefs about time and money. It seems that the Protestant work ethic hasn’t entirely left us either, in that work is still regarded a virtue and in effect a moral duty, which explains why we devote so much time to work. In an increased secular world, work almost replaces religion as we give into self-denial for the pursuit of economic gain. However, efficiency and calculation, rather than morality, emotion or custom, governs our behaviour.

Such rationalization takes a toll on our inner self and is responsible for the disenchantment we so often feel. This is because it pushes us towards a philosophy of fast. Life becomes busy, controlling, aggressive, hurried, analytical, stressed, superficial, impatient and active. Such an environment drives us to look for quantity over quality. These ways of being ultimately have a dehumanizing effect because it doesn’t give us the chance to connect, a characteristic essential for any well-functioning society.

One area in which this quantitative bias is particularly evident is in reviews of books, music albums and films, which use the number of copies sold, chart rankings and box-office takes as the indicator of how good the item in question is. By no doubt do statistical facts hold some truth, but we begin to lose our own sense of judgement and don’t trust our own instincts. Rather, we rely on numbers to paint our picture of the world. Anything where we have to form our own opinion is lost to the reigns of statistics. In the broader sense the denial of judging for ourselves is part of the social kudos of constantly wanting to be up-to-date and informed. Hence we never allow ourselves to rest and make personally informed decisions about which books, films, music, or art to buy.

Seeing but not feeling

What is worrying about the cult of speed and the emphasis on quantity that it projects is its relationship with the admired “to-do list”. In mapping out our day in the form of a meticulously crafted list we are making ourselves into our own slaves, where our day falls under the authority of a hapless piece of paper. We may justify this surrender for the satisfaction we later gain at seeing a completed to-do list. Hold on – this is where we need to stop and think. What has become of us if we are reduced to finding pleasure in a list covered with ticks?
The aim here is not to criticize the actual to-do list itself. Without causing offence, for those that seek a structured life it certainly does have its functions and it must be credited for being their saving grace. It’s the attitude to life that it breeds that needs to be taken into account when we religiously devote ourselves to such time-management techniques. Ploughing through a list of things to do for the sake of seeing a completed list only adds to our penchant for quantity and takes us further away from discovering quality. When our daily actions monotonously get churned out in a superficial manner we gradually slip into the habit of not taking the time to engage in something.

In the long term this fabricates an attitude where everything has to be instant. We lose out on the feeling of getting excited about something and of striving to make something happen. Anticipation is after all the key to pleasure. The problem is not the to-do list itself but the general philosophy it promotes. We need to be critically aware of the fact that it fosters a fast-forward mode, which creates an unhealthy relationship with life. With no deeper level connection with our activities, we lose intimacy with our work and become alienated from it. We may see the benefits of our work but we don’t feel them.

Tempo giusto

...slow is calm, careful, receptive, still, intuitive, unhurried, patient and reflective

In all fairness, daily to-do tasks may not be the most riveting. However, approaching them in a slow manner allows us to unveil the pearls of pleasure hidden in even the most mundane of tasks. This is not to say that we will or should end up loving everything we do. More importantly, it’s a move away from relying on figures, lists and things that are immediately available to our eyes to learning to be more discerning.

Having a slow philosophy does not mean doing things at a snail’s pace but at a speed that allows us to make meaningful connections with our work and not superficial connections created by quantitative elements. We say we don’t have time to walk over and greet our friend, we don’t have time for that coffee or we don’t have time to sweep the path. This is because when we become so used to seeing our activities scheduled we neglect the spontaneous ones.

Slow is calm, careful, receptive, still, intuitive, unhurried, patient and reflective. This kind of approach allows quality to triumph over quantity.
It’s all about finding the tempo giusto. By always living in the idea that fast is somehow deeply modern, efficient and fulfilling, we forget about the simple pleasures of life, the activities that don’t require a fast pace. Before, we benefited from doing things fast, but as the world is becoming more complex, with more channels of communication, more sophisticated production techniques and higher consumer expectations, there is a call for a more refined rhythm. The returns of doing things too fast are having a negative effect.

Speed = Disconnectedness/Time

If we don’t slow down then we risk being reduced to a species in danger of extinction. If time equals money, then by speeding up we believe we are getting more time and hence more money. The insidious virus of speed submits us to focus on the quantitative, pushing us to want more and more, in terms of both time and material things.

The irony is that the extra time we try to win is a futile endeavour. This is because in the process of rushing through time in order to gain more of it we are not ever given the chance to stop, reflect and truly embrace our sought-after time. This puts our psychological security at stake and separates us from time and ultimately life itself.

Think of growing your favourite fruit tree. It has the potential to be bountiful, so it needs tenderness, love and care. When it receives the utmost attention, we can see the fruits of our patient labour.
The same goes for time. If it really is so precious then we have to treat it as if it were so. We need to nurture it, feed it with the things we like, be tolerant with it, cut and trim it occasionally so it doesn’t cast a shadow over us, see what it can give us and not what it is taking away.

It’s about devoting more of our time to the activities we enjoy. Only then can we begin to speak of the luxury of time.

Article by Paula Svaton

An exclusive opportunity for foreigners to buy on the shores of Lake Geneva

Lake Geneva, also known as Lac Léman, is Europe’s largest lake. It also happens to have on its far eastern shore one of its most beautiful towns. With a microclimate that will make you feel like you’re in Florida and scenery that will leave you breathless, sits a town of exceptional beauty and charm: welcome to Montreux.

Home ownership

Sizes vary from 2-bedroom apartments to larger 4- to 5-room apartments...all in a luxurious setting with the possibility of benefiting from services all year round

Switzerland is hardly comparable to other Europeans countries when it comes to accessibility of home ownership, as it is only since 1999 that foreigners can acquire property in the country.

Only a limited number of permits, depending on the property, are granted each year to non-residents. Furthermore, foreigners are limited to purchasing properties under 200m2.

Compared to other Swiss cities, Montreux has a more relaxed attitude with respect to foreign property buyers.

Today, affluent businessmen and tourists are in luck as Montreux is about to embark on a unique offer in French-speaking Switzerland: the sale of apartments to foreigners at the lavish apartment complex of Le National de Montreux.

The project

Le National was built in 1873 and used to be a big favourite with British visitors, and also counted among its guests the Russian author Leo Tolstoy. Being the first hotel built in Montreux, it is situated in one of the town’s best locations, with stunning views over the lake to the mountains. During the 1980s, however, the hotel fell into a state of disrepair, before being given a new lease of life thanks to an extensive renovation programme costing an estimated CHF 50 million.

Comptoir Immobilier was chosen as the Management Company. According to Nicolas Dunand, director of the company’s Vaudoise branch office – a man who seems to have gone into the real estate business straight from the crib – 90% of the clients are foreigners attracted by the high specification and comfort provided at Le National.

Indeed, the home-away-from-home feel provided by this development will be particularly attractive to businessmen coming in for short stays, as well as for tourists coming for specific events such as the renowned Montreux Jazz Festival. The apartments are interesting for long-term residents as well as for those who are in Montreux for a quick stopover, as Le National provides furnished apartments for a minimum stay of a week, combining luxury, retreat and comfort.

Living in a Le National apartment gives exclusive access to a private spa, a 350m2² (3,770 sq ft) wellness centre which includes an indoor pool, a sundeck, a Turkish steam bath, a sauna, a jacuzzi and a fitness room. For those who are fond of entertaining, there is the “National Lounge” on the mezzanine of the main building, which can accommodate up to 100 guests for private cocktails and about 30 guests for dinner, and a Business Centre for those wishing to run their business from home.

"Le Belvédère" - residential owner-occupied apartments with services to the residencies (spa, swimming-pool, wellness)

Services include a superior maintenance and concierge staff providing tailor-made services, such as catering and housekeeping, according to your needs, along with the possibility of having reservations made for you, whether it’s a seat in the cinema, a restaurant or even a round of golf.
Prices range from CHF 4,000 to 15,000 a week, for regular periods, according to the size of the apartment. Sizes vary from 2-bedroom apartments of 70m² (860 sq ft), to larger 4- to 5-room apartments for holiday rentals, all in a luxurious setting with the possibility of benefiting from services all year round.

Lakeview from one of the apartments

Closing the deal

Mr Dunand also mentioned plans to further extend within the Canton de Vaud. There is also great optimism about extending this project to other cantons and major cities in Switzerland in the future and, as Dunand says: “I think that if you have ambition but are not optimistic, there is no point in doing this profession because it is just not possible.”

If you are a fan of Montreux – and have an interest in the pleasure of residing in your own home whilst having all the benefits of a private club – Le National is the place to go. As a well-balanced combination between the great architectural tradition of the “Belle Époque” and the possibilites provided by the latest construction technologies, the Residences in the National now offer an exclusive, picturesque and stylish environment in one of the most beautiful regions of the world.

Richard de Tscharner - Former private banker turned photographer, adventurer, philanthropist

According to an Italian proverb, “To him that watches, everything is revealed”. For Richard de Tscharner, this could not be more true. Whether on adventures in the Swiss Alps with his father, working at a private bank in Geneva or touring the globe in a single-engine aeroplane, de Tscharner has been observing the world for most of his life.

The life-setting event

Sometimes an event so seemingly unimportant, so ordinary and commonplace that it hardly seems like an event at all, can influence the decisions you make for the rest of your life.

When Richard de Tscharner was a teenager, he accompanied his mother to Lombard Odier & Co. (now known as Lombard Odier Darier Hentsch &Co.), a private bank based in Geneva. There was nothing particularly special about the outing.

There was nothing unusual or out-of-the-ordinary about it. It was, quite simply, a trip to the bank. And yet, looking back on it, de Tscharner says it had a profound impact on his life.

“The more one travels around the world, the more one is led to wonder how to contribute to its betterment”

“I realized immediately that Lombard Odier & Co. was going to be the place where I wanted to position myself for the future,” he recalls, adding that he immediately felt at ease in the environment and with the people working there. As a result, he turned to his mother and said: “This is where I want to work one day.”
After graduating from the faculty of Economics and Sociology at the University of Geneva, de Tscharner started his career at Lombard Odier & Co, one of Switzerland’s leading private banks, in 1972. Seventeen years later, in what he describes as a major milestone in his life, he was invited to become a managing partner.
“I have always been extremely grateful for that intuitive feeling I had when I was 16 because looking back,” de Tscharner says, taking a minute to enjoy the memories, “I don’t think I could have been happier than I was at Lombard Odier & Co., nor could I have made a better contribution in business than I did as a portfolio manager and private banker.”

Living all the dreams

De Tscharner says ever since he was young, he wanted to experience five lives: his own, that of a mountaineer, that of a musician, that of a pastor and, finally, that of a simple man.
“Simple, I think, I have always been and will always be,” he says. “My life, obviously, is my life. The other three – nature, music and spirituality – are three things which I like enormously and which are important aspects of my personality.”

In order to realize his dream of experiencing these five lives, de Tscharner left Lombard Odier Darier Hentsch & Co. at the end of 2006.
“I always kept in the back of my mind the fact that life is a one-way street and that it’s a short one-way street,” he explains. “As a result, I never imagined, or thought that it was reasonable, to stay in business your entire life up to the bitter end.”
Rather than retreat to the comforts of his lakeside home in Coppet, like the many explorers long since relegated to the pages of history books and childhood fantasies, de Tscharner sought adventure and a new challenge.

“I was aware that when you approach the age of 60, you are still fit and you still have the energy that is required to envisage another avenue,” he explains. “The next five to six years, if I had stayed in business, would probably have cost me more than five to six years in terms of energy and would probably not have allowed me to look at the next step of my life with the same degree of freshness.”
And with that – after 35 years in finance – de Tscharner left Lombard Odier & Co. to travel, become a professional photographer and set up a non-profit Foundation in Zermatt.

Capturing the world

While having lunch with his friend Jacques Lemaigre du Breuil, an experienced pilot and founder of JetFly, de Tscharner suggested they should tour the world in a single-engine airplane. Unlike those people who often talk and dream of doing such things but never actually do, de Tscharner planned and plotted – and a year and a half later climbed into a Pilatus PC 12 and set off on a 108-day tour of the world.

Joined by friends Jacques Lemaigre du Breuil and Mario Julen, de Tscharner flew to 16 countries and visited places such as Shibam in Yemen (often referred to as “the Manhattan of the desert”), Lalibela, one of Ethiopia’s holiest cities, and Lake Titicaca in Bolivia, which is where, according to Incan mythology, the creator god, Viracoca, rose up to create the sun, the moon, the stars and the first human beings.

Capturing the world

The one place that really stood out for de Tscharner, however, was Salar de Uyuni, a salt lake located in the south of Bolivia. According to Aymara legend, the mountains that surround the Salar – Tunupa, Kusku and Kusina – were once giant people. Although Kusku married Tunupa, he left her for Kusina. Grief stricken, Tunupa started crying one day while breastfeeding her son and when her tears mixed with the milk, the Salar was formed.
“It’s magical there,” says de Tscharner. “And it’s so white that when you first get out of the car you think you’re walking on snow. You walk slowly and with extra care because you think that at any moment you’re going to slip and fall.” He laughs at the memory. “It’s really a spectacular place,” he says, regaining his composure. “It’s a place of silence and peace.” And for a brief moment, de Tscharner is lost in thought.

“We really discovered the beauties of this world,” he says, looking up again. “When you watch TV and when you read papers, you easily have the feeling that the world is in shambles. When you travel, though, especially outside of the cities, you realize how absolutely gorgeous and fantastic and beautiful this world is.”
Having said this, the trip – which is officially known as the “Wings and Bridges Tour” – was more than just a holiday. For de Tscharner, it was an exciting opportunity to learn about other countries’ traditions, beliefs and histories. It was also a unique opportunity to make a positive contribution to other peoples’ lives by doing something he loves: taking photographs.

"When you travel … you realize how absolutely gorgeous and fantastic and beautiful this world is.”

Fulfilling a responsibility

Although de Tscharner travelled to some of the world’s most beautiful places, he also travelled to some of its poorest.
“We could not imagine travelling all around the planet without ever stopping to wonder how to give some help to a village with no resources, to fields lacking water, to mothers with no means to heal their children or to children without the privilege of going to school,” de Tscharner explains. “The more one travels around the world, the more one is led to wonder how to contribute to its betterment.”

With this in mind, de Tscharner established the Carène Foundation (www.fondationcarene.org), a non-profit charitable organization, at the beginning of 2008. The aim of the Foundation is to financially assist organizations around the world – particularly those in low-income countries – that assist disadvantaged children while promoting the importance of education and tradition. The Foundation is financed by the profits made from the sale of de Tscharner’s photographs, many of which were taken during the Wings and Bridges Tour, as well as from the sale of his first book, Our World.
Since its formation, the Carène Foundation has made donations to Krousar Thmey, a foundation aimed at helping underprivileged children in Cambodia and Karuna Shechen, a non-profit organization that builds and ensures the running of schools in Tibet.

The world revealed – a moment of being

When you look at a Richard de Tscharner photograph, the first thing you notice is its simplicity: the clean lines, the elegant composition, the perfect balance between black and white.
But the more you look at it, the more you see and feel, and the more you believe you were there when it was taken, because when you look at a Richard de Tscharner photograph, you’re not just looking at a picture, you’re experiencing a moment in time, a moment of life, a moment of being in harmony in this complicated, beautiful, surprising world.

“Simple, I think, I have always been and will always be … nature, music and spirituality are three things which I like enormously and which are important aspects of my personality”

Article by Alinka Brutsch

USM modular furniture – “Form follows function”

Form follows function

One furniture brand that gives that extra edge to design is USM. Its long tradition of excellence has made it into a design classic earning itself a permanent position at The Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) in New York.

What sets USM apart is that it combines its sleek and timeless design with practicality, making it a favourite amongst those who take their furniture seriously. The brand’s modular furniture addresses two purposes: it is both simple and durable while being versatile and adaptable to each and every environment. A unique system of chrome-plated brass ball joints allows for complete flexibility.
USM’s designers will even assist in configuring your furniture according to your personal needs and environment both in corporate structures as well as at home. It also provides the perfect solution to creating an ideal home-office setting.

Les Ambassadeurs – For the perfect gift

Strolling down some of the most elegant thoroughfares of Geneva, Zurich, Lugano or St. Moritz, both casual admirer as well as timekeeper aficionado will be mesmerized by the prestigious collections of Haute Horlogerie and Haute Joaillerie on view at Les Ambassadeurs.
With the end-of-year festivities at our heels, the specialists at this time-honoured institution have a few suggestions that will make stockings by the fireplace “tick” – with classical, sporty and elegant timepieces.

Jaeger-Lecoultre	Chanel
Reverso Squadra Lady Duetto - CHF 11,150.-	Première Rubber Steel Diamonds - CHF 4,270.-
Ulysse Nardin	A. Lange & Söhne
Lady Diver Starry Night - CHF 27,500.-	1815 - CHF 20,600.-
Breguet	Bovet
Classique Grande Complication–Minute Repeater - CHF 26,500.-	Sportster Saguaro Chronograph Meteorite - CHF 21,500.-

Article by Paula Svaton