Highlights of Horological Events of the Fortnight ending August 23, 2015
Last fortnight was relatively quiet, but this past fortnight was rather busy, especially the last week, where there were events almost every evening. Here are the highlights of horological events for the fortnight.
Hublot World’s Largest Pop up Store Opening Gala August 15
Hublot’s World’s Largest Pop-up store opening gala, with Donnie Yen and Lucha Libre and a magnificent gala dinner.
Hublot’s World’s Largest Pop up Store opened with a bang on August 15 at the Gala. The store remains open daily until 26 August.
There was great excitement in the air as the crowd awaited the arrival of Donnie Yen, the star of Ip Man and other kung fu movies, and when he finally arrived, he was resplendent with his radiant wife. The hosts were Ricardo Guadaloupe, CEO of Hublot, who also celebrated his 50th Birthday that evening, together with the 10 years of the Big Bang and Singapore’s 50th Independence anniversary. A demonstration on the ring with Lucha Libre wrestlers, specially flown in from Mexico, including the announcer and show girls. Certainly the first time this has ever been staged in Singapore, on a real life, full sized Lucha Libre ring.
A fabulous gala dinner followed. And the unveiling of the new Hublot Red Dot Bang watch specially created for the occassion. Hublot loves Singapore!
Hautlence Vortex Media Launch August 18
The amazing Hautlence Vortex, which we reviewed here, was officially launched in Singapore on August 18 during a media lunch hosted by Guillaume Tetu, CEO of Hautlence and Sharon Lim of Pacific Time.
Launch of the Hautlence Vortex at the Media Lunch in Singapore
Food was fabulous, as was the scintillating discussion at the table. And we managed to “persuade” Guillaume to show us a timepiece, shown lower right corner, of the latest Hautlence to be announced in November this year featuring the tourbillon movement from sister company H. Moser.
Hublot World’s Largest Pop-up Store Lucha Libre Clinics August 18
Following the excellent gala dinner on August 15, the entire venue was converted from a huge dining room into a pop up store. The full sized Lucha Libre ring still taking center stage. The Singapore Authorized Dealers for Hublot The Hour Glass then got the wrestlers to conduct Lucha Libre clinics.
Lucha Libre clinics with journalists. The sessions are also open to public who can sign up for the clinics.
Super interesting? You bet! Possibly the first time Lucha Libre clinics are held in Singapore. The participants had great fun. Also making its appearance is the special cheese from the private stash of Jean Claude Biver, CEO of LVMH Watches, who also own Hublot. The cheese are organically made in his personal farm, and is very famous. Not normally distributed commercially, they are only available to friends and one or two Three Michelin Starred restaurants.
Tudor Ducati Fastrider launch event August 19
Launch of the Tudor Ducati Fastrider. At the peak of Mount Faber, Singapore.
A special cocktail event was held at the Peak of Mount Faber to launch the Tudor Ducati Fastrider. The event was hosted by Tudor Singapore and Ducati. A stunt demonstration with two Ducati motorcycle riders was part of the festivities. And guests were treated to the full collection of the Fastrider, which was announced in BaselWorld 2015, and now available for sale. Watch out for our review this week of this timepiece.
Blancpain celebrates Art de Vivre August 21
Blancpain celebrates Art de Vivre
Held in the magnificent grounds of a black and white bungalow at a prime residential area, the Blancpain celebration of the Art de Vivre certainly was an interesting event. Guests were treated to gastronomic delights prepared by a chef who used to work at Michelin starred restaurants. A hand engraver was flown in especially for the event, to demonstrate the art of the graveur. Fascinating stuff.
The entire event was elegant, the surrounding environment, the watches and the beautiful people who attended all contributed to the vision that Marc Hayek, CEO of Blancpain knows how to enjoy life and live it well.
