Assouline Publishers has revealed its newest title celebrating independent Swiss watch manufacturer De Berthune. Releasing on the 20th anniversary of the company, ‘De Bethune: The Art of Watchmaking‘ dives into the intricacies of the atelier led by legendary watchmaker and co-founder, Denis Flageollet. Blurring the lines between traditional craftsmanship and contemporary design, the brand specializes in crafting both impossibly modern and technically advanced timepieces.
Twenty years ago, the haute horological world welcomed De Bethune. Showcasing the technical ingenuity of master watchmaker and co-founder Denis Flageollet, De Bethune immediately established itself as an outlier with a unique ability to blur the lines between traditional craftsmanship and contemporary design, mining history to create a brand both impossibly modern and technically advanced.
Flageollet’s objective has always been the glorious and elusive goal of chronometric perfection and no watch brand has been as disruptive as De Bethune. In just two decades, the company has brought to life thirty in-house movements built upon the foundations of mechanical simplicity and the fundamentals of traditional watchmaking.
With annual production ranging between 150 and 250 watches per year, De Bethune is one of the rarest and most exclusive watch brands in the world. The limited production has allowed the brand to produce the most sophisticated and innovative timepieces possible featuring extendable designs and emerging materials while preserving an intimate link with its customers.
To own a De Bethune watch is to have a stewardship of an object with enduring totemic and historical significance.
Assouline
The book is penned by Arthur Tochot, senior European editor at Hodinkee and Academy member of the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève with a foreword from Wei Koh, the founder of Revolution magazine. Additional contributions come from De Bethune CEO Pierre Jacques as well as watch industry titans and enthusiasts such as Jean Arnault, Aurel Bacs, Swizz Beatz, Jean-Claude Biver, Michael Strahan, and more.
When asked what watch collectors in the next century will take from this golden age of timekeeping, you can say with certainty that they will recognize Denis Flageollet as one of the greatest horological minds of all time. To own a De Bethune watch is to have a stewardship of an object with enduring totemic and historical significance.
Come into the beautiful and timeless world of De Bethune.
Research confirms Da Vinci painted earlier version of his masterpiece. Preeminent scientist and art historian Salvatore Lorussoproves new data changing perception of how Louvre portrait is viewed,
Leonardo da Vinci’s portrait of Lisa del Giocondo ‘Mona Lisa’ is the most famous painting in the world. In his new book; ‘Is the Louvre Mona Lisa Leonardo’s second version?’ (L’Erma di Bretschneider – Roma), an in-depth analysis of the original documents, the historical sources and analytical data, Scientist and Art Historian Professor Salvatore Lorusso provides the evidence which settles a long-standing controversial issue: that the artist painted two versions of his immortal masterpiece – the first in c.1503-06 of a young Lisa and the second, the Louvre Mona Lisa, from c.1513 on.
Given the execution of the documented original portrait of Lisa can now be reliably dated, any question of whether it is the Louvre portrait must be considered in the context of the chronology and evolution of Leonardo’s work. Unquestionable evidence shows Leonardo painted two distinct Mona Lisa paintings with different characteristics at different times: the first, an unfinished version and the second, a more finished version, stylistically and structurally different from the first.
Salvatore Lorusso, Professor at University of Bologna
Lorusso’s research takes a critical analysis of numerous publications by Leonardo experts, a small number of whom, despite the evidence, still maintain that the Louvre Mona Lisa was started c.1503 and worked on until near the end of Leonardo’s life in 1519, which is now proven to be an impossibility.
The historical documents analyzed by Lorusso – many of which have only been discovered recently – show the Louvre Mona Lisa could not have been the original portrait of Lisa del Giocondo started in Florence c. 1503, but instead was likely executed by Leonardo in Rome c.1513-16. Lorusso support this information through an in-depth analysis of the scientific data collected by the Centre de Recherche et de Restauration des Musées de France (C2RMF). Lorusso’s findings prove that the original portrait of Lisa is another version by the great Master, confirming Leonardo painted two Mona Lisas.
About Salvatore Lorusso
Salvatore Lorusso was formerly a full professor at the University of Bologna, the world’s oldest university, which boasts eminent alumni such as Albrecht Durer, Erasmus, Copernicus, Petrarch, Thomas Becket, Umberto Eco and no less than five popes. With a deep interest in both art and science, Lorusso was among the founders of the first Faculty of Conservation of Cultural Heritage in Italy and is editor-in-chief of the historical-technical Journal ‘Conservation Science in Cultural Heritage’ where the human sciences and experimental sciences meet the arts.
His deep experience and scholarship in both science and art is demonstrated in over 440 publications in national and international journals and 24 independent volumes. His expertise constitutes an ideal blend of both science and art with respect to the complex determination of authenticity and attribution in the field of old masters having recently authored a major publication on exactly that topic. In the last few years, he has become a notable expert on Leonardo’s paintings with specific attention to Mona Lisa and is the author of several works on the subject. His biography appears in the 2016 Marquis Edition of Who’s Who in the World.
French Maison Chaumet unveils its newest coffee-table book, The Soul of Jewellery. A tribute to the virtuosity of jewellers, this beautiful book offers an unprecedented approach to the art of High Jewellery.
Illustrated with the most beautiful pieces from the Maison’s historic and contemporary collections, it dives into the very heart of these fascinating objects and their abundant symbolism. From elevation to fashion, nature to desire, dive into the soul of jewellery.
‘Chaumet The Soul of Jewellery’ is available in French and English versions, in a selection of bookstores and online. Come into the beautiful world of Chaumet.
Famous Parisian jewelry house Fred is often compared to the world’s best jewelry houses. Fred Samuel was a master of colored stones who seduced his clients with the chic lifestyle of the French Riviera at its peak. Opening his first jewelry shop in Paris in 1936, the jeweler became famous by transforming original drawings by Jean Cocteau into glowing jewels, garnering celebrity and royal clients around the world.
Inspired by the freedom of the sea, and the colors and textures of the Côte d’Azur, today the brand’s modern ingenuity remains in the spotlight with colorful and unique jewels featuring exceptional stones.
Today Maison Fred is looking for pieces of its high jewelry for a book project and exhibition retracing the history of the Maison since its founding in 1936. Necklaces, bracelets, rings, erarrings or…? Please feel free to send any relevant details by email to the following address: heritage@fred.fr.
All details will remain strictly confidential and anonymous.
Come into the beautiful and timeless world of Fred.
Abraham (Avi) Loeb is the Frank B. Baird, Jr., Professor of Science at Harvard University, chair of Harvard’s Department of Astronomy, founding director of Harvard’s Black Hole Initiative, and director of the Institute for Theory and Computation (ITC) within the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. He also chairs the Advisory Committee for the Breakthrough Starshot Initiative, serves as the science theory director for all Initiatives of the Breakthrough Prize Foundation, as well as chair of the Board on Physics and Astronomy of the National Academies. Author of four books and over 700 scientific papers, Loeb is an elected fellow of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, the American Physical Society, and the International Academy of Astronautics.
And now Harvard’s top astronomer professor Avi Loeb lays out in his book ‘Extraterrestrial: The First Sign of Intelligent Life Beyond Earth’ his controversial theory that our solar system was recently visited by advanced alien technology from a distant star. He has said that the object, named 1I/2017 U1 ‘Oumuamua’ by Nasa, wasn’t a natural occurrence but a bit of space junk sent to us by aliens from another galaxy.
1I/2017 U1 ‘Oumuamua’ was the first known interstellar object to visit our solar system that was discovered October 19, 2017, by the University of Hawaii’s Pan-STARRS1 telescope, funded by NASA’s Near-Earth Object Observations (NEOO) Program. The program finds and tracks asteroids and comets in Earth’s neighbourhood.
Oumuamua was originally classified as a comet, however, observations revealed no signs of cometary activity after it slingshotted past the Sun on September 9, 2017, at a blistering speed of 196,000 miles per hour (87.3 kilometers per second), as per information available on solarsystem.nasa.gov. Nasa’s findings say that the space object had been wandering through the Milky Way Galaxy, unattached to any star system, for hundreds of millions of years before its chance encounter with our star system.
In December 2017, Loeb cited ‘Oumuamua’s unusually elongated shape as one of the reasons why the Green Bank Telescope in West Virginia would listen for radio emissions from it to see if there were any unexpected signs that it might be of ‘artificial orgin’, although earlier limited observations by other radio telescopes such as the SETI Institute’s Allen Telescope Array had produced no such results. On 13 December 2017, the Green Bank Telescope observed the asteroid for six hours. No radio signals from ʻOumuamua have been detected.
On 26 October 2018, Loeb and his postdoc, Shmuel Bialy, submitted a paper exploring the possibility of the interstellar object ‘Oumuamua being an artificial long/thin solar sail accelerated by solar radiation pressure in an effort to help explain the object’s non-gravitational acceleration. Other scientists have stated that the available evidence is insufficient to consider such a premise, and that a tumbling solar sail would not be able to accelerate. In response, Loeb wrote an article detailing six anomalous properties of ‘Oumuamua that make it unusual, unlike any comets or asteroids seen before.
On 27 November 2018, Loeb and his undergraduate student at Harvard College, Amir Siraj, proposed a search for ‘Oumuamua-like objects that might be trapped in the Solar System as a result of losing orbital energy through a close encounter with Jupiter. They identified 4 candidates for trapped interstellar objects that could be visited by dedicated missions (2011 SP25, 2017 RR2, 2017SV13 and in 2018 TL6). The authors pointed out that future sky surveys, such as with Vera C. Rubin Observatory, previously referred to as the LargeSynoptic Survey Telescope (LSST), should find many more.
In public interviews and private communications with reporters and academic colleagues, Loeb has become increasingly vocal regarding the prospects of proving the existence of alien life. On April 16, 2019, Loeb and his undergraduate student, Amir Siraj, reported the discovery of the first meteor of interstellar origin. This discovery pioneers a new path for studying the composition and nature of interstellar objects.
‘Extraterrestrial: The First Sign of Intelligent Life Beyond Earth’ describes the detection of ‘Oumuamua, the first known interstellar object passing through our Solar System. In ‘Extraterrestrial: The First Sign of Intelligent Life Beyond Earth’, Loeb takes readers inside the thrilling story of the first interstellar visitor to be spotted in our solar system. He outlines his controversial theory and its profound implications: for science, for religion, and for the future of our species and our planet. A mind-bending journey through the furthest reaches of science, space-time, and the human imagination, ‘Extraterrestrial: The First Sign of Intelligent Life Beyond Earth’ challenges readers to aim for the stars – and to think critically about what’s out there, no matter how strange it seems. A must read!
Loeb has received many honors, including:
2015 – Elected Fellow of the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) SETI Permanent Committee
2015 – Elected Member of the American Physical Society (APS)
2014 – Member of the Board on Physics & Astronomy (BPA) of the National Academies
2013 – Chambliss Astronomical Writing Award from the American Astronomical Society, for the book ‘How Did the First Stars and Galaxies Form?’ (2010)
2013 – Miegunyah Distinguished Visiting Fellowship, University of Melbourne, Australia
2012 – Elected member of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences
2012 – Galileo Galilei Chair (Cattedra Galileiana) Award, Scuola Normale Superiore, Pisa, Italy
2011 – Sackler Lecturer in Astronomy, Leiden Observatory, Netherlands
2011 – Las Cumbres Observatory Prize Lecturer in Astrophysics, UC Santa Barbara
2009 – Distinguished Visiting Scientist at the Carnegie Observatories, Pasadena
2007 – Inaugural Australian Institute of Physics (AIP) End of Year Lecturer
2007 – Merle Kingsley Distinguished Visitor at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
2006/7 – John Bahcall Lecturer at Tel Aviv University University
2006 – Salpeter Lectureship at Cornell University
2004 – Distinguished Visiting Professorship at the Faculty of Physics and the Einstein Center for Theoretical Physics, Weizmann Institute of Science
2002 – Guggenheim Fellowship
1987 – The Kennedy Prize, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Extraterrestrial: The First Sign of Intelligent Life Beyond Earth
Format: Hardcover
ISBN-13/EAN: 9780358278146
ISBN-10: 0358278147
Pages: 240
Price: $27.00
Its also available as paperback, ebook and audiobook
Introducing Bvlgari Roma: Travel Tales for Beauty Lovers. Rome’s majesty can be found in the flamboyant jewels of Bvlgari’s most daring creations, with the city’s architecture mirrored in every facet of the Maison’s signature styles.
Every one of Bvlgari’s bold creations pays tribute to its historic home; Rome. So their New Year’s Resolution is to show the world just how influential the beauty of the Eternal City has been on the Roman jeweler.
In their new book, ‘Bvlgari Roma: Travel Tales for Beauty Lovers’, the iconic Italian jeweler capture the allure of the Eternal City with fresh perspectives on its formidable presence – a poignant companion to the capital. Prepare for Bvlgari to reveal how great works of Roman architecture like the Castle Sant’Angelo, the Palazzo Falconieri and the Church of Saint Charles at the Four Fountains, have all inspired lavish High Jewelry pieces from the Heritage Collection.
The Italian Maison will be showing off the corresponding masterpieces as seen in the pages of the new book; ‘Bvlgari Roma: Travel Tales for Beauty Lovers’ – and as worn by exuberant ambassadors like Luna Bijl and James Turlington.
You are invited to delve deeper into the detail of this enigmatic city, with contributions from Anna Della Russo, Lily Aldridge, Ennio Morricone, Roberto Rossellini, Boy George, and Francesco Vezzoli, edited by Jan Králíček from Vogue Czechoslovakia, published by Rizzoli.
‘Bvlgari Roma: Travel Tales for Beauty Lovers’, is on sale in store December 1st, available online now at Rizzoli USA. Come into the beautiful world of Bvlgari.
‘Once Upon a Diamond: A Family Tradition of Royal Jewels’ is a new coffee table book written by Prince Dimitri of Yugoslavia, a jewellery designer, gemologist and former senior vice president of the jewellery department of auction house Sotheby’s, whose heritage links him to great royal jewels of the past, and by Lavinia Branca Snyder.
‘Once Upon a Diamond: A Family Tradition of Royal Jewels’ is essentially divided in two sections: one of the grand jewels worn by the Prince Dimitri’s ancestors, and another one on the jewels he has designed himself. The cover emphasizes this, with an Indian inspired jewel of his own design juxtaposed over a photograph of Princess Olga, his grandmother.
Prince Dimitri of Yugoslavia traces his ancestor’s history in Once Upon a Diamond: A Family Tradition of Royal Jewels. Published by Rizzoli with a foreword by fashion designer Carolina Herrera, the richly illustrated tome gave Prince Dimitri the impetus to further research the provenance of rare treasures, illustrating his family’s love for jewellery through generations and across European royal courts.
Princess Olga of Greece and Denmark photographed by Cecil Beaton in 1940 (collection of Prince Dimitri)
Prince Dimitri of Yugoslavia recounts the enthralling exploits of his beloved family members and describes their extraordinary jewelry collections. Among the many royals whose stories are richly illustrated in this volume are his paternal grandparents Prince Regent Paul and Princess Olga of Yugoslavia; Grand Duke Vladimir and Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna of Russia (better known as Grand Duchess Vladimir); his great-grandparents Prince Nicolas and Princess Helen of Greece as well as his maternal grandparents King Umberto II and Queen Marie-José of Italy. Prince Dimitri uncovered surprising revelations about his family’s finery while researching his publication.
On the cover of the book, my grandmother wears an amazing tiara that we always thought to be from Cartier. After further research they discovered that when Grand Duchess Vladimir was in Paris on one of her visits to Cartier to order things she had the tiara with her and asked them if they could repair it as it was damaged. According to the Cartier Archives they did repair it but it was actually a Chaumet tiara!
Prince Dimitri of Yugoslavia
Examples include the Vladimir tiara. Finished by Romanov court jeweller House of Bolin in 1874 for the Grand Duchess Vladimir – the wife of Emperor Alexander II’s son – the pearl and diamond design today forms part of The Queen’s collection of jewels, and is among the personal favourites of Prince Dimitri, and a hoard of Harry Winston diamond gems embellishing a triple-chignon updo his mother Princess Maria Pia sported for a 1960s photoshoot.
Princess Maria Pia wearing Harry Winston diamond gems in her hair (collection of H.R.H. Princess Maria Pia of Bourbon-Parma)
The exquisite photography and family albums of Grand Duchess Elena of Russia (later Princess of Greece and Prince Dimitri’s great-grandmother) present remarkable never-before-seen images of prerevolutionary life of the Russian imperial family, their court, and their many European royal family members and friends.
This luxurious tome also includes exclusive and previously unpublished designs by Prince Dimitri, which juxtapose uncommon materials and color in imaginative yet timeless forms.
Written by Lavinia Branca Snyder and Prince Dimitri, Photographed by New York based Mark Roskams. With a foreword by fashion designer Carolina Herrera, and an introduction by Francois Curiel, who is chairman of Christie’s Europe and Asia and head of its global luxury division.
Hardcover : 288 pages
ISBN-10 : 0847866912
ISBN-13 : 978-08478-66915
Product Dimensions : 10.25 x 1.15 x 13.38 inches
Publisher : Rizzoli (September 8, 2020)
Language: : English
If you love jewels with a royal lineage – breathtaking tiaras and a noble family that spans across Yugoslavia, Italy, Greece, Belgium and Russia, then you are sure to get lost in jewelry designer Prince Dimitri’s history… Come into the beautiful world of Rizzoli.
Written by Frédéric Malle, foreword by Jean-Claude Ellena, and text by Marion Vignal, this volume explores the inspirations and vision of one of the great protagonists of contemporary perfume.
Parfumier Frédéric Malle was born into the world of fragrance; his grandfather Serge Heftler-Louiche founded Dior Parfums before passing on its art direction to his daughter. Malle s deep knowledge of scents and his radical vision of perfumes led him to establish Editions de Parfums Frédéric Malle, a house for perfumers where fragrances are conceived as haute couture creations. This volume marks the twentieth anniversary of Frédéric Malle’s quest for beauty and creative freedom.
Journalist Marion Vignal delves into Malle’s lifelong devotion to perfume, personal history, and myriad inspirations to uncover the evolution of his precise olfactory aesthetics, while imagery of perfume bottles, sketches, advertising campaigns, and photos of boutiques explores his comprehensive vision. Malle offers readers an intimate glimpse into his brand s saga and shares the stories behind four of his most successful scents in graphic-novel form. A necessary addition to the libraries of industry masters, this volume is an invitation to a sensorial journey that will delight perfume lovers everywhere.
About the author
Frédéric Malle is a French parfumier, expert, and publisher. He founded Éditions de Parfums Frédéric Malle in 2000. Jean-Claude Ellena is a French perfumer and writer. Marion Vignal is the head of design and architecture at the major French magazine L’Express as well as the author of numerous design and lifestyle publications.
Published by Rizzoli, ISBN: 978-0-8478-6933-6, in a beautiful 240 page red hardcover – the brand’s signature color, ‘Editions de Parfums Frédéric Malle The First Twenty Years’ will be available from October 6, 2020, at selected stores and online. Come into the beautiful worlds of Rizzoli and Frédéric Malle.
Far from worrying about the onset of war, in the spring of 1938 the burning question on the French Riviera was whether one should curtsey to the Duchess of Windsor. Few of those who had settled there thought much about what was going on in the rest of Europe. It was a golden, glamorous life, far removed from politics or conflict.
Bestselling social historian Anne de Courcy reveals the glamour and grit of the Second World War on the French Riviera.
Featuring a sparkling cast of artists, writers and historical figures including Winston Churchill, Daisy Fellowes, Salvador Dali, Jean Cocteau, Begum Om Habibeh Aga Khan, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, Eileen Gray and Edith Wharton, with the enigmatic Coco Chanel at its heart, ‘Chanel’s Riviera’ is a captivating account of a period that saw some of the deepest extremes of luxury and terror in the whole of the twentieth century.
From Chanel’s first summer at her Roquebrune villa La Pausa (in the later years with her German lover) amid the glamour of the pre-war parties and casinos in Antibes, Nice and Cannes to the horrors of evacuation and the displacement of thousands of families during the Second World War, ‘Chanel’s Riviera’ explores the fascinating world of the Cote d’Azur elite in the 1930s and 1940s. Enriched with much original research, it is social history that brings the experiences of both rich and poor, protected and persecuted, to vivid life.
Chanel’s Riviera: Life, Love and the Struggle for Survival on the Cote d Azur, 1930 1944 by Anne de Courcy is available as hardback (ISBN 1474608221), paperback (9781474608190) and as e-Book.
Since his early days of modeling, he is our favorite male model. Konstantin Kamynin, fitness model, personal coach, and director of operas too, was born in Russia, October 22nd, 1991. He had always a passion with sports and fitness. Every year he and his good friend, renowned photographer Serge Lee make an incredible art project.
Konstantin and Serge did it again. Great body and sensual pictures. That’s everything you need to have at your wall in 2019. Come into the beautiful world of Serge Lee and order your calendar now!
Yakymour 