For me, it was the day fine dining died

With its arsenal of top-flight chefs and Instagram-friendly dishes, the casual-culinary revolution has put a rich tradition in terminal condition.

By Alan Richman 18/09/2017

Picture: Eric Medsker

Looking back, I can pinpoint the date, the time, the place, even the exact cost of the meal. It was, for me, the day fine dining died.

It was 6:29pm on July 22, 2007, at Momofuku Ssäm Bar in New York. I walked in without a reservation, took a seat, and ate alone for US$89.20, including tax and tip. What was to be David Chang’s seminal restaurant had been open almost a year at that point, but I hadn’t rushed over. I wasn’t fond of his first East Village spot, Momofuku Noodle Bar (below), and I’d heard this one was no prize. At least until it got great.

I was a member of the fine-dining fellowship, and the revelation that Ssäm Bar was the start of a revolution took hold of me slowly. However, I recognised something inexplicable and brilliant on my plate during that first visit. Called Santa Barbara Uni, it was a colourful concoction of orange eggs, fluffed-up bean curd and lychee-flavoured tapioca balls. I told my editor I had eaten a New York Times three-star meal at a counter, on a hard stool. He returned there with me a few weeks later and said, “Why not four stars?”

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Chang (who also has Momofuku Seiōbo at Sydney’s Star City) was original. And visionary. He inspired people to become chefs who, in the traditional sense, had no business being chefs. He essentially changed everything.

I called Chang a few months ago to ask how his relentless assault on fine dining was coming along. He enjoys lecturing me and began his latest effort by demonstrating an uncanny knowledge of my earlier life. “When you were a young sportswriter covering Muhammad Ali, did you ever think that someday nobody would care about boxing any more?” he asked.

I confessed that I had not.

“If you had said that, you’d have been laughed out of the business.” I never realised he was so perceptive. Or that he knew so much about me. But at least he didn’t call me “Old Man”, his usual greeting.

Chang’s point was that the world changes. Fine dining – thanks largely to him – was not something anyone cared about any more.

At the end of the 20th century, before Chang, such a decline would have been inconceivable. The high-end restaurant culture in the United States was flourishing, predominantly in major cities. “Once, fine dining was the only option for people who wanted to eat well,” Chang said. “In the ’70s, the ’80s and the ’90s, snobbery and elitism were part of being a gourmand. That is not the case any more.”

Fine dining isn’t quite dead, not yet – for that matter, neither is boxing. But the general perception is that it’s staggering, and Chang (above) says it is likely to get worse. “The worst thing food can ever be is based on nostalgia. If you are not looking forward, food is dead.”

That fine dining is fading in the United States is an inevitability to some, a nightmare to others. To those of us in the latter category, I offer this sad revelation: fine dining isn’t actually part of the American national character, the way it is for the French. For Americans, it’s an astonishingly long-running fad that has endured for no good reason except that it gave people with more money than other people a way to enhance their already-swell lives.

The journalist and restaurant historian Patric Kuh, author of The Last Days of Haute Cuisine, says American fine dining began in 1941 in New York, at the restaurant Le Pavillon under the autocratic and legendary Henri Soule. “It was purely French,” he says, “with all sorts of ways of intimidating the diner. The menu was in French so you wouldn’t feel comfortable ordering, and with no way of paying except in cash or a house account – and using cash showed you didn’t belong.” He adds: “Don’t forget all those sauces named for French nobles who were guillotined.”

Fine dining was never intended to be democratic. From the start, it was a demonstration of wealth and privilege, a remembrance of Michelin-starred European vacations, a joyous struggle with a wine tome too heavy to lift, a stimulating battle of wits with a snooty sommelier, and then, finally, the meal: a lot of overly sauced food followed by a cheese course that made no sense.

Yet fine dining is more than that; it is an expression of culture, the most enlightened and elegant form of nourishment ever devised. Without it we will slowly regress into the dining habits of cave people, squatting before a campfire, gnawing on the haunch of a bear. (That scenario is likely a few millennia away.) Without fine dining, we are indubitably less civilised. (And of course, nobody will use the word indubitably at table any more.)

The doomsday scenario presented by Chang is not shared by Eric Ripert, co-owner and chef of the Manhattan seafood restaurant Le Bernardin, to me the premier US fine-dining restaurant for the past 20 years. “My restaurant is full,” he says. “In the United States fine dining is vibrant. I’ll tell you why. Millennials like to be pampered, and fine dining is basically a lifestyle: dress well, look good, enjoy an experience that’s almost like money can’t buy, but of course it can. And in America, the prices are certainly good compared to Europe.”

He offers another persuasive argument; that fine dining is inherently important to certain customers – those who are well off and who care nothing about cost. Such people, he says, will not allow fine dining to disappear.

He tells a story about one of his best customers, a Greek shipping magnate in the style of Aristotle Onassis who used to come to Le Bernardin once a week and spend $10,000 on dinner. During the Great Recession, he continued to spend $10,000 on every meal. One day Ripert said to him, “How is business?” The man replied, “Terrible, terrible”.

“I said to him, ‘Then why do you keep spending $10,000 on every meal?’” Ripert recalls. “He answered, ‘What do you have for breakfast every day?’ I told him, ‘Coffee, yoghurt, maybe two cookies’. He said, ‘Have you changed since the recession?’ I said no. He said, ‘Then why should I?’ With the wealthy, the price of fine dining doesn’t matter.”

Fine dining is not simply French food, although that was the case decades ago. Even Le Bernardin is not principally French any longer – Ripert’s repertoire is considerably more diverse. So are those of Jean-Georges Vongerichten at Jean-George and Daniel Boulud at Daniel (above), two other stalwarts of the genre.

Still, the accoutrements of the French tradition remain the standard by which fine dining is defined. Of utmost importance is a strong, recognisable presence, on hand every day, whether it’s the owner (increasingly rare) or the chef (more likely). The venerable Joël Robuchon plans to open a Manhattan restaurant in late 2017. He will almost certainly be on the premises for a few months, until restaurant critics make their pronouncements, and then he will likely disappear. He has restaurants in Bangkok, Hong Kong, Las Vegas, London, Macau, Monaco, Paris, Singapore, Taipei and Tokyo. It wouldn’t be business as usual for him to stick around. Such a restaurant, regardless of how well it is executed, is rarely fine dining.

A chef in the kitchen is only the first requirement. The staff must be not just well trained but involved, committed to the restaurant and to customer service. The noise level has to be low enough to encourage conversation. Tablecloths are recommended and highly desirable, but perhaps not mandatory, not any more. À la carte food service should be a requirement, so people can actually eat what they want, although the elegant Per Se broke both that and the chef-on-premises edict upon opening in 2004. (Thomas Keller divided his time between two restaurants, Per Se and French Laundry, and the restaurant offered only tasting menus in the dining room.) A staff of sommeliers is vital, and in this regard US restaurants are better than ever.

Not to be excluded are the tastes and attitudes of a restaurant’s customers. American restaurant-goers have never been the most sophisticated. I remember the late Gilbert Le Coze, original co-owner and chef of Le Bernardin, lamenting to me shortly after it opened that he stopped standing inside the door to greet guests as they arrived because all they did was ask him the way to the bathroom. He also said, memorably, “Americans do not want fish; they want to eat at King Burger”. Things have gotten worse: today, men routinely arrive at better establishments wearing T-shirts, faded jeans and beaten-up, dirty running shoes.

New York City is the best example of the cultural forces buffeting fine dining, although to be fair, you will find them everywhere. René Redzepi of the great Copenhagen restaurant Noma recently tweeted: “Lunch today: six people played Pokémon Go the entire meal.”

At all levels of the dining world, customers seem more concerned with photographing their food – and posting these masterpieces on the internet and awaiting acclaim – than they are with eating it. Indeed, good-looking food might be more important than good-tasting food. Even the food magazines reserve their highest accolades for bizarre interpretations of burgers, pizza, milk shakes, pastries and the like. Also wildly admired are countertops, communal tables, food trucks and back-of-grocery-store holes-in-the-wall.

If standards and tastes are declining, chefs are responding in kind. Douglas Keane, formerly of the excellent Cyrus in California’s Napa Valley, has taken a partner in Sang Yoon, of the also-excellent Father’s Office burger bar in Santa Monica, California. They opened Two Birds, One Stone, which Keane has called “inspired, but not challenging”. Not challenging is not fine dining.

For his first US restaurant in nine years, the wonderful fine-dining chef Gray Kunz has Salt & Char steak house in Saratoga Springs, New York. No matter how flashy it might be, a steak house is not fine dining. Nevertheless, in Las Vegas alone, Wolfgang Puck, Tom Colicchio, Jean-Georges Vongerichten, Gordon Ramsay, Michael Mina, Mario Batali and José Andrés operate steak houses. Nothing makes celebrity chefs happier than doing away with four days of skimming and straining stock. They’d rather flip steaks or, better yet, hire some poorly paid underling to do it for them. (My Vegas recommendation, at least for authenticity: the Golden Steer, a ’50s joint patronised by the Rat Pack.)

All of which makes one wonder how fine dining ever thrived in the United States in the first place. From its inception, it was predicated on wealth and manners and social standing and privilege. Today, dining is about buzzwords and ramped-up social ideals. Restaurants are required to be eco-friendly, plant-based, locally sourced, devoid of artificial ingredients or processed products, and rich in whatever ingredient is currently in fashion. (I pray for the demise of kale.) The latest craze: cooking in cast-iron pans.

As much as I admire Ripert, I suspect Chang is right. Alternate forms of eating well are thriving, the best example being Chef’s Table at Brooklyn Fare, which has three Michelin stars, food as fine as any in the country and a ban on photography. But it is polished-countertop dining in the rear of a grocery store. It is precisely what Chang suggests when he says dining has to evolve. It is a 21st-century development, but as great and shiny and expensive (US$306 per person for food) as it may be, it is not fine dining.

Great food prepared by passionate chefs will endure. It is likely that fine dining will become a niche for the very wealthy, with restaurants hidden away much like those fabled Japanese sushi bars we mortals can never hope to find. (And, by the way, sushi bars aren’t fine dining either.) Fine dining as we know it, however, is of another time, when icebergs stood tall, terrorists were the kids who toilet-papered your house on Halloween and the guy sitting at the table next to you did not dress like a hobbit.

Should you, like me, continue to mourn its disappearance, you might end up in Manhattan’s American Museum of Natural History, stuffed and seated at a properly laid table, in a diorama titled Twentieth-Century Fine-Dining Man.

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Escape from the Ordinary

Ponant, the luxury cruise line known for its meticulously planned itineraries and high-end service, ups the ante on their upcoming European Journeys that promise an unrivalled exploration of the Mediterranean.

By Robb Report Team 19/02/2024

Not all cruises are created equally. Ponant, the luxury cruise line known for its meticulously planned itineraries and high-end service, ups the ante on their upcoming European Journeys that promise an unrivalled exploration of the Mediterranean. From the stunning Amalfi Coast to the pristine Greek Islands, the narrow Corinth Canal to the picturesque Dalmatian coast, historic Istanbul and beguiling Malaga, each destination is a unique adventure waiting to be unravelled. With Ponant, these aren’t just locations on a map; they’re experiences that come alive with the intimate knowledge and insight that their expert guides provide.

Ponant’s luxury cruises are renowned for their individuality, with no two journeys the same. This is not by chance. Itineraries are scrupulously designed to ensure that each passenger is left with a feeling of having embarked on a journey unlike any other.

Athens-Venise. Photograph by N.Matheus. ©PONANT

In 2025, their fleet will set sail for a combined 56 departures from March to October, exploring the dreamy locales of Greece and the Greek Islands, Malta, Italy (including Venice and Sicily), Croatia, France, Turkey, Spain and Portugal. These European Journeys offer an intimate encounter with the Mediterranean, its people and culture. As you cruise in luxury, you’ll dive deep into the heart of each destination, exploring historic sites, engaging with locals, sampling scrumptious cuisine and soaking in the vibrant atmospheres.

The company’s small, sustainable ships, which can accommodate from as few as 32 to 264 guests, have the exclusive ability to sail into ports inaccessible to larger cruise liners, affording privileged entry into some of the world’s most treasured alcoves. Picture sailing under London’s iconic Tower Bridge, crossing the Corinth Canal, or disembarking directly onto the sidewalk during ports of call in culturally rich cities like Lisbon, Barcelona, Nice and Venice, among others.

Photo by Tamar Sarkissian. ©PONANT

This singular closeness is further enriched by destination experts who unravel the tapestry of each locale’s history and traditions.

Onboard their luxurious ships, every guest is a VIP and treated to refined service and amenities akin to sailing on a private yacht. Whether at sea or ashore, their destination experts guarantee a fascinating experience, immersing you in the rich cultural and historical diversity of each region.

Indulge in the finest gastronomy at sea, inspired by none other than gastronomic virtuoso and Ponant partner, Alain Ducasse. Each voyage offers an expertly crafted dining experience, from a-la-carte meals with perfectly matched wines by the onboard Sommelier at dinner and lunch, to a French-inspired buffet breakfast, featuring all the favourite pastries, fresh bread and quality produce.

Chef Mickael Legrand. Photograph by NickRains. ©PONANT

For a more intimate discovery, consider Le Ponant, with its 16 high-class staterooms and suites—perfect for private charter—sailing eight exclusive routes between Greece and Croatia, offering guests unparalleled experiences both onboard and ashore. Ponant’s commitment to crafting unforgettable experiences extends beyond itineraries. Aboard their ships, the luxury is in every detail. Unwind in opulent cabins and suites, each offering private balconies and breathtaking views of the azure water and destinations beyond.

Ponant’s upcoming European Journeys are more than just cruises—they’re your passport to a world of cultural immersion, historical exploration, and unrivalled luxury. Don’t miss this opportunity to embark on the voyage of a lifetime: the Mediterranean is calling.

To book European 2025 sailings visit au.ponant.com; call 1300 737 178 (AU) or 0800 767 018 (NZ) or contact your preferred travel agent.

 

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Saint Laurent Just Opened a New Bookstore in Paris. Here’s a Look Inside.

The chic new outpost is located on the city’s arty Left Bank.

By Rachel Cormack 14/02/2024

Saint Laurent is taking over even more of Paris.

The French fashion house, which only just opened an epic new flagship on Champs-Élysées, has launched a chic new bookstore on the Left Bank. Located in the 7th arrondissement, Saint Laurent Babylone is a mecca of art, music, literature, and, of course, fashion.

The new outpost is a tribute to the connection that Yves Saint Laurent and partner Pierre Bergé had to the Rue Babylone, according to Women’s Wear Daily. (In 1970, the pair moved to a 6,500-square-foot duplex on the street.) It is also inspired by the house’s original ready-to-wear boutique, Saint Laurent Rive Guache, which opened in the 6th arrondissement in 1966.

The exposed concrete in contrasted by sleek marble accents. SAINT LAURENT

With a minimalist, art gallery-like aesthetic, the space is anchored by a hefty marble bench and large black shelves. The raw, textured concrete on the walls is juxtaposed by a soft blue and white rug, a wooden Pierre Jeanneret desk, and sleek Donald Judd stools.

The wares within Saint Laurent Babylone are the most important part, of course. Curated by Saint Laurent’s creative director Anthony Vaccarello, the collection includes everything from photos by British artist Rose Finn-Kelcey to books published by Saint Laurent itself. Some tomes on offer are so rare that white gloves are required for handling.

The store also offers an enviable selection of records that are no longer being pressed. Highlights include Sade’s Promise, Kate Bush’s Hounds of Love, and the debut studio album of electronic band Kraftwerk.

Other notable items on the shelves include Leica cameras, chocolates made in collaboration with pastry chef François Daubinet, prints by Juergen Teller, and brass skull sculptures. You’ll also find an assortment of YSL merch, including pens, lighters, and cups.

To top it off, Saint Laurent Babylone will double as an event space, hosting live music sessions, DJ sets, book readings, and author signings over the coming months.

Saint Laurent’s latest endeavor isn’t exactly surprising. With Vaccarello at the helm, the Kering-owned fashion house has entered new cultural realms. Only last year, the label established a film production company and debuted its first movie at Cannes.

The space is fitted with a Pierre Jeanneret desk and Donald Judd stools.
SAINT LAURENT

Perhaps Saint Laurent film reels and movie posters will soon be available at Babylone, too.

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The Best Watches at the Grammys, From Maluma’s Jacob & Co. to Jon Batiste’s Vacheron Constantin

Music’s biggest names sported some outstanding watches on Sunday evening.

By Rachel Mccormack 08/02/2024

Weird yet wonderful watches punctuated this year’s Grammys.

The woman of the moment, Taylor Swift, who made history by winning Album of the Year for an unprecedented fourth time, wore an unconventional Lorraine Schwartz choker watch to the annual awards ceremony on Sunday night. That was just the tip of the horological iceberg, though.

Colombian singer-songwriter Maluma elevated a classic Dolce & Gabbana suit with a dazzling Jacob & Co. Astronomia Tourbillon and a pair of custom, diamond-encrusted Bose earbuds, while American musician Jon Batiste topped off a stylish Versace ensemble with a sleek Vacheron Constantin Overseas Tourbillon. Not to be outdone, rapper Busta Rhymes busted out a rare Audemars Piguet Royal Oak for the occasion.

There was more understated wrist candy on display, too, such as Jack Antonoff’s Cartier Tank LC and Noah Kahan’s Panerai Luminor Quaranta BiTempo.

For the rest of the best watches we saw on the Grammys 2024 red carpet, read on.

Maluma: Jacob & Co. Astronomia Tourbillon

Maluma busted out some truly spectacular bling for this year’s Grammys. The Colombian singer-songwriter paired a classic Dolce & Gabbana suit with a dazzling Jacob & Co. Astronomia Tourbillon and a pair of custom, diamond-encrusted Bose earbuds. The sculptural wrist candy sees a four-arm movement floating in front of a breathtaking dial adorned with no less than 257 rubies. For added pizzaz, the lugs of the 18-karat rose-gold case are invisibly set with 80 baguette-cut white diamonds. Limited to just nine examples, the rarity is priced at $1.5 million.

Asake: Hublot Big Bang Essential Grey

Nigerian singer-songwriter Asake may not have won the Grammy for Best African Music Performance for “Amapiano,” but did wear a winning Hublot Big Bang at Sunday’s proceedings. Released in 2023, the Essential Grey model is made purely of titanium for a sleek, uniform feel. The 42 mm timepiece was limited to just 100 pieces and cost $37,000 a pop.

John Legend: Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Selfwinding

Multihyphenate John Legend wore a legendary Audemars Piguet with silky Saint Laurent on Sunday evening. The self-winding Royal Oak in question features a 34 mm black ceramic case, a black grande tapisserie dial, and striking pink gold accents. The watchmaker’s signature is also displayed in gold under the sapphire crystal. The piece will set you back $81,000.

Jon Batiste: Vacheron Constantin Overseas Tourbillon

American musician Jon Batiste received four nominations but no wins at this year’s Grammys. The “Butterfly” singer can take solace in the fact that he looked ultra-sharp in Versace and Vacheron Constantin. A tribute to the spirit of travel, the Overseas Tourbillon features a 42.5 mm white-gold case, a bezel set with 60 baguette-cut diamonds, and a blue dial featuring a dazzling tourbillon cage inspired by the Maltese cross. Price upon request, naturally.

Fireboy DML: Cartier Santos

Fireboy DML’s outfit was straight fire on Sunday night. The Nigerian singer paired an MCM wool jacket with a Van Cleef & Arpels bracelet, several iced-out rings, and a sleek Cartier Santos. The timepiece features a steel case, a graduated blue dial with steel sword-shaped hands, and a seven-sided crown with synthetic faceted blue spinel.

Noah Kahan: Panerai Luminor Quaranta BiTempo

Best New Artist nominee Noah Kahan wore one of Panerai’s best new watches to Sunday’s festivities. The Luminor Quaranta BiTempo features a 40 mm polished steel case and a black dial with luminous numerals and hour markers, a date display at 3 o’clock, and a small seconds subdial at 9 o’clock. The timepiece can be yours for $14,000.

Busta Rhymes: Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore

Legendary rapper Busta Rhymes busted out a chic Audemars Piguet for this year’s Grammys. The Royal Oak Offshore Chronograph in question is distinguished by a 42 mm rose-gold case and a matching pink méga tapisserie dial with an outer flange for the tachymeter scale. The face is fitted with three black subdials, large black numerals, and a black date display at 3 o’clock. You can expect to pay around $61,200 for the chronograph on the secondary market.

Jack Antonoff: Cartier Tank Louis Cartier

Producer of the year Jack Antonoff took to the red carpet with a stylish Cartier on his wrist. The Tank Louis Cartier in question appears to be a large 33.7 mm example that features an 18-carat rose-gold case, a silvered dial with black Roman numerals and blued steel hands, a beaded crown set with a sapphire cabochon, and a brown alligator strap. It’ll set you back $19,900.

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This 44-Foot Carbon-Fiber Speedboat Can Rocket to 177 KMPH

The new Mayla GT is available with a range of different powertrains, too.

By Rachel Cormack 03/02/2024

We knew the Mayla GT would be one of the most exciting boats at Boot Düsseldorf, but a deep dive into the specs shows it could be downright revolutionary.

The brainchild of German start-up Mayla, the 44-footer brings you the blistering performance of a speedboat and the luxe amenities of a motor yacht in one neat carbon-fiber package.

Inspired by the go-fast boats of the 1970s and ‘80s, the GT sports an angular, retro-futuristic body and the sleek lines of a rocket ship. Tipping the scales at just 4500 kilograms, the lightweight design features a deep-V hull with twin transversal steps and patented Petestep deflectors that help it slice through the waves with ease. In fact, Mayla says the deflectors decrease energy usage by up to 35 percent while ensuring a more efficient planing.

The range-topping GT can reach 185 kph. MAYLA

The GT is also capable of soaring at breakneck speeds, with the option of a gas, diesel, electric, or hybrid powertrain. The range-topping GTR-R model packs dual gas-powered engines that can churn out 3,100 hp for a top speed of more than 100 knots (185 kph). At the other, more sustainable end of the spectrum, the E-GT is fitted with an electric powertrain that can produce 2,200 horses for a max speed of 50 knots. The hybrid E-GTR pairs that same electric powertrain with a 294 kilowatt diesel engine for a top speed of 60 knots (111 km/h/69 mph). (The GT in the water at Boot sported two entry-level V8s good for 650 hp and a top speed of over 70 knots.)

The GT is suitable for more than just high-speed jaunts, of course. The multipurpose cockpit, which can accommodate up to eight passengers, features a sundeck with sliding loungers, a wet bar and BBQ, and a foldaway dining table for alfresco entertaining. Further toward the stern, a beach club sits atop a garage with an electric transom door.

The garage has an electric transom door. MAYLA

The GT is even fit for overnight stays. Below deck lies a cabin with a double bed, sofa, wardrobe, vanity, and en suite. You can also expect a high-tech entertainment system with TVs and premium audio.

As for price, the GT with the entry-level powertrain will cost between $2.7 million and $2.9, depending on the final configuration. (You can fine-tune the layout, hull color, and interiors, naturally.) Interested buyers can set up a sea trial with Mayla, with test-drives set to begin this spring in Europe.

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Red Centre

First Nations artist Shaun Daniel Allen joins forces with Chopard to create a timepiece inspired by the Australian landscape.

By Horacio Silva 29/01/2024

Shaun Daniel Allen does not look like your typical collaborator on a prestige watch. For one, Shal, as he prefers to be known (“There are many Shauns but only one Shal,” he explains), is more heavily tattooed than your average roadie. His youthful appearance, bad-boy ink and all, belies his 38 years and leads to a disconnect. 

He recounts being recognised on the street recently by a journalist, who, unable to remember his name, shouted out, “Chopard!” “I was with a friend,” Shal says, holding court in his apartment in Sydney’s inner city, “and he’s, like, ‘What the hell? Does that happen to you often?’”

Perhaps because of his body art, he reasons, “People don’t put me and Chopard together.” It’s not hard to understand the confusion, Shal adds; even he was taken aback when Chopard reached out to him about a potential collaboration a little more than a year ago. “When I first went in to see them, I was, like, I don’t know if I’m your guy. I’m not used to being in those rooms and having those conversations.”

He’ll have to adapt quickly to his new reality. Last month Chopard released Shal’s interpretation of the Swiss brand’s storied Alpine Eagle model, which in itself was a redo of the St. Moritz, the first watch creation by Karl-Friedrich Scheufele (now Co-President of Chopard) in the late 1970s. 

Previewed at Sydney’s About Time watch fair in September, to not insignificant interest, and officially known as the Alpine Eagle Sunburnt, the exclusive timepiece—issued in a limited edition of 20—arrives as a stainless steel 41 mm with a 60-hour power reserve and a burnt red dial that brings to mind the searing Outback sun. Its see-through caseback features one of Shal’s artworks painted on sapphire glass.

When the reputable Swiss luxury brand approached Shal, they already had the red dial—a nod to the rich ochre hues of the Australian soil at different times of the day and gradated so that the shades become darker around the edges—locked in as a lure for Australian customers.

Shal was charged with designing an artful caseback and collectible hand-painted sustainable wooden case. After presenting a handful of paintings, each with his signature abstract motifs that pertain to indigenous emblems, tattoos and music, both parties landed on a serpentine image that evoked the coursing of rivers. “I have been painting a lot of water in this last body of work and the image we chose refers to the rivers at home,” he says, alluding to formative years spent at his grandfather’s, just outside of Casino.

It says a lot about Chopard, Shal points out, that they wanted to donate to a charity of his choosing. “Like everything else on this project,” he explains, “they were open to listening and taking new ideas on board and it actually felt like a collaboration, like they weren’t steering me into any corner.”

In another nice touch, a portion of the proceeds from sales of the watch will go to funding programs of the Ngunya Jarjum Aboriginal Corporation—an organisation, established in 1995 by Bundjalung elders, whose work Shal saw firsthand after the 2022 eastern Australia flood disasters ravaged their area. “Seeing Ngunya Jarjum suffer from the floods,” he says, “and knowing how much they do for the community on Bundjalung Country was heartbreaking. I want to see Bundjalung families thriving and supported.”

So what’s it been like for this booster of Australian waterways to be swimming in the luxury end of the pool? “I’ve done a few things with brands,” he offers, referring to the Louis Vuitton project earlier this year at an art gallery in Brisbane, “but nothing on this scale. It’s definitely fancier than I’m used to but I’m not complaining.” Neither are watch aficionados.

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