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Third Consecutive Nomination as the Caribbean’s Leading Cruise Destination

Once again Jamaica stands at the top of the cruise industry, after being named World?s Leading Cruise Destination for the third consecutive year at Tuesday?s gala for the 2008 World Travel Awards.

The island also won the award for the Caribbean?s Leading Cruise Destination, which it has done every year since 2005.

?It?s always great to hear ?Jamaica? at this awards ceremony because it represents the intense commitment of all those who work in or support the cruise industry,? said William Tatham, the Port Authority of Jamaica?s Vice President for Cruise Shipping and Marina Operations. The Port Authority is responsible for marketing the island under the brand ?Cruise Jamaica.?

Launched in 1993, the World Travel Awards (WTA) acknowledges and recognize excellence in the world?s travel and tourism industry.

 

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Jamaica?s Cruise Industry Nabs Double Wins at World Travel Awards

 
Montblanc certainly knows how to throw a party. Last Nov. 7, 3,500 guests gathered to celebrate the launch of Montblanc?s Star Nicolas Rieussec Monopusher Chronograph at the Beijing National Stadium, making it the first ever luxury brand to use the stadium after the Beijing Olympics.

The experience was unforgettable. The stadium was bedecked with lights and you could see it a mile away. Special guests went through time at the ?Journey Room,? where they met Leonardo DaVinci, Alexander the Great and King Louis XIV.

 

The time capsule showcased milestones in timekeeping, from the sundial of ancient Egypt to the Chinese water clock of the Song Dynasty (420-479 AD) and Louis XIV?s mechanical clock. A backdrop of paintings inspired by the Renaissance period, specifically Michelangelo?s Sistine Chapel, filled the room. It took three months and 60 workers and painters from all over China and Hong Kong to prepare the exhibit, while 300 people set them up for the event.

 

From the journey room, guests were led to an auditorium, which was converted into an exclusive lounge, bar and theater. Huge, round screens around the party room were suspended on the ceiling showing images of the performers inside and the VIPs walking the red carpet. Even the food and drinks were tailored for the event: the Montblanc star embellished the containers for appetizers, shot glasses and the servers? uniforms. To add to the experience, a rock opera called Soulmaker was specifically written for the event as the culminating performance.

 

The detailed interior design of the Rieussec watch and Montblanc?s factory in Le Locle, Switzerland, served as the inspiration for the musical stage. About 50 actors, dancers and musicians ? including Australian rock star MiG Ayesa who played the lead ? performed in the opera. Every detail was marked with Montblanc?s philosophy of high quality and elegance.

 

?Despite a relatively short period of time in watchmaking, we have always been very determined to reach the pinnacle, as we have in the writing instruments industry,? explained Lutz Bethge, Montblanc International CEO, in an exclusive STAR interview. ?Montblanc is always determined as a manufacturer, as a craftsman. If we start something, we intend to be an expert and excel in that area. That is why we took over a 150-year-old workshop two years ago to manufacture our timepieces,? Bethge added.

 

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Philippine STAR Lifestyle Exclusive: Montblanc’s journey through time | The Philippine Star >> Lifestyle Features >> Fashion and Beauty

Baume & Mercier once again plays with the theme of transparency, applied this year to sublimating the Riviera XXL. The Swiss watch company has successfully risen to the challenge of combining femininity and prestige with the line?s signature twelve-sided design. This high jewelry interpretation of the Riviera XXL magnificently illustrates the very essence of glamour and refinement.

In keeping with the spirit of the line, the Riviera XXL High Jewelry Jumping Hour collection maintains the distinctive features of the Riviera XXL. Its double twelve-sided bezel, secured by 4 gem-set screws,  is clothed in white gold for the black version, while sapphire crystal highlights the radiance of the gold on the pink and white versions.

 

Further enhancing the precious and exceptional nature of this timepiece, the opulent shapes of the white gold case are set with 400 brilliant-cut diamonds totaling 9.5 carats.

 

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BAUME & MERCIER LAUNCHES Riviera XXL HIGH JEWELRY FOR ELEGANT WOMAN – Eye of Dubai News

South African adventurer Mike Horn.

For South African-born explorer Mike Horn, 42, navigating in sub-zero temperatures requires basic tools: chocolate for energy and mucus for wind-block. It also helps to have a few complex tools, such as a custom-built watch. Horn has circumnavigated the Arctic Circle solo, circled the globe along the equator without motorized transport and completed the first-ever night expedition to the North Pole, without dogs and frequently swimming along the way. So it makes sense that the Italian watchmaker Officine Panerai, known for their supersized dials and tough-as-nails construction, would find Horn to be the ideal partner to test new models. After all the brand has been involved in nautical adventure since making watches for the Italian Navy in the 1930s. 

Back in 2002, Panerai helped foot the bill on Horn’s expedition around the Arctic Circle and, in return, Horn put their Luminor Arktos through its paces skiing, sailing, kayaking and trekking in temperatures as low as -76 F (-60 C). When everything else on him was frozen, his watch, remarkably, still worked. This year, as Horn embarks on his most ambitious expedition to date ? Pangaea ? he’s taking Panerai back to its seafaring roots. Not only is Horn wearing a specially designed model, the Luminor 1950 Submersible Depth Gauge, on his journey, he’s also employing the brand’s expertise to outfit his ship with a hygrometer, thermometer and barometer.

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Around the World in 1,460 Days – Pursuits – TIME

The top lot in Antiquorum’s final auction of 2008 was Patek Philippe’s Ref. 5016 in platinum, which fetched $660,000.

New York–Antiquorum closed its 2008 season last week, netting a total of $7,279,620 in a New York sale of Important Collectors’ Wristwatches, Pocket Watches and Clocks.

More than 388 online bidders competed with telephone and commission bidders for the 542 lots in the Dec. 10-11 sale. The lots offered sold at 105 percent of their estimate, and 75 percent of all lots sold.

The highlight of the sale was lot 538, a Patek Philippe Ref. 5016 in platinum, which fetched $660,000. A number of additional Patek Philippe models achieved excellent prices, including Ref. 5004R (lot 535), which sold for $360,000, and Ref. 5013 (lot 374), which sold for $468,000. The brand’s Ref. 3970 has continued to see interest from collectors, and a white gold version (lot 530) sold for $117,600, while a platinum model (lot 537) sold for $132,000. Lastly, Ref. T150 (lot 148), retailed by Tiffany and Co., realized $38,400.

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Year-end Antiquorum sale reaches nearly $7.3M

 SINGAPORE: Absolute accuracy has always been the holy grail of horology. One route that the quest takes is to increase the vibration speed of a watch’s balance wheel, which makes a mechanical movement less susceptible to disruption by shock and gravity.

 

By Sonia Kolesnikov-Jessop

Published: December 12, 2008

 

 

 

While most mechanical watches have a movement ticking at 18,000 vibrations an hour, the record is held by a watch that beats at twice that speed, designed 40 years ago. The Zenith El Primero, an integrated automatic chronograph dating from 1969, has a balance wheel oscillation of 36,000 vibrations an hour, and is accurate to a tenth of a second.

 

“It’s moving so fast, your wrist can’t even catch up with the speed of the movement,” said Raphael Bertschy, head of product development at Zenith. “No one else has come up with a faster vibration yet – because it’s not that easy.”

 

But the Zenith El Primero’s 40-year-old record could soon be broken. Chopard Technologies has been testing a new movement that would have 72,000 vibrations an hour.

 

“Our ambition is to have a greater accuracy,” said Maxime Labey, the managing director of Chopard Asia. “Everybody is already thinking about the chronograph complication as the best implementation.”

 

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The race is on to build the world’s fastest watch – International Herald Tribune

The Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF) and international luxury brand, Harry Winston partnered for the DIFF’s landmark fifth edition, to celebrate this year’s recipients of the annual DIFF Lifetime

 

Presented during the closing ceremonies at the Bab Al Sams amphitheater, the award honors the outstanding achievements of filmmakers from the Middle East, Asia, and the West.

 

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Harry Winston honors recipients of the 2008 salutes awards | Harry Winston Rare Timepieces

If you buy the silver Bulgari ring (pictured below) this Christmas, you will be simultaneously giving and receiving: ?60 of the ?290 price tag will go straight to Save the Children. This is one of many examples of the burgeoning relationship between jewelry and charity.

Bulgari, whose normal entry-level price for jewelry is around ?490, aims to appeal to a wider audience than the one it normally targets with a product such as this. According to Francesco Trapani, its chief executive, ?It is a pretty inexpensive piece of jewellery. We don?t normally do silver but we wanted to do something very commercial to raise money.?

The ring will spearhead the Roman jewelry house?s 125th anniversary celebrations when it goes on sale next January in Harrods and at Bulgari stores worldwide the following month. It is hoped that sales of the rings, plus the proceeds from a related auction of high jewellery, will raise ?10m for Save the Children.

This effort is just one among many contemporary marriages of precious product and philanthropy, including a bangle from Montblanc, pens and watches from Chopard, and watches from IWC (the International Watch Company).

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FT.com / Registration / Product Selection Page

Twenty top jewelry stores in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, three in Istanbul and other forthcoming store openings in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon are just a part of the business agreement, signed this year by the CALGARO brand and its major Middle East partner DAMAS.

To announce this prestigious partnership the two companies are planning a special launch celebration which will take place next 16th November in Dubai.

The location of the happening is confirmed to be at Burj Al-Arab ? the renowned hotel represents the finest concepts of luxury and avant-garde in the Arab Emirates nowadays.

The gala evening in the gold-domed Al Falak Ballroom of the hotel is reserved to the exclusive number of 250 guests only. Dinner will culminate with a catwalk showing the latest CALGAROjewelry collections in gold and diamonds.

Burj Al-Arab Hotel, DUBAI, the true star of the event, 30th this year at the Las Vegas jewelry contest. Hand-made 18 kt yellow gold and a hypnotic constellation of diamonds, unique for each piece of the collection produced by the jewelry maison.

However, will be the SOLEIL necklace, granted the Couture Award for Design on May Al Falak

Casually dressed in a yellow hoodie and white sweats, Jennifer Lopez headed out for a little holiday shopping at David Yurman jewelry store on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills on Saturday (December 20).

 

Browsing the racks for some bling to add to her collection, the ?El Cantante? cutie is currently gearing up for her first Christmas with twins Max and Emme.

 

 

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Jennifer Lopez out Christmas shopping at David? Yurman Jewelry store on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills