From the Editor Christian Schwalbach “ There are risks and rewards to be found throughout this issue, from the latest in adventure cruise ships to the Japanese city of Kanazawa „ DEPARTURES ASSESSING RISK IS a superpower. You might have a beguiling vision or a suite of cracking ideas, but without an understanding of the various factors at play, the slightest curveball can send the whole project tumbling down. It is a harsh lesson. On the other side of the coin are those who have properly understood the risks and budgeted for them – or, perhaps, simply got lucky. They have reaped the positive side of risk: namely, reward. And in this issue, we are celebrating some of those risks that have paid off handsomely. Take watchmaking, a notoriously fickle industry. On page 34, Ming Liu takes a look at timepieces that initially flopped but have been proven prescient with their slow-burn success – and, in many cases, multiple later models that confirm the initial vision behind them. The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore, for instance, was a supersized model of the original Royal Oak that appeared comically giant – too big for most men at the time – but it helped pave the way to the various chunky models that now appear on wrists around the globe, including the Offshore’s new 30th-anniversary model. Elsewhere in this issue, we profile the team behind London’s boldest new art space, Ladbroke Hall, which is the result of the novel approach that Carpenters Workshop Gallery has been taking for years, a merging of art and design that seeks to open the art world to outsiders rather than shun them. On page 54, we also profile another expanding creative brand, Italian design group Fornasetti, which has managed to grow its collections while also holding firm its position in the avant-garde. There are risks and rewards to be found throughout this issue, from the latest in adventure cruise ships to the fast-developing Japanese city of Kanazawa, which owes its reputation, in part, to the risks taken by the architects of its iconic art museum. We wish you happy reading. 10
U N D E R T H E H I G H P A T R O N A G E O F H S H P R I N C E A L B E R T I I O F M O N A C O 27•30 SEPTEMBER 2023
