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ICE man Ronnie Kessel

Glamour, priceless cars, super-luxe watches and collectors of all types mix it at The ICE, now the most desirable event in the St Moritz calendar. Co-founder Ronnie Kessel gives us his insider tips

LUX: How is The ICE St Moritz different?

Follow LUX on Instagram: @luxthemagazine

Ronnie Kessel: The magic of The ICE springs from its venue; a place that for more than eight months of the year doesn’t even exist. When the St Moritz lake freezes over, a miracle of nature occurs, turning the lake into a perfect white canvas to show those beautiful cars like true works of art.

Enjoying the glamour on the frozen lake

LUX: Courchevel or St Moritz, and why?

RK: It might sound predictable, since part of my roots are there, but there’s no other place like St Moritz, where sports meet art, culture and leisure in such an incredible way.

Ronnie Kessel and LUX’s Fabienne Amez-Droz

LUX: What’s the most underrated spot in St Moritz that even locals love to keep secret?

Read more: Omega CEO Raynald Aeschlimann on the watch industry

RK: Rather than just a spot, I’d say that St Moritz has a hidden season, summer, when you have infinite choices on how to spend your time: walks, hikes, tennis, downhill, paragliding, sailing… Mention one, and you’ll find the ideal place for it.

Cruising on the ice at The ICE

LUX: Après-ski at Paradiso or where else?

RK: Après-ski in town at Pavarotti & Friends or the Belmont. The Paradiso is perfect for lunch, when the sun shines right over, brightening the entire valley up to the Maloja Pass and the lakes.

Participants line up at the Richard Mille-sponsored event, at 1,800m altitude

LUX: Where would you spend your New Year’s Eve?

RK: Christmas at Kulm, New Year’s Eve at Badrutt’s Palace, brunch on New Year’s Day at Suvretta House.

LUX: If you could time-travel to any winter in St Moritz’s glamorous past, which era would you visit and why?

The view from Badrutt’s Palace Hotel

RK: Gunter Sachs’ era, when elegance reigned and there was a true devotion to beauty. This was the most chic, glamorous and charming time in St Moritz, also for the artistic scene.

Read more: Hugo Boss CEO, Daniel Grieder, redefining the brand for a new generation

LUX: Perfect classic car to drive up the Julier Pass?

RK: The Ferrari 512BB, preferably in dark blue, paying homage to the classiest BB of them all, Brigitte Bardot.

theicestmoritz.ch

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The team at Michelin star restaurant Blue Hill

In the second of a two-part LUX series, Isabella Fergusson talks to four of the world’s most celebrated chefs, who are driving the agenda in the increasingly important overlap between sustainability and haute cuisine

Yannick Alléno:

Pavyllon, London; Pavillon Ledoyen, Paris; Le 1947 à Cheval Blanc, Courchevel

With 16 Michelin stars across 17 global restaurants, the superstar chef’s signature style is modern French cuisine with a personal, audacious spin

LUX: How have you seen sustainability awareness change and what is your approach to it?

Yannick Alléno: When I started cooking, we didn’t pay as much attention as we do today to food waste, seasonal produce and so on. It’s an awareness that gradually emerged and took hold. When I founded my group in 2008, I called it “quaternaire”. The quaternary restaurant is one that is in tune with its time and place, and takes its environment into account: the company, the employees, the customers and the ecology. These are the four fundamental pillars.

Chef Yannick Alléno in his Michelin star kitchen

LUX: Is it more sustainable, ultimately, to encourage home cooking more than eating out?

YA: Whether at home or at the restaurant, what counts is taking the environment into account: buying local and seasonal produce and using raw materials.

Read more: An interview with Marian Goodman Gallery

LUX: How do your customers respond differently to this awareness in London compared to Paris?

YA: It seems to me that ecological awareness is widespread. Both in London and Paris, customers are aware of it – especially the younger generation, who feel deeply concerned by environmental issues and our ecological impact.

LUX: Your London menu provides “a British expression of [your] signature modern French dishes”. Are there disparities between British and French culinary expression?

A refined surf-and-turf dish at Pavyllon, London

YA: These are different cultures with their own similarities and differences. Of course, they have many things in common – cooking techniques, for example, and at the same time specificities in food and cultural habits, such as British teatime.

LUX: Is there a young chef who has caught your eye who is doing great things for sustainability?

YA: Mallory Gabsi is a highly talented Belgian chef in Paris who pays close attention to environmental issues. He works closely with French and Belgian produce. His fish is sourced from a Breton fish auction and is delivered directly by a small-scale fisherman – he even uses bicycle suppliers where possible. In the kitchen, there’s no waste: all offcuts are used, for example, to make broth, and he reduces plastic to a minimum in all packaging.

yannick-alleno.com

Rasmus Kofoed, chef and co-owner of three Michelin star restaurant Geranium

Rasmus Kofoed:

Geranium, Copenhagen

Chef and co-owner of Danish meat-free restaurant Geranium, which has three Michelin stars, Kofoed also presented the plant-based restaurant Angelika

LUX: How do you strike a balance between Nordic tradition and pushing culinary boundaries?

Follow LUX on Instagram: @luxthemagazine

Rasmus Kofoed: In Denmark we don’t have as long a culinary DNA as Spain, Italy or France, so that makes it a little easier. Traditions – such as smoking, salting and curing ingredients – should be respected but can also be modified.

LUX: Through Angelika, you donated £9,400 to the Danish Nature Fund. What inspires you in nature?

RK: Nature is an inspiration because of childhood memories, the seasons and micro-seasons and all the colours, textures and patterns you see – so many wow moments. I want to transform them all into something edible in my kitchen.

Green asparagus, aged cheese and wild plants at Geranium

LUX: Do you experiment with new techniques?

RK: We made the kitchen here at Geranium a technical kitchen but its not something we talk about. First, it’s about the serving, the dish, the balanced transformation of the ingredients.

Read more: Anantara Ubud Resort, Review

LUX: How do you remain focused on remaining authentic and resisting pressure to please others?

RK: I realised that in the pandemic, when we closed Geranium and reopened again with a completely new menu. We said goodbye to meat – we still serve shellfish and fish, but no meat, no gelatine, no chicken stock. I felt this was more representative of “Rasmus on a plate”. That’s how I like to eat and so that’s how we should serve.

LUX: What major challenges have you faced to maintain a three-Michelin-star restaurant?

The interior of Geranium, Copenhagen

RK: Covid forced us to close the restaurant, but we kept the team, a huge but vital investment. That period gave me time to reflect, which I needed without knowing it. I was with my wife and children on a small island in the wild Danish landscape where I gathered lots of ideas. Then I opened the plant-based restaurant Angelika.

LUX: What does sustainability mean to you?

RK: Sustainability comes from a close relationship with human beings and nature. Buying vegetables from small biodynamic farmers respects the planet and the pursuit of bringing vitality back to the soil. It is about a balance of taking and giving back.

LUX: Is there an upcoming chef who inspires you through a new way of thinking or approach?

RK: Daniel Humm is very inspiring. He is brave to have turned to serving completely plant-based food at Eleven Madison Park in New York. I was there recently and it was mind-blowing. There are also a lot of inspiring people here in Denmark – biologists, biodynamic farmers, not just chefs.

geranium.dk

Michelin star chef Ángel León, known for his ‘extraterrestrial’ cuisine

Ángel León:

Aponiente, Cadiz

León’s Aponiente has three Michelin stars and a Michelin Green star for its “extraterrestrial” cuisine

LUX: AI is creating many new sustainable food-related algorithms. Do or would you use these?

Ángel León: My efforts are aimed at discovering new ingredients from the sea. I am in favour of scientific developments as long as they are of benefit to humanity.

Aponiente’s milky wafer, sea urchin and sea honey with Irish moss reduction

LUX: How might the food industry link up with others to tackle climate change?

ÁL: Industries can create alliances and synergies aimed at improving their processes so that they are not detrimental to nature.

LUX: Does your interest in ocean conservation affect your culinary plans?

ÁL: It remains an obsession and the epicentre of the R&D projects we develop at Aponiente. The conservation and enhancement of marine species has been our objective since we opened.

The innovation of León’s cuisine is mirrored in Aponiente’s exterior

LUX: How much of your work is instinct, and how much is hard work and study?

ÁL: My work has a lot to do with inspiration from my surroundings and from fantasy, and having a wonderful crew that then executes my dreams.

LUX: Is there an upcoming chef who inspires you, particularly for sustainability reasons?

ÁL: There are many – all those who break from convention and fashion. They respect local produce and that makes them avant-garde.

aponiente.com

Chef Dan Barber at a Stone Barns team meeting

Dan Barber:

Blue Hill, Manhattan; Stone Barns, New York

With an organic farm in the Pocantico Hills and two Michelin-starred restaurants, the TED-talking “philosopher chef ” Barber’s mission is to change how we produce food from seed to plate

LUX: When were you first aware of unsustainable food practice?

Read more: Tasting Bryant’s iconic Napa wines

Dan Barber: Embarrassingly late. I opened Blue Hill at Stone Barns as a farm-to-table restaurant, but it was only after I visited Klaas Martens’ farm in Penn Yan that I realised that by dictating the cuisine from above I wasn’t supporting farmers and good agriculture. Quite the opposite: farmers were being forced to service our tastes, which often meant working against the farm.

The system had us exalting butter lettuce on a plate but not paying for the soil-supporting cover crops and rotation grains that underpin the system. I was shocked by my ignorance. Now we’ve shifted our mandate from the standalone principle of farm- to-table cooking to create an ecosystem cuisine that services the whole farm.

Blue Hill’s produce displayed in the restaurant’s interior

LUX: Kitchens are famously brutal. Is it important that a sustainable work culture comes alongside sustainable food practice?

DB: Absolutely. One way we do that at Blue Hill is by embedding education into our ecosystem. We’re shooting for a 60 per cent restaurant, 40 per cent R&D balance, so it’s important to keep all staff in the loop about the projects going on. Staff take part in weekly training and guest-speaker events and attend external education and dining opportunities. The reason is inclusion – we want FOH, management and interns to be just as entrenched with the food as the cooks. It’s not always heads-down, it’s about rounding out the work culture to get engagement and buy-in.

LUX: What food are you most nostalgic for?

DB: When I was 12 I came down with an awful bout of strep throat, the type that feels like knives in your throat. It killed any desire I had to put anything in my stomach. My mom had died when I was four and my dad wasn’t much of a cook. Thankfully, he enlisted my Aunt Tobé to nurse me back to health. I’ll never forget what she cooked for me: scrambled eggs, soft, buttery and herby, which slid down my throat when I couldn’t even swallow. I don’t mean to sensationalise, but I credit my recovery to those scrambled eggs.

The beautiful and understated exterior of Blue Hill

LUX: It was alleged in 2022 that Blue Hill served animal products to vegetarian and vegan diners. What was your response?

DB: These allegations were false, demonstrably so. We made considerable efforts to tell the truth; unfortunately, Eater website chose to ignore them.

LUX: You gained a Michelin Green star. How would you rate the green Michelin incentive?

Read more: Simon de Pury interviews Olafur Eliasson

DB: We don’t need proof that today’s diners pick destinations based not just on a five-star review but on a growing environmental consciousness. But if we did, the Michelin Green star would be it.

LUX: Can you recommend a young chef who is doing great things for sustainability?

DB: I think Ángel León in Cadiz is doing the most wonderful ocean-advocacy cooking in the world. He is touched by genius.

Portrait of chef Mauro Colagreco

Mauro Colagreco:

Mirazur, France; Raffles, London

His Mirazur restaurant has three Michelin stars and a Michelin Green star, but for Mauro Colagreco, the “gardener with a chef ’s jacket”, it’s all about simplicity, diversity and “vegetable-forward” food

LUX: What does sustainability mean for you?

Mauro Colagreco: To be aware of the impact of our actions; to act with respect for our planet; to celebrate living things; to be inspired by the way nature works to create virtuous circles around us.

LUX: What do you choose: taste or sustainability?

A lobster vanilla dish, from the Flowers menu at Mirazur

MC: They can no longer exist without each other. Learning to eat fresh, local produce that respects the cycles of life is a perfect way to connect with nature and to celebrate the life within us.

LUX: Is cooking more about chemistry or art?

Read more: Omega CEO Raynald Aeschlimann on the watch industry

MC: Food is a multidisciplinary subject. We must draw on all our knowledge if we are to respond creatively to today’s challenges, from taste to health to loss of biodiversity and climate change.

LUX: Is ambition in a chef always a good thing?

The interior of restaurant Mirazur

MC: It depends where the ambition leads, who it does and doesn’t benefit and what it achieves.

LUX: You have pizzerias alongside your biodiverse culinary movement of circular gastronomy. Why?

MC: La Pecora Negra democratises eating well with nutritionally exceptional but accessible food. Excellence is not only about haute cuisine.

LUX: What young chef impresses you today?

MC: Virgilio Martínez Véliz and Pia León in Peru. Their work in the biodiversity of ecosystems and with local communities is wonderful!

mirazur.fr

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Raynald Aeschlimann, Omega President and CEO

It made the first watch to be worn on the moon, and one of its diving watches descended to the deepest ocean depth ever achieved by a timepiece. James Bond’s watch of choice has defied predictions of a squeeze on the middle of the luxury market to prosper in the new horological landscape. We speak to Omega President and CEO Raynald Aeschlimann about thriving in the business of midmarket luxury.

The luxury watch industry has made a habit of defying the expectations and predictions of its most respected observers. Fifty years ago, mechanical watches were predicted to disappear in the quartz (electronic) watch revolution. Seiko and Casio would replace Audemars Piguet and Jaeger- LeCoultre; Japan and Asia would consign the Swiss watchmaking industry to the history books.

Follow LUX on Instagram: @luxthemagazine

Thirty years ago, with mechanical watches succeeding beyond all expectation in a market that saw timepieces as art and craft creations, not functionalities, it was generational change that was predicted. Traditional mechanical brands would be spurned by a new generation and contemporary brands would take their place, just as contemporary art has replaced old masters in the affections of the next gen art-collecting wealthy. Franck Muller would replace Patek Philippe.

The Omega Speedmaster Professional, aka the Moonwatch. 

Twenty years ago, fashion watches by the likes of Chanel and Hermès were dismissed as a passing trend by watch connoisseurs who predicted their demise, or at least a lack of any kind of market traction, as watch buyers wanted real watch brands, not fashion. And ten years ago, more prosaically, watch brands were predicted to follow fashion in conglomeratisation: LVMH, by now owners of brands including Hublot and Zenith, would dominate as they do in the fashion world, and independents and specialist watch groups such as Swatch Group would fade away.

Astronaut Neil Armstrong steps onto the moon – with the Moonwatch, 1969. 

None of these predictions came true; in fact, quite the opposite. Swiss watches are now a US$30 billion market. Patek Philippe’s turnover surpassed US$2 billion last year. LVMH’s watch division, far from taking over the horology world, as its armies of skinny business-school grads have done in luxury fashion, saw Tag Heuer significantly down in market share. To all those incorrect predictions, add one other: that the midmarket mechanical- watch market would disappear, squeezed from above by super-priced luxury and from below by fashion watches and wearable tech.

Omega is a brand that has defied all these trend predictions, particularly the last one. Unique in the pantheon of watch brands, it is a midmarket luxury brand (meaning you can buy one of its star watches for a mid four-figure sum in euros or dollars) that has a huge heritage tradition of firsts.

Notably, an Omega was the first watch on the moon, before product placement became an industry standard, and there have been numerous mechanical innovations and achievements, including the world sea-depth record for a watch at an astonishing 11km underwater. The brand is now the third biggest Swiss watch brand by turnover, with sales up 7.5 per cent in what was a difficult year for some in a fiercely competitive industry last year, and a total turnover of $2.9 billion. So much for predictions.

The NASA certificate qualifying the Omega Speedmaster Professional chronograph for “all manned space missions”, 1965. 

LUX: What changes in the luxury-watch consumer have you seen over the years, and what strategies does Omega employ to attract next-generation customers?

Raynald Aeschlimann: It is interesting to consider the changes we have seen over the years. We opened a store in Zurich on the Bahnhofstrasse 20 years ago and people enjoyed going into the store. Nowadays it is different with digital as well as 170 stores worldwide, but our values stay the same. We have always aimed to be transparent with our customers in everything we do. I think the more you talk openly about a brand, the more people talk about it, and we communicate in a very visible way. As a kind of “traditional” brand, social networks have become quite important for us to reach everybody and especially the next generation who will buy watches in the future.

Astronaut Buzz Aldrin wearing his Speedmaster with the Velcro strap, Apollo 11, 1969. 

It helps us to be closer to our consumers and to talk to them one on one. Also at Omega we want to inspire our customers. We collaborated with George Clooney and “James Bond”, both of whom everyone knows and desires to be like. And we are long-time sponsors of the Olympic Games, including now the Paralympics. Omega stands for inclusion. That’s an important message to give to the next generation. Spreading our messages just happens in new ways nowadays. But it is exciting.

Read more: Hugo Boss CEO, Daniel Grieder, redefining the brand for a new generation

Daniel Craig as James Bond deploys the Omega Seamaster Diver 300M 007 Edition in No Time To Die, 2021. 

LUX: Why do you think the attraction of the mechanical watch persists?

RA: Everyone thought when the digital era came in, it would be the end of the mechanical watch, because you could just check the time on digital screens. But people want real values and, while a watch must be precise, people don’t just want it to check the time. They only invest in a watch when they know about the craftsmanship behind it.

We create long-term, classic pieces, with everything in the process made in Switzerland. I think even more today, people need real values – for example, reading nice magazines, like LUX, on a Saturday morning. It represents a whole experience, especially when the quality is good. That is similar to an Omega watch: you want to have a personal experience with it. Buying a watch brings emotion with it. The watch will be linked with you forever, maybe some day your kids will take it over. It needs to be good quality and you want to feel it on your arm – and even smell it!

Actor, director and Omega friend George Clooney with the Omega Speedmaster ’57, Lake Como, 2023. 

LUX: With the rise of digital and social media, how has Omega adapted its marketing strategies to engage with a global audience?

RA: Social networks are a great tool to reach everybody, from young to old. What’s important with them is to stay credible. Across different markets, our messages have to be slightly adapted for the various social platforms. For example, in China, we present content across Douyin, WeChat, Weibo, RED, and Youku, while in Japan we have LINE, and in South Korea it’s KakaoTalk. Each has its own way to connect with users, so we make subtle changes to our content.

Buzz Aldrin, iconic on the moon, 1969. 

LUX: Under your leadership, what have the most significant changes been at Omega and what does the future look like?

RA: I have been working 24 years for this brand and the development I have seen has been amazing. I respect Omega’s past and will continue to do so, creating more iconic watches and partnerships. I want to take this whole community of Omega and take it to the position of the most iconic brand in the world. We dived to the deepest point of the globe with the Seamaster Planet Ocean Ultra Deep.

Léon Marchand, multi gold-medallist swimmer of the 2024 Paris Olympics – Omega has kept time for the Games since 1932. 

And we take some of the best moments in Omega’s history and reintroduce them in a new way, transforming classic models with exciting features, like diamonds, certain metals or new dials – our new range of Seamasters has different depths of blues, for example. These are all small details but matter a lot today. We have a commitment to the past and we face the future with respect.

Darius Sanai

Find out more: www.omegawatches.com

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Reading time: 6 min

The Anantara Ubud Resort family pool overlooks the green jungle which surrounds the whole resort

Nestled amidst the greenery of Ubud, in Bali, a wellness retreat awaits – Fabienne Amez-Droz reflects on the newly built Anantara Ubud Resort, where the surrounding jungle and the healing rituals provide a sanctuary for those looking to escape the winter cold

In recent years, Bali has undergone significant changes. Those who visited in the past will remember a very different island – one that has since, in parts, transformed into an Instagram hotspot, often overwhelmed by tourism. However, there are still places that have retained Bali’s natural beauty – spots that remain more untouched by social media hypes and globalization.

The newly bulit Anantara Ubud Resort, lies in the heart of Bali’s cultural and spiritual hub, Ubud. The resort offers a wellness sanctuary to visitors all of the worlds and blends luxury, tranquility, and authentic Balinese traditions.

Surrounded by green rice paddies and jungles, this hotel embraces the concept of a holistic getaway, providing an experience for body, mind, and soul.

Next to the family pool, the hotel also has an adult only pool

Refreshing welcome

After a approximately 50 mins car journey from Denpasar airport to Ubud, you will find the gate of the resort. From the moment you step into the Anantara Ubud Resort, you will receive a warm welcome from the Anantara staff, a tropical flower to put behind one of your ears and a refreshing herbal drink. Good to cool you off after a perhaps sweaty journey from a long overseas-flight. The open-air lobby is equipped with Balinese art and natural stone elements.

Follow LUX on Instagram: @luxthemagazine

The One-Bedroom Forest View Pool Villa offers a private space to take in the views of the jungle

Queen of the jungle

The resort offers different kind of accomendations. From Forest view suites in the main resort building to private villas overlooking the jungle. My forest view pool villa was a blend of modern elegance and Balinese charm, featuring floor-to-ceiling windows that framed the views of the jungle. The private infinity pool was a personal highlight, providing a very instagrammable spot.

The One-Bedroom Forest View Pool Villa costs 852.50£ per night

Cleansing rituals and manifesting

Anantara Ubud’s wellness programs are perhaps not for everyone but certainly interesting for a niche wellness and energy-sourcing clientel. The signature rituals that they offer, draw on centuries-old Balinese healing traditions. I started with the Water Purification at the Mengening Temple, a guided experience that takes guests to a sacred water temple nearby, where you can cleanse your soul in the holy considered water and wash away negative energies through holding your head under little waterfalls.

Back at the hotel, I had a look at the multiple spa treatments that they offer and decided to treat myself, when in Bali, to a relaxing massage – the Anantara Signature Massage.

Make sure to wear some swimming clothes under the sarong as you will definitely get soaked

To stay in shape while trying lots of different Balinese dishes like Nasi Goreng and Betutu, the hotels has gym facilities and hosts daily yoga session. For someone like me, trying Yoga for the first time, I must say, it is a pretty perfect setting – It wont get any better after that, many told me..

For a deeper sense of connection, I visited stepped into a temple and joined a fire ritual session with a real balinese priest. During this ceremony which happens multiple times a week, we were sitting in a group circle, singing songs and throwing rice into a big fire to burn away the negative energy – Let’s see if it worked..

The lobby deck shows views on the Mount Agung and you can enjoy a sunset cocktail

Choice of restaurants

The culinary offerings at Anantara Ubud compliments its wellness aesthetic. The Botanic Restaurant serves organic, farm-to-table cuisine that’s as delightful to the palate as it is nourishing for the body. Highlights included a vibrant jackfruit rendang and a refreshing herbal jamu drink. For a more immersive experience, guests can ask for a private dining setup overlooking the pool and rice fields.

The Kirana Restaurant Terrace is the right spot to enjoy a peaceful breakfast and also for a western or balinese lumch menu – whatever you are in the mood for

Adventures through the jungle

Alternative to the wellness programmes, for action-lovers, the hotel offers a VW 181 Safari tour, where you and a personal driver explore the roads and ricefields of ubud with a restored vintage Volkswagen Type 181 convertible. In case you prefer walking yourself, there is a guided trek through the Campuhan Ridge Walk, showcasing Bali’s natural beauty.

The resort has 85 suites and pool villas

Find out more: www.anantara.com/en/ubud-bali

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Reading time: 4 min

Co-founder of LuxImpact Coralie de Fontenay

Coralie de Fontenay is a co-founder of LuxImpact, which invests in and manages eco-conscious luxury brands, and she was previously at Richemont, owner of Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels and A Lange & Söhne. Here she highlights five new-wave brands she loves: “They are all led by inspiring and committed women, who have embedded their positivity, passion and resilience in their business,” she says. “I feel deeply connected to the values that drive them, the beauty of their products and the stories they tell”

Molli

Founded in 1886 and revived by Charlotte de Fayet, this ready-to-wear brand combines unique craftsmanship and Parisian chic. From the use of no-waste extra-fine virgin wool to clean energy, Molli’s knitwear embeds sustainability and luxury into each stage of production. The result is fine knitwear that combines femininity, elegance, comfort and joy.

molli.com

Knitwear designs at Molli

Rouvenat

This historic 19th-century French jewellery house has been revived by four industry insiders including Marie Berthelon. The idea is to bring forgotten treasures back to light, including marvellous old stones with a soul: old materials, new jewellery. It is the only entirely circular jeweller that focuses on highlighting and reinvigorating the value of human and natural resources at all levels.

rouvenat.com

Rouvenat’s ‘old materials, new jewellery’

Gitti

Jennifer Baum-Minkus, Gitti’s daring Berlin-based founder, is revolutionising beauty through vegan plant-based nailcare products.

Follow LUX on Instagram: @luxthemagazine 

Her vision is one of positivity, producing a variety of brightly coloured polishes while only using safe ingredients from natural origins, and refusing to compromise on a high-quality and glossy formula.

gittibeauty.com

A range of Gitti’s nail and cuticle products

Kimaï

Hailing from families of diamond dealers and jewellers in Antwerp, friends Jessica Warch and Sidney Neuhaus have used their knowledge to build the ethical fine-jewellery brand Kimaï. Their aim is to offer, using lab-grown diamonds and recycled gold – jewellery of high quality and low impact.

kimai.com

‘Jewellery with a traceable, responsible background’

Cuvée Privée

Founded by Marie Forget, Aurélie Berthon and Morgane Suquet, Cuvée Privée offers a new way to buy wine: through an authentic and transparent relationship between the customer, the land and its artisans. You can adopt your own vine from a selection of vineyards and watch it grow from first grape to bottling, receiving the resulting personalised bottles in your own name.

cuvee-privee.com

Cuvée Privée ‘offers a new way to buy wine’

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Reading time: 2 min

Philanthropist Nachson Mimran at Alara Building in Lagos

Latest figures indicate there are more than 16 million high-net-worth individuals in the world, which means a lot of potential to contribute to positive change. LUX asks three of the globe’s most established social and environmental philanthropists to identify individuals of the new generation who are helping change the world for good

Philanthropist Nachson Mimran, Switzerland

Mimran is co-founder of to.org, an innovative organisation combining philanthropy, investment, startup accelerator and social-enterprise multiplier. He collaborates across creative and tech fields to support and empower the world’s vulnerable. “There are many synergies between the work of those I have nominated and the work of to.org,” he says.

Nachson Mimran & his daughter in an elevator in Gstaad, Switzerland

The Nominees

Kweku Mandela, US

“Kweku’s work as a producer and film-maker inspires movements that instigate positive change. Like to.org, Kweku understands the power of using culture as a Trojan horse to communicate important messages. As the grandson of Nelson Mandela, he also stewards the Mandela legacy.”

Elizabeth Sheehan, US

“Liz is a founding partner of Project Dandelion, a women-led movement for climate justice.
A global-health expert, she is a passionate philanthropist and creative leader working at the intersection of climate change, gender justice and health resilience.”

Hosh Ibrahim at a Mo Ibrahim Foundation meeting

Hosh Ibrahim, UK

“Hosh does important work to support stateless people and strengthen governance in the human-rights sector across Africa. He also serves on the council of his father’s foundation, the Mo Ibrahim Foundation in the Sudan, which works to strengthen the African voice around global challenges.”

Read more: Car reviews: Porsche 911 Dakar, BMW M4 Convertible, Mazda CX-60

The philanthropist Neera Nundy

Philanthropist Neera Nundy, India

Dasra, or “enlightened giving” in Sanskrit, was co-founded in 1999 in India by Nundy and her husband Deval Sanghavi as a fund to invest in early stage non-profit organisations working in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals areas of gender equality, urban resilience and sanitation. In 25 years, Dasra has unlocked over US$350 million and impacted over 180 million people through its trusted ecosystem, in a mission “to help transform India”.

The Nominees

Nikhil Kamath, India

“As the youngest Indian signatory of Bill Gates’ and Warren Buffet’s Giving Pledge, Nikhil
has committed 50 per cent of his wealth to causes including climate change, education and healthcare. Through his YouTube podcast, WTF Is, Nikhil, along with his business leader guests, is leveraging digital media to disrupt philanthropic giving by donating to audience- selected charities.”

Nikhil Kamath with Bill Gates in the podcast WTF Is

Radhika Bharat Ram, India

Follow LUX on Instagram: @luxthemagazine 

“Radhika co-founded KARM Trust with her husband Kartik. The trust focuses on anchoring its unique fellowship programme, which involves empowering girls from economically challenging backgrounds in India to pursue their dreams, realise their potential and become catalysts to transform their communities.”

The philanthropist Ben Goldsmith

Philanthropist Ben Goldsmith, UK

A financier and environmentalist, Goldsmith is at the forefront of campaigns for rewilding in Britain and Europe, and founded and chairs the Conservation Collective (CC), a network of locally focused foundations. “To meet the scale of the environmental challenges ahead, we need more philanthropists like those I have nominated,” he says. “The solutions are within reach – if we can muster the funding and the collective will to act.”

The Nominees

Becky Holmes, UK

“At the helm of The Helvellyn Foundation, Becky Holmes has become a powerful advocate for environmental restoration. Her support of the CC’s Highlands & Islands Environment Foundation has been particularly impactful, funding local nature recovery projects across the Scottish Highlands and islands. She is one of those philanthropists who are not just investing in conservation, but leading the charge, reimagining the relationship between humanity and the natural world.”

Nancy Burrell at the Knepp rewilding project

Nancy Burrell, UK

“Chair of the Argosaronic Environment Foundation, Nancy Burrell aims to protect and restore the natural beauty of the Argolic and Saronic Gulf, where she has spent much of her life. Her early experiences at Knepp’s famous rewilding project in Sussex ignited a lifelong dedication to restoring wild nature. As a DPhil candidate at Oxford, Nancy is exploring the carbon storage potential within rewilded ecosystems – work that could prove vital in addressing the twin crises of biodiversity loss and climate change. She is one of the brilliant individuals representing a new era in environmental philanthropy.”

Read more: Domaine de Vieux-Mareuil: A luxurious sanctuary of freedom in southwest France

The philanthropist Alina Baimen

Philanthropist Alina Baimen, Canada

Kazakhstan-born Baimen is co-founder and CEO of EdHeroes, a decentralised network aimed at improving access to quality education worldwide, in alignment with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 4. With previous charity work including leading kindergarten projects in remote areas of Thailand, she was featured in 30 Under 30 Forbes Kazakhstan in 2023. Says Baimen, “My nominees are true change-makers.”

The Nominees

Mangkunegara X, King of Surakarta, Indonesia

“His Majesty supports philanthropic projects in areas including Indonesian batik art and education. EdHeroes collaborated with the Royal Palace on the recent Masterpiece Batik Humanity in Harmony project. Organised by the Indonesian Paediatric Cancer Foundation and the Royal Palaces of Yogyakarta and Surakarta, it brought together batik experts and children with cancer in a celebration of art and bravery, and raised significant funds for cancer treatment for those children.”

A batik-creating event for cancer fundraising, supported by Mangkunegara X

Malala Yousafzai, UK

“The activist for female education is the youngest Nobel Prize laureate. She is one of the most inspiring people in the world through the scale of her personality, courage and belief in the power of education make this world a little better. We named her Malala Fund, which invests in girls’ education programmes, in our guide of organisations with outstanding impact, and have since been in touch with her team, who are real pioneers.”

Henry Motte-Muñoz, Philippines

“As founder and Executive Chair of edukasyon.ph, the largest edtech platform in the Philippines, Henry helps empower more than eight million students each year with advice, soft-skills training and academic support. He started his philanthropic journey very young and made it to Forbes 30 Under 30 lists. He also serves as a member of the EdHeroes Advisory Board.”

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