Robb Report Singapore September 2021

THE LAUNCH OF our Thought Leaders community in 2019 is a continuation of Robb Report’s raison d’etre, defining an audience composed of individuals with an appreciation for life’s many facets. Our role as a luxury resource affords us the privilege of curating unique luxury lifestyle spheres for our Thought Leaders, whose worldly outlook marks them as true connoisseurs. We have come to recognise and value the profound depth of wisdom – and the boundless well of optimism – that emanates from these personalities. Most heartening of all is the sense of camaraderie and important life lessons shared by members of this select grouping. Even in the pale light of precipitous lockdowns and social distancing, our regular communiques with the Thought Leaders have enabled a continual loop of positive updates, including career…

Adventure And Inspiration Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is most famous for being the creator of Sherlock Holmes, but the Montblanc Writers Edition Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Limited Edition 8 fountain pen (S$239,000) honours the author from a different direction. It has an icy motif with solid white gold icebergs wreathing barrel and cap, along with translucent blue lacquer that takes after Arctic waters, which references Sir Arthur’s early life of adventure – he was offered the post of ship’s surgeon on a whaling vessel at just 20 years old. The cap is engraved with the phrase ‘I came of age at 80° north latitude’, taken verbatim from Sir Arthur’s diary entry on his 21st birthday. Other nods to his illustrious career include a moveable magnifying glass clip and engravings that reference…

Roger Federer’s French Open 2009 Champion Outfit and Racket Auctioned by Christie’s in London for £150,000 A top-selling highlight of the first of two sales of The Roger Federer Collection – a hotly anticipated event termed The Live Auction – the Swiss tennis maestro’s outfit and racket from the 2009 French Open sold for four times its low estimate. The Live Auction comprised 20 lots, each representing one of Federer’s 20 grand slam titles, with the sale going on to raise £1.3 million for The Roger Federer Foundation, which works towards providing an early education for vulnerable children in Switzerland and Africa. Jane Birkin’s Hermès Birkin handbag Auctioned by Bonhams in London for £119,000 Of all the handbags in the world, none are more iconic than the Hermès Birkin. Created for English songwriter, actress and…

DUSTIN JOHNSON IS the number two golfer in the world. In 2020, after his Travelers Championship win, he also became the fourth player in history to win a Tour title in each of his first 13 seasons. That’s a feat accomplished only by Johnson, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Tiger Woods. The 37-year-old South Carolina native, who now lives with his family in South Florida, is also one of the longest drivers on the circuit and has been annually ranked since 2008. To date, his swing has achieved 24 wins on the PGA Tour and two majors, putting more than US$71 million in prize money into his pocket. It has also caught the attention of brands such as Adidas and Hublot, which both signed him as a long-term ambassador. After…

Some things – skinny ties from the 1960s not included – really do get better with age. That’s especially true for wine, of course, but other luxury objets take to the maturation process with equal enthusiasm, as long as they’re well-made and well-preserved. A 1953 Patek Philippe Ref 2523, for instance, sprung out of a private collector’s vault and fetched US$7.7 million at Phillips in May. It was made in the same year as another coveted item: Chateau Mouton Rothschild’s centenary bottle, one of which sold for US$2,000 at auction last October. So which of these two has aged more gracefully – and which is starting to show a few grey hairs? Chateau Mouton Rothschild DISTINGUISHED BY ITS Illustration of brand founder Baron Nathaniel de Rothschild dominating the label SIGNED BY Philippe de Rothschild, who…

WHEN WRITING AN article, I often paint myself into a corner. I set out with the best of intentions, and when thinking about the content, format and structure of a piece, if it makes sense in the early stages of the formulation process, I tend to go with it. Not ‘more often than not’, but definitely with ‘inconvenient and annoying frequency’, I find that I have bitten off more than I can chew in terms of creating a coherent base/landscape that will bring ideas to fruition in any kind of communicable and relatable way. This is just such a piece. I thought I would write about what ‘leadership’ really entailed. What characteristics were important; what were the common denominators in terms of those who we feel have led well and deserve to take…