EDITOR’S LETTER
With the Year of the Rat already under way, we’ve decided to honour the smart and quick-thinking rodent by packing this month’s issue of Prestige with features that we trust will stimulate and delight. Our cover personality, Oscar Wang, is a case in point. Although born into filmindustry aristocracy, instead of following his famous mother on to the silver screen, Wang took the brave decision to strike out on his own, studying art and interior design as an undergraduate in London before moving to mainland China and setting up in business there – where he promptly veered off on various tangents that have taken him to places he never, ever imagined he’d be. You can read more about this enterprising young entrepreneur on page 134.
If, like me, watches are your thing, you’ll find plenty to hold your attention, too, from an inside look at Vacheron Constantin’s bespoke Les Cabinotiers division to a consideration of the question why old timepieces seem so much more desirable than many produced today. And as, of course, St Valentine pops up his head in the middle of this month (which, as it’s 2020, just happens to be a day longer than usual and, more pertinently, makes it perfectly acceptable for women to pop the question during this global love-fest), we also come up with a dazzling array of precious metals and stones on which to feast the eyes and – if you’re lucky, ladies – empty the wallet.
Our usual pages and pages of high style aside, we’ve also scoured the planet in our continuing search for all that’s good in life, from the wines of France and Argentina to a snazzy new hotel in Seoul’s happening Gangnam district. We’ve sipped cocktails in Central and met the Island Shangri-La’s new dining supremo, we preview next month’s Art Basel and – all for your benefit, I hasten to add – I’ve even slipped behind the steering wheel of a Lamborghini, just so I can listen to the glorious music played by its magnificent V10 engine.
What we do here at Prestige is called work, I believe, but I hope our enthusiasm is evident in every word you read. I also hope, as always, that you enjoy this issue and, most of all, that every one of our readers has a marvellous year ahead.