A tribe of luxury brands has banded together to put one-off watches, earrings, necklaces and hand jewellery on the auction block.
The non-profit Arab Fund Arts & Culture will receive the lion's share of the proceeds from the We Are All Beirut sale by Christie's (save for proceeds from the artworks donated by Arthaus Beirut, which will go to the Lebanese Red Cross). The auction seeks to aid the arts community in Lebanon following the August 4 port explosion, which obliterated the galleries and ateliers of many artists and designers, including Sursock Museum. Bidding is ongoing and open until Tuesday, November 24.
Watches at auction
Fashion seekers and collectors alike have plenty to pick from, all for a good cause. Horology hounds can hedge their bids on Audemars Piguet’s limited-edition Royal Oak Offshore Leo Messi Chronograph wristwatch, constructed from pink gold and tantalum. The piece has already shattered its $18,900 estimate with a current offer of $23,940.
Currently on par with its valuation is a steel green bezel Submariner wristwatch from Rolex, with its current bid matching its estimated price – $15,120.
The Cartier Pasha timepiece, meanwhile, is currently at an underbid of $2,772 against a high estimate of $6,700. The pink gold wristwatch comes with red and green leather bands, to represent the Lebanese flag. The same goes for the auction’s fourth and final watch, Bulgari’s limited-edition Arije Serpenti Tubogas, with gold, diamonds and a green lacquered dial; the current bid stands at $8,820 against a high estimate of $18,900.
Jewellery at auction
Jewellery-wise, the only lot bid for also carries the auction’s most expensive estimate: a pair of purple sapphire and aluminium earrings from Germany’s Hemmerle, a fourth-generation-run brand known for its one-off handcrafted pieces. The current claim is at $25,200, against a high estimate of $31,500.
An onyx Scaphandre ring from Parisian designer Elie Top carries the most conservative estimate among the jewels of this auction: between $5,040 and $7,560, with a permissible starting bid of $4,410.
Also available to start bidding for are a set of three Possession bangles, Piaget's signature design, with gold, diamonds and coloured gemstones. The minimum starting bid is $20,160, while the estimate price is up to $25,200.
Elsewhere, Geneva maison Boghossian offers two pieces from its Merveilles Icicle range for this auction: a pair of diamond earrings (estimate: $12,600 - $18,900) and a diamond necklace (estimate: $7,560 - $10,080).
From New York, jeweller Karma El Khalil presents a diamond Sunrise ear cuff, a delicate fan-like piece designed as a series of pave-set brilliant-cut diamond pyramids in the shape of radiating sunrays, with an ear-spanning length of 6.6 centimetres.
Closer to home, Lebanese jewellery designer Nadine Kanso puts forth the Kelna Beirut emerald and diamond cuff bangle from her brand Bil Arabi, which pioneered the use of Arabic calligraphy as wearable art. Carrying an estimate of $15,120 - $22,680, the openwork polished cuff is set with rectangular baguette-cut emerald and diamond repeating calligraphy translating to Kelna Beirut, or We Are All Beirut.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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SPECS
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Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
Squid Game season two
Director: Hwang Dong-hyuk
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Building boom turning to bust as Turkey's economy slows
Deep in a provincial region of northwestern Turkey, it looks like a mirage - hundreds of luxury houses built in neat rows, their pointed towers somewhere between French chateau and Disney castle.
Meant to provide luxurious accommodations for foreign buyers, the houses are however standing empty in what is anything but a fairytale for their investors.
The ambitious development has been hit by regional turmoil as well as the slump in the Turkish construction industry - a key sector - as the country's economy heads towards what could be a hard landing in an intensifying downturn.
After a long period of solid growth, Turkey's economy contracted 1.1 per cent in the third quarter, and many economists expect it will enter into recession this year.
The country has been hit by high inflation and a currency crisis in August. The lira lost 28 per cent of its value against the dollar in 2018 and markets are still unconvinced by the readiness of the government under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to tackle underlying economic issues.
The villas close to the town centre of Mudurnu in the Bolu region are intended to resemble European architecture and are part of the Sarot Group's Burj Al Babas project.
But the development of 732 villas and a shopping centre - which began in 2014 - is now in limbo as Sarot Group has sought bankruptcy protection.
It is one of hundreds of Turkish companies that have done so as they seek cover from creditors and to restructure their debts.
How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
- Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
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Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah
Starring: Alaa Meqdad
Rating: 4/5
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
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