An architectural gem in old Barcelona, 4 Gats is an iconic restaurant and bar that began as a basement café and haunt of the city’s intelligentsia and artistic set, including Pablo Picasso. Indeed, the bar became a preferred meeting place for the leading figures associated with the Modernisme movement from the moment it opened in 1897 and until it closed in 1903. The bar was re-established in 1989 at a new location but with care and attention to restore its infamous art nouveau interior and aesthetic. The dining room has managed to recreate the ambience and vibe for which its originator was so famous and, today, has earned a reputation as being a must-visit for accomplished Catalan cuisine.
Tag Archives: HERITAGE
BORDOGNA CASSEFORTI
The Bordogna house is a renowned maker of high quality strong boxes, safes and vaults as well as luxury cabinetry and high-end carpentry. Founded in 1943, the company has grown to become one of the world’s preferred security providers, catering to professional and personal customers and capable of meeting whatever specific secure storage and security needs you might have. The firm’s Brixia brand is one of the most celebrated home vault brands, with various customisable options for weapons storage, jewellery, documents and watch-winders.
CONFORTI
A luxury cabinetmaker and vault specialist since 1912, Conforti is renowned for their excellent and elegant secure storage solutions. Continuing an Italian tradition in master craftsmanship, Conforti is a brand of choice for high net worth individuals and private businesses seeking reliable and refined options to safeguard their jewellery, wristwatches, valuables and even small armaments.
VUARNET
In 1957 two Parisian opticians introduced a new, specialist lens to the market, designed specifically for skiers, the Skilynx lens was revolutionary. It would filter out the extreme reflection often experienced from snowy terrains whilst providing clarity and shielding the eyes from the elements. Having fitted them to sunglasses, they offered their product to the French ski team and at the 1960 Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley, Jean Vuarnet won the gold medal in Downhill skiing. Wearing the Skilynx glasses, a partnership was born that would define the brand’s pedigree for ever more. Vuarnet agreed to lend his name to the enterprising start-up and the name would come to be synonymous with high-quality, luxury performance sunglasses.
AQUASCUTUM
A legendary outfitter, famous, particularly, for their trench coats which rivalled that of Burberry and DAKS, Aquascutum was founded in 1851 and introduced their iconic waterproof outerwear range in 1853. The firm grew to become cherished by London’s most distinguished clientele, including a great many royals whom bestowed their respective warrants upon the brand. Aquascutum expanded their range to include a full suite of fashions, menswear, womenswear, accessories and tailored items, many featuring their distinctive house check. The brand has undergone a series of ownership changes in recent years with varying degrees of success.
IWC SCHAFFHAUSEN
One of the most renowned of all Swiss watchmakers, IWC was founded in 1868 by an American emigré named Florentine Ariosto Jones, a businessman in the clock industry. He sought to establish a Swiss made brand for import into the US market, however his time at the helm was relatively short-lived. Facing closure in 1880, the marque was transferred to the Rauschenbach family who created the famous brand we know today. Under their direction, the firm acquired a number of fabricators to ensure the production of their own movement and the creation, ultimately, of some of the most prized timepieces ever created. The house is now a part of the Richemont luxury goods conglomerate.
DUNHILL
An iconic British gentleman’s brand, Dunhill, like so many of its peers, started out as a saddlery business that offered various equestrian accessories for well-heeled customers. When Alfred Dunhill took over the family business he began to manufacture various accessories for the motoring enthusiast and for wealthy travellers. A successful foray into smoking accessories for the travel market opened an entirely new business for the brand which opened its first tobacco shop in 1907 and continues to trade in cigars and smoking instruments today, now under the watchful eye of its parent company, Richemont. Dunhill is a quintessential English gentleman’s outfitter, continuing its tradition of supplying “everything but the motor”, with various accessories, leather goods, apparel and even bespoke tailoring.
VAN CLEEF & ARPELS
Van Cleef & Arpels is one of the world’s pre-eminent jewellery houses, famed the world over for their beautiful iconic pieces. The brand was founded in 1906 in Paris and, today, has boutiques in key markets across the world. Fashioning pieces to order, VCA is a high jewellery brand with a significant ready-to-wear selection, earning them a loyal and even royal customer base. Van Cleef & Arpels pieces are highly collectible. The marque is part of the Richemont conglomerate.
VACHERON CONSTANTIN
Vacheron Constantin is an iconic Swiss timepiece marque, one of the oldest in the world having made watches since 1755. The brand is the most exclusive of the so-called “Holy Trinity” of ultra-luxury major watchmakers (alongside Audemars Piguet and Patek Philippe). The firm quickly became a favourite of Kings and Queens, besotted with the delicate and ornate mechanics of the house’s beautiful pieces, indeed, the early Fabergé eggs would contain Vacheron Constantin timepieces as the surprise within. The firm is highly prized amongst collectors with some of their most famous models being amongst the most coveted clocks and wristwatches ever made, achieving some of the highest prices ever recorded at auction.
BAUME & MERCIER
Ths famous Swiss marque first came on the scene in 1830 when Louis Joseph Baume opened his watchmaking atelier in Les Bois, in the Swiss canton of Bern. His two sons, Louis-Victor and Célestin Baume, would work with him and, four years later, re-registered the company under their names as Baume Frères. The firm quickly gained a reputation for quality workmanship and excellent accuracy and, in 1840, the brothers opened an outlet in London’s horology epicentre, Northampton Square in Clerkenwell – the destination of choice young men equipping and provisioning themselves with all that they should require before voyaging across the world in service of trade and empire. Baume watches were very much in demand as campaign and maritime watches – their reliable precision timekeeping complementing the race to set records in transatlantic, eastern and oriental voyages on tea clippers and, later steamships and ocean liners.
FITZGABRIELS 