Celebrity Life

We know sports and watches go hand in hand and watch brands have for a long time, been tapping the world's greatest athletes to become their ambassadors.

Still, it's exciting to watch these sportsmen in action, with their preferred timepieces strapped on their wrists in the moments of their greatest glories — as they win their biggest matches, break world records and take home medals. Here are just a few of the best watches and their owners, spotted at the Tokyo Olympics.

Mutaz Essa Barshim

Qatari high jumper Mutaz Essa Barshim is a gold medallist at the Tokyo Olympics, sharing first place with Italian Gianmarco Tamberi. The two have come a long way from injuries and setbacks, and shared an emotional moment when the judge ruled that they can indeed tie for first place rather than have a jump-off. Barshim has long been an ambassador for Richard Mille and has the RM 67-02 named after him. The RM67-02 is extremely light thanks to its case made of Carbon TPT and Quartz TPT. The watch is fitted on what the brand calls a comfort band, an elastic strap that is entirely seamless and non-slip, a feat clearly on display as Barshim wears the watch during the entirety of the competition.

Armand Duplantis

The American-born Swedish pole vaulter Armand Duplantis is an Omega ambassador and wears the Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra "Ultra Light", fashioned from a strong yet lightweight alloy called Gamma Titanium and weighs only 55 grams on the sports strap. The movement inside is also built from titanium. Duplantis is the current world indoor record holder with a height of 6.18 metres. He wins gold at the Tokyo Olympics and very nearly smashes his own world record en route.

Naomi Osaka

Japanese tennis player Naomi Osaka, who also lit the Olympic cauldron at the opening ceremony, wears the TAG Heuer Aquaracer diver's watch with a white dial and matching with rubber strap during her match.

Yohan Blake

Known as the second-fastest man in history after Usain Bolt, Yohan Blake is also a Richard Mille ambassador and wears the RM 59-01, which he wears during the 100m race. The RM 59-01 is a manual winding tourbillon equipped with a special calibre designed for sprinters and is specially hand-painted in green and yellow in honour of the Jamaican flag - Blake's home country. Blake didn't manage to get into the finals for the race, but the man, and his watch, are still winners in our hearts.

Sydney McLaughlin

The athlete joined TAG Heuer as an ambassador earlier this year, and is spotted wearing the TAG Heuer Link with a ceramic case and diamond bezel during her 400-meter hurdles event — which, by the way, sees her setting a new world record and clinching gold.

Alexander Zverev

German tennis player Alexander Zverev captures Olympic Gold in Tokyo in the men's singles event. Zverev announced that he's joined the Rolex family earlier in June, alongside tennis heavyweights like Roger Federer and Dominic Thiem. He's spotted wearing the Rolex Skydweller off the court, as seen in this Instagram photo of him and his gold medal.

Belinda Mencic

Belinda Mencic, gold medalist at the Tokyo Olympics in the tennis women's singles event and silver medallist at the women's doubles event, is seen wearing a two-tone Rolex Daytona on the stage.

Jessica von Bredow-Werndl

Jessica von Bredow-Werndl is a German dressage rider and champion at the Tokyo Olympics. An ambassador for Richard Mille since 2016, she's spotted wearing the RM 07-01 in black ceramic with a diamond dial during the competition.

Stephanie Gilmore

In the first-ever surfing event at the Olympic Games, Stephanie Gilmore, part of the Breitling squad, is spotted wearing the bright orange Breitling Superocean.

The post Hong Kong’s Top Sustainability Champions on the Future of Dining appeared first on Prestige Online - Hong Kong.

Amid waves of restrictions and closures, Hong Kong’s dining scene has proved its resilience and adaptability.

In their Sheung Wan kitchen, chef Vicky Lau and her pastry chef Graf Kwok are putting the final touches on some impeccably packaged gastronomy gourmet boxes before they go out for delivery, while listening to Aretha Franklin’s 1968 hit “I Say a Little Prayer”. The packages are part of Lau’s new business venture Date by Tate, a lifestyle and pastry boutique that she’s recently opened on Hollywood Road as an extension of her acclaimed one-Michelin-star restaurant Tate Dining Room.
From homemade fermented-tofu cheesecake to a pastry breakfast set, eco-friendly hampers and luxury tableware, Lau, who was voted Best Female Chef in Asia in 2015 in Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants awards, has imparted her signature French Chinese multisensory experience and her delicate pastel aesthetic to the new offerings. With impeccable attention to detail and a clear vision in mind, Date by Tate is the result of a months-long effort by Lau’s team and delivers a fine-dining experience at home, with gourmet sets that need zero additional preparation and are delivered in reusable packaging.

“Date by Tate was born as a response to the Covid-19 pandemic, because people’s eating habits and preferences have dramatically changed in 2020,” Lau tells me. “We wanted to offer our guests more options, as we’re all rediscovering the joys of dining at home; we aim to encourage celebrations and togetherness at home with our fully catered boxes.”

She says that among the many professional challenges that she’s faced over the past year were daily delays in obtaining products from overseas, as well as the pressure of ensuring that every member of her team could keep their jobs, which remains one of her top priorities. “In spite of everything, we stayed together, focused on creating new things and we saw all this as an opportunity to grow and discover new local products and work more sustainably,” Lau proudly affirms.

Not far from the Tate Dining Room, on busy Queen’s Road Central, chef Eric Räty of Arbor feels the same way. “There are always challenges and opportunities ahead. Sometimes, limitations stop you for one second, but then all you’ll need to do is be more creative and overcome them, and that’s actually how you learn something new and progress,” he tells me. He does admit, however, that he feels lucky compared to his counterparts in Europe, many of whom had to close their doors for long periods of time – sometimes for good.

“It’s important for every member of our team to feel responsible for the restaurant.”

Eric Räty

A native of Finland, Räty fuses Nordic and Japanese cuisine at the two-Michelin-star establishment that opened two years ago on the 25th floor of food mecca and lifestyle building H-Queen’s. For him and his team, accolades, stars and the glittering facade of the fine-dining universe weren’t a priority during the past year. Instead, they focused on staying busy and creative, improving every detail of the restaurant, from the organisational basics of the kitchen to new techniques so they could attract more customers.

“Now more than ever, I believe it’s really important for every member of our team to feel responsible for the restaurant and to feel a sense of belonging to the working space and tools,” he explains. “We also took the time to develop other new and interesting dishes, to improve sustainability and to get a clearer picture on the restaurant’s direction.”

As a response to the latest evening dining ban, Arbor took the chance of doing something completely different and introduced a dine-in and take-out afternoon tea menu inspired by Finland and its Nordic traditions. The small dishes, which focus on freshness and the connection with natural elements, feature Japanese classics such as a reimagined truffle ramen dish, as well as a gourmet snowball reminiscent of Räty’s native landscapes. “This new project gave me unique ideas, and an even clearer direction of our Nordic-Japanese concept that emphasises the natural connection between the two,” he says.

Concentrating on local connections and personal heritage while unleashing creativity beyond the conventional boundaries of fine dining are some of the elements of the winning formula behind the city’s resilient establishments. For many diners and chefs, the pandemic has also served as a catalyst for a shift in perspective. As it turns out, fine dining isn’t simply about expensive ingredients served in an upscale environment, but a more complex experience that chefs can deliver in multiple ways.

“One of the long-term goals of Date by Tate has always been to educate home diners to cook and enjoy food with more knowledge,” says Lau while discussing the future of the dining industry as well as her personal aspirations for 2021. “Hong Kong is a dining city, and people love to eat out; I do believe dining will have a strong return when the situation improves, but the world as we knew it has changed, some restaurants will inevitably shut and some will alchemise and adapt.”

The post Is This the Post-Pandemic Future of Dining? appeared first on Prestige Online - Hong Kong.