Sandra‘s Closet

You know that I have a big thing for rainbow watches and today I would like to present a new one that has absolutely caught my eye.
Since 2017, Hublot has been setting its watches with all the colours of the rainbow. However, the watch brand has never combined all of its seven colours in one piece. Until now! Two exceptional High Jewellery pieces adorned with the full rainbow spectrum, from the case to the dial and to the bracelet. Two Big Bang Tourbillon models made from King Gold or white gold, which allow a glimpse beneath the sapphire to reveal the fascinating automatic tourbillon manufacture movement.

While Hublot is now completely synonymous with its Art of Fusion, the watch brand is also a master of the Art of Colour. It excels at imbuing all the materials it uses with colour, from those it has built expertise in, such as sapphire, to those it has patented, like vibrantly coloured ceramic.

Polishing of the stone

With a Pop Art spirit and a penchant for bright tones, Hublot loves its watches to really show their colours. Juxtapositions, gradations, contrasts, no Pantone is out of reach – not even the palette required for «Rainbow Maximalism». While the Rainbow trend has recently taken the fashion world by storm, for Hublot, this love of polychromy is anything but fleeting – unlike the rainbow itself – with the first Big Bang Rainbow released in 2017.

Stone heating

This piece totals almost 36 carats, with 484 invisibly set baguette-cut stones of seven different types to echo the seven visible colours of the spectrum: bright red rubies, fuchsia pink sapphires, ultraviolet amethysts, topaz in Klein blue, leaf green tsavorites, lemon yellow sapphires and bright orange sapphires. Two striking creations with generous dimensions of 43 mm; two unique pieces crafted from King Gold or white gold, with the integrated bracelet further reinforcing the visual impact, as the graduated spectrum of colours radiates outwards from the bezel to the bracelet.

Gem setting

The colour gradation is expertly executed, subtle yet captivating. It would be impossible to choose a favourite colour or stone. It must be said that, when it comes to perfectly combining and harmonising colours, nature knows best. The continuous transition between the seven types of stones further accentuates the piece’s artistic appeal. To reproduce the perfection of nature takes 1200 hours of work, selecting the stones, choosing their colours, cutting them and setting them to ensure the perfect gradation of colours. Nothing is left to chance in this work of art, including its mechanism, a manufacture movement entirely designed and manufactured in-house. It features a tourbillon at 6 o’clock which is no less striking than the piece itself: self-winding, with a micro-rotor visible on the dial side, and three bridges made from transparent sapphire. Once again, Hublot has fused innovation with expertise, combining Haute Horlogerie and Haute Joaillerie in a truly stunning watch.

Multicoloured is no longer a fashion faux pas; rather a deliberate multifaceted style. With all the colours of the rainbow combined in a single watch, are you ready for a look versatile enough for your every mood?

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © Hublot

The last four days I spent with PRADA in Milan during Fashion Week. I had so many amazing experiences that I cannot wait to share them all with you. Before the after show dinner at Papermoon Giardino on Friday evening, we took those photos before the PRADA art wall in Via Spallanzani. Drawing on Mrs Prada’s love of the gesture, I wore my yellow cape clutched over the black ensemble made of re-nylon. I find this look very modern and sophisticated even though it draws inspiration from the ’90s.

My look: Yellow re-nylon cape, re-nylon gabardine bralette, logo buckle belt re-nylon midi skirt, logo-plaque 90mm pumps, coral brushed leather tote bag, vintage embellished necklace and matching earrings, all by Prada.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © Sandra Bauknecht / Nadia Krawiecka
DISCLOSURE: We may earn commission from links on this page, but I only recommend products I love. Promise.

(V) Vaccinated – Valentino continues its commitment against COVID-19. Discover the limited-edition hoodie boasting the VLogo Signature in the new guise of a statement: «(V) Vaccinated». All revenues will be donated to UNICEF in favor of the COVAX facility, which ensures equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines by supplying doses to countries in need.

Lady Gaga supports the cause.  The pop star sported the hoodie back in August for a video promoting Valentino Beauty, which she ended with a plea for followers to «get vaccinated.»

«Getting vaccinated has become the most effective way to fight this global pandemic, as well as a symbol of respect for others and social responsibility.» – Pierpaolo Piccioli

The unisex (V) Vaccinated Hoodie will be shipped within 25 October.
TO SHOP CLICK HERE PLEASE.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © Valentino and via Instagram @ladygaga

Sunflowers are a symbol of the sun and symbolize love, happiness, vitality, positivism and energy. In Chinese culture, the graceful flower also stands for a long life and good luck. Seeing a sunflower field always makes me happy. Therefore please excuse my sunflower overdose but I truly enjoyed those last summer days to the fullest walking through the yellow fields.

My look: Sunflower print long dress, sunflower-embroidered point-toe mesh pumps, sunflower motif Sicily shoulder bag, sunflower embellished headpiece, crystal-embellished sunflower ring and matching crystal-embellished sunflower earrings, all by Dolce & Gabbana, and cat-eye marbled-acetate sunglasses by Gucci.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © Anouk Bauknecht
DISCLOSURE: We may earn commission from links on this page, but I only recommend products I love. Promise.

Once the preserve of hippies and ravers, tie-dye has moved into the mainstream. Psychedelic and colorful, the trend prominent in the ‘60s and ’70s has returned to the runways, giving 21st-century fashion a playful twist. With its uplifting mood, the trend gathered steam during the pandemic and has remained popular ever since. I love my Gabriela Hearst tie-dye pieces that transport a little bit of summer into fall.

My look: Massey tie-dyed cashmere maxi shirt dress, Severino frayed tie-dyed cashmere scarf, and Vettel striped cashmere cardigan, all by Gabriela Hearst, Marble Silk Constance bag by Hermès, neutral Amber Ghost suede and PVC sandals by Alexandre Vauthier, Windsor round acetate sunglasses by Isabel Marant, Maillon de Cartier 16mm 18-karat white gold diamond watch, and Clash de Cartier bracelet MM in white gold, both by Cartier.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © Rian Davidson 
DISCLOSURE: We may earn commission from links on this page, but I only recommend products I love. Promise.

Today, I was invited by SHISEIDO to a press conference at Metropol restaurant in Zurich to discover the new SHISEIDO Ultimune concentrate. It was wonderful to finally meet again in person, to indulge in a very yummy Japanese lunch and to discover a piece of traditional Japanese history and do a FUROSHIKI workshop, the art of Japanese gift wrapping.

The famous SHISEIDO Ultimune concentrate was the first product to target the immune system many years ago. It has immediately become a bestseller. 25 years of research and 200 beauty awards later, one is sold every 7 seconds. This fall, SHISEIDO’s #1 serum gets even stronger with an innovative anti-aging technology powered by 8 botanical ingredients. It activates skin’s inner defenses and stimulates its vital flow to lead your skin to its ideal condition.

Our skin is a fully active organ. The nerves and the immune system, both play an important role in the anti-aging process. SHISEIDO now targets also the vascular system to improve the blood circulation of the skin and unveils the ImuGenerationsRED Technology™. Inspired by major scientific discoveries it targets two factors involved in the maintenance of a strong and youthful-looking skin. By attacking two key cells, the Langerhans cells as well as the NK cells (natural killer cells), it boosts the skin’s self-defense system to fight external and internal factors that impact skin’s health and accelerate its aging.

Relying on unprecedented Lifeblood™ findings, it improves the vital network to constantly promote the delivery of essential nutrients and defensive cells to every corner of the skin. Maintaining a healthy vital flow will thus foster the skin’s ability to resist harmful factors and reduce the signs of aging appearance. The capillary network in our skin is dense and well-structured when we are young. With age, it gets weaker and disorganized, which leads to sagging skin.

The new technology works with two main ingredients:

1. Fermented Roselle Extract that helps to activate the NK cells to remove aged cells also called zombie cells
2. Houttuynia Cordata Extract that activates the so-called APJ sensors that are key factors for healthy capillaries to reinforce, extend capillaries and optimize the supply of nutrients and immune cells

Furthermore, the new Ultimune concentrate works with aromachology to support a stronger skin: the so-called IMUCALM Compound™ – a fragrance, blended with Lotus and Rose which has been scientifically proven to reduce stress hormones and strengthen the barrier function of the skin.

The new product promises after clinical tests:

• after three days, skin looks visibly more radiant
• after one month, skin is firmer and looks more resilient
• after one bottle (approximately 1.5 months when used morning and evening), wrinkles are visibly diminished and skin looks younger as renewed.

The new SHISEIDO Ultimune Power Infusing Concentrate 3.0 is available now for CHF 102.00 (30ml),  CHF 151.00 (50ml) and CHF 176.00 (75ml). The serum bottle is refillable, 100% recyclable and comes from 94% naturally derived materials.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © Sandra Bauknecht
@Shiseido #Ultimune #ShiseidoSkincare #PowerIsYou @globus

It is often said that what nature creates cannot be reproduced, as natural processes require both time and a complexity which are beyond the realms of human endeavour. Once again, Hublot has made the impossible possible by transmuting gold into its rarest and most exclusive form: gold crystal. This form of gold is unique, since it is impossible to reproduce two identical gold crystals. Beyond the fascination that gold has exerted on man since the dawn of time, it embodies everything that makes Hublot so distinctive: materials, minerals, metals; their fusion and their transformation into new forms of expression, unique and quite unexpected. An alchemy expressed both in the transmutation of the raw material and in the chemistry created by the spirit of the watch itself. This is the Spirit of Big Bang Gold Crystal.

THE MYSTERIES OF GOLD CRYSTAL
Hublot invites you into the heart of a unique form of expertise, into the mysteries of the most precious and fascinating metal, as well as one of the oldest, born as the universe was created during the Big Bang, 13.8 billion years ago.

The natural crystallisation of gold dates back tens of millions of years, to the time when the mountain ranges were formed. It was in these crevices in the earth that jets of pressurised heated water extracted the gold, redepositing it within seams in the rocks. As the rocks eroded, these seams were carried away by rain and water and deposited in the beds of rivers, creating nuggets of gold. On rare occasions, the right natural conditions would allow the gold to remain in its natural state: gold crystals, the rarest form of gold on earth.

A true alchemist for our times, Hublot has now mastered a unique technique allowing natural crystallisation to be reproduced almost exactly. By heating the purest 24-carat gold to its melting point of 1064.18 degrees Celsius, its atoms are vaporised into a gaseous mixture before interlocking as the temperature is lowered, forming an open angular structure. Thousands of small crystals join together to create an architecture which is random, unique, and impossible to reproduce. The most perfect of these crystals are then carefully selected, with no more than 20% of the crystals produced making the grade.

A GOLD AND LACQUERED DIAL
The expert hands of the master dial-maker apply the gold crystals to a black dial covered with a fine layer of transparent lacquer; the manufacturing process took this craftsman a year to research and develop, and the application must be undertaken in a controlled atmosphere to ensure no air bubbles can form on the surface. It takes around twenty layers of lacquer to encapsulate the gold crystals, and the dial is then polished to render the lacquer invisible, and perfectly smooth and uniform.

SPIRIT OF BIG BANG GOLD CRYSTAL
The Spirit of Big Bang is Hublot’s tonneau-shaped watch, and it adopts all of the design codes of the iconic Big Bang: the six H-shaped screws on the bezel, the lugs either side of the case, the overmoulded rubber screw-down crown decorated with the iconic H, the sandwich type construction. To provide a perfect contrast with the gold of the crystals, the Spirit of Big Bang Cristal d’Or’s case is covered in black ceramic and paired with a black alligator strap stitched onto rubber. Available in 39 and 42 mm, it will display the time for 50 hours without any winding of its Caliber HUB1710 automatic mechanical movement.

When Hublot gold sets the tone and rewrites the rules, the result is pure alchemy.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © Hublot
@Hublot #Hublot #SpiritOfBigBang #GoldCrystal

BIRKENSTOCK 1774 launches its second collection following their successful first collection launch at Frieze Los Angeles in January 2020. An exclusive first drop will be available at 1774.com and selected retailers worldwide from September 20th before the collection is released globally in February 2022.

BIRKENSTOCK’s favourite heritage styles are re-imagined with modern edge, as the iconic
Arizona and Boston designs arrive in seasonless developments that showcase new hardware, branding, and materials. Two styles from the first drop.

The full leather Arizona builds on the first season, as the signature slim leather sole is relaunched in embossed premium leather, with a crocodile effect in black. The signature BIRKENSTOCK buckle forms a classic basis of elegant versatility. This Arizona is crafted in a black tone with matte finished edges, for a timeless appeal.

An ode to the iconic Boston is translated in canvas straps on ultrasoft suede leather. With a nude, soft EVA outsole, the Boston is crafted in an anatomically shaped BIRKENSTOCK cork-latex footbed, wrapped in exquisite, smooth Nappa lining. The newly developed square buckle is for perfect adjustability.

The Boston is a unisex style and the Arizona is available until size 42 – both show the ultimate craftsmanship and unrivalled comfort that BIRKENSTOCK 1774 is renowned for. Distinctly 1774, both arrive with the logo imprinted in the footbed, with an additional exclusive shoe box and dust bag in 1774-design.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © Birkenstock 1774 / Torvioll Jashari
@birkenstock1774 #birkenstock1774

I am invited to Gstaad this weekend for a fun birthday / wedding anniversary celebration. It feels good to go back to my home away from home, even though my favorite hotel, the Gstaad Palace, already closed for the summer season. When people ask me why I love this hotel so much, the explanation is easy. Everything that happens in Gstaad, happens at the Palace. The lobby is a vibrant yet cozy place where you can sit for hours to enjoy great conversations, amazing food with your friends or people who might have just met.

My look: Damask and jacquard tulle dress, floral-print crossbody bag, Made in Heaven pearl choker, and peace pearl-embellished pendant earrings, all by Moschino, La Di Da 130 two-tone metallic leather platform sandals by Aquazzura.

LoL, Sandra

 Photos: © David Biedert Photography
DISCLOSURE: We may earn commission from links on this page, but I only recommend products I love. Promise.

Following on from Rouge Hermès, the founding gestures of Hermès Beauty, comes Rose Hermès. Composed of eight shades of Rose Hermès Silky Blush, two brushes, a Pommette blush case and three rosy lip enhancers, the new Rose Hermès collection of refillable and durable objects opens a new chapter for Hermès Beauty.

While Rouge Hermès is colour contained within a distinct line, Rose Hermès is the hue of a sensitive and radiant presence, the subtly nuanced continuation of a narrative composed of all the candid, tender, sensual, fresh, muted, intense and electric pinks the house has created since its origins.

I love the new products. With its round case and wide, off-centre mirror, Rose Hermès Silky Blush defies conventions. It is a disc of white and gold light in satin-finish permabrass, marked with the concave ex-libris created by Émile Hermès in 1923 and designed by Pierre Hardy to become an exceptional object for everyday use. It is distinctive for its lightness conceived for use from morning to night, anywhere.

Slipped inside its orange box then into its outer sleeve in recycled paper, this is a pure Hermès object: its use determines a gesture, a beauty ritual. As a sustainable object, it is refilled ny simply removing and replacing the powder pan.

Rose Hermès Silky Blush is a long-lasting powder that clings to the skin with the first touch. An ally in pink, its presence can be asserted or softened with a single gesture.
It is composed of key notes in a chromatic harmony of colours and scents. A new fragrance created by Christine Nagel in the same vein as Rouge Hermès reveals notes of arnica and sandalwood given a twist by hints of green tea.

The Blush Brush comes with a lacquered wooden handle and brushed metal ferrule. The goat bristle fibers, hand-assembled by a French brush-maker, exalt an everyday gesture. It enhances a daily ritual, inviting gentle application to the skin.

The Rosy Lip Enhancer is a rosy lipstick, gentle, subtle and gradual, sheer and translucent. It enhances the lips while hydrating them. It melts over the lips leaving a matt luminosity, a weightless and translucent halo that exposes emotions. It is inspired by the feel of Butler calfskin, developed by Hermès in 2012, whose butter-like name evokes smoothness in harmony with its soft, voluptuous finish and rich, full hand. This leather is often used in bags in natural shades starting with the Constance, an emblem of timeless elegance.

Rose Lip Enhancer borrows this candle wax texture, while also echoing another living legacy from the Hermès leather workshops: that of the warm, kneaded beeswax used by leather artisans to coat and protect their linen threads prior to saddle stitching. It is available in three pinks, all for a radiant smile.

Rose Hermès Silky Blush is available in eight shades for CHF 77.00 each.
Blush Brush (2 sizes) CHF 69.00 and CHF 104.00.
Rosy Lip Perfector is available in three shades for CHF 51.00 each.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Courtesy of Hermès and © David Biedert Photography
DISCLOSURE: This post is not sponsored. However, I received the products to test them.