KUALA LUMPUR'S "JOURNEY THROUGH TIME VII" ENDED ON A TIMELY NOTE LAST WEEK!

KEE@FSWMAG.COM A JOURNEY THROUGH TIME VII CELEBRATES ANOTHER YEAR OF STUNNING SUCCESS Prestigious Watches and Jewellery Honoured at Asia’s Grandest Luxury Watch and Jewellery Showcase After eight eventful days, the curtains closed last Friday on Asia’s grandest luxury watch and jewellery showcase, A Journey Through Time VII at Starhill Gallery. Endorsed by The Ministry of Tourism and Culture Malaysia, this year’s A Journey Through Time had once againawed watch and jewellery enthusiasts with exquisite timepieces and jewellery with its display of the latest and most unique collections from world-renowned brands. Making a grand finale for the closing event was the highly anticipated Starhill Gallery Watch and Jewellery of the Year Awards, which saw some of the world’s leading luxurious brand nominated for the various different awards presented. On the judging panel for the Starhill Gallery Watch and Jewellery of the Year Awards are renowned local and international horological and jewellery experts, namely Tan Sri Dr Francis Yeoh, Mr. Joseph Yeoh, Mr. Su Jia Xian, Mr. Hirota Masayuki, Mr. Rainer Siegal and Mr. Charles Sutanto. The esteemed judges had the challenging job of selecting the winners from a choice of nominated timepieces and jewellery inseven different categories. The Reverso Cordonnet Duetto by Jaeger-LeCoultre was celebrated for winning The Starhill Gallery Favourite Ladies Watch Award. Consecutively, The Starhill Gallery Favourite Men’s Watch Award went to Chapter Three: Reveal from Maîtres du Temps while one of the most interesting award of the year, The Starhill Gallery Watch with Complications in Movement Award was claimed by Hublot’s Masterpiece MP-05 “LAFERRARI”. Bedat & Co.’s Ref. 327.555.909 timepiece, designed with the finest of art deco elegance featuring a sparkling diamond exterior and mother of pearl dial proves its exquisiteness when it won The YTL Spirit of Classical Art Award. This year also saw a new category which is the Judges’ Choice Award presented to the timepiece that represent accessible luxury and it was won by Speake-Marin’s Spirit Mark 2. Just like the everlasting Sophia Loren,theStarhill Gallery Timeless Jewellery Award went to the illustrious Sophia Loren necklace by Italian jeweller, Damiani. Finally, the Chairman of Tourism Malaysia, Dato’ Sri Dr. Ng Yen Yen closed the award ceremony by presenting The Tourism Malaysia Most Revered Award to Mouawad for its enchanting necklace, the eminent L’Incomparable, which was one of the most highlighted piece throughout A Journey Through Time VII. Priced at US $55 million, the L’Incomparable necklace has excite its many visitors with its sophisticated design and dazzling yellow diamond and is certified by the Guinness World Records as the most valuable necklace in the world. In her speech, Dato’ Sri Dr. Ng Yen Yen commended Tan Sri Dato’ Dr. Francis Yeoh on the success of A Journey Through Time and told guests, “Malaysia is the place to be for everything, especially shopping. Hence, we insisted that Malaysia has to be duty free. This has definitely contributed to Kuala Lumpur as the 4th best shopping city in the world.” Tan Sri Dato’ Dr. Francis Yeoh, Managing Director of YTL Corporations Berhad said, “Over the years, A Journey Through Time has housed many luxurious brands of watches and jewellery. Thank you to all who has made the event a success every year. Since 2007, A Journey Through Time has attracted over millions visitors and this year we have grown even more as our sales of watches and jewellery is over RM 50 million and with bigger and bigger items.” He added, “We are very excited in receiving the news for the 2nd time that CNN ranked Kuala Lumpur as the 4th best shopping city in the world ahead of Paris, Hong Kong and Dubai. Every renowned brand in the world has their standalone boutiques here at Starhill Gallery. They choose to come here to Malaysia and Starhill Gallery ahead of other possible venues because we offer attractive rental prices and a platform to reach the affluent customers. Starhill Gallery is the catalyst to turn Bintang Walk into the Orchard Road and Oxford Street of Kuala Lumpur. We are like the Paris of the East because we provide them a shopping destination, with an array of delectable cuisines.” In a new twist to the proceedings this year, the Swiss Auctions made their first-ever appearance, auctioning over 200 of the world’s rarest timepieces and providing expert demonstrations by world-famous watchmaker Aaron Becsei of Bexei Watches and Daniel Jiménez, General Manager of Pita Barcelona. Visitors to A Journey Through Time VII were enlightened with daily guided tours with knowledgeable watch concierges organized by Starhill Gallery. The visitors were also treated to stunning fashion parades and nightly gala dinners with delectable world cuisine. As accompaniment, the closing dinner crowd was serenaded by Australia’s Got Talent 2009 winner Mark Vincent who took to the stage in a spectacular end of show finale. Starhill Gallery houses over 120 of the world’s finest watches and jewellery brands in Kuala Lumpur with new flagship stores opening every year since the inception of A Journey Through Time in 2007. Internationally renowned names appearing at the event this year included Jaegar-LeCoultre, Bedat & Co., Richard Mille, Maîtres du Temps, Hublot, Van Cleef & Arpels, Chopard, Boucheron and Gübelin. In addition to these stellar brands, this year Starhill Gallery also welcomed new international boutiques to Malaysia, including Garrard. Dubbed as the oldest jewellery brand in the world since 1735, Garrard’s masterpieces had ornamented British royalty for centuries. For this reason, Starhill Gallery is very honoured to be the exclusive setting for Garrard’s first standalone boutique outside of the United Kingdom. Another grand highlight this year for Starhill Gallery is the opening of the first ever boutique of the Italian jewellery brand Damiani in Malaysia, in conjunction with A Journey Through Time VII. With this, Starhill Gallery proves Kuala Lumpur to be a shopping destination to be reckoned with. The spectacular event together with the support of these international brands upheld Starhill Gallery’s status as Malaysia’s premium shopping centre which offers shopping privileges and a duty-free haven for the world’s biggest names in high-end timepieces and jewellery. About Starhill Gallery Starhill Gallery is Kuala Lumpur’s ultimate statement of taste and style in food, fashion, living beauty and art. With 28,000sqm, Starhill Gallery is an exciting shopping destination in Malaysia providing a standard of privacy and exclusivity rarely seen in large shopping complexes. Starhill Gallery has seven themed floors that encapsulate a variety of experiences for each floor: Feast, Indulge, Adorn, Explore, Pamper, Relish and Muse. With unparalleled dining experiences, some of the world’s most elegant fashion and exclusive luxury brands from Louis Vuitton, DIOR, Valentino, as well as over 120 fine luxury watch and jewellery brands, including Rolex, Omega, Jaegar-LeCoultre, Bedat & Co., Richard Mille, Hublot, Van Cleef & Arpels, Damiani, Chopard, Boucheron and Gubelin, Starhill Gallery is the ultimate shopping destination in Kuala Lumpur.  A Journey Through Time VII at Starhill Gallery closing event Mouawad L’Incomparable got The Tourism Malaysia Most Revered Award Australia’s Talent 2009 winner Mark Vincent took to the stage and sang