Month: September 2016

Monaco Paws was delighted have the chance to chat with Alexander Kraft and meet his Parson Jack Russell Terrier, Bertram Wilberforce Wooster Kraft, otherwise known as Bertie. Mr Kraft, originally from Germany, is the Chairman & CEO of Sotheby’s Realty for France and Monaco

You seem to live the definition of a jet-set lifestyle. How well does Bertie keep up?
He comes with my wife and me everywhere. He travels 6 to 12 times per year on the plane, but we have a good routine now. He goes in his cage with his favourite blanket and one of my polo shirts. Otherwise he’s in the car with us and comes to the office each day, for 8 to 12 hours. He lives like we do.
Did he need much training to adapt to your lifestyle?
We were very strict with him for the first 18 months. It set the tone. He can be very stubborn, but mostly he is very calm now. He really needs a good run everyday and we play a lot in the mornings and evenings.
Does Bertie have any other dog friends?
When we arrive at our country house in Provence on Friday nights, there are at least four of the neighbourhood dogs waiting by the door. They spend the weekends with us. Bertie gets slightly jealous if I give the other dogs belly rubs. He will go under the sofa to protest.
Of all of your homes, where does Bertie like it the most?
He loves when we go to Palm Beach. He can run and run and chases the kite surfers along the shore.
In addition to your love of dogs, you have an intense love of fashion. Where did that come from?
I have always been passionate about fashion and style. I think I got it from my grandfather. I inherited over 30 suits from him, and 200 cigars.
You serve as a brand ambassador for Ralph Lauren, as well as being the exclusive brand ambassador for Cifonelli, the famous tailors in Paris. Is Bertie included in these projects?
He has done a lot of photo shoots with me. Sometime people want the whole “Kraft package”, so that includes Bertie too.
Does Bertie have much clothing of his own?
He has couple of Ralph Lauren coats for winter, but unlike his father, he doesn’t really like to wear clothes.
Do you think that every gentleman should have a dog?
Well, I’ve never met a bad person with a dog. I think it is generally a sign of good character.
How do you describe your personal style?
I believe in classic style. I try to educate men that style and elegance do not have to be uncomfortable. I’ve brought back the three-piece suit with a double-breasted waistcoat. But I think my trademark is a just a very nice suit with lots of dog hair all over it.
Monaco Paws is a collaboration between writer Siri Trang Khalsa and photographer Kaidi-Katariin Knox. Follow on Instagram @stkmonaco and @art.of.an.eye or contact monacopaws@gmail.com

The Second Edition of Top Marques Watches & Jewellery, which returned to the Hotel Hermitage’s Salle Belle Époque Thursday, ends today.
A spin-off of the world-renowned Top Marques Monaco – “a supercar show for the one percenters” – held in April, Top Marques Watches is the Principality’s only show dedicated solely to Haute Horlogerie and Jewellery under the patronage of HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco, who inaugurated the event during a private visit Thursday.
Following the success of the launch event last year, an extra day has been added to the “Pop-Up” show. Open to the public (visit from 10 am to 7:30 pm Saturday), it gives watch connoisseurs, lovers of all things luxurious or simply the inquisitive a rare opportunity to see collections from some of the world’s most exclusive watch brands, such as the esteemed Swiss horologer Franck Muller and Greubel Forsey, creator of one of the rarest current-production timepieces, the Quadruple Tourbillon.
The event also provides the perfect backdrop for watch aficionados to discover some of the newest and most exciting names emerging in the world of haute horlogerie and jewellery.
Exhibitors Top Marques Watches & Jewellery, organised by the same team behind Top Marques Monaco, include the highly original timepiece designers Urwerk who “make art that tells the time”, and “niche brand” Maison Dewitt, from Geneva.
Meanwhile the world of jewellery is represented by some of its most creative and elegant contributors such as designers Elena Silvodaeva and Jasre, both from Monaco, as well as award-winning Austro-Swiss designer Claudia Schweitzer with her Design for Desire brand.
There’s also a display of rare, limited-edition high precision table clocks and marine chronometers from London-based Thomas Mercer, whose legacy firm had made one third of all of the world’s chronometers by 1980. The company, which supplied the chronometer Sir Ernest Shackleton used to navigate the Antarctica in 1914, was revived four years ago and now creates beautiful pieces for yachts and living spaces.
In association with private bank The Edmond de Rothschild Group, other partners of the Second Edition of Top Marques Watches & Jewellery include La Société des Bains de Mer, Monaco’s Department of Tourism and Conferences and Monegasque real estate agency Attol.
Top Marques Watches & Jewellery is open to the public from 10 am to 7:30 pm Saturday. Tickets for Top Marques Monaco 2017, which runs April 20-23 at the Grimaldi Forum, are now on sale.

An Italian with an eye for fine watches has been sent to jail for attempting to buy two watches from Zegg & Cerlati using stolen credit cards. Last Thursday, the defendant tried to buy two Rolex Dayton watches with a combined value of €26,350, but was told he would have to pay in cash. He left the boutique and returned later with another stolen card and asked to buy a lower-priced Rolex, for €15,500, but the shop assistant alerted the police and the suspect was duly arrested.
He was also found guilty of attempting to buy cigarettes to the value of €21 at the Davidoff shop on avenue des Spélugues, also with a stolen card. His defence counsel asked the court to be lenient, but the request of the prosecution for a penalty of 10 months in jail was heeded by the court after it heard that the miscreant had six previous convictions in his native country.