Month: June 2019

A host of Europe’s leading hedge fund managers have come together to present their most compelling investment ideas at the 3rd annual Sohn Monaco Conference.

Set at the Yacht Club of Monaco on Thursday 6th June, the conference was opened by Finance Minister Jean Castellini. “Sohn is not just any investment conference, it is a conference with a purpose – the purpose of changing lives, and trying to make lives better is the reason why I chose the investment management profession 30 years ago.”

Sohn conferences were created in New York following the death of Ira Sohn, a Wall Street professional who lost his battle with cancer at age 29. Since its inception in 1995, investment leaders from across the globe have been inspired to launch partner Sohn Conferences to bring the financial community together for charitable causes.

Justin Hilbert from Churchill Capital co-founded the Monaco conference with colleague Florence Tournier.

“I became involved eight years ago in New York when I started going to the SOHN conferences, and I thought it was a great way to raise money for charity and a great way for the investment industry to give something back to the world.”

Eleven speakers presented projects for investment, including Adrian Courtenay, the Portfolio Manager of Odey Asset Management overseeing special situations strategies across the $1.6 billion Odey Absolute Return group of funds. Participants received valuable information on Mr Courtenay’s latest projection: the hydrogen industry.

Other speakers included Guido Maria Brera, Co-Founder and CIO of Kairos Partners, Jian Shi Cortesi Portfolio Manager, CFA at GAM Investment Management and Professor Gilles Vassal, Head of Clinical Research at Gustave Roussy.

The Sohn Conference Foundation takes a unique, investor’s approach to grant making. It supports cutting-edge research, innovative technologies and bold initiatives that will have the greatest impact in treating and curing paediatric cancer.

The Sohn Monaco Conference beneficiearies have included the Division of Paediatric Haemotology-Oncology of the University Hospital of Nice, French National Institute INSERM, and the Innovative Therapies for Children with Cancer (ITCC) in Paris.

Parisian jeweller Chaumet has officially opened in Monaco during a grand inauguration on Wednesday evening. The store is located near the Casino on Alleé François Blanc and comes as a welcome addition to the Principality.

Chaumet first opened in 1780 and, as such, is one of Paris’s oldest jewellery houses. It has been associated with the luxury market almost since the beginning. Their signature “ears of wheat” collection can be dated back to its earliest days and are still a known symbol for the company.  

In addition to the store opening, there will be an exhibit from 12th July to 28th August at the Grimaldi Forum showcasing more than 250 pieces documenting the company’s long and illustrious history. The pieces, on loan from institutions and private collections, will be of interest not only to jewellery connoisseurs, but also a fun discovery for casual lovers of this art. 

Staff at Princess Grace Hospital are now being rewarded for going green. Workers will be given a bonus for using environmentally friendly modes of transport to get to work, such as bicycles and electric vehicles. As further incentive, the hospital will be installing new bike racks and are making vests available.

“We want to take care of our teams,” said Benoite de Sevelinges, the hospital’s director. “In recent years other bonuses were in place but we wanted to go further. Motivating, encouraging and above all ensuring the safety of the staff is essential.”

More and more staff are choosing eco-friendly transportation options and getting fit in the process. Many are opting to ride the 21km from Nice to Monaco and the trend is growing steadily.

Electric vehicles, including scooters, are also included in the scheme, as the spotlight on sustainability continues to be important in the Principality’s approach to the future.

Josie Goodbody couldn’t be more passionate about jewellery. Her glittering history with diamonds, and her eagerness to share this knowledge with the world, have paved the way for a series of enthralling jewellery mystery novels, the latest of which is called ‘The Monte Carlo Connection’. Ahead of its launch on 19th June at the Fairmont, Monaco Life spoke to the author about the origins of her opulent passion, and what exciting twists await readers in her latest work.

Josie tell me about the first time you realised you were in love with jewellery and gems?

When I was much younger my mother took me to London’s V&A Museum where I fell in love with the jewellery department. Much later I found out that several of the pieces that I had so admired had in fact belonged to an ancestor of mine – Theresa, the Marchioness of Londonderry (married to the sixth Marquess). She was quite a formidable character and was my paternal grandmother’s great great aunt. The Londonderry Tiara which is on display was worn by her at the coronation of Edward VII in 1902 at Westminster Abbey. I also used to love playing with my mother’s jewellery and would, unbeknown to her, borrow the odd piece from time to time. Fortunately, I always managed to put them back before she found out. I then worked for Laurence Graff who taught me everything about diamonds, which only enhanced my love affair with fine jewellery.

How were you able to combine your passion for jewellery and your skill in writing?

Right from the get go, I wanted to write novels where jewellery was described and depicted as beautifully as possible, but also to include elements of the industry or specific gemstones, where my readers would actually learn something. I am always amazed at how little people know about gemstones – they have no idea whatsoever the lengths miners, such as the De Beers Group and Gem Diamonds, go to discover and recover gems, and then the brands who buy and make them into the most exquisite pieces of jewellery. The Diamond Connection has a chapter set at the Cullinan mine (from where the largest diamond ever found came) near Pretoria in South Africa. I went to the mine in 2010 and it was like stepping back in time. Learning and actually seeing how diamonds are mined was fascinating. And then once the gems are cut from the rough, polished and made into pieces of jewellery by incredibly talented master craftsmen from lifelike drawings and sketches by the designers – I guess I want people to appreciate jewellery for more than just being really expensive and glamorous! I have also written about jewellery for several publications and copywrite for a variety of fine jewellery brands. I am also fascinated by history,  so it has been a dream to find jewellery mysteries and create stories around them.

This book is third in the series of jewellery mysteries. Why did you choose to write about Monte Carlo and the French Riviera, and what thrills await the reader this time?

This book was actually the first book that I started writing, but then I filed the first few chapters and wrote The Diamond Connection and then The Christmas Connection before going back to this when I was pregnant with my son, and finishing when pregnant with my daughter who is due in August! I was living in Monaco when my mother died of an inexorable brain tumour; I came back from the UK and was very lonely, but didn’t feel much like going out to meet friends. I had my little dog with me for comfort and just sat on the balcony of my apartment in La Radieuse (where the heroine lives in the novel!) and wrote whilst looking out to sea. It really helped to heal me and keep me away from thoughts of missing my mother. It has been such a joy to go back to it and reminisce about the beauty and splendour of Monaco and the Riviera. I wish that I had never left that apartment!

You write about jewellery theft during the Cannes Film Festival, which obviously happened, how much of your writing is based on fact?

I have used a lot of facts and stories, following masses of research and interviews with relevant people to piece together the story. I became fascinated by The Pink Panther jewel gang when Graff Diamonds in Mayfair, London was hit in 2009 – during my time as head of PR for the company. Although the gang weren’t the perpetrators, I found out so much about them.

The business of lending jewellery (and dresses) for red carpet events is getting bigger and bigger. Of course the fine jewellery houses have immense security at these events for their jewellery (alongside that of the actresses wearing it) but somehow these Pink Panthers managed to find a way to get through and take what is there for the taking. I don’t want to give anything away, but I don’t think any of the actresses have actually been robbed in broad daylight, the thieves attack boutiques and hotels. Both Chopard and de Grisogono have been hit during the festival in the last few years.

How much research does it take to write a book like this?

I spent a long time researching – that was part of my problem in finishing. The research is addictive and so much fun. I read so many books and articles on Monaco from years ago to the current day. I watched lots of Grace Kelly’s movies before she became a Princess and pored through books on her jewels and those of the era of the 50s. I wrote very little over a few years, then at the beginning of this year I just sat down and rewrote the whole synopsis and ended up writing the majority of the book over three months.

Why are you donating the proceeds of this book to charity?

I am donating a percentage of the proceeds of the sales in Monaco to the Princess Charlene Foundation as I think that the work the Princess does through her foundation is so incredibly important and worthwhile. Also it is a way of thanking Monaco for inspiring me to write way back in 2011, something I had wanted to do for a very long time. From my UK event sales, I will be donating to the Brain Tumour Research Campaign in memory of my mother who died whilst I was living in Monaco.

You are currently writing number four in the series, can we have a little sneak peak into that one? 

Yes!! It is called The Paris Connection, and evidently set in Paris. It starts with the escape of Empress Eugenie from Tuileries Palace in September 1870 during the Franco-Prussian War. Before she left, she sent her huge collection of personal jewels, many made by the oldest jeweller in the world Mellerio on Rue de la Paix, via the Austrian diplomatic post to The Bank of England in London for safekeeping until she could get there herself. Certain pieces went missing and she eventually sold the majority of the collection at Christies in 1872. The book is about a piece of jewellery that goes missing and is mistaken for something else.

I lived in Paris from September 1999 to August 2000, and worked at the press offices of Chanel and Christian Dior. I am still in love with the city and the memories I made there at the impressionable age of 21. As with Monaco, I have included lots of descriptions of Paris and the world of jewellery around Place Vendome. As well as the underworld!

Monaco’s transition to an eco-friendly economy continues with another key institution signing the National Pact for the Transition of Energy, which took place during World Environment Day this week.

The important agreement was signed by Gérard Luccio, Director of the Monagasque Institute of Sports Medicine (IM2S) on Wednesday 5th June. The addition of IM2S is another step forward for the Principality in its efforts to reduce waste and create more eco-friendly work environments.   

The ceremony was attended by several high ranking government ministers, IM2S board members, and a representative from the Mission for Energy Transition (MTE).

 “We must thank the IM2S which must not only meet the requirements of safety, but also be more efficient towards a Smart Energy transition,” said Minister of Social Affairs and Health, Didier Gamerdinger.

The Mission for Energy Transition will organise an event aimed at clarifying what this new status means for each of the 104 employees of IM2S and what new protocols will be instituted accordingly.